Pasadena Car Accidents Worsened By Hazardous Intersections and Aging Freeway Onramps

Pasadena is a charming town with a not-so-charming traffic problem. In fact, some residents blamed many Pasadena car accidents on dangerous intersections and less-than-friendly freeway onramps.

While the Pasadena Freeway may have been a milestone of modern motoring when it was built in 1940, many consider it to be outdated and dangerous today. The problem is that drivers must merge with oncoming traffic almost as soon as they enter the freeway. Drivers don't even get a running start on many of the short onramps before squeezing into speeding traffic. There are just three lanes in each direction, with narrow right shoulders leaving no room for emergency stops. This creates "an accident waiting to happen" condition.

"Aging roadways like the Pasadena Freeway simply can't handle the high-traffic volumes and faster cars with an adequate level of safety or efficiency," noted John Bisnar, founding partner of BISNAR | CHASE Personal Injury Attorneys. "The tight, short onramps that serve them need to be re-designed to help cut down on the city's car accidents."

Turning to Pasadena's intersections, the Automobile Club of Southern California once named several crossroads as the "most dangerous" in Los Angeles County. Topping the list with 15 injury car collisions in one year and 18 the previous year was Pasadena's Walnut Street and Pasadena Avenue. Another top contender was the Corson and Marengo intersection with 10 car accidents.

The Walnut-Pasadena intersection was particularly onerous because it confused drivers heading east on Walnut with two sets of traffic signals nearly 100 yards apart: One set of lights controlled the Pasadena Avenue intersection; another set signaled traffic at Corson Avenue. Both signal lights have since been synchronized to improve the flow of traffic and reduce car accidents.

Pasadena's see-saw car accident statistics reflect the city's efforts to improve traffic in various areas. In July 2003, Pasadena had 316 car accidents, falling to 222 the next year. In 2005, car accidents rose to 245, climbing to 257 in 2006, then dropping to 205 in 2007. In 2008, car accidents fell to a long-time low of 202, undoubtedly the result of motorists driving fewer trips because of exorbitant gas prices.

Adding to these statistics, the California Highway Patrol's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) revealed that 10 people lost their lives and 1,050 were injured in Pasadena car accidents. Alcohol-related car collisions caused two fatalities and 79 injuries. Traffic accidents also killed two pedestrians and injured 74. In addition, 35 motorcyclists were injured in traffic accidents. And according to Pasadena Police, in 2007, six people died in car collisions, and one died in an alcohol-related car accident.

Be on the Hit-and-Run Lookout

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BISNAR | CHASE 2006-2010 Super Lawyers names outstanding lawyers from more than 60 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. BISNAR | CHASE has received this award for five consecutive years. Brian Chase was named one of the 2010 Top 50 Orange County Lawyers.