Personal InjuryPlacentia Car Accidents Linked to Impaired Drivers
As a number of Placentia car accident attorneysadmit, car crashes are unavoidable in a city this size. Placentia in Orange County, California, has grown to accommodate a population of nearly 52,000. With that growth has come traffic congestion, filling streets during rush hour as daily commuters head to the 91 and 57 Freeways. On Friday and Saturday nights, some drunk drivers leave bars and nightclubs, endangering their lives and the lives of innocent motorists.
Placentia Car Crash Statistics Tell the Story
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, from 2001 and 2003, six fatal car accidents occurred in Placentia. This averages out to about 1.3 fatal car crashes per 10,000 people, which was lower than the national norm.
In 2006, the California Highway Patrol's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) reported that two people died and 164 people were injured in Placentia car crashes. Pedestrian car accidents caused one death and 13 injuries. Bicycle accidents killed one and injured 11. Motorcycle accidents injured six. Drink drivers caused 13 injuries. The typical Placentia accident attorney will admit that these car collision numbers are not uncommon for a city like Placentia.
High Gas Prices Reduce Car Crashes
Across Orange County, from 2007 to 2008, high gas prices may have kept motorists home, which may have accounted for the 9 percent reduction in car crash deaths countywide. According to California Highway Patrol, 2008 saw 59 fatalities in 51 car crashes, compared to 65 deaths in 58 car collisions in 2007. Car accidents on surface streets killed 79 people in 2008, compared to 128 in 2007. The state overall experienced a 23 percent drop in car crash highway deaths--1,349 people died in 1,219 fatal car collisions in 2008, while 1,749 people lost their lives in 1,529 car crashes in 2007.
Sobriety Checkpoints Can Prevent Placentia Car Collisions
To cut down on the number of car collisions in Placentia, the Placentia Police Department conducted a DUI and Driver's License Checkpoint on May 1, 2009 from 6 p.m. to midnight in the 600 block of West Chapman Avenue. A recent study showed that five percent of Placentia car crashes during 2008 involved drivers without proper licenses and 8.5 percent involved drivers who were impaired by drugs or alcohol.
Sobriety checkpoints help identify and/or remove traffic violators and impaired drivers from Placentia streets. Roving DUI patrols and sobriety checkpoints also help educate the public on the dangers of drunk driving, and they serve to encourage the use of sober designated drivers for those who have been drinking.
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