Santa Monica Car Accidents Caused By Dangerous Intersections

Santa Monica has become a very dense city, jammed with cars and pedestrians attracted to its seaside location. More people and more traffic have increased the number of Santa Monica car accidents. Weekends are filled with locals and tourists flooding the streets. On weekdays, students by the hundreds, from Kindergarten to college, navigate the busy intersections from 14th to 18th streets along Ocean Park Boulevard. Regrettably, many drivers regularly exceed the speed limit and endanger pedestrians along each of the intersections. Recently, Ocean Park Boulevard and 14th Street was the site of four separate car accidents in a single four-week stretch. Another dangerous intersection for pedestrians is Fourth Street and Colorado Avenue.

The California Highway Patrol's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) revealed that in 2006, one pedestrian was killed and 93 were injured in Santa Monica car crashes. Motorcycle accidents injured 19, and 89 bicyclists were hurt in car collisions. DUI accidents accounted for one fatality and 47 injuries. Overall, there were two car accident fatalities and 623 traffic accident-related injuries.

Predictably, red-light runners and speeders contributed to Santa Monica's car accidents . Car collisions caused by red-light scofflaws averaged 4.5% of all collisions in the past three years. In 2004, 2005, and 2006, car accidents caused by drivers who ran a red light break out as follows:

2004 - 4.3% (1,857 total car accidents; 80 caused by failing to stop for a red light)

2005 - 5.3% (1,796 total car accident; 95 caused by failing to stop for a red light)

2006 - 3.9% (1,870 total car accidents, 73 caused by failing to stop for a red light)

"More than any other category of car collision, red-light accidents cause far more injuries to drivers and passengers," said John Bisnar, a car accident attorney with BISNAR | CHASE. "Hundreds of thousands of car accidents occur in intersections across the country every year, which is why stepped up traffic enforcement is often required in these locales to bring down car accident rates."

To curtail the number of car accidents, Santa Monica has turned to installing red-light camera systems at its more dangerous intersections. An international study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) revealed that red-light cameras reduce red-light running by 40 to 50 percent and injury car crashes by 25 to 30 percent.

"The Federal Highway Administration notes that automated enforcement systems can help lower the number of red-light running violations," observed John Bisnar. "Law enforcement and traffic control engineers nationwide see red-light photo systems as an acceptable way to confront the growing problem of red-light runners."

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.