Number of Area Car Crashes Down

The number of deadly car crashes in California is at its lowest point since 1944, but 2,715 people still died in automobile accidents last year in this state, officials say. That’s an average of more than seven deaths a day.

Local authorities say distracted drivers–those texting and chatting on cell phones, reading the newspaper or applying makeup–are a growing cause of accidents.

“It’s more and more common,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Adrian Quintero, a spokesman. “It’s a huge concern for us.”

That concern is balanced by numbers showing that between 2005 and 2009, the most recent year the state’s Office of Traffic Safety has complete statistics, the state’s roads have become safer.  

But that doesn’t mean the CHP, which patrols freeways statewide and surface streets in the unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, can relax. The agency plans this month to launch another targeted enforcement campaign against distracted drivers, Quintero said.

The CHP also focuses on problem intersections and responds to complaints from residents, which are forwarded to the officers on duty, he said. The areas with the most traffic accidents in 2009 closest to Carmichael were Howe Avenue at Fair Oaks Boulevard and Marconi and Watt avenues.

The areas of Sacramento County with the most traffic accidents in 2009 were as follows:

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