LAKE COUNTY — Deaths resulting from crashes on the state”s highways are at an all-time low, but California Highway Patrol officials are saying their work is far from over.
A maximum enforcement period is in effect for the Labor Day weekend. From Thursday night through Monday night, 80 percent of the Clear Lake Area CHP officers will be out patrolling Lake County”s highways. According to Fran Clader, a spokeswoman at CHP headquarters in Sacramento, officers are looking for the three biggest causes of fatal crashes: speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and seat belt violations.
“We want no people to die. But fatalities do happen, and we always do the best we can to reduce the number of deaths on the roadways,” Clear Lake Area CHP officer Mike Humble said.
The number of fatal crashes in Lake County increased from 12 in 2006 to 13 in 2007, according to Humble. He said so far this year, 10 fatal crashes have occurred in Lake County.
A state average calculated for 2007 says 1.18 deaths occur for every 100 million miles driven, which is down from 1.27 deaths per 100 million miles driven in 2006. The calculation is dubbed the mileage death rate (MDR), and gives the CHP a measuring tool to determine how effective its efforts to reduce deaths have been.
“We use it as a way to determine how our efforts toward education and enforcement are making this a safer place to drive and live,” Humble said.
He used the enactment of the seat belt laws in 1986 as an example. It was a secondary violation at the time, meaning officers could not stop a driver for not wearing a seat belt. It became a primary violation in 1993, according to Clader.
“We saw a huge drop in the mileage death rate,” Humble said.
Clader said since the CHP started using maximum enforcement periods during six major holidays, the number of fatal crashes has steadily decreased. In 2007, there were 3,967 fatal crashes statewide, down from 4,197 in 2006.
“More people are driving more, and fewer people are dying,” she said, adding that the average number of miles driven has increased.
But the CHP”s work is far from over, according to Clader.
“We are seeing the numbers go down, but we still have a lot of work to do to prevent further deaths. We want everyone to go home at the end of the day,” Clader said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
