A recent article from the North Coast Journal about ongoing efforts to reduce serious traffic accidents in Eureka is timely and enlightening. The City of Eureka has taken the sensible approach of mapping the most dangerous intersections, identifying the causes of crashes, and (in addition to stepping up education and enforcement) “identify[ing] problems with road layout, visibility, signage, signal timing and other safety issues.” Contrast that with Caltrans’ approach to the roads under its jurisdiction. Rather than following Eureka’s approach of identifying dangerous spots and figuring out what can be done about them, the state agency, as usual, is trying to justify road capacity increases with unsupported safety claims. It seems almost unbelievable a transportation agency would argue with a straight face that adding lanes – and thus increasing traffic speed – through a busy downtown would increase safety, but that’s exactly what Caltrans is saying.
“…The legislation would authorize federal spending on transportation projects for six years but provide only enough money to last the first three years, or $325 billion….
The House bill also contains provisions that would undoubtedly lead to more deadly accidents. One would prevent the Department of Transportation from publishing the safety ratings of trucking and bus companies. Another would make it harder for the department to raise the minimum insurance requirements for trucks and buses that were last set in 1985.
The bill would also allow people as young as 19 years, 6 months old to drive trucks across state lines, down from 21 now. Given the higher accident rates of teenage drivers, this change makes no sense….”