Top crash site is Santa Rita at Valley Top crash site is Santa Rita at Valley (January 30, 2004)

Police name top spots for collisions throughout city
by Teresa C. Brown

One of the busiest intersections in the city is also the No. 1 hot spot for collisions. Santa Rita Road and Valley Avenue is infamous for collisions, with 39 attributed to the intersection in 2003, said traffic Officer Jerry Niceley of the Pleasanton police.

Santa Rita has the notoriety of two intersections with the most smash-ups recorded. The intersection of Santa Rita and Mohr Avenue was also one of the top contenders, with 12 collisions last year.

"We've had a lot of injury collisions resulting from that particular stretch," Niceley said.

Niceley explained that many collisions are a result of the volume of traffic flowing through the intersections.

"A majority of the collisions occur during the week, and they are during commute times," he noted.

While cut-through traffic shoulders a share of the blame, normal work schedules and school traffic also contribute to the volume of vehicles on the streets.

"A lot of people don't realize the amount of traffic from the business park and school lunch time," Niceley said.

Police have increased law enforcement in the areas identified as crash-prone, with measures such as installing radar trailers or monitoring the area for traffic violators. Crashes are usually caused by traffic violations, which is why police do not call them "accidents."

"Usually someone is in violation of a vehicle code, predominately speed, lane changes, red light or tailgating," Niceley said. Red light violations account for a quarter of injury collisions, he said.

The intersection at Stoneridge and Johnson also had 12 collisions. Rear-enders are common at that intersection, Niceley said, explaining that drivers heading westbound on Stoneridge will see a green light ahead and not slow down even though there is a traffic backup.

Niceley advises drivers to always look ahead.

"If that light you're looking at has been green for awhile, chances are it will cycle to yellow and then red. Drivers need to anticipate the change to red and stop." He also cautioned drivers to always leave a safe distance between themselves and the car in front of them.

A common red light-running excuse Niceley has heard is that the driver could not see the traffic signal because of a larger vehicle in front of them.

"There are other signals you can look at and verify if the signal is red or green," he said. "A lot can be helped if you leave distance to allow for reaction time."

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