The California Highway Patrol’s (CHP) Northern Division and Golden Gate Division, having jurisdiction over the major transportation corridor of US-101 throughout northern California, are partnering to participate in a Major Corridor Enhanced Primary Collision Factor (PCF) Enforcement Campaign on Thursday, April 8, 2021.
This effort aims to reduce the number of injury and fatal traffic crashes on the major roadways throughout the two Divisions. In 2018 and 2019, a total 1,928 crashes occurred on US-101 from the Oregon border through Mendocino County, causing 745 injuries and killing a total of 53 people. The primary causes for most of the injury and fatal crashes were determined to be: speed, reckless driving, unsafe lane change, unsafe turning movement, following too close, distracted driving, and driving under the influence, with increased injuries and deaths from occupant restraint violations.
The mission of the California Highway Patrol is to provide the highest level of safety, service, and security to the people of California. This includes the prevention of loss of life, injuries, and property damage resulting from traffic crashes through enforcement, education, engineering, and partnerships.
The CHP is promoting awareness and safe driving along this major corridor route. During the enhanced enforcement campaign, the CHP will target US-101 with increased traffic safety operations to educate and, if necessary, take appropriate enforcement action on drivers who violate traffic laws along this major corridor route.
“The US-101 corridor within Northern Division and Golden Gate Division represents a large portion of where traffic crashes are occurring,” said Northern Division Chief Greg Baarts. “Increased visibility, aggressive enforcement, and public education within the Areas along this corridor will contribute to increased safety for motorists travelling on US-101.”
The CHP reminds motorists to follow these basic traffic safety rules: always wear a seat belt, drive at a speed safe for conditions, eliminate distractions while driving, and always designate a sober driver.
They didn’t stop the guy with the boat trailer doing 70MPH next to me this morning. Blew right by their “safety patrol”. I’ve been watching Big Rigs and trucks with soil hauling trailers blowing through Willits to Laytonville corridor at 70 MPH average speeds for months now, yet CHP still keeps 2 cops at their well known speed trap by Burke hill road exit south of Ukiah always pulling over passenger vehicles. North of Hopland is a well known speed trap, that the truckers seem to know about already. When are they going to stop these Big Rig accidents and slow down the trailers?
Commented on another piece about the selfish dangerous drivers between Ukiah and Clearlake. Still driving that route and people driving as crazy as ever. CHP doing their sting and pulling over lot of speeders. But…that’s only getting about 5% of them. Soon as we pass a CHP, everybody goes back to their dangerous ways. Honestly don’t know what can be done about it, unless we had major funding increase and CHP’s parked every 100 yards along that route, and pretty much every other route around here. Won’t happen of course, so only thing I can do is remind the safe drivers and innocent drivers of the following:
1) When dangerous drivers tailgate you, swallow your pride and pull over. They go on their way and you’re out of danger. It’s worth it.
2) Stay the sensible distance behind others. Never let a tailgater behind you make you so nervous you speed up and become a tailgater too.
3) Hug the white line, safely of course, but keep a distance between you and the yellow line. Not only do dangerous people pass unexpectedly and come at you head-on, but it’s *very* common for people to get distracted with eating, texting, daydreaming, and drift over the yellow line. Happens to me and fellow route drivers almost every day, nearly getting hit head-on.
4) Stay the speed limit. You probably won’t, but consider it. Not too long ago in school we were taught, repeatedly…”55 saves lives”…frequent videos in school showing us the surprisingly big difference in stop-distance between going 55mph and 65mph. Unfortunately they upped the speed limit no and pretend the old saying doesn’t apply anymore. It does. 5-10mph over the limit makes a huge difference in impact force.
5) Glance, never stare. Easy to stare if you’re looking at something. The clouds. Someone fishing. Some pretty poppies along the cliffs. Once you go from glance to staring, even for 2 seconds, you’ll be surprised how easily you’ll start drifting off course, or simply miss the split-second it took for another car to come flying at you.
6) Should be obvious but never text or answer the phone (unless hands-free). Pull over. Nearly every day either me or another route driver has a story about a caller or texter drifting over and jerking back in line, barely missing us or others head-on. It’s easy to pull over, worth saving your life or the lives of some mother and her children on the way to visit grandma.
7) Keep both hands on the wheel, seriously, when you do that thing with one hand relaxed on the upper wheel and the other just resting on it’s bottom, you’ll never have time to turn the wheel in a last-second emergency.
9) Pay attention. You don’t want to and neither do I, it takes constant energy to keep watch every second. But when you’re traveling these highway routes, with the high number of selfish, dangerous drivers, you simply never know which second of the next minute someone will come at you head-on. Keep your mind and eyes sharp.
10) Never be vengeful. Never ever. No matter how stupid or selfish someone is being. Don’t do it. Let it go. You’ll only spur them on to compete back with you, and become more dangerous. Don’t race them. Don’t chase them down and tailgate. Never flip them off; I’ve seen far too many videos of road rages that turned into savage beatings, stabbings and shootings. Let it go and you’ll be surprised how little time it takes you to forget the incident and be back to your peaceful self.