There were no fatal accidents in 2003 on the stretch of Highway
25 notorious for 20 roadway deaths from 2000-2002.
”
That is far and away, for us, such a great success,
”
said Terry Mayes, information officer for the local California
Highway Patrol unit.
That positive news for San Benito County was part of accident
figures for 2003 obtained from local law enforcement agencies.
Overall, both the total number of vehicle collisions and fatalities
dropped from the previous year.
There were no fatal accidents in 2003 on the stretch of Highway 25 notorious for 20 roadway deaths from 2000-2002.
“That is far and away, for us, such a great success,” said Terry Mayes, information officer for the local California Highway Patrol unit.
That positive news for San Benito County was part of accident figures for 2003 obtained from local law enforcement agencies. Overall, both the total number of vehicle collisions and fatalities dropped from the previous year.
The agencies included the CHP for collisions on state highways or roads within county limits and the Hollister Police Department for collisions within the city.
For 2003, the CHP reported 376 traffic collisions on highways or roads in county limits – compared to 411 the year before, according to Mayes. That’s a 9-percent drop for the year.
Among those accidents reported by the CHP in 2003, there were seven that resulted in deaths and a total of eight fatalities, Mayes said. The previous year, there were eight fatal accidents and 10 total fatalities.
Three of those fatal accidents reported by the CHP occurred on Highway 25, but they were on the section starting at the southeast end of Hollister toward Pinnacles National Monument. Two of the fatal accidents were on Fairview Road, including the single-car crash Dec. 6 that killed two 18-year-old graduates of San Benito High School.
That accident involved alcohol, as the 16-year-old driver had reportedly admitted to drinking and driving. Mayes reiterated Wednesday that the high school and the CHP are committed to further awareness on the issue in 2004.
“Certainly, I think there will be a greater amount of education,” Mayes said.
Mayes attributed having no fatalities on the previously deadly section of Highway 25 – from Highway 101 to Hollister’s northern limits – to awareness and road improvements. Four fatal accidents occurred there in 2002, she said.
She pointed out that drivers regularly call the CHP with license plates of others driving erratically. And the widening of the highway and changing of its shoulders, completed in May 2002, also helped reduce the number of passing vehicles, she said.
Furthermore, she said, there were zero accidents last year related to drinking and driving on the San Benito County stretch of the highway – compared to seven of them in 2002.
“What a significant gain in saving lives,” Mayes said.
The City of Hollister’s accident numbers also dropped, but only slightly. There were 451 vehicle collisions in Hollister – compared to 458 the year before, according to Eva Foster, a records supervisor at the Police Department.
There was, however, one fatality in Hollister in 2003 – compared to zero in 2002. On Nov. 1, a Hollister man riding his bicycle was struck on San Benito Street, by a pickup truck, when he tried to ride across the road.
Police Chief Jeff Miller, who arrived in September, said the department would address traffic collisions by continuing to focus on “accident causing violations.” But it’s up to the drivers, too, he said.
“I’d like to put a pitch in for personal responsibility,” Miller said.
