It’s a Thin Lane Between Life and Death : Patience Isn’t Just a Virtue, It’s a Necessity for Survival on Santiago Canyon Road

It’s a long, winding and often lovely road running from Orange east and south to Lake Forest and Rancho Santa Margarita. But Santiago Canyon Road can also be deadly. Impatient drivers are better off taking their lead feet elsewhere.

Because it is so narrow, one lane in each direction and a bit of pavement to pull over, the road demands a motorist go no faster than the driver ahead. Slower is better in terms of scenery and nerves.

Yet last month three motorists were killed in accidents days apart. A fourth became so impatient she pulled alongside a truck she thought was going too slow and started swinging a softball bat at the offending vehicle. When that did not speed things up, the driver, who was later arrested, flung a canister of air freshener at the truck. A police officer said the woman “said she was running late for an appointment.”

The same police officer said people “are in a hurry. They lose their patience. They drive like maniacs.”

The road lets motorists avoid Interstate 5. But unlike the freeway, there are no wide exits and entrances popping up frequently. Get stuck behind a truck, and you’ll be there a while. Drivers have to realize that and slow down.

Even after the first fatal accident and the bat-swinging episode, California Highway Patrol officers had no problems finding speeders exceeding the 55 m.p.h. limit along one stretch. Excuses were almost always lateness or impatience.

The first fatal accident occurred when one driver allegedly refused to let another pass and cut her off several times. When their bumpers collided, the car in front spun out and crashed into a truck. The car’s driver was killed.

Days later, farther north near Orange, the driver of a pickup truck was killed when his vehicle rammed into a tractor-trailer. Last month, a motorcyclist was killed in a head-on collision after crossing a double yellow line to try to pass traffic, according to police.

Drivers need to realize that as development has pushed east and south in recent years, the road is not the bucolic stretch of Mayberry it once seemed. Motorists must slow down, pull off to the side if need be, and realize that if they want to bypass the freeway they need to drive at less than freeway speeds.