Statistics Support Steering Clear of Driving Stereotypes

Dear Street Smart:

My husband and I are from Chicago and have lived in Orange County for the past 35 years. We always spoke in glowing terms about the “sophistication and courtesy” of California drivers in comparison to those of the Midwest. No more! The truck drivers are no longer the wonderful helpers and king-of-the-road people; they drive trucks today as though they are behind the wheel of a sports car.

Along with all this are the female drivers--approximately age 18 to 45--who are rude, discourteous and drive so poorly that they put everyone in jeopardy.

We are curious what the traffic accident reports show regarding these groups as to fatalities, serious accidents and citations given. Any statistic would be appreciated.

Rita Singer

Garden Grove

You may be surprised to learn that members of both groups account for fewer accidents than the rest of us.

In 1995, according to statistics compiled by the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Motor Vehicles, truckers were involved in only 3% of the state’s fatal accidents even though they drive about 21% of the registered vehicles on the road. And in any given year, according to DMV spokesman Evan Nossoff, 6.4% of the male drivers in California are likely to be involved in accidents, compared to 4.5% of the females.

“Women tend to get into significantly fewer accidents than men,” Nossoff said.

In the case of truckers, the difference may have to do with experience and training, said CHP spokeswoman Pat Ryan, a former trucker.

“Our general experience has been that commercial drivers are safer drivers,” she said. “They have to be; it’s their livelihood.”

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Dear Street Smart:

Nine years ago, I moved to northeast Santa Ana. At the time, the city said it could not afford to fix the streets because Gemco had moved out and they did not have the sales tax base. Since then Target moved into Gemco, HomeBase and Home Depot set up shop and MainPlace opened. But the streets in the northeast part of the city are nine years worse.

Is the city waiting for the residents to file a class-action lawsuit for ruined suspensions, or do they actually plan to do something? Grand, Fairhaven, and Santa Clara avenues are really bad. Since these are not near any freeway improvements, I hope they won’t use that tired old phrase, “We’ll do it when the freeways are done.”

If they can afford to spend $1 million on the zoo and an art colony, you’d think they would want people to be able to get to them. Is there hope, or should I call the city for the paperwork on filing a claim with them?

Judy Anderson

Santa Ana

There’s definitely hope, according to George Alvarez, Santa Ana city engineer who, incidentally, agrees with you regarding the sorry state of the city’s streets.

“There are a lot of streets in the city that need repair,” he admits, “but it’s just a matter of resources. We try to fix them as money becomes available.”

Just within the last few weeks, reconstruction work has begun on one of the streets you cited, Fairhaven Avenue. The $1.2-million project, paid for with state gas tax and Measure M funds, will repave about three-fourths of a mile of the road between Grand and Tustin avenues and add new storm drains, curbs, gutters and sidewalks.

“It will make it new and safer,” Alvarez said of the project, expected to be completed by mid-October.

The city also is undertaking a $2.7-million improvement project on Westminster Avenue between Euclid and Fairview streets and is planning to begin working on sections of Grand Avenue in 1998.

Currently, Alvarez said, there are no plans to improve Santa Clara Avenue.

“It’s just a shortage of money,” he said. “We spend it where it’s most needed.”

Dear Street Smart:

My complaint concerns rude drivers who take cuts in line. My daily commute takes me from the Orange Freeway to the Garden Grove Freeway. The signs say, “Right Lane Must Exit” at La Veta. There are always some jackasses who act as if they are going to exit at La Veta, then cut back in at the front of the line. The rest of us sit there and sit there while some car--20 cars back--jumps out of line, then cuts back in at the front.

I’d like to see the California Highway Patrol sit there and nab those drivers.

Cathy Cargill

Garden Grove

Law enforcement certainly recognizes the problem, according to CHP spokeswoman Ryan.

“It’s something that every commuter faces in every city,” she said.

While CHP officers can cite the crowders for unsafe lane changes, they can’t afford to post themselves just for that purpose.

“We have to prioritize our resources,” she said. “We just don’t have enough officers to go around.”

She has two suggestions for commuters faced with a driver trying to cut back into line. First, Ryan says, put your irritation aside long enough to make way for him.

“Otherwise they might create an unsafe situation,” she said. “It doesn’t mean we condone it, it just means that, for the overall safety of everyone, we unfortunately have to yield to these people.”

Second, she says, write down the driver’s license number, date and location of the incident and relay it to the nearest CHP office.

“We will write them a letter,” Ryan said. Although the admonishment lacks the power of a citation and has no legal teeth, she said, it may serve as an inducement to changed behavior. “It’s a difficult problem,” she said. “What they do could start a chain reaction in which many people are hurt.”

Street Smart appears Mondays in The Times Orange County Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic, commuting and what makes it difficult to get around in Orange County. Include simple sketches if helpful. Letters may be published in upcoming columns. Please write to David Haldane, c/o Street Smart, The Times Orange County, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626, send faxes to 966-7711 or e-mail him David.Haldane@latimes.com. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted.