Southern California’s Memorial Day Weekend Continues Trend of Drunk Drivers and Car Accidents

Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer, left California drivers with ominous feelings after hundreds of car accidents and DUI arrests occurred.  Regardless of whether the DUI arrest involved a car accident, many of those that did ended with deadly results.  Even car accidents that did not involve intoxicated drivers saw several injuries and wrongful deaths occur.  Sadly, these incidents are not unusual for the holiday, as summer holidays traditionally represent the deadliest time to drive.  With the influx of tourists and drivers coming to the beach communities in Orange County and Los Angeles this summer, now is the time to be especially cautious on the roadways.

If you suspect that there is a drunk or reckless driver on the roadway, make sure to call local police. If you are involved in a car accident with a drunk or reckless driver this summer, be sure to speak with a car accident attorney right away.

Memorial Day Weekend’s Historical Car Accident Statistics

Along with remembrance and barbeques, Memorial Day weekend has become just as well known for car accidents and drunk drivers.  The holiday has sadly become the least safe time to drive on the road. Unfortunately, statistics show that things do not get much better as other summer holiday weekends continue.  Los Angeles, in particular, stands out as a locale with an increased number of holiday car accidents.  Unsurprisingly, holiday car accident statistics show that there is a clear correlation between the increased number of drunk drivers on the roadway and the number of accidents that occur.

According to the financial firm Value Penguin, from 2011-2015 an ordinary three-day weekend in the United States saw an average of 250 traffic fatalities.  On Memorial Day weekend, the average number of traffic fatalities jumped to 312.  Respectively, the Fourth of July weekend averaged 307, and Labor Day 308. The question begs to ask, is there a reason for the increase in fatal car accidents on the holiday weekends?

Fatal Car Accident Statistics on Holiday Weekends vs. Normal Three Day Weekend

Drivers and passengers face the highest risk of being in a fatal car accident during the three major summer holiday weekends.

The answer might be that the number of fatal car accidents is related to the number of people driving under the influence.  The available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 40.3 percent of all car accidents on Memorial Day weekend involved a drunk driver. The usual rate of car accidents involving someone driving under the influence was 29.2%.  Thus, there is an approximate 40 percent increase in the number of car accidents involving people driving under the influence on holiday weekends compared to ordinary three-day weekends.

Percentage of Car Accidents Involving Drunk Drivers

The summer holidays represent three of the top four holidays involving car accidents and drunk drivers.

Memorial Day Weekend 2019 Car Accidents

This year, car accidents, arrests of drunk drivers, and fatalities came rapidly in Southern California. By Monday, the California Highway Patrol reported that Memorial Day weekend resulted in 1099 arrests for people driving under the influence.  After a car accident involving a Long Beach pedestrian resulted in a fatality before the weekend commenced, fatal accidents continued to come in fast and furious.  In total, Memorial Day weekend resulted in the wrongful death of at least a thirty-four drivers and passengers.

Before Memorial Day Weekend began, Long Beach car accident reports relayed a sad pedestrian hit-and-run death.   The report stated that a vehicle struck 44-year-old Latonia Williams while she walked just outside of a crosswalk at Pacific Ave. and 25th Street.  After the car hit Ms. Williams, she was then hit by another car and died at the scene. The first vehicle that hit Ms. Williams fled the scene, and the driver is still at large.  We are asking anyone with information regarding this hit and run incident to contact Det. Sirilo Garcia at the Long Beach Police Department.

Then, within the first six hours of the holiday weekend, eight people died in a car crash. Authorities reported that more than half of those that died were not wearing a seat belt. Authorities did not release the names of any the victims or state what the cause of the crash was.

In Silverado, CA, a car crash Saturday morning killed two teens and left three others injured.  The 1998 Mazda Protégé was being driven by Joshua Morales on Santiago Canyon Road when it suddenly left the road. Property damage photographs show that the vehicle struck a tree and required the jaws of life to pry the occupants out.  Joshua Morales died in the car.  One passenger, Colton Mundy, died hours later at UCI Medical Center.  Three other teens went to hospitals with major injuries. Families of Morales, Mundy, and another passenger have set up GoFundMe pages.

Then on Sunday, a Pomona family died when they crashed into a tree near Los Banos, CA.  Reports stated that the driver lost control of his Nissan Altima, causing him to cross the freeway onto a dirt shoulder where he hit a tree. The wreckage was scattered on the road and included a car seat latch, broken glass, and a taillight. A relative identified the driver Samuel Soto, and his pregnant wife, Alondra Soto.  The Soto’s two children also died in the crash.  A family friend set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.

Take Action and Help Make our Roads Safe this Summer

In sum, Memorial Day Weekend 2019 ended with tragic consequences.  The holiday typically marks the deadliest three-day holiday weekend of the year before two of the next three follow.  Huntington Beach, Bolsa Chica, Seal Beach, and Long Beach will see countless tourists flock to the beaches this summer.  Statistics show that on holiday weekends an increased number of those tourist drivers will drive under the influence.  It is vital that members of the community call the police if they suspect a drunk driver is on the road.  Residents and tourists should also generally be on the lookout for reckless drivers and make sure to report them immediately.

If You Have Been in a Car Accident in the Long Beach Traffic Circle Contact a Local Personal Injury Lawyer Right Away!

If you have been in a car accident, call a personal injury attorney right away. Make sure that you gather all of the other drivers’ auto insurance information.  No one article can cover everything that people should know after a car accident.  Additionally, car accidents with drunk drivers present unique legal challenges.  There are many local personal injury law firms throughout Long Beach, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, and Newport Beach that can help with filing a claim.  Most personal injury law firms can also assist if you have a wrongful death action.  Contact a lawyer right away to protect your statute of limitations, and ensure that you receive full justice for your insurance claims.  Don’t let an insurance company lowball your demand for reimbursement of medical expenses, lost wages, or pain and suffering.

The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this post, or website, should be taken as legal advice for any individual or case situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.  Contact us If you have lost a loved one or have pain and suffering from a personal injury.  For more information, visit our wrongful death page and car accidents page. For a free consultation, please reach out to our attorneys to arrange a time to discuss your case.  All you have to do is hit the big blue button labeled Contact Us at the top of this page!

Long Beach Traffic Circle

Car Accidents at the Long Beach Traffic Circle

History of the Long Beach Traffic Circle

The Long Beach Traffic Circle also referred to as the Los Alamitos Traffic Circle was once called “the Wildest Ride in Town” by the Los Angeles Times.  Second, to the Queen Mary, the traffic circle is one of the most recognizable features in Long Beach.  Moreover, the loop is one of the only modern roundabouts in Orange County.  The roundabout which now serves approximately 60,000 drivers a day was designed in the 1930s by German Engineer, Werner Ruchti.  At the time, the City of Long Beach constructed the Long Beach roundabout to accommodate traffic for the upcoming 1932 Summer Olympics.  While the Olympics were set to be held in Los Angeles, aquatic and rowing events were held in Long Beach.  The Long Beach Traffic Circle’s novelty has led to the excitement and confusion of drivers. Often these drivers end up in automobile collisions or near-miss situations.

The safety of drivers in the Long Beach Traffic Circle has long been a point of dispute.  In its first year of existence, the Long Beach Traffic Circle experienced four motor vehicle collisions.  The Press-Telegram went on to call the Long Beach Traffic Circle a death trap. Early drivers of the roundabout were confused and perplexed.

In 1980, after nearly fifty years of service, the Long Beach Traffic Circle was considered one of the most unsafe intersections in the city. In a November 2002 article of the On-line Forty Niner, city traffic engineer David Roseman explained just how dangerous the roundabout had been.  Roseman stated, “In the city of Long Beach, we have a grading system for accidents.  An ‘A’ is for best, and an ‘F’ is for worst.  In the 1980s the grade level was almost an ‘F.’”

Despite negative safety grades, city personnel described the Long Beach Traffic Circle as a model of safety.  In 1989, Traffic Enforcement Cmdr. Charles Parks stated that there were so few automobile accidents at the roundabout that it would be a waste of time to count them.  The theory was that without red lights, vehicles in the traffic circle could flow freely.

Furthermore, with each vehicle entering the traffic circle at a forty-five-degree angle, head-on collisions were thought to be nearly impossible.  The most serious of car accidents thought possible were expected to be broadside collisions, and the most frequent were anticipated to be safer sideswipe collisions.  Nonetheless, drivers were quoted by the Los Angeles Times denouncing the circle, “when I was 19 I drove out of London the wrong way, and I felt safer.”

After residents and drivers continued to complain about the Long Beach Traffic Circle, safety changes took place in 1993.  In 1993, the Long Beach Traffic Circle became a true roundabout.  Caltrans spent approximately eight years reimagining the circle to improve its safety.  Some of the changes to the traffic circle included removing stop signs and replacing them with yield signs. Other changes included flaring the entry point lanes, and adding lane markers before the entrance to the circle.  Other recommendations by Caltrans went ignored.  Some changes such as lowering the speed limit and adding lane lines around the center island were deemed too expensive.   Even without the additional changes, Traffic Engineer Roseman stated that there was a forty-four percent drop in accidents eight months after the construction changes.

Today, the traffic circle remains a point of contention throughout the community, and the future of roundabouts in Southern California is not certain.  As reported initially by KCET, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety argues for more or them.  Whereas, other internet forums contain countless stories praising and vilifying traffic circles. Drivers concerned with safety, as well as those focused on saving money on insurance rates and car insurance quotes, are likely to be vocal in the outcome of roundabouts in California.

Recent Car Accidents at the Long Beach Traffic Circle

Nonetheless, serious automobile collisions routinely occur at the Long Beach Traffic Circle.  As discussed above, the design of the traffic circle was intended to cut down on the seriousness of crashes at the roundabout. As a result, it could be expected that there would be less personal injury lawsuits.  However, over the past few years, the roundabout has seen accidents involving pure property damage, catastrophic personal injury, and even the wrongful death of riders.

A review of traffic accidents from 2015 – 2017 reveals that many of the traffic circle’s car accidents may have been avoided had the city chosen not to forego some of their recommended changes.  Specifically, had the city lowered the speed limit of the roundabout and added lane lines inside the roundabout, some of the collisions might have been avoided.

Support for this hypothesis can be found by utilizing the TIMS | SWITRS GIS Map provided by UC Berkeley.  The SWITRS tool pools data as reported by the California Highway Patrol and Department of Transportation to map vehicle collisions by location and cause.  The tool demonstrates that from 2015-2017, twenty-six vehicles were reportedly in car accidents at the Long Beach Traffic Circle. At least twenty-one individuals were injured at the Long Beach Traffic Circle in these two years.  On three occasions, the cited cause of the collision was “improper turning” or “merging.” Four other times, the vehicle collisions resulted from unsafe speed violations.  Finally, on five occasions the cause of car accidents was determined to have resulted from unsafe lane changes.  In total twelve out of fifteen car accidents over two years had to do with one of these three collision factors.

Unfortunately, some of the most dangerous car accidents at the Long Beach Traffic Circle have occurred when drunk drivers encounter the novel traffic device.  As reported by the Long Beach Post, in March 2016, a suspected drunk driver of a Maserati in the outer traffic circle hit a tree.  As a result, the Maserati was sheared in half.  The alleged drunk driver was ejected from the vehicle but survived.  Sadly, the passenger, Joseph Testone, died at the scene.

 

Drunk driver Joseph Testone dies in Long Beach Traffic Circle

Drunk driver Joseph Testone dies in Long Beach Traffic Circle

In sum, car accidents at the Long Beach Traffic Circle have occurred and will continue to happen.  Considering the volume of vehicles that utilize the roundabout, some say the roundabout is safer than the average intersection.  However, the novelty of the roadway requires that drivers take every precaution when navigating the roundabout and ensure that they follow all of the rules of the road for the traffic circle.  If you believe that there is a drunk driver in the street, call the Long Beach Police Department.

If You Have Been in a Car Accident in the Long Beach Traffic Circle Contact a Local Personal Injury Lawyer Right Away!

If you have been in a car accident at the Long Beach Traffic Circle, call a personal injury attorney right away. Make sure you gather all of the other drivers’ auto insurance information.  No one article can cover everything that people should know after a car accident.  Additionally, car accidents in the roundabout present unique legal challenges.  There are many local personal injury law firms throughout Long Beach, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, and Newport Beach that can help.  Contact a lawyer right away to protect your statute of limitations, and ensure that you receive full justice for your claims.  Don’t let an insurance company lowball your demand for reimbursement of medical expenses, lost wages, or pain and suffering.

The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this post, or website, should be taken as legal advice for any individual or case situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.  If you have lost a loved one or have pain and suffering from a personal injury, we are available to assist.  For more information visit our wrongful death page, and car accidents page. For a free consultation, please reach out to our attorneys to arrange a time to discuss your case.  All you have to do is hit the big blue button labeled Contact Us at the top of this page!