Placentia Car Accidents Reduced by Police Efforts to Reduce Drunk Drivers

As many Placentia car accident attorneys acknowledge, car collisions are simply a fact of life in the city. With a population of nearly 52,000, Placentia in Orange County, California is not unlike most cities in Orange County. Traffic congestion swells during rush hour as daily commuters jam onto the 91 and 57 Freeways. On weekends, drunk drivers leave bars and nightclubs, playing roulette with their lives and the lives of others.

Between 2001 and 2003, six fatal car accidents occurred in Placentia according to reports gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. At 1.3 fatal car crashes per 10,000 people, this was lower than the national norm.

Car accident statistics reported by the California Highway Patrol's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) showed that in 2006, two people were killed and 164 people were personally injured in Placentia car crashes. Pedestrian car accidents killed one and injured 13. Bicycle accidents killed one and injured 11. Motorcycle accidents injured six. DUI crashes caused 13 injuries. Any car accident lawyer will tell you that this is typical in a city the size of Placentia.

On an upbeat note, from 2007 to 2008, higher gas prices may have contributed to a 9 percent reduction in car accident fatalities countywide, according to California Highway Patrol. In 2008, 59 people died in 51 car collisions, compared to 65 deaths in 58 car crashes in 2007. Surface street car collisions killed 79 people in 2008, compared to 128 in 2007. California saw a 23 percent drop in highway deaths--1,349 people died in 1,219 fatal car collisions in 2008, while 1,749 people died in 1,529 car crashes in 2007.

In an effort to reduce the number of car collisions in Placentia, the Placentia Police Department conducted a DUI and Driver's License Checkpoint on May 1, 2009 from 6 p.m. to midnight in the 600 block of West Chapman Avenue. According to Police, a recent study showed that five percent of Placentia collisions during 2008 involved drivers without proper licenses and 8.5 percent involved drivers who had been drinking or were under the influence.

The goal of these sobriety checkpoints is to identify and/or remove traffic violators and drunk drivers from Placentia streets. Roving DUI patrols and checkpoints also serve to educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving, and to encourage the use of sober designated drivers.

Placentia car crash lawyers have long felt that taking appropriate steps to get impaired drivers off Placentia streets can save lives and prevent injuries. Many of their clients have suffered needlessly as a result of negligent or irresponsible motorists who drink and drive.