Posted on 04/15/2017 12:17:16 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Traffic crashes on Highway 17 rose a staggering 34 percent last year to the highest level in at least 13 years, prompting the CHP to step up patrols on the scenic but treacherous road that serves as the primary link for thousands of commuters between Santa Cruz and the South Bay.
The 983 collisions in 2016 came during a winter of heavy rains and reduced enforcement, producing the highest tally since an intensive safety campaign kicked off in 2003 and the California Highway Patrol started tracking annual crashes, injuries and fatalities. And they were far higher than the 664 tallied in 2015.
“It’s not looking too good,” said Ginger Dykaar of the Safe on 17 committee, a coalition of three dozen traffic officials, police, firefighters and elected officials from Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties that has pushed for safety upgrades for nearly two decades. “We need to come up with solutions.” And fast.
Enter the CHP, which has six more officers who have just completed training and a couple ready to roll on 17 and adjacent routes. Since 2015, the CHP has had as few as two troopers working the four-lane highway from Scotts Valley to Los Gatos, though a half dozen had patrolled it before.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
A very curvy road, not particularly well banked on turns, in an area that often sees a lot of rain. Especially lately, of course. That concrete barrier you see in the pix is a fairly recent install. For 60+ years that road was high-speed curvy freeway with nothing between the traffic directions. I’ve driven that road a fair number of times in the 45 years I’ve lived in CA; it’s one of those things where when you think about how many completely brain-dead people are in/come to CA and then add in one’s growing sense of risk aversion as one ages, it something I don’t do any more. One texting idiot will obliterate your whole day on that road.
On every road, I see many people driving like complete idiots, weaving in and out, and tailgating.
If a cop had a good unmarked car, and sat in the slow lane going the speed limit, he could take his pick of outrageous offenders. The unmarked cars they use now are much too obvious. What they need is something like blue Lexus with out-of-state plates.
9 minutes from Los Gatos to Fishhook in 1967 ... in my dads olds. Couldn’t beat that in my Corvette in later years. Should have been killed on that road many times.
I hear you. Same here, a nasty road before they installed the center barriers. Less traffic in the old days made for a lot of speeders losing control. Now it's jammed with a lot of traffic. About 15 years ago one of my daughters commuted between her apartment in Santa Cruz, to San Jose every day on that road and I feared for her life until she moved a few years later to be closer to her job. Nasty road.
A bureaucratic solution to the problem would be to re-number portions of the highway. If done properly, that would cut the number of collisions on Highway 17.
I think something similar was done to cut the high number of deaths on U.S. Highway 666. Now, the wrecks have dropped to zero. Be careful on U.S. Highway 491, however.
I used to drive that death trap regularly. There’s always one hotshot in a sports car who thinks he’s in a commercial trying to negotiate those turns way too fast.
I remember getting honked at in California because I was 10 feet from the car in front of me, and we were traveling 70 MPH. Much closer than my comfort zone but I was at least trying to keep up with traffic. 8>) But not to the satisfaction of the person behind me that I could clearly see in my rear view mirror.
What a bunch of sissies.
You think it’s bad now, you should have driven it back in the 50’s and 60’s before they put the dividers in and widened it.
I kept trying to get my ‘57 Pontiac convertible to do a drift. Damned front end kept scrubbing out and I didn’t have enough power to bring the rear around.
Those were the days.
When I lived in that area it seemed like one often heard of accidents on Route 17 involving drunk people coming back from the beach.
I still drive it 4-5 days a week. Been driving that hill since 1976. In the past, I drove it twice a day and occasionally 3 times a day.
I'm finally starting to drive a little slower on 17 but doing the speed limit is not easy.
“...doing the speed limit is not easy.”
*****************************************
Unless you don’t mind being run over -— even in the “slow” lane.
Unmarked cars are not legal for traffic enforcement in CA.
New 80’s Ford company car, driving back from SC and the V6 crankshaft broke. As I was later informed.
Coming down that bobsled run with no engine and no power breaks or steering, late afternoon traffic and nowhere to go. Wrestled it down to Los Gatos somehow,found a pay phone and called the leasing company. Walked back to the Black Cat (is it still there?) and had myself a drink. Used up one of my lucky stars that day. New replacement car showed up a couple of hours later. Guy from the leasing company paid my tab.
Just a treacherous piece of road.
Texting and driving.
My former coworker son was studying at Santa Cruz. He came up to visit his family in the East Bay. Then he left one evening because he had class. Returning, he swerved and went to the side and hit a tree. The impact killed him instantly. Police believes he either swerved to let another car pass or was broadsided by another car
At his burial, the mother scream out “I HATE YOU 17!!! I HATE YOU. YOU TOOK MY SON”. God that was so painful to watch.
17 was always a challenge...particularly with the old cars that had drum brakes.
There were many times I made the final curve at SC to head south on 1 when I was trailing more smoke than a diesel and had no pedal left. Metallic linings later took care of that problem.
(1) Drink coffee beforehand to be fully awake.
(2) Enter the race.
(3) Concentrate on the driving and nothing else.
(4) Try to finish in the middle of the pack.
Wow, you beat my time.
Hwy 17 on the East coast ain’t much better.
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