Why is this important?
Traffic safety is important to overall community
safety. The collection and monitoring of traffic
collision data helps evaluate the success of
traffic law enforcement and traffic-safety
related street and intersection improvements.
In our rural area, we have narrow, winding
roadways with limited visibility. This makes
traffic safety especially challenging.
What is the measure?
Motor vehicle injury and fatality rates were
used to measure traffic safety.
How are we doing?
Referencing year 2005 statistics, our injury
rate from motor vehicle collisions is 26% above
the state average. However, the fatality rate
is over 300% higher than the state’s
fatality rate.
Over the past five years, reportable* traffic
collision rates fell an average of 3.7%. Of
the total reportable collisions, fatal collisions
fell almost 4%, with an average 11.5% reduction
in the number of fatal victims. There was an
approximate 7.5% reduction in the number of
injury collisions.
As part of an on-going effort to reduce the
number of reportable traffic collisions, injuries,
and deaths, the CHP Sonora Area and the Sonora
Police Department participate in traffic law
enforcement grant projects established through
the state’s Office of Traffic Safety
(OTS). These grant projects provide funding
for overtime hours to augment traffic law enforcement
within each agency’s jurisdiction.
Additionally, CHP Sonora recently was awarded
an OTS corridor safety grant which specifically
provides overtime funding for traffic law enforcement.
The grant is directed at reducing the reportable
collision rates along the targeted 59-mile
section of the SR-108/120/49 corridor from
the Stanislaus County line east to Pinecrest
Lake Road.
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