FATAL TRAFFIC CRASHES DIP DURING 1996 : A.V. SEES 17% DROP IN DEATHS, 61% INCREASE IN DRUNK CASES.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

Traffic fatalities dropped 17 percent in the Antelope Valley last year compared to the year before, although traffic overall increased, Los Angeles County Sheriff's and California Highway Patrol statistics show.

A total of 65 people died in 1996, down from 76 in 1995 - when the valley saw an unusually high number of crashes that killed several people, setting a record for fatalities in Palmdale.

``1995 was a bad year for us,'' said Deputy Mike Rice of the Palmdale Traffic Division. ``We had two accidents where four lost their lives and several other multifatal collisions. It was very unusual.''

Crashes and collisions overall totaled 4,437 during 1996 in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale - patrolled by sheriff's deputies - and the unincorporated communities and on the Antelope Valley Freeway - patrolled by the CHP. That is up 6 percent from the year before.

In Palmdale, the number of traffic deaths dropped from 26 in 1995 to 10 in 1996, which deputies said is a typical annual figure, although the overall number of traffic collisions increased 27 percent.

There were 529 injury crashes and 868 noninjury crashes reported in Palmdale in 1996, up from 454 injury crashes and 645 noninjury crashes in 1995.

Crashes linked to drunk driving shot up 61 percent, from 26 reported in 1995 to 42 last year.

To combat the increase, the city added a patrol car primarily focused on traffic law enforcement, and deputies have been increasing their visibility and writing more traffic tickets. Deputies issued 3,800 more citations in 1996 than the previous year in Palmdale.

``It's definitely had an impact,'' said Deputy Mike Redding. ``We're trying to get the message out that they (motorists) need to pay attention to their driving.''

In Lancaster, fatalities jumped from 12 in 1995 to 19 in 1996.

Oddly, deputies said, six of the 1996 fatalities were pedestrians, whereas most years see one pedestrian killed. Of the six, four were people pushing shopping carts at night.

``It's not one of those things you can explain,'' Deputy David Davidson said. ``It's just one of those things that happens.''

Injury crashes in Lancaster increased 5.2 percent to 710, noninjury crashes decreased 2 percent to 1,257, and drunk-driving crashes increased 25 percent to 40.

On the Antelope Valley Freeway and in unincorporated communities, injury crashes dropped 11 percent from 519 to 462 and fatalities from 38 to 35.

Noninjury crashes increased slightly from 544 to 548 and drunk-driving crashes from 91 to 94.

Local CHP officers issued nearly 21 percent fewer tickets for hazardous violations last year than in the previous year - dropping from 17,604 to 13,942.

``We're not a numbers department anymore,'' said CHP Officer Scott Weldy. ``We're working on more preventative measures through education.''

DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS:

Antelope Valley's most crash-prone intersections:

PALMDALE

25th Street East and Avenue S

47th Street East and Palmdale Boulevard

47th Street East and Palmdale Boulevard

10th Street West and Avenue P

LANCASTER

4th Street East and Avenue L

30th Street West and Avenue K

CHP JURISDICTIONS

Bouquet Canyon Road and Elizabeth Lake Road

90th Street West and Avenue J

60th Street West and Avenue E

30th Street East and Avenue G

55th Street East and Avenue M-8

TRAFFIC FATALATIES DROP IN THE ANTELOPE VALLEY

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol officials say local traffic deaths dropped from 1995 to 1996.

ACCIDENTS 1996 1995

Fatal 63 63

Total deaths 65 76

Injury 1,701 1,648

Non-injury 2,673 2,467

DUI-related 176 149

Hazardous citations 38,317 40,177

CHP-AREA 1996 1995

Fatal 35 33

Total deaths 35 38

Injury 462 519

Non-injury 548 544

DUI-related 94 91

Hazardous citations 13,942 17,604

PALMDALE 1996 1995

Fatal 9 18

Total deaths 10 26

Injury 529 454

Non-injury 868 645

DUI related 42 26

Hazardous citations 11,797 8,874

LANCASTER 1996 1995

Fatal 19 12

Total deaths 20 12

Injury 710 675

Non-injury 1,257 1,278

DUI related 40 32

Hazardous citations 12,578 13,699

CAPTION(S):

Box, Chart

Box: DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS (see text)

Chart: TRAFFIC FATALITIES DROP IN THE ANTELOPE VALLEY