STOPLIGHTS NOT CUTTING COLLISIONS; T.O. CORNER HIT WITH 2 IN OCTOBER.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

The signals installed at Erbes Road and Avenida de las Flores on Aug. 5 were meant to regulate the traffic flow on those streets and make the intersection safer.

But in the month of October alone, two spectacular collisions have killed one Thousand Oaks woman, caused injuries to several other local residents and shaken up a quiet community blocks from Los Cerritos Middle School.

``There used to be a stop sign there. Maybe people see a green signal now and just go without looking carefully, I don't know,'' said Eleanor Kennington, a 14-year Olivewood Drive resident who uses the intersection to get between her home and the downtown area.

On Monday evening, Thousand Oaks residents Anna Cusworth and Marie Thaler suffered minor injuries when they collided in the intersection shortly before 6 p.m. after darkness fell.

Thaler, 55, was driving south on Erbes Road on a green light when 17-year-old Cusworth tried to make a left turn, collided with the oncoming car and rolled, said Sgt. Claude Robillard, traffic supervisor with the Thousand Oaks Police Department.

``It was more spectacular than bad,'' Robillard said. ``The drivers sustained some minor injury, but they're OK.

``A driver making a left turn, failing to yield the right of way - it's one of the most common reasons for these accidents.''

Just weeks ago, an 86-year-old Thousand Oaks woman riding in her daughter's car was killed when the car collided with a truck.

In that case, Robillard said, the car went through a red light. The truck driver, assuming the car would stop, also proceeded into the intersection, and the vehicles collided.

No data were available Tuesday on the total number of collisions reported at the intersection since the traffic signals were installed in August. But Robillard said there is typically an increase for a while after a signal goes in.

``It's a common thing that occurs,'' he said. ``Local drivers who use the intersection every day may be used to stop signs and don't realize or respond to a red light.''

The city typically installs a total of five traffic signals each year. Rarely will it put in more because of the cost - about $100,000 for a four-way intersection.

The top five intersections are selected by the city Traffic Department and approved by the City Council based on traffic volume, the number of collisions reported and the number of pedestrians who typically use an area.

The intersection of Erbes Road and La Granada Drive got its traffic signals March 14, 1996, and has since earned a reputation among some neighbors and Meadows Elementary School parents as a dangerous crossroads.

Robillard said that in 1997 the Police Department took 12 collision reports at the intersection, eight of which were premature left turns. Altogether there were 30 calls for service, some of which might have been minor incidents or false alarms.

``A lot of it has to do with the development along Westlake and Arboles,'' he said. ``We are seeing a lot more traffic on Erbes Road now.''

As traffic flows increase on residential and arterial roadways, stop signs are installed. And if traffic continues to grow, then the city considers putting in signals.

But traffic lights can do only so much.

``There's the old saying that every road is safe until you put drivers on it,'' said Don Nelson, the city's public works director. ``A traffic signal is intended to assign right of way, but it does not compensate for driver error or inattention.''

The two intersections on Erbes Road are among about 80 or 90 equipped with traffic signals in the city, and the collision rates typically increase with the amount of traffic.