STREETS MORE DANGEROUS CRASHES UP AS DEVELOPMENT ADDS TRAFFIC.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - As the city's population increases with each new housing development, traffic congestion also is on the rise, causing tempers to flare and drivers to risk their lives to make it through jammed intersections, officials say.

Traffic collisions in the city have increased 36 percent this year compared with the same period last year, and officials say increased congestion and careless drivers primarily are to blame.

``People are trying to cram more things into their day by turning their cars into minioffices or minihomes,'' said Sgt. Clint Bowers, head of the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station traffic unit. ``They're shaving, they're on the phone, they're combing their hair and they're not paying attention to what's going on around them.''

There were 867 crashes from January through May of this year, compared with 636 crashes during the same period last year, Bowers said. He added that more than 1,000 collisions go unreported each year because no injuries were involved.

Because most crashes occur as a result of left-turn violations, not excessive speed, Bowers said he has positioned motorcycle deputies at problem intersections to step up enforcement of right-of-way violations. The most dangerous intersection in the city is Soledad Canyon Road and Luther Drive, followed by Bouquet Canyon and Newhall Ranch roads, Sand Canyon and Soledad Canyon roads, Del Monte Drive and McBean Parkway, and Lyons Avenue and Orchard Village Road, he said.

``Most of these intersections have left-turn signals that cycle from the green arrow to green,'' Bowers said. ``A lot of drivers tell us that the last thing they remember they had a green arrow.''

While the number of alcohol-related collisions has decreased slightly since last year, from 56 to 48, he said the number of drunk driving arrests has decreased sharply, from 321 to 171.

The discrepancy is the result of the station's recent loss of several highly skilled traffic deputies who aggressively enforced drunk driving laws, Bowers said.

Meanwhile, youth traffic safety programs are apparently having an effect on teen-agers in the city, said Deputy Mike Shapiro, noting that juvenile drunk driving arrests and collisions have decreased this year.

This fall, Shapiro said he will establish a revised Drive Safe Program in area high schools with the help of a trauma nurse from Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. The two will present a slide show and graphic description of exactly what happens to people involved in car crashes.

The Every 15 Minutes Program, which involves a dramatic re-enactment of a fatal car crash, also has helped to make teens more aware of the dangers of reckless driving, Shapiro said.

``I think our programs are working,'' he said. ``A lot of fatals that involve teens occur because they're inexperienced and they don't think anything's going to happen to them.''

All five of the traffic fatalities in the city last year involved teen-age drivers, Bowers said, while three teens have been killed on city streets so far this year. However, two were pedestrians and one was hit by a drunk driver, he said.

Under a mandate from the California Highway Patrol, the sheriff's station began monitoring the role of cell phones in car collisions about a month ago.

While it's too early to say whether cell phone use causes car collisions, Bowers said he has witnessed cell phone users drive recklessly.

``They're either driving too slow or they're driving too fast and drifting across lanes,'' he said. ``I think it's a very prevalent problem.''

As traffic congestion increases in the city, Bowers said, traffic collisions will inevitably rise. However, he said drivers can prevent the vast majority of crashes simply by paying attention.

``If you're paying close attention, you can be prepared for a lot of things before they happen,'' he said. ``About 90 percent of our crashes are caused by some sort of inattention or distraction.''