SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- The radio call comes in: "West 8, just east of 5. Looks like we got three or four cars blocking lanes..."
10News Anchor Jim Patton is on the road with California Highway Patrol Officer Marc Hale on the Fourth of July.
They're cruising near beach areas where the accidents are as predictable as the crowds - especially along freeway zones where many drivers are trying to merge toward the same area.
"Westbound 5 freeway, east of the 5 interchange, there's going to be a lot of traffic," says Officer Hale, "And we've already had I think five or six accidents in the last couple of hours."
At that point, it was only mid-day.
Officer Hale says some of the keys to safe driving are:
- Don't tailgate
- Look ahead for changing conditions like slowing traffic
- No matter the posted speed limit, it's never legal to go faster than what is safe
