SAN DIEGO -- Just because driving to work and back is part of your every day routine, doesn’t mean it’s free from risk.
According to Circulate San Diego, one person is seriously injured driving, walking or bicycling in San Diego every day.
If it happens to you, the sights and sounds are hard to forget.
"I got T-boned. It just really happened so quickly,” said one San Diego resident.
Police say the more people that are on the roads, the more likely you are to be involved in some type of crash.
"Today’s society is in a rush fashion,” said San Diego Police Officer Emilio Ramirez, who has been with the department for more than a decade. He’s an expert in how people behave behind the wheel and reasons for vehicle crashes.
"Speeding, unsafe movements to the left or right, and just failure to be aware of another driver on the roadway."
There’s no surefire way to avoid a collision, but Ramirez believes if motorists give themselves extra time to get to their destination, the odds of avoidance increase.
"You have people who are getting from point A to point B in the most expedient fashion,” he said.
San Diego – Vision Zero Goals
Vision Zero is a strategy adopted by the City of San Diego last fall to reach zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries in San Diego by 2025.
According to Circulate San Diego, on average, three people are hit by cars while walking or bicycling daily.
Fifty-four people died on the road last year, a 17 percent increase from 2014.
"Almost twice as many people are dying in traffic violence than by homicide,” said Circulate San Diego Executive Director Jim Stone.
Stone says national trends show driving and walking deaths are decreasing, but in San Diego the numbers are going up.
"We saw an increase of serious injuries of pedestrians -- a 42 percent rise,” he said. “We’re just going in the wrong direction".
They’ve identified eight corridors as having the highest concentrations of serious collisions.
"We want to bring the speeds down,” said Stone. “We want to educate people and just basically change not only the street design, but people's behavior."
Can you avoid a crash?
According to the 2014 Motor Vehicle Crash Data compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the number one time frame for crashes across the country was between 3 and 6 p.m. The numbers also showed more crashes happened on Friday than any other day of the week.
Team 10 found that those numbers hold true for San Diego County as well. According to the numbers, if you leave your home or work one-hour earlier or later, your odds of being in a crash decrease.
Day of the week - Friday
Morning commute - 7-8 a.m.
Evening commute - 5-6 p.m.
Top Type of Crashes:
Broadside
Rear-end
Primary Roads Where Collisions Happen:
University Avenue
El Cajon Boulevard
Genesee Avenue
Lighting:
Daylight
Dark/Street Lights
