The slew of vehicle-related deaths and collisions that have recently occurred in the Santa Clarita Valley has prompted the city and the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station to team up and launch a safety campaign aimed at local drivers. The safety campaign will consist of changes to traffic engineering as an increased focus by law enforcement officers in the area. Also, officials will be providing a significant amount of information regarding the perils of distracted and/or reckless driving.
Over the past year, Santa Clarita has seen an increase in traffic collisions due to poor driving. Collisions that result from speeding, following too closely, making unsafe lane changes, etc. can often be avoided simply by paying attention when one is driving and following the rules and regulations of the road. It can be annoying to get a ticket for not signaling before a lane change, or for failing to yield, but there’s a reason these laws exist – and it isn’t to fill the city’s coffers with the penalty fees.
Some have argued that the area has been over-developed; there are too many residential properties and not enough roads to support them. It can be difficult not to follow too closely when every time a driver tries to create space between themselves and the car in front of them, another driver (without signaling) swerves into the space. Additionally, heavy traffic influence drivers to take unnecessary chances when a light is about to change in an effort to get to their destination that much quicker.
The traffic engineering projects proposed by the city are designed to help alleviate some of the headache of driving during peak traffic periods. These projects, combined with Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station deputies’ increased enforcement of traffic laws along major roads should help reduce the number of collisions throughout the city. Ultimately, though, it’s going to depend on being a responsible driver, following the laws and avoiding distraction while at the wheel.
