OFF THE WIRE
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jul/25/worst-roads-for-motorcycles/
Worst roads for motorcycles
By Robert J. Hawkins 4:32 p.m., July 26, 2011
Statistically speaking, if you are a motorcyclist, the one place you don’t want to be at 5 p.m. on a Saturday in October is the intersection of state Route 76 and Palomar Mountain Road in North County.
There were 26 motorcycle accidents there in 2009, according to the latest available statistics.
That makes the intersection of Route 76 and Palomar Mountain Road — also known as South Grade Road — far and away the worst motorcycle spot in the county, according to data culled from the state Department of Transportation and the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
Countywide the data revealed that more motorcycle accidents occur in October (124), than any other month; more occur on Saturdays (206) and more occur at 5 p.m. (140).
Tied for second were two intersections: Otay Lakes Road at state Route 94 in Jamul; and state Route 78 at Wynola Road in Julian, with 16 accidents each.
Consider that the two worst intersections for motorcycle accidents in the Los Angeles area recorded 11 crashes each. The two worst in San Francisco logged nine crashes each. And in Sacramento, five intersections counted five crashes each.
Other hot spots for motorcycle crashes in the county in 2009 were:
Seven crashes each: Chihuahua Valley Road at state Route 79 north of Julian; Magnolia Avenue at Route 78 in Ramona; Otay Lakes Road at Wueste Road near Eastlake; Interstate 5 at Route 76 in Oceaside; Interstate 5 at Route 78 in Oceanside; and state Route 52 at Interstate 805 in San Diego.
Six crashes each: Alturas Road at Ammunition Drive in Fallbrook: East Grade Road at Route 76 west of Lake Henshaw; Engineers Road at Route 79 by Lake Cuyamaca; Oceanside Boulevard at I-5 in Oceanside; Old Julian Highway at Route 78 in Julian; state Route 15 at state Route 94 in San Diego; and I-5 at Interstate 8 in Mission Valley.
Those statistics only include streets and highways maintained by Caltrans, and not all surface streets.
Reasons for the high number of crashes at the foot of Palomar Mountain are unclear. Going back to 2003, the area has recorded 23 to 26 motorcycle mishaps a year.
Perhaps the 20 hairpin turns on the mountain road over a seven-mile stretch have something to do with it. In general, most motorcycle crashes are attributed to one of several factors: driving too fast, making an improper turn or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to the Irvine-based Motorcycle Safety Foundation.
Allstate Insurance collected and publicized the motorcycle data as part of a nationwide campaign to raise awareness among all drivers and to increase the cautionary instincts of motorcycle riders.
The company has compiled motorcycle statistics for four major California population centers — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego, as well as 21 other cities nationwide.
As with other regions, Allstate is posting Caltrans-approved motorcycle caution signs here. The yellow diamond with a silhouette of a motorcyclist and the word “LOOK” just went up at the intersection of Hacienda Drive and Melrose Drive in Vista.
In 2009, there were 1,144 motorcycle crashes in San Diego County of which 1,022 resulted in injury. That year, 36 riders were killed in crashes. Statewide, there were 372 motorcycle fatalities while nationwide, there were 4,222.
Of all those crashes in the county, slightly more than half (584) were solo cycle crashes. Among fatalities in the county, 10 did not involve another vehicle.
Most motorcycle crashes (991) did not take place at intersections. Nine fatalities occurred at intersections; 27 did not.
While October had the most motorcycle crashes in the county, it also had the most fatalities: six. August and September accounted for five fatalities each.
