Dip In Bay Bridge Accidents After California Highway Patrol Crackdown

California car accident lawyers have been bringing attention to the new S-curve on the Bay Bridge that has been an accident magnet for the last couple of months. Several accidents have occurred here. While most of these were not serious, a few have caused injuries and at least one accident has resulted in a fatality.

At least one motorcyclist suffered leg injuries when he rear ended another vehicle last month. On the 9th of November, a truck driver was killed when his rig crashed and fell 200 feet. The trucker Tahir Fakhar, was allegedly traveling at 50mph in a 40mph zone, and was negotiating the curve when he lost control of his truck.

That accident was the tipping point. After the tragic crash, Caltrans announced that it would speed up the process of installing warning signs asking motorists to slow down and warning them about an S-curve ahead. Other safety enhancements have also been made. Caltrans has installed reflecting lane striping. Reflector stripes on barriers at the curve have also been painted. According to Caltrans, an anti slip product called Tire Grip has also be added to the steel joints connecting the S-curve to the bridge.

On November 13th, the California Highway Patrol also began strongly enforcing the reduced speed limit on the curve, handing out citations to close to 900 motorists. Dozens of commercial truck drivers were also cited for failing to drop their speeds to 40mph when they entered the S-curve. Increased enforcement of speed limits on the curve has also helped the California Highway Patrol crack down on 34 drunk drivers who were driving on the bridge, posing a potential danger to other motorists on the busy bridge.

These measures have contributed to a drastic drop in the number of accidents on the S-curve. The accident rate on the curve, according to San Francisco Examiner, has dropped from approximately 1 accident per day to 2 accidents per week. There have been 60 accidents on the S curve from the 8th of September to the 12th of November. After strong enforcement of speed limits began on 13th of November, the rate dropped to just 4 accidents until last Sunday.

Problems with the Bay Bridge surfaced just before the Labor Day weekend when officials noticed a safety issue. A hasty repair job was performed over the Labor Day holiday. But just a few weeks later, pieces of construction debris from that repair job fell on to the upper deck of the bridge. Considering that it was rush hour, it was extremely fortunate that no motorists sustained serious injuries. The bridge was temporarily closed to the public after that frightening incident.

Safety on the Bay Bridge has been a matter of concern to California personal injury lawyers. The bridge sees huge volumes of traffic, but is aging rapidly. Bridge safety experts around the country have been warning that there are many more such bridges nationwide that are beginning to show signs of safety problems.