Source: San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.倉Dec. 30--SAN BERNARDINO -- A surge in fatal traffic accidents since the beginning of the holiday season is already triple the number from the same period last year, but police don't see any commonality between the crashes."Since Nov. 12, we've had six (fatal crashes) plus two other collisions that the traffic unit is working where people are critical but still stable," said police traffic Sgt. Vicki Cervantes.By contrast, there were two fatal collisions in December 2012, and none in November, on the way to 11 total that year. So far, this year has seen 18, Cervantes said.Out of the most recent six, three people ran a red light, two made an unsafe turning movement and only one is confirmed to be a drunken driver, she said."There's no common anything on these," she said. "I don't know if people are just late and hurrying."Over the course of the year, eight of the 18 fatal crashes had been vehicles hitting pedestrians, often because people are walking in the street at night with dark clothing, Cervantes said.People should be careful and look out for others who might not be driving well, she advised."Obviously, drive safely and be a defensive driver as well," she said. "You just don't know if somebody else is going to make a mistake, and the more we can avoid that the better for all of us."Police have been aggressive about enforcing traffic laws throughout the year, of24小時迷你倉en with grant money from the California Office of Traffic Safety.The next crackdown is a saturation patrol for drunken drivers planned for areas with high rates of DUI collisions or arrests from 6 p.m. New Year's Eve to 2 a.m. Wednesday."We want to save lives by reducing the number of traffic collisions caused by impaired drivers," Interim Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said in a news release. "This is a 'Zero Tolerance' crackdown so Drive Sober or Get pulled Over!"The pain and suffering of those immediately affected isn't the only cost -- a fatality has a $1.4 million impact, an injury $70,000, and a crash that only damages property averages nearly $9,000, according to the release.Statewide, the most recent statistics are from 2011, which showed the lowest number of fatal collisions -- 2,628 -- since 1935, according to the California Highway Patrol. That year, San Bernardino recorded 19 of the county's 209 fatal crashes, according to the CHP."California's roadways are very much safer today than they were just a few years ago," Burguan said. "The San Bernardino Police Department will be keeping the pressure on through enforcement and public awareness so that we can continue saving lives and prevent injuries."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.) Visit the San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.) at .sbsun.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉旺角
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