SANTA CRUZ – With the fog and recent rain in Santa Cruz, the California Highway Patrol has its eye on one hot spot for traffic collisions.
Highway 17, a major artery between Santa Cruz County and the bay area, is a curvy, mountain road with a concrete median and little to no shoulders.
That's why crashes are frequent, especially with the on-and-off rain, CHP said.
"When there's water on the road and it's stopped raining, we'll see even more calls for collisions on this particular highway, because even though the roads are wet, people will speed back up to that speed limit," said Sarah Jackson, CHP officer.
In fact, CHP said the weather may have played a role in a fatal crash back in March near Laurel Road.
CHP said a man was heading southbound when he lost control, slammed into a car heading the other direction, and died.
Following the crash, Cal-Trans added a bunch of improvements, including the concrete median barrier and high-friction pavement.
But even with the improvements, CHP said it's the highway and road themselves that can make for dangerous conditions.
"There are deer and mountain lions on Highway 17," Officer Jackson said. "There are so many things that even if you are familiar with the roadway, and you drive it multiple times a day, you still need to remain alert."
CHP said the rain and fog are less-than-ideal road conditions, which means drivers need to go slower than the posted speed limit.
2011 was the first year, since the CHP has been keeping record, there were not any fatalities on Highway 17.
Over the last 10 years, the number of injuries and fatalities on the highway dropped by almost half.
