SACRAMENTO – Motorists traveling at an unsafe speed is consistently found to be the No. 1 primary collision factor (PCF) in injury collisions in California; it is among the top three PCFs when it comes to fatal collisions.

“Speed is one of the most prevalent factors when it comes to fatal and injury collisions, which is a significant public safety concern,” said California Highway Patrol (CHP) Commissioner Joe Farrow. “The CHP primarily exists to save lives and we’re committed to reducing the number of people killed and injured annually in California.”

To help slow the pace of the number of speed-related collisions, the CHP is conducting an enforcement project statewide.

In 2009, the most recent year for which finalized data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System is available, speed was indicated as the primary collision factor in roughly 30 percent of all crashes in the state; that year there were 423 fatal collisions in addition to the 47,869 injury crashes due to unsafe speed.

Through the federal grant-funded “Comprehensive Approach to Reducing Speed III Project” (CARS III), the CHP will focus on reducing the number of victims killed and injured in speed-caused collisions along state highways and county roads.

The CARS III project also places special emphasis on reducing the number of motorcyclists injured and killed in speed-related collisions.

Throughout the effort, specific attention will be paid to 15 state highways which have a high rate of fatal, speed-related collisions, including: Interstate 5, state Route 299, Interstate 15, state Route 99, Interstate 10, state Route 1, Interstate 80, state Route 60, Interstate 710, U.S. Route 101, Interstate 405, U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 880.

“Speed-related collisions are the result of poor decision making on the part of the driver,” added Commissioner Farrow. “Hopefully, with an aggressive enforcement effort, the mere presence of a patrol vehicle will encourage motorists to slow to a safe, legal speed – those that don’t will pay the price.”

Funding for the CARS III project is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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