Fair Oaks Area Intersection Makes Sacramento County's Most Dangerous List

The number of deadly car crashes in California is at its lowest point since 1944, but 2,715 people still died in automobile accidents last year in this state, officials say. That’s an average of more than seven deaths a day.

Local authorities say distracted drivers–those texting and chatting on cell phones, reading the newspaper or applying makeup–are a growing cause of accidents.

“It’s more and more common,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Adrian Quintero, a spokesman. “It’s a huge concern for us.”

That concern is balanced by numbers showing that between 2005 and 2009, the most recent year the state’s Office of Traffic Safety has complete statistics, the state’s roads have become safer.  

But that doesn’t mean the CHP, which patrols freeways statewide and surface streets in the unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, can relax. The agency plans this month to launch another targeted enforcement campaign against distracted drivers, Quintero said.

The CHP also focuses on problem intersections and responds to complaints from residents, which are forwarded to the officers on duty, he said.

In the Fair Oaks area, the intersection with the most traffic accidents in 2009 was at Greenback Lane and Hazel Avenue.

Right on the cusp of Fair Oaks and Orangevale, accidents occurring at the intersection made up for nine of the 122 accidents in Sacramento County, or about 7 percent.

Lynne Parker, a bartender at Regan's Irish Pub, says she's seen at least seven accidents at the intersection since she started working at the bar five years ago.

"You'll see people running red lights," Parker said. "Everyone's always on the look out for the next one."

Click here to see an interactive map with the Sacramento County intersections that had the most accidents in 2009.