Local motorists already know how busy the most popular routes through Modesto can get. There are frequent traffic jams on Yosemite Boulevard/Hwy 132 and McHenry Avenue. Local traffic and Central Valley travelers from everywhere else all merge onto Highway 99 to make it a nightmare for drivers.
Motorists make plans to avoid these busy thoroughfares, but they won’t find routes to get away from careless and reckless drivers. Drivers start looking at their phones or pressing the gas a little too hard and end up causing devastating crashes for everyone else.
To get a sense of the scope of Modesto traffic dangers, it’s helpful to go back a few years and look at where accident numbers have been and where they are currently. In 2022, Maison Law commissioned a study of several key traffic dangers and how often they are placing Modesto drivers at risk.
Modesto Traffic Accident Hazards in 2022
Modesto has a population of over 400,000 people and for a city that size it has more than its fair share of traffic accidents. The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) recently ranked Modesto the third most dangerous city in the state for traffic accidents involving injuries and fatalities. These rankings factor in the number of residents for each city involved.
The OTS also ranked Modesto highly on a few other negative lists:
- 5th most dangerous California city for accidents involving speeding.
- 5th for hit-and-run accidents.
California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) helps monitor the number of traffic accidents across the state each year. With help from the California Highway Patrol, they keep a running account of traffic collisions across Stanislaus County.
Modesto has seen a steady rate of traffic accidents involving injury over the past five years. Despite a small dip in 2020 when a pandemic greatly slowed roadway use, accident numbers have averaged around 1,400 incidents a year since 2018. The trend back up to pre-pandemic numbers continued in 2022 when 1,450 accidents involving serious injury were documented. Now that we have flipped the calendar to 2024 we await official 2023 accident numbers to see if the troubling upward trend continued.
In the worst accidents in and around Modesto, lives can be lost and families devastated. 2020 and 2021 showed fatality rates on the rise. 2022 claimed 16 lives in traffic collisions and that’s still way too many to feel we’ve made any strides as a city.
National Car Accident Numbers for 2021 and 2022
Modesto’s roadway dangers were reflected in accident numbers nationally. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that a shocking 42,795 people died in traffic accidents in 2022 across the United States. That’s just slightly lower than 2021 figures but 2021 also posted the highest fatality total since 2005.
Other categories of accident data also showed regrettable increases in recent years. Car crash fatalities for seniors shot up in 2021. Deaths among victims 65 years and older were up 14% in 2021. Fatal accidents involving pedestrians rose by 13%. Fatal accidents involving large trucks rose 13%.
California’s annual roadway fatality rates rose from 2021 to 2022. 2022 tragically claimed 4,166 lives, that was slightly above 2021’s 4,161 death count. These figures come from TIMS yearly statewide summary.
Dangerous Intersections for Motorists in Modesto
Commuters and those out running errands probably already try to avoid some of the busiest intersections and stretches of highway across Modesto. It’s not always possible to miss these major crossroads and the clueless drivers who make them so dangerous.
In a glance at Modesto accident hotspots in 2020, these intersections stood out as some of the most frequent places for crashes. The accident figures mapped by TIMS include collisions in and around each intersection.
Highway 99 takes people up and down the Central Valley, but that convenience comes at a cost to driver safety. It’s well known as one of the most dangerous highways in all of California.
The stretch that passes along Modesto’s western edge sees a constant stream of swaying big rigs, packs of speeding cars, and distracted drivers. The TIMS data for Highway 99 accidents in 2022 shows that it’s always going to be the most dangerous stretch of road through Modesto. The section of Highway 99 through Stanislaus County recorded 268 accidents involving injury in 2022, down slightly from 2021’s 281 accidents.
DUI Accidents in Modesto in 2022
When compared to other California cities and with the population factored in, Modesto, sadly, gets ranked 2nd for its number of alcohol-involved accidents. This is another poor score from California’s OTS.
When drivers get behind the wheel while impaired they put every other motorist traveling through Modesto at risk. DUI arrests often come after a devastating accident has occurred. This is far too late to prevent injured victims and grieving families from having to cope with a drunk driver’s terrible mistake.
This is a look at alcohol-involved accidents involving injuries in Modesto over the last five years. TIMS numbers show a regrettable jump in incidents in 2021 and another leap in 2022. In 2022, there were a shocking 195 accidents involving injury that were caused by a drunk driver on Modesto streets.
Safe drivers often steer clear of trouble by avoiding those on the road who are behaving recklessly. But a drunk driver’s moves can be impossible to predict. A defensive driver might get little warning that an impaired driver is nearby and on a collision course.
Drunk driving accidents often have more severe consequences because impaired drivers may not have the presence of mind to hit the brakes when collisions are about to occur. This means their vehicles are traveling at full speed into an impact. The force will easily cause severe injuries for drivers and passengers and in the worst cases, claim lives.
Accidents involving drug-impaired drivers are harder to track, but TIMS collects those accidents that are listed as being caused by drug use. Researchers found that there were at least 21 accidents involving injury caused by drivers who were under the influence of a drug in 2021. Those accidents claimed at least 5 lives in Modesto.
Contact a Car Accident Lawyer Serving Modesto Victims and Their Families
If you or a loved one have been the victim of a careless or reckless driver, please make sure you are aware of the benefits available to you and your family. Allowing an insurance adjuster to decide how much in support you should receive will leave you responsible for a large percentage of your hospital bills.
Contact a Modesto Car Accident Lawyer to set up a free case consultation after suffering a serious injury in an accident. It’s a no-risk way to determine what your injury is worth and what you should be demanding from an insurance company.
