Tuesday, August 25, 2020

A Note from Supervisor Lovingood: Saving Lives on Hwy 395

It has been an honor to be your County Supervisor for these past nearly eight years. We’ve launched many initiatives and projects that have made the lives of local residents better. One project that stands out was initiated in 2018 when we saw a sharp rise in major injury and fatal traffic accidents on Highway 395. In order to address this concern, we brought together several agencies and formed the Highway 395 Task Force to find and implement solutions.

What we learned is that the accidents were almost invariably caused by illegal passing over the double-yellow and double-double-yellow lines.
Solutions our concerns included the area California Highway Patrol launching increased air and ground enforcement operations. Caltrans pushed forward with widening shoulders, a 4-foot median buffer in sections, centerline rumble strips and other improvements. And we had consensus that delineators – fiberglass paddles – would be a good deterrent to illegal passing.
Today I am pleased to report that the solutions are working.
Officer Steven Rogers of the CHP station in Barstow reports from Aug. 1, 2019 to Aug. 1, 2020 there has not been a fatal collision on the portion of 395 patrolled by Barstow CHP.
And Victorville CHP Officer Mike Mumford reported, “Thanks to the San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor and Caltrans, I can say that CHP has not investigated one fatal head on collision in these areas on US-395 since the delineators were erected. This has undoubtedly prevented loss of life on our desert highway.”
I want to thank our partner agencies for their proactive work in helping to bring effective solutions to this well-traveled roadway.

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