At Monday’s Traffic Safety & Mobility Commission meeting, our Police Department presented traffic collision data from the second quarter of the year. The commission asked us to provide quarterly updates as well as year over year data to better understand trends and measure our ongoing efforts to improve the safe use of our roads. We are also now tracking more data points, so this time next year, we will have even more analysis to share.

So far this year, we have had zero traffic related fatalities in Carlsbad, compared to six during the same timeframe last year and five the first six months of 2022.

We have been emphasizing the importance of driving at safe speeds not only because it remains the number one factor in injury collisions, but your speed is also directly related to the severity of injuries resulting from a crash. The faster you’re going, the higher the likelihood of severe injuries or death.

Please continue to do everything you can to keep Carlsbad at zero fatalities and prevent injury collisions overall. Based on the most common causes of injury collisions in Carlsbad, this means:

Slow down. Adjust your speed based on the conditions. With the fall semester about to start in south Carlsbad, use extra caution around schools.

Designate a driver. The second biggest cause of injury collisions in Carlsbad is 100% preventable. Our Police Department is actively out searching for drunk drivers, but they need your help. Here are DUI arrest stats from the first six months of the year:

• 59% were spotted by our officers before a crash occurred
• 16% were caught because someone else spotted them and called 9-1-1
• 25% were caught after they’d been involved in a collision

Be careful when turning. Improper turning is the third leading cause of injury collisions in Carlsbad. Brush up on your right of way rules and pay close attention when making a turn.

Pay attention to signs and signals. The fourth biggest cause of injury collisions is not following traffic signs and signals, such as not stopping at a stop sign or failing to yield.

Finally, the Police Department shared the heat maps below showing the areas with the highest numbers of collisions for the first six months of the year. These areas are usually at intersections and busier parts of town, like along the beach and in the Village.

You may have noticed that the city has focused changes to the lane striping and other improvements in the red and yellow areas on the maps.

Thank you for looking out for each other. Visit the city’s Safer Streets Together page to brush up on other rules of the road.

Avoid construction areas when possible

While we’re on the topic of staying safe on the roads, don’t forget to check our city construction map to see where city projects are happening next week that could affect traffic.