REGION: Number of hit-and-run crashes drops in North County

Escondido's checkpoints' effect on reducing crashes debated


By EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com
North County Times - The Californian
Posted: Friday, January 7, 2011 9:51 pm



A state report found that hit-and-run accidents fell across North County from 2005 to 2009. Some have credited checkpoints, such as this recent one in Escondido, for the decline. (North County Times file photo)

Most North County cities saw a significant drop in the number of hit-and-run crashes that caused injuries or deaths from 2005 to 2009, state figures show.

That data include Escondido, where authorities have increased the number of checkpoints to combat the problem. Police Chief Jim Maher cited the high number of hit-and-run crashes in Escondido when he began his controversial policy of ramping up the number of driver's license checkpoints in 2006. Maher said unlicensed drivers were responsible for many of the hit-and-run crashes.

The state Office of Traffic Safety compiles crash statistics and ranks cities of similar size based on the number of crashes that kill and injure people. Escondido, Oceanside and Carlsbad, which are all in the same population group, experienced 34 to 37 percent drops in the number of hit-and-run crashes, according to state figures released Wednesday.

Lt. Craig Carter, a spokesman for the Escondido Police Department, said the numbers are proof the checkpoints work. In 2005, there were 103 hit-and-run crashes involving injuries or deaths in Escondido, according to the Office of Traffic Safety. In 2009, there were 68, a 34 percent drop.

The number of overall crashes resulting in death and injuries fell in Escondido during the same time period, from 1,266 to 844.

"We are looking at the overall numbers, and since the city of Escondido started stepping up enforcement, we are seeing lower numbers," Carter said.

However, Bill Flores, a spokesman for the North County-based human rights umbrella group called El Grupo, said there was no evidence that checkpoints have any effect on the number of hit-and-run crashes. Flores, an Escondido resident, is a retired San Diego County assistant sheriff.

Flores said that other cities of similar size also experienced similar drops, even though those cities did not use as many checkpoints as Escondido.

"It is clearer than ever that checkpoints have very little enforcement value," Flores said. "They are an expensive, ineffective and inefficient method of catching drunk drivers. And checking for unlicensed drivers is an equally ineffective method for traffic accident reduction."

Maher has said that he became alarmed when he took over the department in 2006 and saw the large number of hit-and-run crashes. In 2005, the city had the unenviable distinction of being ranked third statewide among cities of similar size in terms of hit-and-run crashes.

By 2009, the city was ranked fourth among the 56 cities of similar size ---- 100,000 to 250,000 residents ---- in California.

The reason that its ranking stayed relatively the same was because other cities in the state made similar gains reducing the number of crashes, said Chris Cochran, a spokesman for the state's Office of Traffic Safety.

For example, in Oceanside, the number of hit-and-run crashes resulting in injuries and deaths fell from 76 in 2005 to 58 in 2009, or about 24 percent.

Oceanside police Sgt. Ken Gow said one of the reasons for the drop may have been that about three years ago, the department increased the number of traffic crash investigators from one to four. That allows the department to investigate more crashes, including hit-and-run crashes, he said.

"We beefed up our ability to follow up on our hit-and-runs, and we're solving a lot more," Gow said.

Two years ago, Oceanside decided to reduce the number of checkpoints it conducts from one a month to one every three months, Gow said.

"We used to do monthly driver's license checkpoints and now we're doing only one quarterly; and the trend (of crashes) is still downward," Gow said.

Most other North County cities saw reductions of 35 to 37 percent in the number of hit-and-run crashes from 2005 to 2009, according to the Office of Traffic Safety. Poway saw an increase in its numbers from four to seven crashes over the same period.

San Marco stayed the same with 15 crashes in 2005 and in 2009.

In San Diego County, the number of hit-and-run crashes fell from 1,514 in 2005 to 1,100 in 2009, a 27 percent drop. Statewide, crashes fell from 28,408 to 20,334, a 28 percent drop, over the same period, Cochran said.

The main reason for the drop statewide may have been an overall reduction in driving because of the poor economy, Cochran said. Fewer people are on the roads commuting to work and people are making fewer discretionary trips, he said.

Safer cars and wider seat belt use may be another reason why there were fewer hit-and-run crashes, Cochran said.

Cochran said he did not know whether Escondido's checkpoints contributed to its drop in hit-and-run crashes.

Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.


NORTH COUNTY TIMES