Traffic accidents increase; injuries, deaths decrease in 2011

February 18, 2012 6:47 PM

BY JOHN CORRALES

An increase of nearly 400 accidents seems due to an influx of new Odessans brought in by the oil boom, traffic engineers said.

Data from City of Odessa Traffic Engineering shows that in 2011, traffic accidents rose to 2,245 from 1,860 in 2010.

“We’ve seen a lot of increased traffic around town now. The oilfield is booming and that brings in more people to the area. I would imagine that there’s a correlation between them,” Traffic Coordinator Hal Feldman said.

Though traffic accidents increased, their severity decreased in 2011 from 2010. The number of injuries decreased from 976 in 2010 to 815 in 2011, and the number of vehicle-related fatalities also decreased from 13 in 2010 to 10 in 2011.

The data is checked by the Traffic Engineering department, among other things, to pass a series of signal warrants stated in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Devices. Passing signal warrants is the first step in getting new signals constructed.

“Accidents are a factor when we look at getting signal warrants. Any time we do a signal warrant, we have to look back a year from that date,” Camie Adams said.

Midland’s traffic related accidents showed a different trend, with the total number of accidents and injuries increasing from 2010 to 2011.

Midland had 2,963 accidents in 2010 compared to 3,279 in 2011; 835 injuries in 2010 compared to 1,160 in 2011 and 16 fatalities in 2010 compared to six in 2011.

Failure to control speed was the most common factor reported in traffic accidents, being noted in 861 of the 2,245 accidents. “Driver inattentive” was the second most noted factor, playing a role in 279 accidents.

Odessa Police Department Cpl. Sherrie Carruth said “driver inattentive” means the driver wasn’t paying attention, whereas “driver distracted” means the driver was actively doing things not associated with driving, such as “looking at a map, fumbling with the radio, (or) reading a book.”

In 2011, signals went up at the intersections of 14th Street and West County Road, Tanglewood Avenue and Mall Drive and Tanglewood Avenue and Penbrook Street.

“Those intersections received signals mostly traffic volumes, especially with the one at the mall — you’ve got Lowe’s and all the mall development feeding that driveway,” Feldman said. “Penbrook is an outlet for H-E-B, Target and that shopping center and 14th and West County is right down the street from OHS.”

Sixty-two accidents occurred at the intersection of JBS Parkway and 42nd Street, and 60 accidents occurred at the intersection of Grandview Avenue and 42nd Street.

Daniel Armendariz, a service supervisor at Albertson’s, 4950 E. 42nd St., said he was surprised to know that many had happened.

“I usually just work night shifts, so I hadn’t seen that many. Knowing that there’s 62 accidents, you can’t trust anybody. You’ve got to be the one aware of everything,” he said.

The intersection of Governor Preston Smith Road and 42nd Street had the third most accidents in 2011 with 34. The intersection of Andrews Highway and University Boulevard followed with 32.