According to a study in 2016, Highway 99 in the Central Valley is the deadliest major highway in the country. Highway 99 is a 400-mile highway that runs directly through the cities of Sacramento, Stock, Modesto, and other valley cities. Over a five-year span, there were 62 fatal car accidents per 100 miles.
Accident statistics are even graver when portions of the highway are under construction and there is traffic congestion. Anyone who regularly drives on Highway 99 through rush hours can attest to the congestion and increased likelihood of a car accident.
Over the past several years, California highway officials have been working on $1 billion worth of safety and efficiency improvements on Highway 99. Proposition 1B in 2006 provided $20 billion in infrastructure bonds and singled out Highway 99 as the only highway singled out for upgrades.
Improvement work has been ongoing to update narrow shoulders, tight ramps, and under-sized interchanges. With the population increasing on an outdated highway and the traffic congestion rising considerably, the result was more traffic fatalities and car accidents.
Fatal car accident hotspots in Sacramento
Fatal car accident hotspots in Sacramento include Highway 99 between Florin Road and Fruitridge Road; Power Inn Road near Florin Road; and the intersection of I-80 and the Capitol City Freeway in West Sacramento; and the Capitol City Freeway near Arden.
Sacramento has some of the worst drivers in the country
According to a study by insurance news site Quote Wizard, Sacramento drivers are considered some of the country’s worst drivers. The 2018 study ranks Sacramento’s drivers as third-worst in the country behind Riverside, CA and Omaha, NE (down from worst in the country in the previous study—eek!). The study ranks cities based on traffic incidents—including car accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs, and citations, like tickets for distracted driving or texting.
What to do if you’ve been in an accident on US 99
The first thing you should do after a car accident injury is make sure you’re not an accident victim twice. Get to a safe location if possible. Call 911 and seek medical care for yourself and those who have been hurt.
Use your smartphone to take pictures of the scene and where the vehicles involved in the car accident came to rest. Use your smartphone to take photos of the front and back of ID’s and insurance cards of those involved and witnesses. Don’t assume the police will do this for you.
Make sure you seek immediate medical attention. If you don’t go directly from the scene, set up an appointment with your doctor or go to an urgent care. The longer you wait for treatment, the more difficult it will be to prove your injury claim.
Get a Sacramento car accident attorney. This is especially true if follow-up medical treatment is necessary. The earlier you get an attorney dealing with car accidents, the more effective they can be in helping your injury claim.
Contacting a Sacramento Car Accident Attorney
If you’re from out of state, don’t hesitate to contact a local attorney. Do your due diligence online and make sure you hire the appropriate type of counsel. Sometimes friends and family suggest someone they know but they may not be in the appropriate practice area and aren’t sure how to handle car accidents. This can only hurt your claim.
We offer free case evaluations on our website and on the phone. Don’t hesitate to contact us today at (916) 619-5452!
