Collisions jump sharply on one of Sacramento’s busiest stretches of freeway. Here’s why

Driving on westbound Highway 50 near downtown Sacramento has always been stressful.

Some cars need to exit Highway 50 to the right toward downtown, I-5 or the Capital City Freeway, even as cars from the Capital City Freeway try to merge left to get onto 50.

A huge construction project, Fix 50, has created even more challenges.

The number of car collisions and injuries along Highway 50 westbound through Sacramento has jumped sharply during the past several months, according to a Sacramento Bee review of California Highway Patrol data.

From March through August, CHP officers responded to about 360 collisions on westbound Highway 50 from Watt Avenue to the Sacramento River — about two collisions, on average, per day. That’s up about 70% from the same months in 2019, before the pandemic reduced traffic.

The number of non-fatal injuries from collisions on westbound 50 doubled, going from 98 from March through August in 2019 to 195 during the same months in 2021.

One person was killed from March through July on that stretch of road, compared to 4 in 2019. Speed-related collisions rose from 145 to 215.

“Unsafe speed and distracted driving are the main factors in the increase in traffic collisions at this location,” said CHP spokesman Jim Young.

The highest concentration of wrecks occurred in the 1.5 miles leading to the Highway 99 interchange — roughly from the 51st Street overpass to the interchange. Traffic leading up to that interchange lately travels at a broad mix of speeds due to construction and congestion.

Cars in the far left lanes often move at a brisk pace. Cars in the middle lanes often slow to a crawl or even stop as they line up to exit onto the Capital City Freeway. And cars in the far right lane zoom at highway speeds toward the Stockton Boulevard exit.

Sometimes drivers stuck in the middle lanes see others moving quickly around them and decide to try to merge into traffic. It doesn’t always go well. The number of sideswipe collisions rose from 31 in March through August 2019 to 85 in March through August 2021. Unsafe lane change collisions rose from 26 to 76.

Other times drivers who aren’t paying close attention are unable to react quickly to stopped traffic leading up to the Capital City Freeway interchange. About two-thirds of recent wrecks were rear-end collisions. The number of rear-end collisions rose from 151 in March through August 2019 to 235 in March through August 2021.

Mike Blanchard, a beverage salesman who often drives a sprinter van around the region, said he has personally witnessed or seen the aftermath of about a dozen wrecks on that section of westbound Highway 50 since July. Blanchard said he almost got into a wreck recently when a line of cars stopped in the middle of the highway, waiting to exit onto the Capital City Freeway.

“All of a sudden everyone slams on their brakes, they are sliding,” he said. Blanchard exited the highway - and saw another car that had just been in a minor wreck parked off the exit ramp.

Blanchard said the Highway Patrol should step up enforcement — if they can. “When they laid out that whole area, they didn’t leave any room for enforcement,” he said “There is no place for a police officer or Highway Patrol to be.”

Nighttime and DUI related collisions on the rise

Other confounding factors have contributed to the increase in recent collisions.

Alcohol-related collisions rose from 10 in March through August 2019, to 23 in March through August 2021.

The number of nighttime collisions — 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. — rose from 29 to 92.

The number of collisions involving big trucks almost tripled from 12 in 2019 to 35 in 2021. The number of collisions involving motorcycles increased from 6 to 11.

There was not a correspondingly large increase in collisions on the same stretch of eastbound Highway 50 during the past several months, state data show.

The California Highway Patrol has assigned officers to US-50 around the clock to enforce traffic laws, Young said. “CHP has also had numerous Corridor Enforcement Details on US-50 since the construction project began with the sole purpose to educate and, if necessary, take appropriate enforcement action on motorists who violate traffic laws,” he added via email.

Drivers need to be vigilant when they hit that stretch of road, Young said. He noted that Caltrans has lowered the speed limit throughout the construction zone to 55 miles per hour and painted solid white lines along several stretches to indicate that switching lanes is a bad idea.

“As an active construction zone, drivers can lower the chances of being involved in a collision by driving at 55 mph, do not drive distracted, and never drive impaired,” Young said.

Blanchard said he’ll remain particularly watchful when driving down that stretch of highway. “The issue is that some folks are trying to follow the 55 mph speed limit and some are driving at very high speed,” he said.

This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.