Collision rates steady as population increases
TRI-CITIES -- Deb Hinton is a Tri-Cities native.
She's seen the area explode with growth.
"There's a lot of increased traffic in the Tri-Cities just over the last couple years."
That's putting it lightly.
Based on the most recent U.S. Census estimates, the number of people in the Tri-Cities grew by more than 7,000 between 2010 and 2011.
And with more people, come more drivers and the potential for collisions.
Deb was in an accident recently on the Blue Bridge where a truck rear-ended her and totalled her car.
It's intersections like State Route 395 and Clearwater where you have the highest-potential for accidents. You've got hundreds of cars and trucks trying to change lanes. Add a couple semis into the mix and you have a potentially-dangerous situation.
I pulled the records to compare accidents and cities.
What's impressive is that despite the population growth, the number of accidents in Richland hasn't really grown along with it.
Wrecks there are pacing roughly the same in the last three years.
It's a similar situation in Pasco where accidents have hovered around 575 in recent years, despite the population growth there.
And in Kennewick -- the city with the most roads and the highest volume of cars passing through -- it averages 884 accidents a year.
Outside of a spike in 2011 -- Kennewick has consistently seen more than two-accidents a day.
The cities are always monitoring where accidents occur to be sure there isn't a safety risk that could be corrected.
Drivers like Alyshia Guerrero think there's a simple solution to cutting the accident even further.
"It's too fast. You need to slow down basically, and pay attention to smaller vehicles," she said.
Authorities are glad the numbers aren't going up. That being said, they ask drivers to slow down and stay alert behind the wheel.
She's seen the area explode with growth.
"There's a lot of increased traffic in the Tri-Cities just over the last couple years."
That's putting it lightly.
Based on the most recent U.S. Census estimates, the number of people in the Tri-Cities grew by more than 7,000 between 2010 and 2011.
And with more people, come more drivers and the potential for collisions.
Deb was in an accident recently on the Blue Bridge where a truck rear-ended her and totalled her car.
It's intersections like State Route 395 and Clearwater where you have the highest-potential for accidents. You've got hundreds of cars and trucks trying to change lanes. Add a couple semis into the mix and you have a potentially-dangerous situation.
I pulled the records to compare accidents and cities.
What's impressive is that despite the population growth, the number of accidents in Richland hasn't really grown along with it.
Wrecks there are pacing roughly the same in the last three years.
It's a similar situation in Pasco where accidents have hovered around 575 in recent years, despite the population growth there.
And in Kennewick -- the city with the most roads and the highest volume of cars passing through -- it averages 884 accidents a year.
Outside of a spike in 2011 -- Kennewick has consistently seen more than two-accidents a day.
The cities are always monitoring where accidents occur to be sure there isn't a safety risk that could be corrected.
Drivers like Alyshia Guerrero think there's a simple solution to cutting the accident even further.
"It's too fast. You need to slow down basically, and pay attention to smaller vehicles," she said.
Authorities are glad the numbers aren't going up. That being said, they ask drivers to slow down and stay alert behind the wheel.
