Q: Honk: You mentioned that there were 11,000 speeding-related deaths in 2024. Did I see somewhere that there were more than 22,000 deaths on the roads that year, and half of them were not wearing their seat belts?
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– Mike Lanzarotta, Pasadena
A: Yes.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, 48% of those who died in passenger vehicles were unrestrained.
Brian Rokos, a terrific reporter for this and 10 sister newspapers, often writes stories about traffic collisions — and the deaths they produce.
“Definitely, a lot of the time they are not wearing seat belts,” he said.
Officer Tyler Yonezawa, out of the California Highway Patrol’s Westminster office, said seat belts make a huge difference.
“A lot of the times we see severe crashes and people were wearing their seat belts, and it saved their lives,” he said.
Other times, officers will go out to seemingly much less troublesome collisions.
“It didn’t seem that bad, but the fact they weren’t wearing their seat belts. …
“It increases your chances of surviving by about 50%,” he figured.
In 2022, the last year Honk could round up statistics for seat-belt usage, that it was 91.6% nationwide.
California’s?
Honk is proud to say it was 95.3%.
Q: Dear Honk: I know you’ve been asked this question 12 million times. Well, here’s 12,000,001. Why on earth do I always experience heavy traffic on the 405 Freeway heading north through Fountain Valley? Near Harbor Boulevard. It never ends! Workers just completed huge amounts of construction, adding express lanes and the like, yet it still bogs down, even at 2 o’clock on a recent Thursday afternoon when there were NO accidents and NO active Caltrans work — yet it was bumper-to-bumper. It was this way even before all of the recent upgrades. Maybe too many on-ramps? Too many cars?
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– Andrew Herbold, Irvine
A: No, Andrew, you might be the first to ask about this. But the frustration is understandable, and you are on to something.
“Even with the recently completed improvements, the freeway will continue to experience congestion due to the high volume of traffic, particularly during peak travel periods,” Christianne Smith, a Caltrans spokesperson, told Honk in an email. “The (recent) project’s goal was to reduce congestion, not eliminate it (and it) has improved mobility and … maximized the number of vehicles the freeway can efficiently carry.
“The northbound I-405 between Bristol Street and Beach Boulevard experiences recurring congestion due to the heavy merging and diverging of traffic at numerous on- and off-ramps, as well as freeway-to-freeway connectors. …
“The constant movement of vehicles entering, exiting, and changing lanes contributes to slower traffic flow, even when there are no collisions or active construction.”
A couple of decades ago, some traffic expert told a then-not-balding Honk that at certain times the sun can get in drivers’ eyes as the 405 rises near Harbor. If a freeway is heavy with vehicles, it doesn’t take much brake-pumping to cause congestion.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
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