Watch Your Driving, Lamorinda. Santa Doesn't Want Any More Accidents This Christmas
Patch still can't figure out how people can get so topsy turvy on residential roads... but they are. Take care out there.
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Betwixt and between all the burglaries and police action of late, Moraga-Orinda Fire District firefighters and County Fire personnel have been helping people out of tight spots -- particularly on local roadways recently.
We tweeted about an accident Saturday on Moraga Way at Glorietta Boulevard in Orinda and received a number of inquiries from people who saw the aftermath and wanted to know what happened.
MOFD Division Chief Darrell Lee updated us with the following:
"We responded to reports of a single car on its side," Lee said. "The driver was trapped for a short time, while firefighters cut through the windshield to gain access to the unconscious victim."
Firefighters and paramedics removed eventually took the unidentified victim out the rear hatch of the car, Lee said. The patient was transported to John Muir Medical Center and Orinda police are investigating the cause of the accident.
Amanda
1:43 pm on Monday, December 5, 2011
For the love of ...!
Please pay attention, people! Some idiot came about 14 inches from hitting me and my kids about 1/2 ago while we were walking on Moraga Way. She was driving totally in the bike lane before, during and AFTER she narrowly missed us.
Cynthia Brody, Marriage and Family Therapist
1:53 pm on Monday, December 5, 2011
It's time to start getting these people's plate numbers and calling them in pronto.
Amanda
2:02 pm on Monday, December 5, 2011
I would have, but they had paper dealer plates. :(
Sara
2:05 pm on Monday, December 5, 2011
... and it's hard writing down or even memorizing a license plate when you are running for your very life!!
Danielle
2:08 pm on Monday, December 5, 2011
In my experience most of these have been caused by a combination of speed and inattention by the driver. I agree, I don't know how you can flip your car at 35 miles per hour.
lovelafayette
4:00 pm on Monday, December 5, 2011
In my experience most rollovers are caused by poor selection of vehicle: jeep, suburban, oversized tire, any car that comes with sticker warnings on the visor re:increased risk of rollover. I test drove a Honda Rave years ago and it became unstable at 20 mph making a sharp turn near Kaiser Hospital. I saw a small Volvo sedan t-bone a jeep at low speed, the jeep ended up on its roof, the impact on the Volvo was so slight that the air bags did not deploy. Those of you who drive unsafe cars put other drivers at risk. Go look for that sticker under the visor.
Chris Nicholson
5:38 pm on Monday, December 5, 2011
I dunno. All modern passenger vehicles in stock form will slide before rolling on a dry and level roadway. That's how they are designed-- you'd really need to zig zag in just the right way to load/unload the suspension to get it to flip. All bets are off post impact, but some would prefer to be on their roof with 5K pounds of SUV steel around you, versus the 2.5K pound sports car that stays on all fours, but is crushed....
In the present case, they probably dropped a tire or two into the gutter and jerked the wheel.
TMoraga
10:08 am on Tuesday, December 6, 2011
A driver with a health issue can flip any car easily simply by hitting a curb. However everyone drives and due to that there are all kinds - very considerate drivers, oblivious drivers, clueless drivers - dangerous drivers and those who just do not give a flying hoot about anyone and will blow through their very own street like a complete idiot. The only way that behavior changes is by people reporting it and enforcing it. We had people speeding through our residential street on weekends with lots of kids out riding bikes and playing. We simply set out cones left a few old bikes out in the middle of the street and one angry home owner would kick a ball out at cars which were way way beyond the speed limit. It only took two weeks before they either avoided the street given they didn't need to use it to start with or simply drove a proper speed and were cautious about what was going on around them all of which is 100% acceptable given kids and people who live on the street are safer for it. Phone and texting while driving is so bad in this area its laughable. I see people in $40,000 mercedes holding phones up to their head really? You can't freaking afford to get blue tooth or have someone show you how to work it? You deserve a ticket!
lovelafayette
10:06 pm on Tuesday, December 6, 2011
TMoraga, I love your creative traffic calming and do it yourself attitude. Lafayette would be a much more pleasant place to live if public works and the circulation commission had a goal to calm traffic and make it impossible to speed: speed bumps, round abouts, rumble strips... instead of ticketing citizens into obediance. Ticketing only works for those of us who use a road regularly, we are less likely to speed after getting a ticket. Traffic calming makes even strangers slow down.