Sonoma Index-Tribune Editorial: An uncomfortable conversation about driving in the rain

This editorial is from the Sonoma Index-Tribune:

‘The myth about California drivers in the rain isn’t much of a myth,” CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2016. “We drive too fast. We follow too close. We have vehicles cutting off big rigs. The weather is never going to cause a crash. It is the person driving who is causing the crash.”

Here in the blissful climate of sunny Sonoma, we are endlessly spoiled when it comes to weather. Long stretches of moderate temperatures and sunny skies are only occasionally interrupted by an uncomfortable heatwave or a soggy storm. Since we spend so much of our time driving in dry conditions with good visibility, it’s no surprise that the recent storms would cause some havoc on our roadways.

But as the CHP officer points out, problems on the road in inclement weather are largely self-inflicted.

Storms require us to slow down, leave additional room from other cars and carefully heed the “Road Closed” signs, lest we end up crashing or waterlogged on a flooded street.

Many have chosen to largely stay home and off the rain-slicked streets during the recent run of storms, a smart safety measure, if it’s an option. But for those left commuting or running errands between sheets of rain, we offer this word of advice: Take your time, there’s no need to rush.

Impatience on the road seems to be hitting a peak in these storms. When Highway 121 first closed to traffic around 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 4, law enforcement posted a “Road Closed” sign across Broadway at Watmaugh Road. And yet, car after car ignored the warning, driving around the sign to head south on Broadway. Inevitably, they found a CHP patrol car blocking the path, and an officer who told wayward drivers to turn around, causing a jam of cars right at a bend in the dark, wet road.

“This is totally unnecessary,” the officer remarked. “Do they not understand the purpose of the sign?”

Speeding, following too closely and passing illegally have also been reported, along with drivers who foolishly attempted to traverse flood waters only to find themselves stuck — both in the water and with a huge automotive repair bill.

The joke that Californians can’t drive (safely) in the rain was studied in 2015, when a curious citizen data mapped 11 years of NOAA weather reports and accident data from California’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System to look for patterns in Los Angeles. The simple, elegant graph shows how quickly accident rates spike when the weather sets in. The city saw an average of 10 accident per hour in fair weather, but it spiked to 15 per hour in rain.

Luckily, while Sonoma’s roads have seen plenty of perilous driving, there have been relatively few major accidents (knock on wood). But with another series of atmospheric rivers set to hit, we urge drivers to slow down and remain patient.

It’s more important that we all get home safely than quickly.

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