Edhat Staff
(Photos: SBCFD)
By edhat staff
Three people sustained major injuries after a head-on collision on Highway 154 early Sunday morning.
At 1:38 a.m., Santa Barbara County firefighters responded just north of San Antonio Creek Road. Upon arrival crews found two vehicles had collided and one was fully involved in fire.
The single occupant inside the vehicle on fire had already extricated, although the two occupants inside the other vehicle were trapped and required major extrication, said Captain Dave Zaniboni.
All three patients sustained major injuries and were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital by three ground ambulances, said Zaniboni.
Highway 154 was closed for over an hour during the rescue. California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of this incident.
Nothing good ever happens on 154 at 1:38 am.
It is stunning that the solution is so easy – dramatically lower speed limit and lots of enforcement – yet, is not implemented.
Chumash Highway.
Some people insist on going slower than the traffic flow and with 20+ vehicles on their tail (and none for miles ahead) wonder why everyone is so aggressive. Sure there are jerks who go too fast but the same is true for the opposite side of the scale and both are a danger to themselves and others.
A cheaper solution is a large sign at the bottom and top of “The Pass” with a running total of crashes on hwy154 and the number of dead or maimed drivers and passengers. How’s that for a wake up call?
So, you lower the speed limit and the 2 people that follow it are now causing huge backups of frothing drivers behind them, and some of those will make illegal passes because the 4 minutes they will lose by going slower are just too valuable to them. And you hire more CHP officers at $200,000 a pop due to salaries, benefits, and equipment using all those nonexistent excess tax dollars. Some problems aren’t easy to solve.
Somebody makes an illegal pass on me, and my dashcam will be glad to supply the evidence to the CHP. When I get to the passing portion I will slow down and let you by. I have no interest in having pissed off tailgaters on me if I can avoid it. But will not drive 80 just because they want me to.
1:01 PM – Do you mean ‘ slower than traffic flow’, or slower than the speed limit. The speed limit is there for a reason. When I was driving 154 I used to be passed (often illegally and/or dangerously) while going the speed limit.
I suspect that it will always be referred to as “The Pass” even though they changed the name from San Marcos Pass years ago.
@929 pm: Any time from 11 p.m. to daybreak. Too many drunkies and screwballs on the loose unsupervised. ***************** @849 pm: It will NEVER be known by locals by that name (which, BTW, was sneaked through state channels so that residents never heard about the plot to “rename” 154.) It is now and always will be either “154” or “The Pass.”
people consider the 154 as a “shortcut” and regardless of the time of day they tail gate like you can’t believe until eventually making an aggressive pass. H
HWY 1 is very similar, how many deaths in the past year….
So sad to keep hearing of these accidents. A vacationing couple approached me at the upper State McDonald’s earlier that day and asked about how to get to 154 on their way to Pismo. Since it was dark anyway I advised them to get back on 101. Google Maps had them going on 154 for the scenery.
The name was never changed anymore than 101 was changed to the Screaming Eagles Highway. Some token feel good honorary name is all. Google, Thomas Guides, AAA or anyone around here ever calls it that.
nor
Exactly, straightaways are where you pull your phone out and answer the texts you got on the curvy part, duh! (sarcasm)
If you have information that this is what happened, I hope you have notified the authorities. Otherwise, it is pure SPECULATION.
First, do not confuse the highway patrol with the Santa Barbara city Police. It is educational that the number of highway parole officers has decreased. In the past couple decades the crime rate has dropped consistent with the number of law enforcement. Reduce the police and get more crime. Just figure out what crime rate you will accept. Similarly, reduce the highway patrol and get more accidents. The county supervisors have decided that the present accident rate is acceptable.
“If I were the King of the foreeest”…
I would ask the casino to place a kiosk at the top of 154, & one on either side..3/4 of the way down, as well as 2 patrol vehs.
It’s called the Chumash hwy for a reason.
No kiosks?..then close it for residents only, everyone else can go around.