The mystery behind a high number of traffic accidents along
Magnolia Avenue at State Routes 52 and 67 may have been solved by the sheriff’s
department traffic division in Santee.
They learned that approximately 20 traffic collisions had
occurred since March 2011. More than half of the accidents involved drivers who
had run through red traffic lights. The
second leading cause was unsafe speed. The trend was true for both northbound
and southbound traffic. The accident zone contained two sets of traffic lights
located within a few hundred yards of each other.
Several of the drivers involved in the collisions claimed
they had been fooled by the double sets of traffic signals. The dual signals
are necessary for motorist to access the
freeway onramps. In other words, the drivers were looking at the green traffic
light off in the distance and not seeing the red light right in front of them.
The sheriff’s department discussed the problem with Santee’s
traffic engineers, who in turn consulted with Caltrans, which owns and
maintains the traffic signals in question. Recently, hoods were installed over
one set of traffic lights, making the nearest signals more obvious to drivers,
said Traffic Sgt. Scott Hill.
“It’s a lot better now,” he said. “Now you don’t see both sets
of lights at the same time.” 
