WSU adds support for safer roads

Following two fatal car accidents involving WSU students prior to Thanksgiving, parents have been calling for improved roads in Whitman County, and WSU Interim President Dan Bernardo added his voice last Thursday.

Christine Hunter, 18, Spokane, and Morgan Cope, 20, Buckley, were killed in separate accidents after vehicles crossed the center line. Hunter, driving northbound on Highway 195 on Nov. 20, crossed the center line in her 2001 Volkswagen Beetle and struck a Ford F-150 head on near Rosalia. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cope was driving westbound on SR 26 near Dusty Nov. 22 when her vehicle was struck by a pickup truck driven by Jason Wigen, LaCrosse, which had crossed the center line.

In both incidents, crossing the center line was listed as the cause of the accident, though no cause for crossing the center line was listed in either case.

“A lot of time with these you are not sure if it was inattention or if they were falling asleep,” said Chris Golden, who works at the Washington State Patrol office in Spokane.

Washington State Patrol deputies listed as the responding officers on the press memos did not return calls for comment and more information.

Last week, Bernardo called for improved highways.

“As president of WSU, I have been grieving with the WSU community the loss of two students killed in separate automobile accidents over the Thanksgiving break,” he wrote in his president perspectives column Dec. 10.

Bernardo stated that he believes the roads no longer meet the demands of the local area and traveling students.

“We are very concerned about the safety of all of our students, including those traveling by car to and from Pullman,” he wrote. “Both Highway 26 and Highway 195 were constructed decades ago, when the overall population in the area as well as the student population at WSU was a fraction of what it is now. While there have been upgrades, additional work is needed.”

Bernardo then encouraged the Washington State Department of Transportation to take “whatever actions necessary” for the improvement of the roads and to secure funding for those improvements.

Bernardo is not alone in his call to action. WSU parent Dorene Boyle, Yakima, began a petition shortly after the accidents titled “Require DOT to put in second lane or passing lanes on Highways 195 and 26 to keep WSU students and others safe!”

The petition, which had garnered 5,827 signatures as of Monday, states, “Just Thanksgiving weekend 2015 at least five WSU students died or are critically injured driving from or to school. WSDOT and WA State Patrol are both aware of this petition and the need for improved roadways. You can’t put a price on life!”

The five refer to Hunter and Cope as the students who died and the injured which were Wigen, Sidney Ritter, the passenger in Hunter’s car, and one of the three passengers in the truck struck by Hunter’s vehicle. That passenger is Taylor Spence, 23, Colton, who was transported by MedStar to Sacred Heart Medical Center and has since been released.

The petition can be found at http://www.thepetitionsite.com.

In addition to the petition, another WSU parent, Alison Crosier of Redmond, started a Facebook campaign for safer roads, in which she encourages all to write to state legislators and representatives for action.

The Facebook page, called “Fix Hwy 26 & 195 – No More Fatalities” began Nov. 23, and several people have posted to the page and shared the responses they have received from state representatives.

In a letter from Governor Jay Inslee’s office dated Dec. 11, WSDOT Regional Administrator Keith Metcalf detailed plans for passing lanes on 195 and 26.

“We are pleased to note that, as a part of the 16-year ‘Connecting Washington’ transportation package passed by the Legislature earlier this year, passing lanes are planned for the section of US 195 between Pullman and Spangle and SR 26 between Dusty and Colfax,” he said, noting that the US 195 construction is slated for 2017 and SR 26 construction was funded for 2025. He also said opportunities for public input will be available for each project.

Metcalf states later in the letter that the traffic volumes seen on both roads do not justify converting the current two-lane highways to four lanes.

“Both of these rural highways where the recent collisions occurred were designed to the standards that existed when they were constructed, US 195 in 1974 and SR 26 in 1963,” Metcalf noted. “Traffic volumes on the rural sections of US 195 average about 4,000 to 7,000 per day. On SR 26, volumes range from about 1,100 to 4,000 per day. These volumes are well below the traffic volume needed to justify adding additional lanes.”

Metcalf continued by stating that driver behavior is the concern of state leaders, citing a 2013 WSDOT study of US 195 collisions.

“After reviewing a five-year spread of fatal or serious injury Washington State Patrol collision data, driver behavior was recorded as a contributing factor in 31 out of 39 fatal and serious injury collisions,” he wrote. “... Another disturbing statistic shows that drivers in the 16-25 year age group are responsible for 37 percent of all the US 195 collisions during the five years of data we analyzed.”

Metcalf stated the driver behavior actions as excessive speed, alcohol or drug-related impairment, distracted driving such as texting or eating, fatigue, aggressive driving and unrestrained vehicle occupants. He stated that WSDOT is “reaching out to drivers to increase their awareness” in regard to driver behavior-related incidents.

“Installing signs warning drivers to comply with state law on the use of cell phones and texting is one possible strategy and has been considered, but WSDOT doesn’t typically provide this signing,” he said. “However, due to the growing concern we may revisit the possibly of adding signs on distracted and drowsy driving.”

One such sign was installed earlier this year between Colfax and Pullman, following the Sept. 12, 2014, fatal accident of Sam Thompson, 20, Colfax, after he crossed the center line and struck a semi truck head-on due to texting.

Thompson’s dad, Jim Thompson, has been active on the Facebook page for fixing the highways. A Dec. 7 post by Jim Thompson to the page called for improvements and driver education.

“Something needs to be done not just with parts of the road but also in regards to distracted driving,” he wrote.

The page has also posted responses from Ninth District Representatives Joe Schmick, Colfax, and Mary Dye, Pomeroy, as well as Senator Mark Schoesler, who all expressed sympathy for the recent fatalities and cited the transportation package.

Al Gilson, WSDOT spokesperson, said the Facebook page and the petition have shown public interest, but do not represent a formal process to securing funding.

“We are pleased that there is some interest from the public,” he told the Gazette Monday.

Gilson stated that the DOT does not have control over the budget, or which projects get approved, and that the control lies with the legislators.

“Those are questions directed at the legislature,” he said. “The funding is of course the key.”

Gilson cited the transportation package as a success from the legislature in moving forward with making the roads safer and also added that WSDOT had originally hoped to include passing lanes between Colfax and Pullman in that package.

“That is something that we had hoped to include, but they did not,” he said. “The constraints of that budget kind of kept that from happening.”

Gilson said that the public support and comments he has seen following these accidents has been a good step and that he would encourage the public to participate in studies and to write their legislators for what they want to see happen.

Gilson also said he is pleased with the improvements to come and the action that can be taken right now is improving driver behavior.

“The biggest safety improvement is the one that we can’t make,” he said. “It requires everyone’s attention 100 percent of the time. That is something that every driver needs to take seriously.”