Nearly 50 people have died in car crashes along State Routes 195 and 26, heavily trafficked highways to and from Washington State University, in the past decade, according to Department of Transportation data.
Another 233 people reportedly suffered significant injuries in the 127 serious crashes recorded along those highways since 2009. Excessive speed and falling asleep rank highly among the primary causes.
As WSU students and staff take to the roads this week for holiday travel, regional law enforcement agencies have again reminded motorists to check weather conditions, slow down, pack emergency gear and stay off cell phones. Efforts include the #BeSafeCougs campaign.
District 4 troopers have responded to a fatal crash everyday since Monday.
They were all preventable.
You must adjust your driving as weather and road conditions change.
Our lives depend on it. #LetsDoBetter
— Trooper J. Sevigney (@wspd4pio) December 13, 2018
You can explore general crash information and maps at the WSDOT data portal. Whitman County Watch requested more specific data for the 94 miles of SR 195 and the 133 miles of SR 26, including details on causes, injuries, road conditions and weather. Click through interactive maps of that data below.
In total, 34 people have died in crashes along SR 195 and another 15 have died on SR 26. The detailed historical data shows the deadliest year for crashes along the highways to be 2015 with a combined nine fatalities. The years with the highest numbers of combined serious crashes were 2009 and 2017 with 19 and 18 collisions, respectively.
Records indicate the vast majority of serious crashes happened during daylight hours on dry roads. At least 93 of the crashes happened in the day while 27 occurred after dark. Another six were listed as dawn or dusk.
In 70 of the 127 collisions, the weather report listed clear or partially cloudy conditions. Just 21 collisions recorded rain, snow or sleet. About 90 crashes occurred on dry roads.
Along SR 195, excessive speed led as the primary contributing factor to crashes with 15 such incidents. Inattention (10 collisions), driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol (nine), and failure to grant right of way (nine) also ranked high.
Along SR 26, apparently falling asleep led with seven incidents in which it served as the primary contributing factor. A driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol (six collisions), failure to grant right of way (six) and improper passing or turning (five) also proved dangerous.
Crash data map for SR 26 and 195: