Just shy of three months since an out-of-control driver demolished the Armco Crash Barrier on Somis Road’s Dead Man’s Curve, an all-new replacement guardrail stands strong. A CalTrans crew installed the new barrier today. The countdown to its next obliteration starts now.
Since Jimmy Mac On Two Wheels started keeping track, the railing was replaced on March 24, 2024. The new railing made it 196 days (October 6, 2024), before it was decimated by someone who should not be operating a motor vehicle. Before Caltrans could replace the barrier, another vehicle left the roadway and took out what was left of the barrier (along with a wooden fence and chainlink fence). That was December 20, 2024. If the railing had been replaced, it would have only lasted 74 days. Jimmy Mac On Two Wheels won’t recognize that record because a new barrier needs to be installed to start counting.
I’m going to officially start the clock today, January 30, 2025. Will it make it a month? A few Months? A year? As Jimmy Cliff sang, “time alone will tell.”
SERIOUSLY
There is no reason for this curve to be so dangerous. The speed limit is 45 miles per hour and while the bend may be a slight decreasing-radius curve, it is simple to negotiate. I would bet excessive speed is the top reason drivers peg the guardrail. Distracted driving has to be high on the list. Being high or drunk behind the wheel is also a culprit.
Jimmy Mac On Two Wheels urges cyclists and pedestrians to use great caution when approaching the outside of this turn. And that goes for shoppers at Paty’s Farm stand. I can ask drivers to slow down, pay attention and don’t drive while buzzed, but I believe it will take law enforcement presence on the road to accomplish any of these solutions.
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