This is shaping up to be the worst year ever for injury accidents in Manteca.

At the current pace the year will end with 240 injury accidents shattering the previous record of 200 in 2016.  Eight years ago in 2010 Manteca had less than half the number of injury accidents with 112 occurring on city streets

Injury accidents jumped 44 percent in Manteca during the first nine months of the year while the overall accident rate has remained essentially flat.

There were 180 injury accidents from January to September compared to 125 for the same nine month period in 2017. There have been two fatalities so far this year compared to three last year. Overall, traffic accidents are up 3.3 percent so far going from 666 in 2017 to 688 this year.

Sixteen people died in traffic collisions in the last 3 years and 9 months in Manteca whether they were auto versus pedestrian, vehicle versus vehicle or solo accidents. There were six deaths in 2014,   four deaths in 2015, four deaths in 2017, and two deaths in the first nine months of this year. That is more deaths combined on Manteca’s streets than were recorded in the previous 12 years.

Manteca’s 16 deaths in the past 3 years and 9 months reflects only fatal accidents on city streets and does not include the 120 Bypass or Highway 99 that are under the jurisdiction of the California Highway Patrol.

Last year was the second highest year for overall accidents — injury and non-injury — that were reported to and handled by the Manteca Police Department with 946 occurring. The highest year was 2016 with 990 accidents while the third highest year was 2015 with 898 accidents. There have been 688 accidents this year through Sept. 30.

Tickets for moving violations that public safety experts say are an effective deterrent to reducing accidents are finally trending up after declining from 1,937 in 2015. There have been 1,096 tickets issued this year as of Sept. 30 for moving violations covering speeding, rolling through stop signs, running red lights, texting while driving, and failure to yield to pedestrians, and such, At the current pace Manteca Police officers will issue 1,400 tickets for moving violations by year’s end. 

That’s a far cry from 2009 when officers issued 3,438 tickets for moving violations. Manteca that year had no traffic fatalities and 119 injury accidents.

Accidents have been increasing almost three times faster than the population since 2010.  Manteca’s population went from 67,096 in 2010 to 77,000 by the end of 2017 for a 14.7 percent jump. Accidents went from 637 in 2010 to 946 in 2017 for an increase of 45 percent. 

The trend for overall accidents since 2010 has been upward. The previous year — 2009 — is when Manteca had a five-officer traffic enforcement unit that was cut to three in 2010 and is still at that manpower level. In 2009 the MPD issued triple the number of tickets for moving violations than they are now currently doing.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com