PORT ANGELES — A rise in collisions on the North Olympic Peninsula has prompted a special emphasis patrol today, the State Patrol said Tuesday.
Collisions on U.S. Highway 101 and state highways 112, 113 and 110 on the North Olympic Peninsula are up 30 percent over the same period in 2016, Trooper Russ Winger, State Patrol spokesman, said in a press release.
From Jan. 1 through Nov. 1 of this year, 113 collisions were reported in the region, he said.
Six resulted in fatalities, four involving commercial vehicles, Winger said. No commercial vehicles were involved in a fatality collision in the area during 2016.
“While there are numerous contributing factors in all of these collisions, speed, improper passing, failing to yield and improperly secured loads have been leading factors,” Winger said in the release.
State Patrol troopers and commercial vehicle officers will look for these and other violations in an effort to stem the tide of serious injury and fatality collisions.
Within the Olympic National Park boundaries, park officers will target the same violations on U.S. 101 and the Lake Crescent area.
