Two recent stories at Indiana News Center and WANE.com are reporting that the Indiana State Police are going to step up patrols on U.S. 33 aiming to reduce fatalities on this 30 mile stretch from Fort Wayne to Ligonier.
The focus has been on Churubusco recently as a rash of accidents have made people very conscious of how dangerous this road can be. Case in point would be the following stories we’ve posted in the last couple of years of accidents from minor to major, in town and outside of town.
- January 17, 2009: Minor accident on South Main
- May 23, 2009: Rollover accident at U.S. 33 & Carroll Road
- September 23, 2009: Accident at U.S. 33 & McDuffee Road
- October 1, 2009: Man crashes through fence at Turtle Town Plaza
- October 15, 2009: Dump truck tears down power lines
- November 16, 2009: Minor accident at U.S. 33 & S.R. 205
- November 27, 2009: Accident at U.S. 33 & Blue Lake Road
- December 12, 2009: Downtown accident snarls Saturday morning traffic
- May 6, 2010: South Main Street accident in front of McDonalds
- June 7, 2010: Semi rolls on U.S. 33
- June 15, 2010: Local man dies, another critical at U.S. 33 & Carroll Road
- June 24, 2010: U.S. 33 Shut down again for accident
- June 30, 2010: Semi rolls at Clingerman & U.S. 33
- July 15, 2010: Semi rear ends car on U.S. 33 at 750 East
- August 3, 2010: Goshen teen sent to hospital after accident on U.S. 33
And we found these archives at the Churubusco / Smith Twp fire department website
- January 3, 2007: Fatal accident at U.S. 33 & Blue Lake Road
- May 31, 2007: Fatal accident at U.S. 33 & Chase Road
- March 22, 2008: Head-on collision at U.S. 33 & 300 North
- May 11, 2008: Head-on collision at U.S. 33 & 550 North
- October 27, 2008: U.S. 33 littered with accidents
- November 15, 2008: Fatal accident at U.S. 33 & Allen/Whitley County line
- December 26, 2008: Ice creates havoc on highway
- January 23, 2009: Semi disintegrates on U.S. 33 at 750 East
- June 30, 2010: Car flips, takes down powerlines at U.S. 33 & 550 East
- July 28, 2010: Car crashes into cornfield
Obviously U.S. 33 is a dangerous road and we hope more patrols will help, but will they even be able to enforce the speed limits in certain areas? There are very few areas north of Churubusco that have a safe spot for a police car to turn around and chase down a speeding driver because of the curves, narrow spots and the hilly terrain.
What are the causes of the accidents?
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What actions need to be taken to lower the statistics?
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For many years, the curve north of town on 33 (best known as the IU pond curve) was the scene of many fatal accidents. There wasn’t a year from the 70′s through the re-construction of the curve that there wasn’t at least a fatal or two each year. Widening of the road, clearing of side bush, re-constructing the angle of the road, and numerous police patrols during that time sure has decreased that number. But that was primarily just focused on that particular stretch of road.
Churubusco Fire and EMS cover approx 15-18 miles of US 33, and I know that some of the veterans could remember a fatal accident that happened in each one of those miles. And they could remind us that each one have a different reason for cause.
We have seen recent re-construction that proved that the road widening (tongue in cheek) wasn’t an end-all for crashes. And that wide open roadways can still be as deadly as the tight and narrow curves that 33 presents.
Speed limits and police patrols are a great idea, but realistically, can any agency give enough of their time to do any good? Recent widening from Cook road to Washington Center seems nice, but didn’t the speed limit drop even after the widening. And if you remember, that was a huge speed trap for a long period of time. But doesn’t seem so now. So, how long would the enforcement last?
To the point of an awareness campaign, this current media coverage may be just what is needed. Let’s let everyone know of the change of road angles, speed zones, blind curves, no shoulders on the side of the road, police patrols, and safe driving habits.
So, I think a clear-as-mud answer is that all of these reasons play into effect that make US 33 a “Deadly” stretch of highway.
We live on 33 just before the S-curves and just this week we turned on our turn signal to turn in our driveway way ahead of time like we always do and 2 vehicles passed us on a double yellow line on a hill and there was an oncoming car that had to come to a complete stop. Had that vehicle coming up the hill not stopped there would have been a terrible accident and we would have likely been involved all because those 2 vehicles could not take the time to slow down for us to make the turn. I would gladly let police officers sit on our property to pull vehicles over. I also want people to know that most of the time it is not the truck drivers that are the problem it is cars that are not obeying the no passing zones and tailgating. I think that stepping up patrols and maybe even setting up speed traps is a wonderful idea.
I live in Churubusco and I work in Goshen. I drive this road every single day and I have no problems what so ever with any parts of the road. My totally honest opinion is that these accidents are caused by stupid drivers period. That goes for cars and big trucks both. Maybe the state should be a little more selective on who they actually let have a license……but nah that would make too much sense right?
My family and I travel this road all the time. If people would just drive the speed limit and not go so slow, which leads to having to pass all the time, I believe that would help a bunch! All the time we get behind people going 40 miles per hour…. that is sooo frustrating and I believe that it leads to people passing and possibly causing many of the accidents…. YES it may be stupid drivers…. but MAN just drive at least the speed limit!