Edhat Staff
Traffic on Highway 101 is at a standstill after a multi-vehicle collision in the southbound lanes near the Gaviota rest stop.
At 7:12 a.m., Santa Barbara County firefighters responded with California Highway Patrol (CHP) and an ambulance to the area of Highway 101 southbound near the Gaviota rest stop. They discovered three separate vehicle collisions with possibly six total vehicles involved within a 1/2 mile of one another.
The original collision involved one vehicle and the others stacked up behind that one, approximately one mile south of Highway 1, said Captain Dave Zaniboni.
There was a total of three patients with minor injuries, two refused treatment and one, a female in her 60’s, was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
CHP closed the roadway for a while but one lane is now open as they investigate the cause of these incidents.
Reported by an edhat reader
Accident on Highway 101 southbound near the Nojoqui Grade, fire trucks are just arriving but traffic is at a standstill.
I agree with you 100%. The traffic between 7-8am on a weekday is just ridiculous. Drivers tailgate far too often and I think CHP needs to start citing the drivers that love to tailgate others. I drive defensively these days after all of the accidents I’ve seen in person and those reported by local news platforms.
We were paased the other day by some sort of fancy smancy euro sportscar…the driver had to be going at LEAST 85 mph!!! Slow down people…what is the rush!?!?
Since the 154 has been closed there has been a lot more traffic on the 101 in the mornings and the afternoons. Add to that the 14 yard dump trucks shuttling Montecito mud to the Santa Ynez riverbed in Buellton, making multiple trips throughout the day. Yes, the increased traffic, the increased driving time for those who had relied on the 154 all add to the problem. But a major problem on our roads are those who stay in the “fast” lane, and don’t allow others to pass. It’s fine to ask “what’s the rush?” but that’s really nobody’s business. Just get out of the center lane and let people go by, and you will see a decrease in collisions.
Tee gee there is no center lane. You are either stuck behind a semi doing 50 in the slow lane or have some person like you trying to do 80 in the fast lane. When I do 60 in the fast lane through these dangerous curves there is an awhole on my butt trying to do 80.
The amount of traffic traveling 101 southbound between 7-8am on a weekday is insane. Not only is there a lack of common sense with so many of these drivers, there’s a lack of enforcement of any vehicle violations.
Tinker, if someone is on your “awhole”, whether you are going 55, 60, 65, or more, please pull over so they can pass and you won’t have that problem any longer. Parvopup and Tee Gee have valid points. I drove up the 101 from Santa Barbara to Buellton the other day and could not believe how many drivers get in the fast lane and parallel a semi or other vehicle going the same speed for at least a mile, and often far longer, preventing those who wish to go faster an opportunity to do so. I really don’t care how slow someone wants to drive – just stay in the slow lane if that’s what you want to do. I wish the DMV would administer IQ, Agility, Peripheral Vision, and Awareness tests to individuals before issuing licenses. Had to chuckle the other day when I was in the TJ’s parking lot on De La Vina – I was waiting patiently directly behind a woman in a Toyota trying to back out of her parking spot. It literally took her 3 minutes of struggling to get out of that spot and she finally gave up and pulled back into it, probably to take a deep breath, collect her thoughts, and summon up enough courage to try that most difficult maneuver of backing out again. I should have been angry for her holding up myself and several other drivers behind me, but the sight of it all was so pathetic and almost comical that all I could do was shake my head and laugh at how so many inept people are allowed to drive.