Hammett Hill is a killer

The stretch of I-84 between mileposts 110 and 112 is the most dangerous section of road in Elmore County.

In the last three years a total of 15 people have lost their lives on that two-mile stretch of road known as Hammett Hill, according to statistics provided by the Idaho State Police and the Elmore County Sheriff's office. That's out of 20 total fatalities in the county on I-84 during the same period of time.

"If you put crosses up there where everybody's been killed, it would look like a graveyard," said Deputy Bob Peace, the lead patrol deputy for Elmore County, who has seen way too many fatal accidents at that location.

That two-mile stretch of road includes, right in the middle, a broad, gentle, sweeping curve up the hill, for those traveling eastbound that can be seen from the top of the hill at milepost 108. Westbound, drivers start the curve on the hill and drop down into the valley between mileposts 112 and 108.

But the fatality statistics are split about evenly between eastbound and westbound traffic at that point, which Elmore County Sheriff's patrol deputies have taken to calling "Deadman's Curve."

Westbound, most of the fatalities involved drivers who came over the hill, weren't paying attention or who fell asleep at the wheel, started to go off one side of the road, overcorrected, and rolled their vehicles in the median.

Eastbound, most of the drivers or passengers killed at the curve simply drove straight and didn't make the curve at all, rolling their car in the field next to the curve.

"Mostly, it's people just not paying attention," Peace said, admitting that there is nothing difficult about that stretch of road.

"People get hypnotized, they get mesmerized driving through the desert, and they lose focus. I'd say 90 percent of the fatalities out there are people from out of state, usually Oregon or Washington, who just aren't used to driving in a desert.

"Then the curve sneaks up on them, the first thing they know, they're off the pavement, they overcorrect, and then the car is suddenly moving sideways on its wheels. Enough resistance builds up and the car rolls.

"If you're not wearing a seat belt, you're going to be ejected, and whenever you come out of that protective cage (built inside cars) you're going to get hurt bad." He said the angle of the ground and the curve usually increases the chances of a rollover at that point.

Because the road design isn't flawed or dangerous, Peace believes the best thing that can be done to prevent accidents at that section of road is for the state to install rumble strips.

"That'll alert people before they get off the road. Because once you start to make any sudden moves, which is a natural reaction, once you're off the road, you're almost guaranteed to roll it.

"The rumble strips would alert drivers" who aren't paying attention or may have fallen asleep and give them a chance to make corrections before they leave the road, Peace said.

Peace noted that most of the fatalities along that stretch of road have occurred in clear weather.

Weather is often a factor in many accidents, such as the eight rollovers last weekend when the roads became slick in the county, but usually people are driving slower due to the bad conditions and there are few fatalities. On the other hand, Peace point out, most of those weather-related slide-offs are the direct result of people driving too fast for the road conditions.

Although the Hammett Hill is the most dangerous stretch of I-84, in terms of fatalities, the most number of accidents on I-84 tends to occur within one mile of the west entrance to the city, and the bulk of those are eastbound drivers.

"You come up the hill and over the curve and suddenly you say, 'hey, this is my exit,' "Peace said. "You've got drivers going anywhere from 75-80 to 55 mph, some are slowing down to make the exit, and the road's a little rough as well, especially over the bridge, and all that adds up to a lot of people running into each other out there," he said.

Although there have been some serious accidents in the mile leading up to the exit, and in the mile after the exit on Highway 30, especially at the Burger King intersection, there haven't been any fatalities in recent years.

"Knock on wood," Peace said. "We've been lucky. It's just a 'busy' area for drivers, and some aren't paying as much attention as others. It's usually always driver error," for accidents at that section of I-84.

And the most number of "intersection" accidents occurs at Simco Road, according to the statistics. "People just don't know how to merge into traffic," Peace said, "or how to pay attention and clear the merge lane for traffic entering the interstate.

"People just aren't polite anymore, and that's being reflected in more and more road rage incidents we're seeing, as well. The problem is definitely getting worse."

Peace suggested three things people can do to help prevent getting involved in an accident on the interstate (or anywhere else for that matter).

First, he said, wear seat belts. The new state law that makes it mandatory to wear one, or face a fine, has helped boost usage, but most of the bodies Peace has seen laying on roadsides over the years have been from people who weren't wearing them, and would have survived if they had.

Second, watch your speed. "Slow down when the roads are bad," Peace said. "If you're not sure you can stop before you hit something, you're going too fast." Peace recommends using the "two second" separation rule: Give yourself two seconds of separation between yourself and the car in front of you. Any closer, and you could get caught up in the other driver's problems.

In fact, he pointed out, every 10 mph of speed doubles the stopping distance from the previous 10 mph mark. "You take a vehicle that ways the better part of a ton, get it going 70 or 80 mph, and have it hit something, that's a lot of energy release. It's tough to survive that."

Finally, Peace said, "just pay attention. In today's lifestyle, we're all in a hurry. We get distracted. Maybe it's music, or a cell phone or just thinking about something else, but most of the accidents we see are from people who just aren't paying attention to their driving."

And that, he pointed out, can be a fatal mistake.