Clovis crashes rise 21%, police name city's most dangerous intersections

Police said the biggest causes were unsafe speed, unsafe turns and failure to stop at a red signal. Drivers under the influence were responsible for 70 collisions, and the worst stretch on the calendar was Tuesday, with the peak crash hour from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., right when traffic on Shaw, Herndon, Willow and other major corridors often stacks up.

The latest jump continues a longer climb. In 2024, Clovis police responded to more than 1,500 collisions, nearly 4% more than 2023, and more than 200 of those crashes involved at least one injury. Clovis had already seen a 13% rise in crashes in 2023, and the repeat appearance of Shaw and Willow, Herndon and Clovis, and Herndon and Fowler shows the problem is concentrated on the same everyday routes residents use to get to work, school, shopping and church. The Clovis Police Department’s end-of-year report says the city covers 27.3 square miles and had a population of 126,133, a compact footprint that pushes a lot of traffic onto a few major arterials.

The crash pattern also overlaps with road projects already aimed at those corridors. The Shaw Avenue widening plan calls for three eastbound lanes between DeWolf and McCall, three westbound lanes from DeWolf to Highland, raised median islands, curb and gutter, streetlights, new traffic signals and an overpass connection. Herndon Avenue has also been targeted for adaptive signalization and street-improvement work, including pavement, striping and signal upgrades between Clovis Avenue and Coventry Avenue and between Fowler and Armstrong.