Pacific Coast Highway, that stunning stretch of asphalt winding through Malibu, has become a graveyard of broken dreams and shattered lives. This week, we mourn the loss of yet another soul to the highway’s deadly embrace. The toll since 2010: 61 lives cut short, 61 families forever scarred.
We’ve seen the candlelight vigils, heard the tear-soaked eulogies, and felt the anguish of a community ripped apart time and again. But what have we done to stop the bloodshed? The answer, quite simply, is not nearly enough.
Oh, there have been promises — plenty of them. Politicians have vowed action, officials have unveiled “safety initiatives,” and well-meaning groups have organized awareness campaigns. But as the body count climbs, it’s clear these efforts have been little more than Band-Aids on a bullet wound.
Take the recent “21 Miles in Malibu” event. On its face, screening and discussing PCH safety seems like a positive step.But let’s be honest — heartfelt documentaries and tearful testimonials, as crucial as they are for raising awareness, won’t slow down a speeding driver or redesign a deathtrap intersection.
Panelists at the event urged parents to monitor their kids’ driving and implored teens to be more careful. These are valid pleas, but they ignore the fundamental problem: PCH is a highway designed for disaster. Blind curves and a lack of pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure make it a ticking time bomb. And until we address these systemic flaws, the carnage will continue.
We’re told that speed cameras are the answer. They may be part of the solution, but they’re not a panacea. Cameras snap pictures — they don’t calm traffic or fix hazardous road designs. And even their implementation is mired in bureaucratic red tape.
The most infuriating example of this came when Duffy Marcellino, whose sister was killed by a distracted driver, revealed that three fatalities at the same spot weren’t enough to warrant basic safety measures. This is the twisted logic of a system that is more concerned with liability than lives.
Malibu deserves better. Our children deserve better. The 61 people lost to PCH deserved better. It’s time to stop pretending minor tweaks and awareness campaigns will fix a fundamentally broken highway. It’s time for real change:
- Redesign PCH with safety as the top priority, not an afterthought. And not as a wordplay from Caltrans that safety is the priority; that is media talk; there is no proof, but small fixes do not cut it. Synchronized lights move traffic, not save lives.
- Implement proven traffic calming measures like roundabouts and chicanes.
- Invest in pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure — sidewalks, bike lanes, and crosswalks.
- Enforce speed limits with cameras and regular patrols. At least this has started
- Hold officials accountable when they fail to act.
- These aren’t radical ideas. They’re common sense. And it’s long past time we used some common sense to make PCH safe.
Speed cameras are one tool that can help. Yes, it’s frustrating that implementation will take time, but if done correctly —with numerous cameras and hefty fines — they can be a powerful deterrent. And let’s be smart about this: let’s use the revenue from those tickets to fund real safety improvements to PCH. It’s a way to make reckless drivers pay, literally, for putting lives at risk.
But technology alone won’t save us. We need a fundamental shift in how we approach safety on PCH, the same way we’ve transformed attitudes around smoking and drunk driving. We must teach our young people and remind ourselves that speeding and reckless driving aren’t just risky — they’re unacceptable. Every time we get behind the wheel, we hold lives in our hands.
The “21 Miles in Malibu” film and events like it are a crucial start. Seeing the devastation and hearing the stories of loss can be a wake-up call. But we must follow up that shock with sustained education and open discussions. We need to create a culture where dangerous driving is ostracized, and safe driving is the norm.
It won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight. But the alternative — more deaths, more vigils, more shattered families — is unthinkable. So, let’s commit to the hard work of change. Let’s make PCH a model of safety, not a symbol of tragedy. Our children, our community, and the memories of those we’ve lost demand nothing less.
The next vigil is just a matter of time. Let’s make sure it’s not for another life lost to a highway that’s become a weapon of mass destruction. Let’s demand action, not just words. Let’s make PCH a road to life, not a road to death.
I, for one, am tired of seeing more and more white tires, each representing a destroyed family.
Michel Shane
Malibu