Traffic crashes on Highway 17 rose a staggering 34 percent last year to the highest level in at least 13 years, prompting the CHP to step up patrols on the scenic but treacherous road that serves as the primary link for thousands of commuters between Santa Cruz and the South Bay.

The 983 collisions in 2016 came during a winter of heavy rains and reduced enforcement, producing the highest tally since an intensive safety campaign kicked off in 2003 and the California Highway Patrol started tracking annual crashes, injuries and fatalities. And they were far higher than the 664 tallied in 2015.

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You think your highway is scary? Have you driven 17 lately? Roadshow “It’s not looking too good,” said Ginger Dykaar of the Safe on 17 committee, a coalition of three dozen traffic officials, police, firefighters and elected officials from Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties that has pushed for safety upgrades for nearly two decades. “We need to come up with solutions.”

And fast.

Enter the CHP, which has six more officers who have just completed training and a couple ready to roll on 17 and adjacent routes. Since 2015, the CHP has had as few as two troopers working the four-lane highway from Scotts Valley to Los Gatos, though a half dozen had patrolled it before.

The rising crash numbers come on top of the worst winter in decades for the highway’s commuters, as heavy rains spawned mudslides and repeated lane closures that left motorists idling for hours or forced them into lengthy detours.

There are several factors in play behind the rash of crashes, with people on cellphones and increased traffic being major contributors, according to the CHP. But driving too fast for the conditions is the biggest reason for the high crash rate.

“We need to really hammer speed enforcement on 17,” said CHP spokeswoman Trista Drake.

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Budget cuts for officer overtime hampered enforcement on the highway in recent years, Drake said, but some of that money has since been restored.

High numbers of crashes and fatalities in the 1990s spurred a safety campaign that led to nearly $250 million in spending since 2003 on various roadway improvements, including median barriers, wider shoulders, anti-skid pavement, flashing warning signs and tree removal. It was spurred by a particularly bloody 1996 that saw 793 crashes, 151 injuries and nine deaths.

Though the number of Highway 17 crashes soared even higher than that in 2016, injuries and fatalities have not risen accordingly. Since 2003, injuries have fluctuated from a high of 187 in 2015 to a low of 126 in 2011, with 160 last year. There were two fatalities in 2016, none the year before and no more than four in any year since 2003.

The spike in accidents has some looking into the possibility of legislation to legalize speed enforcement cameras on Highway 17, where the speed limit is 50 mph but many drivers hit 65 mph or more even when the pavement is wet.

“Fatalities and crashes are up across the nation and in California,” said Laura Wells of the San Jose Department of Transportation who last month told the Highway 17 group about the possibility of using speed cameras on streets with a speed limit of 50 mph or less in San Jose and San Francisco.

“These are preventable,” she said. “We can implement technological policies to prevent this.”

Later this year a paving project will begin on the Santa Cruz County side of the hill and in 2020 on the Santa Clara County side.

“If there is just a little water on it, this road is really dangerous,” said Kevin Korth, the California representative for the Federal Highway Administration.

There are long-range plans for a $450 million effort to ban left turns, make 32 roadside changes and build interchanges at places like Vine Hill Road. Some money from a higher gas tax could be considered for this work.

The recent hard rains and mudslides could make 2017 numbers even worse. At Big Moody Curve, some drivers say there seems to be a rollover or spin-out crash nearly every day.

“While a long-term fix is clearly needed, something needs to happen now,” said Angela Hedges of Redwood Estates. “Flashing lights, flares, signs, anything. How many more accidents need to happen here until something can be done?”

The CHP isn’t sold on cameras on 17. “We generally dislike automated enforcement,’ said Officer Ross Lee “because it does not allow any discretion that an officer would have based on traffic conditions, roadway configurations, and other extenuating circumstances that influence appropriate enforcement.”

Oh, come on, say drivers.

“Speeding is rampant because there is no enforcement,” said Karen Armstrong of San Jose. “Cameras are an obvious choice to curb the speeding.”