Another tragic fatal traffic accident occurred on RR165 on Sunday, June 3rd. A young motorcyclist crested a blind hill at Cottontail Trail as Ann Dignan was turning left into her road. He struck the rear side of the truck, and was killed instantly.

Blanco County News published a brief and incomplete notice of the accident, stating that Ms. Dignan had turned in front of the victim. While technically true, this is not the full story. She was unable to see the motorcyclist when she made her left turn. The motorcyclist was unable to see her truck until he crested the hill. Within the split second required to avoid the collision, another life was lost. Once again, this dangerous hill proved to be a death trap.

This part of RR165, about 6.5 miles from Henly, has many curves, and hills which severely limit sight distance. Cottontail Trail intersection is at the most dangerous of several such hills between Divide Pass and Debo Lane. RR165 is considered a beautiful scenic drive, and traffic has dramatically increased during the past 10 years.

Another fatal motorcycle accident occurred at Cottontail Trail about 6 or 7 years ago, under identical circumstances, except the motorcyclist hit a truck turning onto RR165. One long time resident recalled at least 5 serious traffic accidents over the last 30 years at this dangerous hill.

Neighbors in this area are planning to research traffic data on this problematic area. We intend to discuss this public safety issue with Texas Department of Transportation (TX DOT), Blanco County Commissioners, and the Blanco County Sheriff's Department.

Divide Pass Road joins RR165 at another problematic area. The Divide Neighborhood Association, Inc. has the primary mission to maintain the 3.5 mile private road, Divide Pass. We also address safety issues, such as wild fire notification. We intend to do everything possible to make TX DOT aware of this dangerous stretch of road, and seek solutions.

Bernard Mollberg, Trustee,

The Divide Neighborhood Association, Inc.

P.O. Box 1061

Blanco, TX 78606

Editor’s Note: The information in last week’s report was released by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Blanco County News has learned that the accident is still under investigation and a reconstruction is pending. An official DPS report, released on Tuesday, listed speed as a contributing cause.