The rain is wrecking both traffic troubles and tragedies in California roads.

Recently, 43-year old Maria Castellanos was killed in an early morning car crash after her car crashed in a power pole.

According to the California Highway Police, the driver from Sonoma was most likely driving too fast under the conditions before she lost control of her 2001 Ford Taurus on Highway 12.

As she approached a curve near Madrone Road, her car spun out of control and sent her slamming against the power pole.

She died at 10:30 that morning in the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Aside from driver behavior and error, weather conditions like rain, snow and fog are some of the leading causes of car crash accidents.

Rain in particular, has been known to cause car accidents even if the driver is skilled or even driving below the posted speed limit. Slick and slippery roads can cause even a vehicle moving within the speed limit to spin out of control when making a turn.

Often, due diligence is not enough when out driving under bad weather conditions – extraordinary diligence coupled with the exercise of common sense is called for in road situations where there is rain, snow or fog.

When it rains, it is very important to remember not to rush. On its own, speed is already a dangerous and leading factor in fatal car crashes. But wet roads and speed almost inevitably equate to tragedy.

In San Jose, a man barely escaped with his life when his car spun out of control and hit a crosswalk sign. Rescuers managed to cut the man loose from his seatbelt just seconds before the car exploded. Unfortunately, Castellanos is not as lucky.

It is important to bear in mind that taking care and taking time to get to your destination will actually get you to where you want to be. Speeding under the weather will only get you to an early grave.

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Following her second DUI arrest last November 2009, Pamela Bach, the ex-wife of Baywatch star David Hasselhoff was recently ordered by the judge to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet and attend several AA meetings.

Bach will likely face jail time if convicted for her second DUI offense as a repeat offender for her drunk driving car crash last February and November 2009.

Despite the innumerable fatal drunk driving fatal car crash accidents reported on the news daily as well against law and logic – there are many people who still continue to drink and drive.

A likely reason for the continued rising trend of drunk drivers is the fact that many people, especially non-hardcore drinkers, underestimate the effects of alcohol on their driving skills.

But alcohol is a drug, in fact it is an antidepressant. No matter how good a driver the person is, drinking alcohol can impair one’s judgment, reflexes, and coordination which are all very important to one’s driving abilities.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that drunk driving is very dangerous not just to the driver but also to other motorists and pedestrians. In order to curb repeat drunk driving offenses, here are some of the ways to reduce or control drunk drivers:

SCRAM bracelet – This is an alcohol monitoring bracelet which constantly tests the skin of its wearer for the presence of alcohol. It monitors the alcohol consumption of DUI offenders.

Ignition Interlock Device – It is a mechanism installed to a motor vehicle’s dashboard wherein the driver must first exhale into the device before the vehicle’s engine is started. If the driver’s BAC is greater than the programmed blood alcohol content limit, the device would prevent the drunk driver from driving.

PAS Device – The preliminary alcohol-screening (PAS) device is a hand-held breath-testing unit that gives an instant and accurate measure of the drunk driver’s blood alcohol concentration. This is usually used by law enforcement to measure the blood alcohol level of suspected drunk drivers.

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