Concerns about increasing safety hazards on State Highway 74 that runs from Mountain Center to the desert city of La Quinta are growing with a petition to ban big rig trucks on that road being signed by area residents, according to television and newspapers in the Palm Springs area.The California Department of Transportation, Caltrans, has been quick to respond to needed repairs on the sometimes narrow, winding two-lane highway through the scenic Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains, but more and more accidents, some near-fatal, have been occurring on the mountain road.In addition, the Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force recently charged 16 persons in an alleged tow truck scheme with the scammers on that highway, according to news reports. The suspects allegedly hav
