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Click It Or Ticket (CIOT): It only takes two seconds to buckle up. Two seconds! And those two seconds could literally save your life. They will also keep you from getting a ticket and a fine.  Police departments throughout California will be looking for drivers and passengers who don’t buckle up during the “Click It or Ticket” seat belt enforcement campaign. And that includes passengers in the back seat.  “Click It or Ticket” debuted in California in 2005, and since then over one million more vehicle occupants have started buckling up.  The fine for a seat belt violation costs between $80 and $91 depending on the county and up to $350 for not properly restraining a child under 16. If the parent is not in the car, the driver gets the ticket.  So when you pack up the family, or even just yourself, please do so safely. Don’t put your own life at risk, or the life of your family or friends. Buckle up.  “Click It or Ticket” is a cooperative effort among the five traffic safety-related departments under the state’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency: the California Highway Patrol, Office of Traffic Safety, Department of Transportation, Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The 2008 CIOT campaign runs from May 12th through June 1st.  For more information please visit the California Office of Traffic Safety website. 

Radar/Laser Enforcement: This is perhaps one of the most well known of enforcement techniques and radar technology can accurately measure the speed of a moving vehicle. Occasionally, we will use a speed trailer (a trailer that flashes the speed to on-coming cars) to inform drivers of their speed as a sort of a warning, and no citations are issued. We often use the speed trailer when we get a complaint about speeders in a specific area to see if the area warrants a radar enforcement program. If there are a lot of speeders, we will implement a radar enforcement program on a street to break a pattern of people speeding on that street.

Message Boards: Informing drivers of speed limits and complaint areas can be done by use of portable message boards. This technique is used in conjunction with the speed trailer and is very useful in increasing driver awareness. Drivers become relaxed in areas that they are familiar with and sometimes delivering a reminder to them to "slow down" is helpful in resolving speed complaints. Message boards are also used to deliver information regarding road closures, upcoming activity, or bringing attention to other problems such as failing to yield to pedestrians and other special enforcement being conducted.

DUI, Seatbelt, Car Seat, or Driver's License Checkpoints: Sometimes, you might see something that looks like a road block ahead. Drivers must slow down and pass officers slowly so they may look inside your car to ensure seatbelt and car seat compliance, or stop if an officer suspects that a driver of a car had been consuming alcoholic beverages. DUI (Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol) and failure to wear seat belts and utilize car safety seats cause thousands of people to lose their lives each year. Further, unlicensed drivers are involved in a high number of collisions, and most of them are not insured as well. These drivers keep insurance rates high for everyone and are unsafe drivers as well.

Commercial Checkpoints: A tool to combat poorly maintained commercial vehicles is the use of safety inspection lanes or commercial checkpoints. This type of checkpoint is usually conducted in cooperation with the California Highway Patrol and targets commercial traffic through town. Unsafe, poorly equipped and overweight vehicles are inspected and if violations are found, the driver may be cited and the vehicle impounded. This helps in improving driver safety and keeping some of those rocks from breaking your windshield.

Pedestrian Stings: Have you ever noticed that more and more drivers ignore pedestrians in crosswalks because everyone seems to be in a hurry these days? We have too. So occasionally, we will have "undercover" officers pose as regular pedestrians and attempt to cross the street at a crosswalk or at an intersection, where pedestrians have the legal right-a-way. If a driver fails to stop for the pedestrian, or worst yet, makes the pedestrian stop or move back to avoid a collision, the driver is stopped and cited. So many of these cited drivers claim that they never saw the pedestrian or were on their cellular phone...both poor excuses for nearly hitting someone.

If you would like any type of special enforcement enforced in your neighborhood, please contact Sgt. Brett Bourgeous at (626) 574-5150 or click here to e-mail him directly.

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS

If you have recently driven through the intersection of Huntington Drive and Santa Clara Street, you may have noticed newly installed traffic control devices. The City has installed two, very bright, LED signs that when illuminated, display the universal “NO RIGHT TURN” symbol. The signs are activated in conjunction with the pedestrian walk phase and only turn on when someone has pushed the demand button on the signal. Making a right turn on red is acceptable if the signs are not lighted. Turning against the signs is a violation of the California Vehicle Code, section 22101(d). This is a moving violation and a can be a point on your driving record.

The City is committed to improving pedestrian safety and continues to research and find better means to make our streets safer and “ped friendly”. Handicap access ramps, on-going sidewalk repair, and brighter crosswalk signs with improved visibility, are all are examples of our dedication to this effort.

Pedestrian safety is everyone’s responsibility! Watch out for folks on foot, pay attention to street and speed limit signs while driving and be especially careful in the area of schools and senior facilities.

VIDEO TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT

The Arcadia Police Department cares about your safety. It is our goal to minimize the danger to our children when arriving and departing from school. One child injured or killed is one too many. Working together will help us accomplish our objective.

At least twice daily, several hundred automobiles converge on each of our City schools to deliver and pick up students. Severe traffic congestion from illegally stopped vehicles and other violations place our children in an unsafe environment. Most of our schools have designated “Loading Zone” areas. These areas are intended to allow you to pull over and let your child safely exit and enter your vehicle. These areas do not allow for you to wait in your vehicle. If your child is not ready to be picked up, you must park in an area which is safe and not restricted.

The Arcadia Police Department has begun using video cameras to record vehicular violations as they occur. Citations will be issued and mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle. Increased compliance with these types of traffic laws will significantly improve the safety of our children.

Here are a few things to remember:

DO NOT double-park
DO NOT drop off or pick up a passenger while stopped in traffic
DO NOT stop in red or no parking zones
DO NOT be part of the problem

DO drive safely!
DO be part of the solution!

TEEN PROVISIONAL DRIVER LICENSE

In January 2006, California increased driving restrictions for persons under the age of 18 who hold a provisional driver license.  These regulations pertain to any provisional license issued on or after January 1, 2006 and any provisional license issued during 2005.  Teen drivers with a provisional license are prohibited from transporting passengers under the age of 20 for the first 12 months and the teen driver is prohibited from driving between 11 pm and 5 am during the first 12 months as well.

There are other restrictions and some exceptions that are described further on the State of California Department of Motor Vehicles website.  Please use the following link for additional information:  http://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl_info.htm#FIRSTYEAR

One noted exception is for immediate family members to be transported to and from school in certain situations by the provisional driver.  If there is a legitimate need and the provisional driver has in their possession, a note from their parents, a sibling may be transported to and from school.  There is no exception for friends, carpools or extracurricular activity.  Under certain conditions, school activities may be exempt with documentation from the school.

Visit the DMV website for additional resources and further information.

Suggested links:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/teenweb

http://www.chp.ca.gov/community/html/startsmart.html

SCHOOL ZONE TRAFFIC LAWS (pdf)