RESULTS OF CHP AIRCRAFT SPEED ENFORCEMENT DETAIL
On Sunday, September 14, 2014, California Highway Patrol (CHP) Bridgeport Area, in conjunction with the CHP’s Inland Division Air Operations Unit, based at Apple Valley Airport, conducted an aircraft speed enforcement detail on US-395, south of Topaz Lane (between Topaz Lane and Cunningham Lane). This section of highway has a posted 55 mile per hour maximum speed limit.
During the approximately two hour detail, the CHP aircraft officer identified vehicles traveling in excess of the maximum speed limit and directed officers on the ground to make enforcement contacts. A total of 11 enforcement contacts were made resulting in nine citations and two verbal warnings. Eight citations were issued for exceeding the maximum speed limit, one citation was issued for a registration violation, and two verbal warnings were issued to drivers from out of the country.
According to the most recent State Wide Integrated Traffic Records System data, in 2012, 459 people were killed on California roadways in collisions where the primary collision factor was determined to be unsafe speed for conditions. Another 70,291 people were injured in unsafe speed for conditions collisions. The California Highway Patrol would like to take this opportunity to encourage drivers to slow down and pay attention to the speed limit. Please, don’t become a statistic.
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salblaster….I know it would be all but impossible to prove such a thing in court if you were written up for flashing your headlights to warn drivers of a CHP ahead…My guess is,if it were to happen,plead not guilty,and take it to court….my bet….dismissed.
I drove to reno and back on wednesday and around 6:30 pm i was southbound 395 threw walker river canyon when a oncoming driver flashed his lights at me, my first thought was what am on fire or something. then i realize probably a sherriff or chp hiding by the road and sure enough 2 mins later i see a chp sittin by the road. I have heard flashing your lights to warn drivers of speed traps or whatever you call it is illegal, and i also heard on the radio a while back that it was not illegal that the california supreme court ruled it a freedom of speech. anyone no the facts on this.
Was just checking my lights.
not to mention, many of us flash our headlights to let oncoming drivers aware of possible road hazards ahead, such as deer, or debris in the road or many other things. It would be awful hard for LEO to prove you weren’t flashing for one of those reasons.
It would seem to be within one’s rights regardless of the reason anyway, but LEO may try to tell you otherwise.
Sugar M, you hit the nail right on the head. I ALWAYS slow down driving through Olancha, Chalfant, (anywhwere) there are homes. I’m afraid of somebodies kid or dog running out in front of me. I was driving just north of Tom’s Place last Monday night & was only doing 60 at 9 pm…slowpoke,right ? Out of no where, 2 deer stepped into the road & stopped,deer in the headlights literally ! Instantaneous downshift, anti-lock brakes= no impact. If I had been going 70,75 like most , my bronco would be in the body shop, and there’d be 2 less deer for the hunters when the season opens next month.
um no, Mr.NRA. The planes don’t just fly around willy nilly all day. They go up only for reasons and do cost a lot to operate.
However, I don’t think one can judge the success of their mission on the number of tickets issued that day. In theory, their presence one day might have an effect on people driving other days, assuming drivers are aware of this one day effort.
That ignores the fact that speed is not the major cause of most accidents. In fact, one could argue LEO patrolling roads and giving tickets serves no purpose whatsoever than revenue generation, but I do agree that having LEO just sitting around waiting to be called to an incident isn’t all that logical either.
Anyone who flies through Coleville (and any other town/community) along 395 is an idiot and deserves to get a ticket. Speed is a factor around developed areas since children, pets etc. are in the immediate area. Slow down through towns, it’s polite and prudent. Fly in the undeveloped areas!
Sugar,
Check your stats. Unsafe speed is almost always the leading primary collision factor whether the collisions are fatal, non fatal injury, non injury etc. There are others, of course, DUI, Unsafe Turn, Right of Way violation etc., but speed is PCF #1.
Texting has to be right up there with speeding
stats can say what they want them to, it’s driver inattention that contributes to accidents..for the most part. There is a limit to how fast you can drive safely of course. If one is paying attention to their driving, the speed limit can quite safely and easily be exceeded by a significant amount.
Now if you combine speed and inattention, then you have a much higher risk of an accident. Speed by itself, not a big contributor.
You may have been LEO Jon, tell me that in your police vehicle you can’t safely drive much higher than the speed limit. In fact, we see it all the time, LEO flying by. Guess what, they aren’t crashing while doing so. Speed is not the factor (up to a point of course), its one’s attention, plain and simple.
Verbal warnings for drivers from out of the country? Reminds me of illegal aliens from south of the boarder. If you’re from another country it’s ok to break our laws but if your a legal tax paying citizen your going to get cited and fined by law enforcement at every opportunity. What a bunch of crap. Everyone driving over the posted speed limit should be cited, or nobody should be cited.
Tom,
Our tax dollars pay to have the aircraft up in the air regardless if they are just flying around with nothing to do or trying to get some speeders. If a call came out and they needed the aircraft for a greater emergency then I can bet your bottom tax dollar that they would be heading to emergency. So I beg to differ that it was not a waste of time/resources.
These guys act like my eight grade hall monitor?
Seems like a waste of time/resources for 9 tickets.
They didn’t hit anyone – what is so bad about that?
I disagree. I often see people flying through that area at 70+. There is a reason why CHP and Mono Sheriffs spend so much time camped out in front of the Coleville school. I would like to know how many cars traveled that section during this operation versus how many were stopped. Id bet a high percentage were speeding. I’d also like to know what speed they were using as their trigger but I understand why they didn’t say.
I really wish the Bishop CHP would make more press releases like the Bridgeport office does.