CHP Air Speed Enforcement

[RadioGuy1951]

As to "Humor"...I also didn't know those were some kind of song lyrics...to me it sounded like a wiseass perspective...

Folks, it's best to create posts that are understandable to the widest audience possible (and all age groups)...

If you make references to songs or movies, remember that there will be folks that just don't know what you're talking about, and will respond to the text on face value...

I'm involved with media, so maybe I have a more acute awareness of words, impact, and understanding...I also have many gray hairs and don't get the references that younger people have (and assume others will understand)...

I'm 10-10...

 

[SCPD]

The stretches of highway where I see or hear them doing enforcement are all staight stretches of road (Hwy 80 Placer county line to 80/Business 80 split, Clipper Gap to Bowman, Hwy 50 from Sunrise to Folsom Blvd) where drivers just tend to open up the throttle.

Some of the more deadly locations are not as much related to pure speed as inadequate road for the quantity of traffic, such as Hwy 12 on both sides of Rio Vista, Hwy 49 between Auburn & Grass Valley and Hwy 99 from Sacramento to the 99/70 split were previously much more deadly areas until the roads were improved.

I'd like to see them concentrate on other enforcement issues and not just speed. Drivers using the shoulder to pass, "distracted", coming up on slow traffic (driving too closely), not keeping to the right regardless of speed (if you're not passing move to the right), failure to signal adequately before you move (indecisions kill) and tons more. I could show 100s of locations where most vehicles are causing a violation and these seem to lierally go 'under the radar'.

When I've discussed it with LEOs, I am told they only concentrate on the so-called big 3 violations that cause the most deaths or serious injuries. WOW. My point is that some driver doing oh 80 in a 65 zone who is abiding by ALL other laws of the road is not nearly a threat to others as many of the abive violations I listed.

Are you saying that you know more than the LEO's as far what causes the most deaths or serious injuries? What reports, statistics or other data do you have that support "my point is that some driver doing oh 80 in a 65 zone who is abiding by ALL other laws of the road is not nearly a threat to others as many of the [above] violations I listed. We need to separate opinion from fact, just saying it isn't a threat doesn't make it so. I have my opinions about speed based on the injuries and a few bodies I've seen along the way. I drove a few hundred thousand miles in green trucks and then and now, a few hundred thousand miles in POVs. I've read a lot of accident reports and some of the research.

Speeding is not just a matter of highway safety either. We've reached peak oil production and are now destroying hundreds of thousands of acres pulling oil out of sand, land that won't recover in decades or hundreds of years. I see the damage as I've visited a lot of mineral and oil and gas operations. The amount of real energy produced with tar sand is minimal, considering the energy needed to get the oil out of the sand and to the pump. This is the most expensive oil ever produced. We are in the midst of the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of the human species. That wealth is leaving the U.S. We can no longer afford to send troops all over the globe to maintain stability so that we get first dibs on the oil. We are poisoning aquifers with aggressive drilling employing fracking when we don't really understand the long term ramifications of what we are doing I do my part to do as little driving as I can in the smallest car I could find and when I do I'm not going to waste my money and the resource by speeding just because I want to be somewhere 20 minutes earlier while on a 6-8 hour trip. Then I see some oversized urban assault vehicle, grossly overweight given the task at hand, passing by at 80+ miles per hour with a driver who is arrogant enough to think their selfish needs outweigh the common good. As the old saying goes, "you are either part of the problem or part of the solution."

There was an accident with multiple fatalities south of Bishop nearly one year ago that caused two vehicles to catch on fire. Both vehicles were carrying college cross country running teams, two of many schools that train at higher elevations. One team, in two vans was northbound and a van and SUV were southbound with the other team. The southbound vehicles were in excess of 80 miles per hour on a 4 lane, divided highway with a dirt median. Somehow one of the southbound vehicles lost control and due to the excess speed crossed two lanes of traffic and the median, hitting one of the northbound vans with such violence that both vehicles started on fire. There were multiple fatalities. Life for both teams and the families of more than a half dozen people were changed forever. The scene was gruesome and this was, unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence on the "wide open road" of U.S. 395 in Inyo and Mono Counties. The students and staff in the northbound lanes were traveling the speed limit and were the innocent victims of someone's arrogant attitude and careless nature. Speed limits are there for a reason.

 

[SCPD]

As to "Humor"...I also didn't know those were some kind of song lyrics...to me it sounded like a wiseass perspective...

Folks, it's best to create posts that are understandable to the widest audience possible (and all age groups)...

If you make references to songs or movies, remember that there will be folks that just don't know what you're talking about, and will respond to the text on face value...

I'm involved with media, so maybe I have a more acute awareness of words, impact, and understanding...I also have many gray hairs and don't get the references that younger people have (and assume others will understand)...

I'm 10-10...

Not to mention that humor over the internet is real hard to pull off.

 

[gmclam]

Traffic enforcement 101

There was an accident with multiple fatalities south of Bishop nearly one year ago that caused two vehicles to catch on fire. ... One team, in two vans was northbound and a van and SUV were southbound with the other team. The southbound vehicles were in excess of 80 miles per hour on a 4 lane, divided highway with a dirt median. Somehow one of the southbound vehicles lost control and due to the excess speed crossed two lanes of traffic and the median, hitting one of the northbound vans with such violence that both vehicles started on fire. There were multiple fatalities.

And the cause of the accident was not the SPEED, it was the vehicle that crossed over the center line.

The scene was gruesome and this was, unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence on the "wide open road" of U.S. 395 in Inyo and Mono Counties. The students and staff in the northbound lanes were traveling the speed limit and were the innocent victims of someone's arrogant attitude and careless nature. Speed limits are there for a reason.

I drive 395, 99, I5, 101 frequently enough to/from southern/northern California to understand what you mean about "wide open road". Each highway has such stretches, although some more than others. Wrecks happen all the time which are not the fault of victims. Cause is as likely to be distracted drivers as anything. Again, speed in and of itself can not cause a wreck. It can only be a contributing factor. If you're distracted and speeding, you have less time to react, etc.

Are you saying that you know more than the LEO's as far what causes the most deaths or serious injuries? What reports, statistics or other data do you have that support "my point is that some driver doing oh 80 in a 65 zone who is abiding by ALL other laws of the road is not nearly a threat to others as many of the [above] violations I listed.

Again, I can show 100s of places, typically not on freeways where people violate traffic laws and are a threat to innocent others. I'd like to see enforcement in those areas, especially distracted driving, and less concentration of people doing 80 in a 65 zone on a freeway.

LOOK at reality. Go out onto one of these stretches of freeway when there is no enforcement (and even when there is) and you'll find the traffic flowing well above posted limits yet wrecks are NOT happening at that rate. I hear calls virtually every day 'auto vs ped' or 'auto vs bicycle' NOT on freeways. Perhaps not always fatalities, but significant injuries nonetheless.

 

[RadioGuy1951]

Whenever speed is increased. the momentum & kinetic energy expended during a collision is increased...

Whenever speed is increased reaction times & dynamics are different...

Whenever speed is increased mechanical failures have a more dramatic effect...

Whenever speed is increaded adreneline is increased, affecting driver perception & judgement...

When speed is decreased safety margines are increased...

When speed is decreased survival rates go up...

When speed is decreased reaction times are better in terms of feet traveled per second...

NOBODY has a right to endanger my life, or the life of others, no matter what they believe about travel speed...and this is why PRISON time is a possibility for those whose actions cause serious accidents that result in death...which can happen in a split second...

Is it really worth the risk & danger just because a person wants to drive real fast...???

 

[RadioGuy1951]

Not to mention that humor over the internet is real hard to pull off.

Yup...even with a bunch of smiley face emoticons...

Those that talk boastful about their desire to drive real fast have never been on a fire crew looking for body parts for the Coronor to bag & tag (CHP code 11-44)...

Real death on highways is not sanitary like on TV shows...it's messy, it's grizzly, it makes you sick to your stomach, the images can haunt fire & cop creews for a long time when you reallize that 20 foot smear of blood was somebodys body being ripped open, that that funny looking jello smeared on the ground was once somebody's brain, and that a crumpled bloody lump of flesh & bones was somebody's child...

I'm glad I'm not a firefighter anymore...but I still have images I wish I could forget after all these many years...

In my aera during the old days serious offenders were required to spend a night or two at the local ER to see the broken body's being wheeled in, screaming in pain and anguish, or worse yet, the people who the medics can no longer help...

The local tow company used to park bloody mangled cars out front so people couild see what happens in a split second...

It's a practice I think should be revived...the grim reaper cares not how macho you think you are...

And remember that in those "wide open highways" rescue crews are much further away, and when you have serious injuries and are in very intense pain, it seems like it takes forever for the fire, cop, & medics to arrive...in many remote areas fire crews are volunteers, not at a firehouse staffed 24/7, so it takes longer for them to drive to the fire station to roll out the apparatus code 3...and if it's night and you're over an embankment, they might not find you in time...

Real life in NO way resembles what you see on TV...

 

[gmclam]

Traffic law enforcement

While Hwy 395 might be "main street" for those of you in Mono or Inyo counties, and many in other rural areas have it the same way. There are LOTS of traffic violations being virtually ignored in big cities because there is only so much enforcement to go around. Perhaps they're only doing significant (speed) enforcement when they get $$$ to do so, I don't know.

All I am saying is that I'd like OTHER (traffic) laws to be enforced too, not just those doing over 65 on a freeway someplace. And while I am not a LEO, I've seen the situations you refer to. You know, you just can not protect some people from themselves regardless of the quantity of laws and enforcement thereof.

 

[tahoekid77]

Speed limits are set by politicians, not traffic engineers. Nevada is considering increasing their limit to 85 mph on the open desert roads. There have been numerous studies that show speed is only a small player in accidents. Crappy tires, poor maintenance, too fast for conditions (driving through fog, rain, snow), texting while driving, DUI, falling asleep at the wheel cause way more accidents than driving over some artificial speed limit. Look up "85th percentile traffic engineering" you should find a lot of articles.

http://www.ite.org/standards/speed_zoning.pdf
US DOT report confirms speed not major cause of accidents

Also, IMHO, I think we've exhausted this subject.
Happy scanning.

 

[tahoekid77]

Whenever speed is increased. the momentum & kinetic energy expended during a collision is increased...

Whenever speed is increased reaction times & dynamics are different...

Whenever speed is increased mechanical failures have a more dramatic effect...

Whenever speed is increaded adreneline is increased, affecting driver perception & judgement...

When speed is decreased safety margines are increased...

When speed is decreased survival rates go up...

When speed is decreased reaction times are better in terms of feet traveled per second...

NOBODY has a right to endanger my life, or the life of others, no matter what they believe about travel speed...and this is why PRISON time is a possibility for those whose actions cause serious accidents that result in death...which can happen in a split second...

Is it really worth the risk & danger just because a person wants to drive real fast...???

Then we should set max speed limits to 30 mph. Think how safe we'll all be.

 

[SCPD]

I see that no one addressed the increased fuel use of driving faster. Your tires won't last as long either.

 

[tahoekid77]

Back on topic - Speed traps aside, I often hear CHP Air 21 snagging dangerous motorcycle riders or street racers on the freeway. Though I don't usually see what is going on, but I have been stuck in a traffic jam and listened to some guy being watched from above on another freeway, As the 'drama' unfolds, it is usually a CHP motorcycle unit that ends up making the stop. There was a fatal crash a few days ago in the bay area from a guy street racing on a bike (biker did not survive).

I also heard a comical call come over the air for CHP Air in the bay area last Thursday - 2 males taking their clothes off next to the freeway. Pretty entertaining and less boring to listen to than AM radio.