Riley to Seek Use of Radar on Dangerous Ortega Hwy.

In response to the 16 deaths and 277 injuries since 1984 on the 25-mile Ortega Highway, Supervisor Thomas F. Riley will ask state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) to look into what can be done to allow the California Highway Patrol to use radar there.

In a draft of a letter to be sent to Bergeson, Riley says his office has received “numerous letters and phone calls” complaining about excessive speed on the highway. Riley’s letter asks Bergeson to describe what kinds of legislative or administrative steps can be taken to get permission for radar monitoring there.

Except for a pilot program in Ventura County, the state has not allowed radar monitoring on its highways. The Ortega Highway, California 74, runs from San Juan Capistrano through the Cleveland National Forest and ends at Grand Avenue near Lake Elsinore in Riverside County. The highway is noted for its scenic beauty as well as for its record of grisly accidents.

More Crashes on Weekends

The south Orange County CHP office patrols the fairly straight 14-mile stretch from Interstate 5 to the Riverside County line. According to Officer Ken Daily, 95 people were injured and four killed in 87 accidents there in 1984. In the first eight months of 1985, there were 73 accidents with 84 injuries and two fatalities.

“We get lots of complaints from people who commute regularly on the highway, but our peak accident period is weekends,” Daily said. “Radar would be a boon. The primary cause of accidents out there is speed.”

Beyond the Riverside County line, the highway curves sharply as it enters more mountainous terrain. CHP Officer John Anderson of Riverside County said that in 1984, there were 88 accidents on that 12-mile stretch, in which 55 people were injured and eight were killed. In the first 10 months of 1985, there have been 65 accidents, with 43 injuries and two deaths.

‘High Volume’

“That’s a pretty high volume of accidents, considering the length of the road,” Anderson said.

Julie Froeberg, Bergeson’s chief of staff, said Bergeson is “supportive of radar generally but to use it on the Ortega Highway would require writing a bill to that effect and getting it passed.”

Although the CHP uses radar on county-maintained roads in Mission Viejo and North Tustin, it can use radar on only one state highway--the winding California 126 in Ventura County.

The use of radar on California 126 is a pilot program, CHP spokesman Steve Kohler said. And until the program is completed in December, 1986, the CHP has no plans to use radar elsewhere in the state.

CHP Lt. Kent Knight, whose division patrols California 126, said that in the first 10 months of 1984 --before radar was used--there were 83 accidents and eight deaths. In the first 10 months of 1985, there were 66 accidents and three deaths.

“We can’t say that radar has caused all of that decrease,” Knight said, “but it’s had a positive effect, as did the lights-on campaign and the media coverage.” The average speed has decreased from about 60 m.p.h. to 57.2 m.p.h., he said.

“If you drive on the freeways, it’s pretty obvious that people are not obeying the speed law, so if you have any major highway in the state where you’re lowering the traffic speed, I think that’s a significant accomplishment.”

Before radar was introduced on California 126, the CHP had asked motorists to turn on their headlights in the daytime. Lights are required on Laguna Canyon Road and on the Orange County side of the Ortega Highway.

John Stevens, an aide to Riley, said he hopes to include a bill for radar on the Ortega Highway in the next package of proposed bills the county sends to Sacramento. Stevens said he “couldn’t imagine the board not endorsing it as part of our package.”

If the state will not pay for all or part of the cost, Stevens said, the county would “look at local sources for funding.”