Local News in Brief : Anti-Gridlock Tickets
A team of Los Angeles police officers assigned to enforce the new statewide anti-gridlock law handed out 154 tickets on its first day, including 36 to motorists blocking intersections and 118 for other violations, mostly jaywalking, officials said Tuesday.
Sgt. Mike Hooper said the effort Monday, the first day of added enforcement, was concentrated on about 100 congested intersections downtown, in West Los Angeles and in the San Fernando Valley. Nearly half of the tickets were written downtown, he said, including 19 to motorists for blocking intersections.
Under a $120,000 program initiated by the City Council, police are paying officers to work overtime to help enforce the state law that took effect Jan. 1. The law makes it illegal for a motorist to enter a blocked intersection, even if the light is green. Previously, a motorist could pull into an intersection any time there was a green light, whether or not he could exit by the time the light turned red.
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