FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Police Plan Intensive Patrolling of Street

Motorists who drive along Brookhurst Street in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley had better be on their best behavior.

It won’t take much to attract the attention of a team of motorcycle and traffic officers who plan to intensively patrol the street, the police said Thursday. Just poking the nose of a car ahead of the stop line in an intersection will be enough to warrant being pulled over by a police officer.

For all but the most blatant offenders--those who run red lights or speed, for instance--officers say they won’t issue tickets. Instead, they will check driver’s licenses, car registrations and hand out leaflets as warnings.

“Any little violation, no matter how minute, we will stop the person and give them a flyer,” said Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Keith Levin.

The effort is called the Critical Accident Suppression Enforcement team, a joint effort by the Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley police departments to reduce accidents along stretches of roads that have had a high accident rate. Huntington Beach Officer Bert Adkins said the goal is to make motorists so aware of police patrols that they will drive extra carefully and avoid accidents.

The first stretch targeted for enforcement will be Brookhurst, which extends into both Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley. And it won’t come without warning. Signs will be posted in the enforcement zone to caution motorists to be on the lookout, that motorcycle officers are watching their every move, Adkins said.