SAN CLEMENTE : Residents to Aim ‘Gun’ at Speeders

Local residents were given ammunition to fight motorists who speed through their neighborhoods by a City Council decision Wednesday night to arm community groups with a speed gun and electronic speed display board.

By a 4-0 vote, the council agreed to spend $8,150 for equipment and printing costs to publicize a program they are calling the Neighborhood Speed Watch.

Although city officials emphasize that vigilante-style ticket writing is not part of the speed watch program, they have praised the concept as a way to slow down habitual speeders.

“This has worked in other parts of the country,” said city traffic engineer Mehran Sepehri, “and it should work here.”

Under the program, believed to be the first of its kind in California, police will lend a speed gun and electronic speed display board to interested community groups for about two days. The loans will be made in the order groups apply.

After a brief training session, volunteers will stake out highly visible locations in their neighborhoods and will be assigned to write down the license plate numbers of drivers who exceed the speed limit in that area. Those motorists would receive a letter from City Hall cautioning them to drive slower.