CHP to Use Radar in Antelope Valley
California Highway Patrol officers this month will begin using radar for the first time to catch speeding motorists along a stretch of California 138 in the Antelope Valley where numerous accidents have occurred.
Two radar units provided by a federal program intended to reduce fatal traffic accidents will be deployed along a 20-mile stretch between 50th Street East and 263rd Street East, according to CHP Officer Miguel Siordia. The units are intended to reduce the number of fatal accidents on the highway by encouraging drivers to slow down, especially along rural two-lane highways where the speed limit is 55 m.p.h.
Until May, officers monitoring motorists’ speeds solely with radar will not issue citations, just verbal warnings.
A radar-equipped trailer that flashes motorists’ speeds has already been parked along the roadway to let drivers know that they are being watched.
Siordia said he did not know how many people have died on the highway, but said it is nearly three times the statewide average.
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