IRVINE : Speeders Targeted on 4 Uncongested Roads

Kent Hansen’s radar gun emitted its familiar high-pitched whine as he pointed it at an accelerating Toyota MR-2 cresting a hill on Newport Coast Drive.

“Eighty-eight,” Hansen noted as he holstered the radar unit and started after the Toyota.

The speeder not only got a ticket Tuesday morning. He also received a short lecture from Hansen on why he and two other traffic officers were using radar guns on Newport Coast Drive south of Bison Avenue. The road has the city’s biggest speeding problem--and the traffic accidents to show for it.

The severity of recent accidents has forced police to begin targeting violators on open stretches of Newport Coast Drive, Laguna Canyon Road, Jamboree Road and Irvine Center Drive, Traffic Sgt. Al Murray said. Special traffic teams will rotate among the roads for the next several months to try to keep speeding in check, he said.

Even though the targeted roads have wide-open stretches with unposted 55-m.p.h. speed limits, Murray said, “We’ve got to remind (drivers) they’re not in the boonies.”

High speeds have contributed to several severe accidents just this month, he said. In the last two weeks, three motorists have died in traffic accidents on Newport Coast Drive, Laguna Canyon Road and Irvine Center Drive.

The problem with some of the city’s wide, new roads like Newport Coast is that they were built to handle large volumes of traffic that will come with future development, Murray said. Today, the roads are open but the cars are few, prompting average speeds of 65 m.p.h. and more, he said.

“Nobody’s going 55,” Officer Rich Bartolo said while on detail on Newport Coast Drive with Hansen and Officer Bob Anderson. “Everybody’s going at least 60.”

Hansen said the Toyota driver he cited commented that he knew he was approaching 90 m.p.h. as he drove toward MacArthur Boulevard. But the road seemed wide open, so he opened up the throttle, Hansen said.

Traffic officers have been given wide discretion on when to issue tickets, Lt. Al Muir said. Most drivers won’t be cited unless they are traveling faster than 65 or otherwise driving recklessly.

The purpose of the enforcement effort is to slow motorists down, Muir said. Even though not all speeding cars are stopped, he said, “when they see two or three (motorcycle officers) lined up, that sends a strong message.”

Tuesday morning, the three officers issued 24 tickets and 15 warnings. Often, the three let motorists pass by at 67 m.p.h. without even so much as a warning. They knew a faster car would be coming by any second.

Traffic enforcement teams will be out for the next several weeks on Newport Coast, the new stretch of Jamboree Road through the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, the east end of Irvine Center Drive and Irvine’s end of Laguna Canyon Road. On Sept. 7, the teams will temporarily shift to patrolling areas around school grounds as the fall school year starts.

Murray hopes that residents will call the department to suggest areas in the city needing special enforcement. The number is (714) 724-7023.