Police Find Themselves Caught in Speed Trap : They Must Rely on ‘Pacing’ Instead of Radar Until Torrance Completes Traffic Flow Studies

Torrance police say their hands are tied: When cars speed down Anza Avenue, the city’s traffic officers have to holster their radar guns.

Instead, they must follow--or “pace”--the cars, making educated guesses about how fast motorists are driving.

It’s a difficult task at best, but one confronted by officers on streets throughout the city. Torrance police--like law enforcers in many other California cities--cannot use radar on major thoroughfares because speed limits on those streets have not been adjusted to account for current traffic flow.

Pacing “is just not as good as radar,” said Torrance Capt. Jim Papst. “It’s just the officer’s word against the person’s.”

A state law that took effect Jan. 1 invalidates radar readings on major streets where speed limits are not based on traffic surveys taken within the past five years. The surveys are conducted to determine how fast 85% of the motorists drive and the limit is set accordingly, unless hills, curves, high accident rates and other factors come into play.

The new law is intended to eliminate speed traps. It replaces a similar requirement in the state Vehicle Code that was thrown out by a state appellate court in 1991. After that court action, Torrance police took to using radar on all city streets, even where no current surveys had been performed. The radar evidence was used in traffic court whenever a ticket was challenged.

Now, however, judges will again throw out speeding tickets that are challenged by motorists caught speeding on streets without current surveys, Papst said. That causes a big headache for police, who say it is nearly impossible to enforce speed limits on Torrance’s major streets without the use of radar.

The new law prevents police from using radar readings taken on major Torrance thoroughfares including Anza Avenue, 235th Street, Torrance Boulevard, 190th Street and 182nd Street. That, however, could change. The City Council this week authorized the Transportation Department to survey each of those five streets.

Traffic surveys might eventually be conducted on as many as 18 Torrance streets, said John Vance, the city’s traffic manager. Smaller neighborhood streets are exempt from the survey requirements.

Torrance police say that in the meantime, they will use pacing to gauge the speed of cars on major surface streets. But officers clearly prefer radar, saying it provides them with superior evidence.

Still, making radar readings enforceable can be controversial, because new traffic studies often result in higher speed limits.

In Hawthorne, for example, police officers cannot use radar on Hawthorne Boulevard because merchants and residents have opposed surveys of the thoroughfare, which has a 30 m.p.h. posted speed limit. (Hawthorne is surveying all of its other major streets, however.)

Torrance could experience similar resistance. Frank Rizzardi, president of the Southwood Riviera Homeowners Assn., told the council at Tuesday’s meeting that he reluctantly supports the surveys, calling the situation a “no-win” proposition.

Nevertheless, he said he fears a new survey of Anza Avenue will lead to a higher posted speed limit than the 30 m.p.h. limit currently posted. He said Torrance police have not adequately enforced the current speed limit on the avenue.

“My wife and I walk along Anza between 234th and (Pacific Coast Highway) every evening on evening walks,” Rizzardi said. “It’s like a racetrack at times. The cars probably go 40, 50 miles per hour.”