FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Police Crack Down at Busy Intersection

The intersection of Euclid Street and Obsidian Court, where nine accidents occurred in 1993, was targeted in an unusual police crackdown Thursday morning that resulted in ticketsbeing issued to 27 motorists, police said.

Three officers stationed near the busy intersection for more than an hour during the morning traffic rush cited or warned dozens of southbound motorists who tried to avoid the slowdown by driving straight through a right-turn only lane on Euclid Street, said Sgt. Larry Griswold.

“It’s unusual to have three policemen doing this, but we are trying to reduce violations in that area,” Griswold said. “The only reason we didn’t issue more citations is because we couldn’t write any faster.”

The intersection is located just south of where Euclid Street and Edinger Avenue intersect. Griswold said the right-turn lane onto Obsidian Court is routinely used as shortcut.

“People didn’t really complain when we stopped them,” Griswold said. “They would say things like, ‘Yeah, I was in a hurry so I thought I’d pass traffic on the right.’ ”

Griswold said that while the violation may seem minor, such maneuvers led to six people being injured last year. The violation comes with a hefty fine: $80 to $100.

Police said they will be stationed at the intersection again later this week.

“We will have to do it until we get better compliance,” Griswold said. “We hope we don’t have to keep issuing a bunch of tickets for very long. We hope that by doing this a few times, people will get the message.”