Patrols Can’t Match Trouble at Every Turn

Dear Traffic Talk:

When I leave work in the evenings I drive west on Moorpark Street through Studio City.

Moorpark narrows from two lanes to one at the intersection of Laurel Canyon Boulevard. The right lane at that point is designated for a right-turn only.

The through lane is usually backed up quite a distance from the traffic light.

Lately, I have increasingly seen drivers ignore the right-turn signs. They drive straight through the intersection and attempt to cut in on the other side. The disorder has resulted in several recent fender-benders, one fistfight and a lot of brewing road rage.

It seems to me that a motorcycle officer positioned on Moorpark just west of Laurel Canyon could go a long way toward alleviating this problem.

Timothy Franklin

Studio City

Dear Timothy:

Some traffic enforcement is occurring at the intersection of Moorpark and Laurel Canyon. But the Los Angeles Police Department does not have the resources to spare a motorcycle officer at every problematic site around the Valley.

That intersection has had a variety of traffic problems for a long time, said Sgt. William Bowen of the LAPD Valley Traffic Division. But it is no different than hundreds of intersections around the city--and several in this neighborhood.

The department now performs periodic enforcement there in which motorcycle officers--using radar--patrol heavily and hand out a variety of citations over a period of a couple days, Franklin said. Drivers usually behave for a while, but the problems soon return.

The division has 75 motorcycle officers split between three shifts.

Their duties range from supervising the most serious sites known for fatalities and serious accidents to responding to citizens’ complaints.

Six officers handle complaints, ranging from visits to chaotic intersections to complaints of a neighborhood annoyed with a local motorcycle rider.

The officer who handles complaints in the area of Moorpark and Laurel Canyon constantly juggles about 50 cases, Bowen said.

Dear Traffic Talk:

When is running a red light running a red light?

Must you clear the intersection completely before the yellow light turns red?

Or, are you just required to enter any part of the intersection prior to the yellow light turning red?

Mike McCormick

Woodland Hills

Dear Mike:

Motorists are entitled to enter and finish going through an intersection as long as the light is green or still yellow.

Yellow lights--which last an average of four seconds around the city--are meant only as warnings.

Although yellow lights do not prohibit drivers from entering intersections, people nonetheless should prepare to stop, said Officer Leona Thomas of the Los Angeles Police Department Valley Traffic Division.

Running a red light only occurs when a person crosses the white line at intersections after the yellow light has switched to red.

Traffic Talk appears Fridays in The Times Valley Edition. Readers may submit comments and questions about traffic in the Valley to Traffic Talk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted. To record your comments, call (818) 772-3303. Fax letters to (818) 772-3385. E-mail questions to valley@latimes.com