Zoom Times: South O.C. Freeway Speeds Climbing

By RICHARD MAROSI

June 4, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Freeway motorists in south Orange County and north San Diego County have increased their speeds more over the past two years than anywhere else in Southern California, according to an analysis of state records, with more drivers routinely exceeding the posted 65 mph speed limits.

The records provide new evidence for what California Highway Patrol officers--as well as weary drivers--have long suspected: Speeds on some wide-open suburban freeways are on the rise.

Consider the following:

* According to survey data, average speeds on the Santa Ana Freeway in Irvine jumped from 64 to 69 mph from 1997 to 1999, while speeds on Interstate 5 near Encinitas rose from 68 to 71 mph.

* About 45,000 of the 220,000 drivers who use the Santa Ana Freeway on a typical day now top 75 mph. Two years ago, only about 9,000 drivers did.

* The number of motorists ticketed for exceeding 100 mph in south Orange County hit an all-time high of 216 in 1999, more than double the number a decade ago. Statewide, the number of motorists ticketed for topping 100 mph doubled in the 1990s, from 4,895 to 9,716.

“It’s crazy out here, man,” said Bradley Eldon Cahill, a San Diego businessman recently cited for going 92 mph along Interstate 5 in San Clemente. “People were passing me at 100 mph.”

Despite the rising speeds, the number of fatalities on the freeways has remained flat or actually declined, mirroring a national trend that many experts attribute to better engineered cars and increased safety-belt use.

Still, some CHP officers and traffic safety experts remain concerned that if the speeding trend continues, the roads will become more dangerous.

“You can’t get away from physics,” said Richard Retting, a senior transportation engineer with the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “The bottom line is there’s a price we pay for going faster.”

Transportation experts said they expected drivers would hit their accelerators harder when many California freeways increased speed limits from 55 to 65 mph in 1996, but they expressed surprise and concern that some speeds are continuing to rise four years after the change.

One reason, experts say: The growing popularity of cars with big V6 and V8 engines, including pickups and sport-utility vehicles.

Not only are these bigger engines quieter than four-cylinder models, but many new cars contain far more sound-deadening materials that reduce engine noise.

“Sometimes you get in a daze,” said one 27-year-old woman pulled over on the San Diego Freeway near San Clemente. Ticketed for going 88 mph in the slow lane, she said her 1999 Saturn “sealed” her from the speed. “I had no idea I was going so fast,” she said.

Better Roads, High-Power Cars

In Orange County, officials believe the completion of extensive road improvements along Interstate 5 in South County has unclogged bottlenecks, allowing motorists to drive faster. The booming economy also appears to be playing a role, as more people can now afford newer, more powerful cars. Others note that motorists are also more impatient with congested freeways, and compensate by driving extra-fast when traffic flows improve in suburban areas.

“Drivers get very frustrated in traffic after all the money they spend on their expensive vehicles,” said Paul Snodgrass, a specialist with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “As soon as traffic lightens, off they go.”

The CHP monitored speeds with more than a dozen sensors embedded in freeways across the state. Because the sensors measure all car speeds as opposed to periodic radar monitoring, the survey is considered one of the most accurate measures of traffic.

The data suggests that while freeway speeds are rising in some suburban areas, they are remaining steady elsewhere. On Interstate 5 in Santa Clarita, for example, the average speed of 64 mph has remained unchanged since 1997.

Remote freeways tended to record the fastest speeds. On Interstate 5 in Shasta County, the average speed in 1999 was 70 mph. On Interstate 15 in the Mojave desert, the average speed is 75 mph, and nearly half of all motorists drive faster than 75 mph (the speed limit on this stretch is 70 mph).

“People really fly through here,” said Randy Dopp, a CHP officer who patrols the wide-open desert areas of Riverside County.

The 12-year veteran said he recently ticketed eight drivers in one day for going more than 100 mph.

In an average year, Dopp issues about 500 tickets to motorists exceeding 100 mph--more than some entire CHP offices. His talent for snaring speeders has prompted colleagues to nickname him “100-mph-Dopp.”

Dopp intercepts most drivers on Interstate 10 on the way to Palm Springs. He has pulled over famous athletes, Hollywood stars, young mothers going to visit loved ones in desert prisons, doctors speeding to hospital emergencies.

“I could write 50 tickets in a day for people going over 80 mph, so I try to find the worst of the worst,” he said.

Like Dopp, officers statewide focus on snaring the most blatant offenders.

‘I wasn’t going 88, I was going 95’

Orange County CHP officer Stephen Miles usually limits enforcement to motorists driving more than 20 mph over 65 mph. On a recent afternoon while he patrolled the southbound San Diego Freeway, speeds were typical, with traffic moving at about 75 mph.

Miles is part of an aggressive radar enforcement program begun by the CHP in 1998. Radar is now used on a third of all California freeways, and officials attribute the technology to helping catch more high-speed violators. They said such beefed up enforcement is the best way to bring speeds down.

Miles said the new radar is helping nab more speeders but believes it’s still not enough to prevent what he sees as the ever-growing number of people who disobey the limits.

Miles parked at the “fishing hole”--a downgrade through San Juan Capistrano where officers like to troll for speeders--and watched his “Stalker” radar gun pinpoint the high speeds: 78 . . . 76 . . . 82 . . . 84.

Within a few minutes Miles pulled over a 31-year-old woman for weaving her 1999 Ford Escort in and out of traffic at 85 mph. A San Diego-area salesman complained for being pulled over at 86 mph.

“I was just going with the flow of traffic,” he griped.

Soon, an angry 25-year-old Los Angeles woman was taunting Miles for pulling her over. “I wasn’t going 88,” she yelled defiantly before speeding off in her 1995 Toyota Corolla. “I was going 95.”

Miles just shrugged it off.

“It’s a rat race out here.”

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Speeding Up

Here is a sampling of speed survey information measured by state sensors embedded in freeways:

*--*

Orange County 1997 1999 (Irvine on Interstate 5) Average Speed 64 mph 69 mph % exceeding 75 mph 4% 20% San Diego County (Encinitas on Interstate 5) Average Speed 68 71 % exceeding 75 mph 21 31 Los Angeles County (Santa Clarita on Interstate 5) Average Speed 63 64 % exceeding 75 mph 4 5 San Bernardino County (Rancho Cucamonga on Interstate 15) Average Speed 67 67 % exceeding 75 mph 19 13

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CITATIONS FOR DRIVING MORE THAN 100 MPH

1999

South Orange County: 216

Central Orange County: 203

Central Los Angeles: 102

West Orange County: 57

Source: CHP

Analysis by RICHARD MAROSI/Los Angeles Times

Pedal to Medal

Number of citations issued, statewide, for driving more than 100 mph:

1991: 4,895