Exotic Car Speeding Crackdown Ahead
California Highway Patrol Preps for Drivers Headed to Monterey Car Week
The low growl of high-powered cars running through Santa Barbara County means Monterey Car Week is at hand. For California Highway Patrol officers from Simi Valley to Santa Cruz, however, it means it’s time for a maximum enforcement effort to dissuade exotic-car drivers from pushing the speed limit on the highway.
“No major incident happened last year” to trigger the offensive, said Officer Jordan Richards with the CHP Coastal Division headquartered in San Luis Obispo. “It’s more what we’ve seen in all years and witnessed during Car Week that increasingly has grown.”
The event in Monterey features the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and its lovingly restored vintage and gran turismo vehicles, as well as free exhibits and pricier races at Laguna Seca, rallies, expos, and auctions with sponsors like Porsche and Rolex. Visitors roll in from all parts of the United States for the show, some of them at more than 100mph. That’s what the CHP is looking out for, Richards said.
Rather than watching the tail end of a 720-horsepower Mercedes AMG disappear in the time it takes to spit, the CHP has a plan. “During the maximum enforcement period, quite a few more officers will be out there throughout the Coastal Division,” Richards explained. “Officers will be standing by along the freeway, as well as helicopters and aircraft to assist, if a particular vehicle comes along.
“Typically, everybody pulls over,” he said of the drivers of these very nice and very expensive cars. “They probably know that a speeding ticket is a speeding ticket, but to run and get caught, well, that’s potential jail time.” As well, driving over 100mph in most counties courts the suspension of one’s driver license and a fine of as much as $1,000.
Within the city of Monterey, last year the police department made 256 traffic stops during Car Week, issued 176 tickets for traffic violations, arrested 10 people, and towed eight cars, according to KSBY. In Carmel, 20 calls came in for reckless driving, two people were arrested, and 74 citations were issued. The CHP issued more than 100 traffic citations, arrested 23 people, and towed 24 cars.
Monterey Car Week runs August 9-18. The special enforcement action occurs on Wednesday, August 14. The speed limit on Highway 101 is 65mph; in construction zones it is reduced to 55mph. Along winding State Route 154, aka the San Marcos Pass, the posted speed limit is 55mph though the safe traveling speed is considerably less.
