Speak to any local Palisadian and you’ll almost certainly hear stories, time after time, of fast approaching headlights late at night on Palisades Drive, or of roaring cars and bikes as they barreling down Sunset Boulevard. However, in recent months, this has become a less frequent occurrence, especially in the Palisades Highlands, thanks in part to a pervasive community awareness concerning the dangers of the roads and in part to the combined efforts of the Los Angeles Police Department, the local private security companies, and our local Speed Watch volunteers.
This is not to say that the job is anywhere near done.
To the contrary, as time passes, the task grows more daunting. As months go by, those who have most profoundly felt the impact of these losses do not forget; however, for many others, the memory fades. New drivers excitedly get their licenses, a newfound sort of freedom. Others notice that the police presence is not as constant as it used to be, and the ominous reminders of past crashes loose some of their power.
This the case, here is my continued call to action. We cannot relent in our pursuit to avoid the senseless loss of life that has become a running theme on our local roadways. In February, the newly constituted Safe Westside pinned three elements as key to our effort: enforcement, education and engineering.
Enforcement has had a visible impact thus far. In the past nine months, police officers have worked in the canyon on more than thirty occasions. In conjunction with hundreds of warning letters issued by the police on behalf of the Speed Watch volunteers, we’ve seen a dramatic decrease in the average speed of motorists on Palisades Drive. This effort must continue. It cannot ease up, or its impact will wane.
Education has rejuvenated an understanding of the dangers on our roads. In Spring 2009, Safe Westside facilitated four assemblies at Palisades Charter High School that reached more than 1200 in attendance, and even more through the reporting efforts of the high school newspaper, the Palisades Post, and the Los Angeles Times. This year, even more assemblies are planned in an attempt to continue the message both at Pali High and in other local schools. In addition, many in the local community have also signed the Pledge to Save Lives. These efforts must not cease.
Sadly, engineering efforts have faltered behind the other two, though they have still made forward progress. Several stop signs have been added in the Highlands, as well as other minor road modifications on Sunset and other local streets, but, in a time of budgetary cuts, it has proven rather difficult to get any such changes passed through, though the effort continues.
In all three areas, we have a long road ahead of us.
January 31, 2009, October 22, 2008, November 7, 2007, July 5, 2007, and April 11, 2001. These are days that will never be forgotten. These are days when our roads tragically claimed members of our small community. They were not the first, but let’s do our part in an attempt to make them the last.
For general information or to get involved with other Safe Westside endeavors, please contact info@safewestside.com. To get involved with Speed Watch, please email speedwatch@safewestside.com. To take the Pledge to Save Lives, please visit http://pledge.safewestside.com.
On April 2, 2009, over seven hundred kids across two class periods filed into Mercer Hall at Palisades Charter High School, unsure of what awaited them. Their teachers had told them that the assembly would cover the issue of safe driving; at 7:50 in the morning, many students walked in with tired, uninterested expression, expecting another assembly of talking heads. As they took their seats, though, the lights dimmed and the assembly began with a video clip, not of newscasters, parents or cops, but instead of kids actually partaking in a street race. “Let’s do this,” shouts one of the kids in the video excitedly. The lead car spins its tires and takes off. The cameraman takes chase and they begin racing, everyone hooting and hollering the whole way, at least for a few moments. Suddenly, the fun little exhibition of speed becomes a nightmare as the lead car flips and the driver is launched out the window, coming to rest motionless on the ground in front of the vehicle. As the clip ends, the screams of the person’s friends can be heard.
A pin drop could have been heard in the silence that followed the clip. The lights came back on. “Clutched in, engine revving, eyes focused, every muscle tensed, every fiber ready to go,” I began, setting the stage for the rest of the assembly with a keynote called The False Allure of Speed. “This isn’t about street racing… It’s about driving fast, about driving reckless, and about driving under the influence, three things so many of us have done, and three things that so many of us have taken for granted…” Over the next thirty minutes, I and members of the local community each took turns giving our personal perspective on the need for safe driving. Sam Rahbarpour, a tenth grade student at Pali High, spoke about a bad accident he’d recently been involved in, and he called for his fellow classmates to not take driving for granted. LAPD Motor Officer Chris Smythe and CHP Public Information Officer Travis Ruiz then explained the legal repercussions and consequences of speeding. Defense attorneys Steve Cron and Shep Kopp, both whom have argued numerous driving cases, further emphasized how there aren’t always easy escapes from the legal consequences. LAPD Officer Chris Ragsdale, former senior lead of the Palisades, then came in with a perspective many didn’t expect from him, not one further emphasizing what had already been said, but instead one talking about the non-legal, but life-effecting consequences of dangerous driving, lamenting how many fatal road related accidents he’d seen over the years, and calling on people to wisen up and make a change, if not for the legal consequences, then for themselves. School psychologist Bella McGowan wrapped up the panel discussion by covering the emotional effects of these road related accidents.
In the following minutes, the assembly was opened up to questions and comments. Some students vehemently attacked the message of the panel: “I’ve had five accidents, and I’ll probably still speed again,” stated one student, causing an outcry from other students and a vehement, yet measured, response from myself and personal friend of both Travis and Nick, Rafael Marino, who had joined us at the panel table for the Q&A portion of the assembly. Other students voiced their firm support of the message of the assembly. Some told personal stories about friends, family and colleagues that had been lost in road related accidents. One student even assailed the ex-speeders on the panel, asking them how they could have gone about doing what they did for as long as they did. There were also more general questions that were asked of the panel: “Can you get a ticket when you’re driving with the flow of traffic?”, “Can an LAPD officer give you a ticket on the freeway?”, “Does an officer have to show you the radar gun if you ask?”, and of course “How do you plan to enforce safer driving?” Our local law enforcement officers fielded the legal question with help from the defense attorneys, while Steve and I, both active members of Safe Westside, responded concerning the question of what comes next with an explanation of the Pledge, the Speed Watch citizen radar program, and other initiatives that the coalition is currently pursuing.
As the assembly period drew to a close, the Q&A ended and attention fell back upon the front of the room where numerous kids, from both Pali High and the local community, had lined up. On screen, the words of the Pledge appeared. One voice began: “In order to prevent the senseless deaths of more members of our community…” And then another spoke, and another, and another, until the entire Pledge had been read. In the aftermath of this assembly, more than two hundred students took the Pledge to Save Lives.
This assembly, organized by Susan Strick and I, in collaboration with Pali High administrator Monica Iannessa, is the first of many to come. On Wednesday April 29, 2009 at 7:00 PM in Mercer Hall at Pali High, a follow-up assembly will be occurring, geared for parents and other adults in our local community, and, in the future, we’re looking to reach out to other local public and private schools as well.
The Palisades has lost many fine members of its community in local road related accidents in the last few years. In memory of all the victims of our dreadful roads, can we finally say enough is enough? Can we say never again? Can we make a stand and make a change? Pledge today to help save lives.
The PLEDGE to SAVE LIVES
http://pledge.safewestside.com
In order to prevent the senseless deaths of more members of our community, I hereby pledge not to speed, drive recklessly or drive under the influence. I further pledge to watch out for my friends and loved ones, and it is my hope that they will watch out for me. I pledge to communicate my concern to any friend or loved one driving in an unsafe or dangerous manner. If my suggestion does not cause that person to change his or her driving habits, then I pledge to communicate this information to his or her parents, partner or family member. If I’m told that someone close to me is speeding, driving recklessly or driving under the influence, I pledge to take immediate action to help change his or her driving habits. If I’m a parent and I’m given such information, I pledge to take immediate steps to restrict my child’s ability to drive a motor vehicle.
The Pledge to Save Lives exists as part of an ongoing effort to help prevent future road related accidents in the Westside community, part of the grassroots Safe Westside effort. Sunset Boulevard, Palisades Drive, and Pacific Coast Highway, three of the most dangerous roads in Los Angeles, see countless accidents each year, many of them extremely severe. While engineering conditions are partially to blame, they are mostly out of our hands. As responsible members of the community, though, it is our job to do our part to help prevent senseless losses on our roads in any way we can.
By pledging, one agrees to drive safely and responsibly and to do one’s part to encourage others to do the same. This means personally not speeding, driving recklessly, or driving while under the influence, and it means taking steps to protect others as well. Those who pledge agree to speak to their peers and explain the dangers of our roads. Some will listen, and some will not. For those that won’t, pledgers agree to speak to their loved ones – a parent might be able to better stop their child, or a wife to better stop their husband. But, we understand that this is not always easy, and thus, on this website, one can ask for an anonymous intervention by a concerned member of the community.
LEARN more. What you can do for yourself. What you can do for others.
PLEDGE to save lives. Join your neighbors, family, and friends in making a stand.
TELL those you care about. Be proactive. Communicate the dangers of speed and reckless driving.
INTERVENE for someone. Help save the life of someone you care about.
