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.

LAPD and volunteers from Safe Westside are working together to form citizen Speedwatch teams. The teams will be monitoring speeders, taking their photographs and reporting them to LAPD for further action. For more information, or if you want to volunteer, send us an email at speedwatch@safepalisades.com.

The team, made up of active duty and police reserve units, was practicing and coordinating their efforts for upcoming deployments. Police say that they will be in the canyon on nights and weekends, at all hours. Some drivers still warn speeders of the police presence, by flashing their lights, and their pictures appear below.

Pacific Palisades Traffic Safety

February 11, 2009

West Traffic Division is currently taking the below listed measures to improve traffic safety on Palisades Drive, Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway. Our goal is to save lives!

• Police Decoy Vehicle deployed strategically in high visibility locations to reduce speeds.
• Speed trailer deployed strategically in high visibility locations for “traffic calming.”
• Zero tolerance for speed violations among all offenders. All drivers will be cited if they are speeding on Palisades Drive, Sunset Boulevard or Pacific Coast Highway. There will be no warnings.
• Increased enforcement on all major Pacific Palisades thoroughfares.
• Education Outreach – traffic safety presentations to High School seniors and community groups in the area.
• Reserve Motor Task Force will be operational Saturday, February 14, 2009 and deployed throughout 2009.

Recommendations for Community Involvement

• Volunteer for the “speed watch” program.
• Businesses to post traffic safety information.
• Volunteer to provide/distribute traffic safety info to local schools, clubs and community groups.
• Gather website information and share “teen driver safety tips”.

All parents should

• Discuss traffic safety with your children on a regular basis, and revoke driving privileges for unsafe driving.
• Be an example to your children by demonstrating safe driving techniques and obeying traffic laws.
• Provide your child with a conservative vehicle should you chose to provide one.
• Consider available technology. See below.
• Revoke your child’s provisional driver’s license (16 -17yrs) for unsafe driving.
•  Ride with your children frequently to monitor their driving skills.

The following websites are not endorsed by the Los Angeles Police Department West Traffic Division, but serve as a reference to assist parents with monitoring the safety of their children.

• www.driveok.com
• www.SpectorSoft.com
• www.rmtracking.com/teentracking
• www.GPSTrackingSupply.com/

Should you have additional questions, please contact Motor Officers Smythe, Perez and Toth of our Community Traffic Safety Unit (CTSU) at (213) 473-0451.