The National Motorists Association has named Mission Viejo the worst speed trap city in California with a population under 100,000. The worst cities nationwide are listed on its September 2010 press release, which also identifies specific locations in MV reported as speed traps, accompanied by a summary vote from drivers.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Honestly, I wish there were more speed traps. I walk along Marguerite Parkway all the time and cars speed along there regularly at freeway speeds and more to the point, where it isn’t safe for residents to walk or bike along that road. This is evidenced among others by the times motorists veer into the bike lane and by the times they go off the street and onto the slope on the opposing side of this beautiful road as happened not too long ago.
But Marguerite isn’t alone. Mission Viejo is also known for motorists speeding through residential areas, as is documented by the deaths that occur on a regular basis as a result of such negligent driving.
The speed limit on Marguerite is 45 mph or less if conditions demand less. Yet, during the currently ongoing repaving project, motorists speed along Marguerite anyway risking that their cars throw up stones and hurt others around them.
The speed limit on our residential streets is 25 mph. This is true even though the OC Sheriff’s Department has been negligent about enforcing that limit. But don’t kid yourselves: Every time you drive through your, mine or any other neighborhood in our City doing more than 25 mph you risk the lives of people and animals who live there. Every time you exceed 25 mph in a residential neighborhood, you are a reckless driver.
Oh, I wish there was better enforcement of our speed laws!
This is hardly a worthy distinction for Mission Viejo.
Are these traffic stops for enforcement, or to raise revenue ??
In addition next time you see a ticket handed out – note if it is a female driver or male driver!! Then you draw your own conclusions.
In a recent visit to Mission Viejo I talked to the Orange County Sheriff about the violations by the Motor Cycle Police parking on our sidewalks. This is an abject violation of California Vehicle Code 21663–NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES ON SIDEWALKS. The Sheriff agreed (and I have it on tape) that violating the law to enforce the law is unacceptable. However the uniformed Motor Cycle officers continue to violate CVC 21663.
If you are driving within the speed limit the so-called speed traps should not bother you. If they make the roads safer why would anyone object?
Re Jean Rodgers: The point of my statement is that PEDESTRIANS on the sidewalks, including mothers pushing babies in strollers, are endangered by the Motor Cycle Officers exiting the sidewalks to run down speeders.
I would like more speed traps – if that is what it takes to slow people down.
I push a stroller. Any police who want to park on my driveway has an open ended invitation.
So I guess Robin Parker is for violating the laws of the state!!
There are some nice sentiments about safety, but the key word is “trap.” The City of Mission Viejo creates artificially low speed limits in places along the parkways where police in autos or motorcycles can hide from view.
The City of Mission Viejo’s goal is revenue from speeding tickets, not safety. In other words, the City is ticketing people who are driving at unsafe AND safe speeds.
Check out the specific locations in Mission Viejo in the posting above and you will see that after the first few speed trap locations are described, readers polled overwhelming voted that the particular locations are indeed speed traps. And you will see ticketing has nothing to do with safety.
Readers may recall several years ago the City’s notorious Mayberry RFD speed trap on Marguerite Pkwy between Felipe Rd and Crown Valley, where the speed limit was reduced to 40 miles per hour from 45, which is the predominate speed limit on Mission Viejo’s longest street. Public outrage from a mass of unfair speeding tickets forced the city to switch back to 45 miles per hour.
Speed traps on parkways do nothing to reduce speeding on residential streets in subdivisions, which I agree is a problem. The city, though, has been reluctant to put speed bumps on particularly dangerous residential straightaways. The City of Mission Viejo puts politics over safety. More drivers would be annoyed by speed bumps than the unfortunate residents who live along these straightaways.
Ditto Robin! I’ll even serve them iced tea and hold an umbrella over them if they’d park in our neighborhood on Via Cereza!
If they want to catch you speeding they are going to use whatever means available. The reason for being on the sidewalk is for the officer’s safety. Now hiding in the bushes along Jeronimo and the bike trail – I do have a problem with that. In the early morning, Jeronimo traveling westbound from Olympiad to Arbolitos down hill is like a freeway. Over seventy in some cases.
Simple solution here folks. Obey the traffic laws. It’s a no-brainer. We live in a town created for families. I’ve always thought we should lower the speed limits on the main streets. That would, in turn, slow down speeds on the side streets. We have two little kids who live across the street and my heart leaps into my throat every time I hear a car roaring down our street. My nephew was hit and killed when he was seven. What that does do the kids parents is horrifying.
Wow – A post from Dan Avery I can agree with. SLOW DOWN!
I agree with most of the comments given. What a concept- obey the law. What will they think of next?!!!
I love the enforcement and I wish we had more officers in MV. I’ll fill in part of my lawn with cement and make a ramp for the deputies. My kids are 3 and 7 and even though the speed limit in our tract is supposed to be 15 MPH – hardly anybody observes it.
Keep it up sheriff’s dept.
When my children were young, they played basketball in the street at the curb’s edge. I always taught them to be cognizant of people who did not stop at the stop sign and/or who were driving ‘crazy’. I told them be safe rather than sorry and move to the side when they saw any car coming. The street belongs to the cars. I saw many speeding “mothers” in their cars trying to get their children to the elementary school on time that we live very close to. Our street becomes a raceway and the mothers were the worst offenders. We tried to move three times to get away from the speeders but to no avail. Now, my kids are older and still move to the side of the road if they are playing basketball because the street belongs to the cars. I don’t like the fact of a “speed trap” per se, however being proactive and driving like a sane person should not be rocket science, but for some it is. Sometimes staying within the speed limits can be difficult going downhill and I have seen officers giving tickets to downhill speeders. If people are truly speeding, catch them uphill because that is a true speeder. Trapping speeders is ridiculous; show yourselves, officers, and the lesson can be given at that time and place, but not at other times or on other streets. Speeders who are given speeding tickets two or more times maybe should be given mandatory behind-the-wheel driving school at their own expense for behavior modification techniques to reduce the speeds that they have learned on the roads. Likewise, people who drive too slow have created many accident situations. Traps are not the answer and tickets create temporary fixes. If a person is walking along a busy route (Marguerite) with a baby carriage, I think the best idea is to choose another route. When I pushed carriages, I drove to the parks and walked on the trails and sidewalks to avoid the cars and their fumes. There will always be speeders and poor drivers and it would be best for pedestrians to utilize the many wonderful parks and trails that Mission Viejo has.