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Chula Vista Cracks Down On Stop Sign Offenders
March 14, 2009CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- In Chula Vista, the city and police department are teaming up to remind pedestrians about the dangers of simply crossing the street.
Police will also be reminding drivers about the importance of obeying stop lights and signs.
Stop is a simple, four-letter command that driver after driver fails to follow.
Chula Vista police officer Alicia Chudy stood at a busy intersection that connects a neighborhood to a school and a park.
One right after another, cars slowed at a stop sign but never really stopped, even though a police officer stood nearby.
Chudy said, "I've been looking over every so often. I can still see people rolling through the stop sign at about 10 or 15 mph."
Police said the danger is when drivers ignore a stop sign and slowly roll through, even with the slow speed drivers could still kill someone -- especially a child.
"If there are any young children, 5 to 10 mph is going to do a significant amount of damage," said Chudy.
In Chula Vista last year, ten people were injured by cars driving through stop signs.
In 2007, a toddler was killed by a car rolling about 5 mph.
It is a concern for many families who cross this specific intersection to get to the park.
Resident Thiago Sergio said, "I always want to make sure people are really stopped before we start walking."
Pastor Rick Handloser of the Calvary Christian Academy said, "Every day I witness possible accidents."
Handloser said he sees drivers who ignore his students who are walking to school.
"Many of them don't even seem to check to see if there's anybody in the walkway," said Handloser.
Police said some drivers probably think they stop every time, but chances are pretty good they do not.
Chudy said a legal stop is when the car's wheels stop moving and the car actually rocks backwards.
Chula Vista police said they ticketed more than 650 stop sign offenders last year.
They said they don't have the resources to enforce every stop sign through the city year-round.
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