I’ve lived at County Line for 12 plus years and drive PCH between Trancas and Yerba Buena almost every day. With all due respect to Public Safety Commissioner David Saul and his fellow members of Public Safety Commission, PCH west of Trancas is not a wild-west version of either the Nurburgring racetrack or the drag strip at Pomona Raceway. Although I have no doubt that their intentions are good, I don’t believe that a gut reaction to the Viper incident justifies adding to the workload of the local law enforcement agencies.
I would suggest that there is a more-than-adequate presence maintained in West Malibu by both the L.A. County Sheriff and the California Highway Patrol. Their radar diligence has done an excellent job of moderating speed on PCH, particularly immediately east of Leo Carrillo State Park and opposite Decker Canyon, which are rarely without some hapless leadfoot being issued a ticket for speeding. People driving 70 mph or above are now the exception, not the average, on this 55 mph, four-lane, great sightlines section of PCH.
An ‘accident’ is an unfortunate happening occurring unintentionally, usually resulting in injury, damage or loss. The recent Viper crash and 2006’s flying Ferrari Enzo were just that-accidents. As appalling (and as avoidable) as they may be, in reality they’re few and far between. Additional law enforcement crackdowns aren’t going to affect those types of malfeasants anyway. It’s a waste of time and resources that are better used elsewhere in Malibu.
Dan Fredman