Moreno Valley: Right of Way at Crosswalks and Safety

A controlled pedestrian crosswalk in Los Angeles

Last Thursday, September 26, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department conducted a sting operation in Moreno Valley to catch drivers who failed to yield the right of way to pedestrians in a crosswalk.

A 7-foot-tall Gingerbread Man who crossed back and forth was the star of this sting. According to the Press Enterprise and the reader comments that followed, there has been much debate of this operation. Several argued the police resources should be spent on combating crimes and homicides. They have valid points and we'll get to that in just a moment.

Pedestrian Crossing Sting Operation in Moreno Valley

Here are some of the facts of the pedestrian crossing sting. This is the location of where the crosswalk sting took place. It is a designated school crossing, clearly marked. The police operation was held for just under an hour during the morning student drop-off hour right in front of Rainbow Springs Elementary School and less than 200 yards west of Sunnymead Middle School. With the presence of children and middle school youth in the area, the speed limit on Eucalyptus Avenue was 25 MPH. The reasons for these laws is safety for our children and youth. Therefore, it was perfectly justified for the police to strictly enforce the state's pedestrian crossing and speeding laws.

VC Section 21950, the state law regarding the obligation to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks, was clearly written in the name of safety. Section C reads, "The driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian within any marked or unmarked crosswalk shall exercise all due care and shall reduce the speed of the vehicle or take any other action relating to the operation of the vehicle as necessary to safeguard the safety of the pedestrian."

That point brings us to the rest of the law. Section A states, "The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except as otherwise provided in this chapter." Section B is a legal message to pedestrians, stating, "This section does not relieve a pedestrian from the duty of using due care for his or her safety. No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard. No pedestrian may unnecessarily stop or delay traffic while in a marked or unmarked crosswalk." That's a reason why school districts hire or contract trained crossing guards. Lastly, should a pedestrian suddenly dart out into traffic, that "does not relieve a driver of a vehicle from the duty of exercising due care for the safety of any pedestrian within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection," as stated in Section D.

The PE reported that numerous concerned parents and citizens called the police several times complaining that drivers are disregarding the crosswalk and speeding laws in this area. That's why Mr. Gingerbread Man and the cops showed up. It's quite evident that many pedestrian crossing laws throughout the state are often ignored, both by drivers and pedestrians. Many drivers fail to yield, some pedestrians continue to jaywalk. This exposes a safety hazard and that's why such stings are necessary to combat such disregard to the law.

Point Made by PE Readers: Police need to combat crime in Moreno Valley

Lastly, several PE readers posted comments that the police needs to better combat crime. We're not giving Moreno Valley officials a pass because crime and homicides are indeed a serious problem in the place "where dreams soar." On September 23 just after 1:30 AM, the PE reported that a man was shot dead in the area of Perris Boulevard and Alessandro. On September 7, the murder of 6-year-old Tiana Ricks took place; that story has surfaced all over the media. The accused murderer, Keandre Narkie Johnson, a documented member of the Edgemont Criminals, a Moreno Valley-based street gang, was charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder and participation in a criminal street gang. These acts are a complete disgrace to the dignity of life. We don't want Moreno Valley becoming Chicago of today or South Los Angeles of the 1990's.

Solving violent criminal problems, combating gang activity, and stopping the sale of illegal drugs is a complex issue. Some of the violence could be controlled by increasing law enforcement presence in the dangerous neighborhoods and known places of gang activity with regular marked and undercover patrols. We understand that with more police comes the perception of government intrusion. If an innocent high school youth walking along Sunnymead Boulevard was stopped by the police on the way to the Moreno Valley Mall to get Grandma a gift, there will be a degree of insult. Perhaps the fair way to handle this is to require law enforcement to document under oath the reason why an officer stops an individual on the streets. However, that's no excuse not to increase police presence.

As Moreno Valley and Riverside County officials continue to find and document disturbing activity taking place all throughout the Inland Empire, they need to give law enforcement the resources necessary to regularly patrol violent neighborhoods until such disgraceful riffraff activity is permanently expelled from our streets, even if that means a patrol car parked for the night at every street corner.

Lastly, officials need to put out public messages to discourage parents, especially fathers, from abandoning their children so our future leaders will not enter into the gang or drug cultures when they grow up. Keandre Narkie Johnson was likely not raised properly in a traditional family setting which led him into the violent street gang. Faced with a long prison term or even the death penalty and probably raised without proper discipline, Johnson will not be able to constructively contribute his skills nor compete in the marketplace of the Inland Empire here in this life if convicted. Good parenting cannot be legislated, but the government on every level can put up a powerful peaceful fight by encouraging parents to do their part in properly raising their children, engaging in constructive activities through their childhood, so they can grow up and become productive and selfless leaders of America.

Detecting defective FasTraks along HOT lanes that support free non-transponder carpooling

The Transit Coalition ran across an excellent question about the We want toll lanes done right campaign, a project where we're advocating for free non-transponder carpooling for the 91 Express Lanes and along proposed Inland Empire high occupancy toll lanes for I-15 and I-10. The question deals with defective FasTrak transponders along tolled express lanes that support free non-transponder carpooling. What would happen if a solo driver wants to buy his/her way into a HOT lane system that supports free non-transponder carpooling, follows the rules of mounting a FasTrak transponder on the windshield, but unknowingly has a defective transponder that won't get read by the overhead toll antennas?

That's a great question, and on the surface it might appear to be a red flag toward supporting free non-transponder carpooling in the toll lane network. In HOT lane corridors that mandate transponders for carpoolers like the 91 Express Lanes and LA's Metro ExpressLanes, photo enforcement systems ensure that tolls are collected for any vehicles that pass through with a defective FasTrak. Cameras take the picture of the license plate of any vehicle that does not have a transponder. If the license plate happened to belong to a preregistered vehicle, the toll amount is automatically deducted from the patron's account; otherwise, the vehicle owner will get a toll payment violation notice in the mail.

Addressing the issue of defective FasTrak transponders in HOT Lanes

For HOT lane systems that support free non-transponder carpooling like San Diego County and Bay Area corridors, if the toll antennas don't detect a working FasTrak, the system assumes that the vehicle is a free carpool. So, that leaves an issue of solo drivers who follow the rules of the road but are not paying the toll.

There are three ways address this, each using intelligence driven enforcement methods. First, prevention measures would include the regular rotation of FasTrak transponders and proper maintenance of the toll antennas.

Secondly, the overhead toll antennas combined with other traffic cameras along the corridor could be set up in a way to visually detect defective transponders. If one is found, the license plate number would be photographed and agency staff would review the case in confidence. If necessary, the account holder would be asked to exchange the FasTrak transponders for no additional charge.

Lastly, the CHP would visually check for the presence of a transponder for non-carpoolers combined with using remote mobile transponder readers to check for its functionality and account status. If a FasTrak is properly mounted, but not functional, the officer would pull the motorist over and validate the FasTrak account using the transponder's ID number. If a valid toll account from any FasTrak agency is found, the account is simply billed by the officer, data collected from traffic cameras would determine the toll amount, and the account holder would be asked to replace the defective tag. The driver is then free to go. If the FasTrak is not linked to any valid account, the driver is issued a carpool violation ticket. Any counterfeit, altered or fake transponders would also be confiscated and used as evidence toward the carpool violation ticket. Those are ways to solve this problem without having to mandate transponder accounts for toll free carpools.

Separating the toll traffic from carpools near the toll antennas

The I-25 HOT lane system in Denver which supports free non-transponder carpooling separates the toll traffic from free carpoolers at the overhead toll antennas. Toll paying solo drivers who drive in the tolled lane and pass through without a working EXpressToll transponder will have their license plate photographed with a bill sent in the mail. The separated HOV lane is a dedicated carpool lane; solo drivers caught in the lane will have a chat with law enforcement.

This method of enforcement works with Denver and could also work with the Inland Empire's HOT lane system. The challenge is predicting and keeping track of the number carpools and toll paying traffic to determine if additional lanes need to built to prevent bottlenecking and control lane weaving.

Getting the drug traffickers out of Eastvale and the I-15 freeway

Eastvale was once a completely rural area, with farms and agricultural fields dominating the area until the turn of the century where a sea of single family homes transformed the region. Currently, Eastvale is a robust bedroom community. Jobs in Ontario to the north, Corona and the Metrolink system to the south, and government services in downtown Riverside are a bus ride or short drive away. Eastvale can also boast over its median family income of more than $100,000.

With those assets, criminals are exploiting ways to hide out in the area, turning vacant rental properties into drug production houses and using the I-15 freeway corridor as a means to transport illegal marijuana into the black drug market. The recent subprime mortgage crisis led to an upswing of rentals. At least 18 pot houses had been discovered in the city alone since the beginning of 2013, and police officials report that there are more houses being watched and investigated.

The City of Eastvale is exploring options to track down on this crime wave. One idea floating around city hall is better regulating landlords and rental properties. Such a notion is subject to debate. One fact that needs to be considered is that there are legit and law abiding landlords who are in no way affiliated with this type of activity; they should not be paying the price. With a strong local law enforcement presence, the focus should be catching the illegal drug operators through an intelligence-driven means, giving legit landlords the power and immunity to immediately evict such criminal activity from their properties, busting criminal landlords assisting in the practice, and setting a floor for mandatory jail time for such drug operations. Programs to keep our youth away from drug abuse must also continue in our schools.

Such a crime wave has happened before in the young city. We all remember in 2006, MSNBC aired To Catch a Predator in Riverside, which actually took place at an Eastvale home on the southeast side of town on Riverboat Drive. 50 suspected child predators were busted, the most caught during the show's run. California now has some the hardest penalties for lewd acts against children and similar crimes against minors. There is no question that locking up drug trafficking criminals would contribute toward getting such behavior out of Eastvale let alone the rest of Southern California. Our transportation network, let alone the houses in our Inland Empire cities, should not be facilitating these kinds of criminal activities.

Friday Tips: Avoiding red light camera tickets the right way and calculating the minimum yellow light interval

The effectiveness of automated photo enforcement at Southland intersections is certainly questionable and subject to debate. One certain fact is that the capability of automated enforcement equipment is so limited that such limitations could be easily exploited. With that, there are numerous websites giving people tips of avoiding red light camera tickets.

Unfortunately, many of these sites have ill-advised tips which go above the law. For instance, masking your identity or installing covers which blurs the plate number from certain angles certainly is bad advice. While it's fine to question the policy of automated photo enforcement, going above the law to avoid a ticket is abuse. If you have an issue with automated red light cameras, put it up for robust debate and sell your argument to the public.

Here's our tips to avoid getting a red light ticket from Big Brother: 

• Don't run the red light.
• On red, come to a full and complete stop at the limit line or before entering the crosswalk. Don't do a California Stop when turning right against a red light. Obey the "NO TURN ON RED" regulatory signs.
• If you see a yellow signal, that means the red light is about to appear. Quoting from the California Driver Handbook, whenever you see the light turning yellow, stop if you can do so safely. Otherwise, cross the intersection carefully.

How to calculate the minimum yellow light interval for California traffic signals:

If you suspect that the yellow light interval at an intersection is too short, report it. The interval length of the yellow light is state regulated and determined by the posted speed limit. Right and left turn yellow lights are set at a 3 second minimum.

Formula:
T = t + V/2d

T = The minimum yellow light change interval
V = Posted speed limit in feet-per-second
d = Deceleration Rate of 10ft per second
t = Reaction time (1 second)

Here's how to calculate the state-regulated minimum interval of the yellow light for a 45 MPH roadway. First, convert the speed limit into feet per second. Mutiply 45 by 5280 to convert it into feet, and then divide that by 3600 to convert the per-hours into per-seconds. You should have a speed of 66 feet per second. Now, divide that number by 20 (a deceleration rate of 10 feet per second mutiplied by 2). Add that to a reaction time of 1 second.

T = t + V/2d
T = 1 + ((45*5280)/3600) / (2 * 10)
T = 1 + 66 / (2 * 10)
T = 1 + 66 / 20
T = 1 + 3.3
T = 4.3

The minimum yellow light interval for a 45 MPH road is 4.3 seconds.

A powerful example of Intelligence-driven Law Enforcement aboard Riverside Transit

Wanted criminals who use public transit should beware. Their last stop could be the jailhouse.

The Riverside Transit Agency recently credited one of its bus drivers, Bob Owens, with helping law enforcement catch a suspected criminal involved in a felony violent robbery. RTA had posted "Wanted" flyers in a bus driver lounge; suspect Eric Cunningham was one of them. Owens identified Cunningham when the suspect boarded his bus in Riverside. Not doing anything that may cause Cunningham to flee such as using the radio or acting nervous, the bus driver remained calm. Once at a point where he could quietly converse with another bus driver, Owens makes his report in confidence; Cunningham is unaware that he's being watched.    

Once the bus reached the Galleria at Tyler bus transfer hub, police greeted Cunningham and completed the suspect's trip, a ride to jail. Public transit agencies could use more drivers like Owens to keep our streets and transit fleets safer. If all public transit agency drivers and security camera monitors are trained in basic intelligence-driven enforcement to recognize and catch wanted suspects without blowing the cover, public transportation may one day no longer be a safe means to run from a crime. This example shows that it is foolish for wanted criminals and at-large suspects to use public transportation; the bus may just take them straight to jail.

More Toll Lane Madness in Los Angeles

Are taxpayers paying for government officials to drive alone in LA high occupancy toll lanes?
 

CBS2 News conducted an exclusive investigation where government vehicles along with some elected officials are using the Metro ExpressLanes without a FasTrak transponder. CBS2 investigative reporter David Goldstein uncovered nearly 4,000 FasTrak violations along the I-10 and I-110 high occupancy toll lanes by government officials. If these vehicle trips were non-HOV's, Metro is rightly owed the nearly $50,000 in outstanding tolls and fines. Talk about potential toll payment and carpool cheating on a massive scale by public officials. These violations exclude responding emergency vehicles, public transit buses, and on-duty Caltrans vehicles; such traffic is rightly exempted.

After Goldstein questioned the public agencies involvled, the entities such as LAX and the City of Los Angeles began to pay up. The question remains: Were the outstanding amounts paid for by the assigned operator of the vehicles or by taxpayers? If the latter, the public official behind the wheel basically got a free ride. To be fair, CBS2 reported that Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose vehicle was caught without a transponder, paid his share from a personal check. However, because CBS2 broke this story, measures must be put into place to prevent potential abuse of the Metro ExpressLanes by government officials. With the exception of law enforcement, first responders and Caltrans trucks, taxpayers should not be paying for government officials to drive alone in the high occupancy express lanes.

Controlling Cheating with Intelligence-Driven Toll Lane Enforcement

This event also clearly shows why the Metro ExpressLanes, the 91 Express Lanes and other high occupancy toll lanes throughout Southern California need free non-transponder carpooling. Under an intelligence-driven enforcement system, if the CHP catches a government employee or elected official driving alone without an active transponder mounted at all times in the HOT lanes, the CHP would issue the driver, not taxpayers, a heavy carpool violation ticket. Once again, both LA County and the state government need to consider increasing the carpool violation base fine to $500 and make it a one-point moving violation to fund increased intelligence-driven enforcement along the highways. That would control suspected toll cheating in the Metro ExpressLanes.

Innovative Sobriety & Highway Enforcement Tools

A UC Riverside professor and his students embrace intelligence-driven highway enforcement, for citizens, to combat drunk driving.

A computer science professor from UC Riverside with the help of two students has developed a smart phone application that allows citizen drivers to participate in intelligence-driven highway enforcement, specifically to combat drunk driving. Professor Frank Vahid and UCR computer science majors Timothy Cherney and Daniel de Haas developed the free program called DuiCam which allows a mounted Android or iPhone to video record 30 minutes of highway activity.

Should drivers suspect dangerous drunk driving or any other serious illegal activity such as a hit-and-run, they can pull over, dial 911, and forward any relevant footage to law enforcement with a push of a few buttons. The program could also be used to document traffic collisions, reducing the speculation of who is at fault. Many transit buses and trains are already equipped with similar cameras and recording devices, but UCR has now provided a free software alternative for private motorists. Obviously Vahid, Cherney and de Haas want to get Southern California moving safely. They are patriots for developing a free citizen's intelligence-driven enforcement tool to combat drunk driving. This tool also opens the door for even more efficient and more powerful CHP enforcement innovations at minimal costs.

Take a look at this Transit Coalition conceptual enforcement graphic of the planned I-15 Tolled Express Lanes in Riverside County. The concept shows a point-of-view from a CHP patrol car with an enforcement computer monitor with multiple intelligence-driven features. The monitor is connected with the patrol's video camera and uses existing radar technology to clock a vehicle's speed. Using a connected remote infrared scanning system, the monitor also shows the vehicle occupancy count. For non-HOV's, the computer can also check for the presence of a valid FasTrak, link the transponder to an account, and show whether it was properly mounted upon HOT lane entry. Intelligence-driven enforcement has a future in transportation.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Metro has been responding to criticism regarding the usage policy of the I-110 Metro ExpressLanes which includes numerous complaints of worsened traffic congestion along the general purpose lanes. The agency is exploring four alternatives. Could it be that Metro is considering eliminating the FasTrak mandate for carpools and adopting intelligence-driven HOV enforcement for the I-110? Sadly, this wise alternative is not being considered. By the looks of Metro's proposals, the discussion is all about the $3 monthly FasTrak account fee, not about moving legit non-transponder HOV's like private sector buses.

This Greyhound bus, for example, was found sitting in traffic along the 91 Freeway during a Coalition field study last weekend, all due to a transponder mandate for 3+ HOV's to use the 91 Express Lanes. That Greyhound coach alone lost approximately 10-15 minutes worth of trip time in congestion, a preventable expense that gets paid for by the rider. Southern California transportation officials need to get out, spend a few days in San Diego County, the Bay area, Seattle, Denver, Utah, and Minneapolis and see exactly how agencies there operate their toll lanes done right.

Intelligent Transit Enforcement

The US Border Patrol finds success in intelligence-driven enforcement. Would such a strategy work for enforcing transit fares and HOV usage?

As we head into the New Year of 2013, law enforcement continues to head toward better technology and methods, which in one case has reduced traffic congestion on Southern California freeways. Motorists who travel regularly from LA, Orange County or the Inland Empire into San Diego County and back may have noticed that the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints along the I-5 and I-15 freeways appear to be "closed" more often than in years past; northbound drivers for the most part now proceed through and go. Fewer have to wait. Likewise, tactical enforcement checkpoint turnouts located along the sides of several inland two-lane roads as they cross the northern San Diego County border appear to be "less" used. Don't be fooled by those appearances. Those who are planning on breaking the law are being watched even more.

That's because the Border Patrol has now been tackling criminal border-related threats head on by collecting information and coordinating with local law enforcement agencies that allows the federal agents to look for certain behaviors instead of simply screening every motorist, a method known as intelligence-driven enforcement. The San Diego stats clearly show that this win-win method actually works for both the Border Patrol and law-abiding travelers. As the Border Patrol continues to bust more criminals than it did before, so too are fewer and fewer northbound motorists and buses that have to stop in a 5-15 minute queue at the federal checkpoints. The benefits are clear: More criminals being caught; less delays while leaving San Diego County. Yes, there are times that agents are called to operate the checkpoints, but their motive is backed by intelligence, and on several occasions, they have stopped criminal activity.

Would a similar intelligence-driven enforcement system work for combating transit fare evasion and carpool cheating? Here's some ideas local public agencies may want to consider:

Undercover fare enforcement and/or loss prevention inspectors posing as bus/train riders looking for signs of fare evasion, illegal resales of tickets and passes, and people turning back when they see a uniformed fare inspector on the platform. The same undercover enforcement teams monitoring how bus drivers handle fare collections and safety protocol. Volunteer station transit ambassadors helping transit riders with purchasing tickets/passes and boarding the correct buses/trains. Uniformed ambassadors deter sneaky evasion tacticts because they are trained to report criminal activity at the stations. Installation of infrared scanning systems along HOV and HOT lanes; systems similar to equipment used to log speeders with "Your Speed" automatic radars seen on streets and freeways. The data can be passed to the CHP with potential enforcement sting operations in areas with a 10% or more HOV violation ratio. Their sole use should be for automatically monitoring and tracking carpool cheating as our Fourth Amendment U.S. Constitutional rights must be respected. Equipping the CHP with remote infrared scanners, mobile enforcement transponders, enforcement beacons and other fool-proof tools to catch carpool cheaters in HOV and HOT lanes. By the way, if you spot anybody selling illegal Metrolink, RTA, or Omnitrans tickets or passes, please be sure to report it to local law enforcement.