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Due to recent Highway 12 fatalities, the California Highway Patrol has increased air patrols. A traffic enforcement sting took place Friday — 55 drivers were ticketed. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

By ground and air, highway patrol targets bad drivers on Highway 12

By Layla Bohm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Saturday, March 24, 2007 7:36 AM PDT

Comments (21 comment(s))

From 2,000 feet above Highway 12, the silver Ford Mustang was hard to miss as it cruised west Friday evening. Not only was it missing the hood, but it was speeding.

When California Highway Patrol Flight Officer Matt Causie clocked the car from a patrol plane, it was moving at 66 mph on the two-lane road known as "blood alley" for its fatal collisions.

The Mustang's driver was one of 55 people cited during a four-hour period Friday along Highway 12 as part of a crackdown on hazardous driving, said Officer Adrian Quintero.

Officers impounded four cars, including a Plymouth Neon belonging to an unlicensed Lodi man who was watching a portable DVD player while driving west near Interstate 5.

Quintero had initially stopped the car for driving with no headlights in an area that requires them, but before long the man and his two passengers were walking back to Lodi, DVD player in hand, while a tow truck came to collect the car.


California Highway Patrol Officer Adrian Quintaro issues a ticket to a driver on Highway 12 on Friday. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

"Not only was he driving with no lights on and no license, he was watching TV," Quintero said in amazement.

Six officers and a plane patrolled Highway 12 between 3 and 7 p.m., looking for anyone violating speeding, passing unsafely or failing to stop at stop signs — the three biggest causes of traffic accidents, Quintero said.

Using a "zero tolerance" policy, officers also pulled over countless vehicles driving without headlights on, despite large white signs telling drivers to turn on headlights for the next 15 miles. The purpose, Quintero said, is to increase visibility on the road that frequently rises and curves.

"When it gets warm, cars sometimes start to pass because they can't see through the heat waves; black cars really blend in with the road," Quintero said.

One such offender, Albert Hu, was on his way home from work in Solano County and said he sometimes turns on his headlights but doesn't always remember. But after commuting on Highway 12 for 15 years between Anheiser Busch and his home in north Stockton, he's seen a lot of wrecks.

"I'm glad they're out here," Hu said of the officers. "I wish they were here when cars pass me on the double line every day. ... The other day I had a big rig behind me — I was going 55 and he was honking at me."

Not all were happy to be stopped, including drivers who failed to stop before pulling out of Tower Park Marina and heading east. One such driver had previously been stopped elsewhere for the same violation.

The extra enforcement appeared to make its point Friday: Because so many patrol cars were stopping vehicles, it made other drivers slow down.

From the air, Causie and pilot Jeff Barbao circled overhead, watching the heavy traffic and scouring the roadways for dangerous drivers. They typically patrol larger roadways such as Interstate 5 in a 13-county area but were called in for Friday's operation.

"I really like to get the unsafe passing violations, because those are the ones that can cause bad accidents," Causie said.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Patricia wrote on Mar 30, 2007 5:33 AM:

" I'm making an uneducated guess here, that if we call 911 to report offenders, which I plan on doing, that if a CHP isn't readily available in that area, the info will be transmitted ahead for the next possible CHP to tag. Anything we do to help, may save a life. I don't believe any major changes are coming to fix the road in the near future. Perhaps, the stretch between Lodi and Flag city may see some added signs or lights, but beyond that, who knows. "

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NDELAR wrote on Mar 29, 2007 3:23 PM:

" I am becoming proactive by reporting crazy drivers on 12. I turned in an EBMUD driver, to EBMUD's Board of Directors. The guy passed at least 5 cars (speeding) at one time, only to get back in, just in time to have to come to a stop because a semi truck was blocking the road with a motorcycle lodged underneath it. "

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NDELAR wrote on Mar 29, 2007 3:23 PM:

" Lodian: Recently I was traveling west on 12, going 58 mph when I was passed by a SEMI truck!! I waited until I got home to call the CHP They took the information, I had on the truck, but I was told I should have dialed 911. They said in the future, NEVER hesitate to call 911, when you witness wreckless driving. "

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Holy Moly wrote on Mar 28, 2007 11:12 AM:

" Emmett Morgan: Jerry McNebbish AND Lois Wolk do NOT need to use Highway 12! Doesn't Nebbish live in Pleasanton? Wolk lives in Davis! "

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Lodian wrote on Mar 28, 2007 9:31 AM:

" Emmett Morgan: Well said! Although I'd still like to see more tickets handed out too. "

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Emmett Morgan wrote on Mar 27, 2007 9:53 PM:

" Enforcement is not an answer. Redesign is. You cannot remove nitwits from the roads. You have to engineer around them. until that is done the pinheads will always do stupid things killing people. Were is Jerry McNebbish ? I thought he was going to save us from this blood letting? "

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WY wrote on Mar 27, 2007 8:41 PM:

" The city should make the tickets Bookoo bucks for the speeders. Then maybe we can get outa this money mess that we're in. Four or Five hundred bucks post it and then start writing. Isn't it all about $$$$$$$$$$. I'll bet i could write a hundred a day out on that road. OMG!!! That would work! We'd be roll'n in the mula. Set it up. Sting em "

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Lodian wrote on Mar 27, 2007 9:55 AM:

" LP from lodi: The CHP would be inundated with calls if everyone called when witnessing a reckless driver. I wonder what the outcome would be if they were flooded with calls everyday. I think they would need to hire more people to patrol the area. "

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A Concerned Trucker wrote on Mar 26, 2007 6:41 PM:

" Right on! Instead of fines, I'd love to see 30-day licence suspensions and the vehicle impounded, but that's beside the point. Whatever CHP can do to slow these NASCAR-wannabe's down is welcome around here. I'm tired of drag-racing buffoons speeding and riding my tail everywhere I go around here. Even at $3.20/gal., these people can't burn gasoline fast enough. "

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LP from lodi wrote on Mar 26, 2007 11:15 AM:

" Most of the time the passing lanes are being used by the people who are travelling at 75-80 or better on that highway. Leave yourself some time to get where you are going people. There is no fix for this problem besides continual monitoring by the CHP and civilian intervention. 1-800-tell-chp "

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Holy Moly wrote on Mar 25, 2007 7:37 PM:

" Alexey, passing lanes work to a point but even then you get some jerks who PASS the PASSING LANES! I have seen this myself, you want to look away because they risk hitting oncoming traffic they can't see! "

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Alexey wrote on Mar 25, 2007 8:46 AM:

" Many roads in the mountains have passing lanes, but there are too few of them in the valley. Maybe passing lanes would reduce a number of unsafe passing and improve safety. "

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locallodian wrote on Mar 24, 2007 6:03 PM:

" As much as it does need something for the time we need to all police the road..If you are passed by someone doing 70mph then call 911 they may or may not catch them but will alert them to the problem and might get more patrols then a temp fix.. "

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locallodian wrote on Mar 24, 2007 6:03 PM:

" To T&C there is no physical way to make a permanent way to make a solid divider in a floating road, which it what the whole area is from tower park to rio vista it is a floating island and if they were to try to attach a barrier to the road it would do nothing but crack and break under the stress of the "moving" road base. "

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locallodian wrote on Mar 24, 2007 6:02 PM:

" I saw that same mustang they talked about go by me as I was waiting to come out from a side road and it is nice to see them do a temp fix.. "

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Joe Silva, Sr. wrote on Mar 24, 2007 2:53 PM:

" I have commuted daily on Hwy 12 for two years now. I have seen the accidents I have seen the yellow sheets covering those who didn't need an ambulance. And I have seen the CHP thick as flies for two weeks or so afterward. Then sadly it's back to business as normal. Not exactly a fitting legacy for those lost. Inlike the negative crowd i have no ideas as to a long term solution and I feel no desire to lay blame on someone or thing. "

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Patricia wrote on Mar 24, 2007 11:51 AM:

" Great job! I would like to see funds allotted for this to be ongoing. Especially during commute hours and weekends. The point made about the truck driver honking at driver doing 55 is a good point. It probably seems to the 75 and over speeders, that 55 speed drivers are doing only 30, 40, when in fact they are obeying the law. To test this out, do 75 on 5 in the 75 mile speed zone and note the cars that pass you up. These drivers do not slow down in lower speed zones. "

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fischgoth wrote on Mar 24, 2007 11:13 AM:

" What has taken so long (and so many deaths)for this miserable stretch of highway to be so closely monitored? I guess California drivers don't get two lane highways any more. You need to adjust your driving skills when using these older highways. I hope this enforcement helps. "

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Yeah, it's about time wrote on Mar 24, 2007 10:21 AM:

" keep up this effort and don't let up and hopefully driver's will get the hint to slow down and drive more responsibly. What was that guy thinking? Watching a DVD while driving? Perhaps the officer's efforts saved some lives. "

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T & C wrote on Mar 24, 2007 10:11 AM:

" Again, regulate all of those wine tasting rooms that encourage people to drink and then drive. They're not only on the Hwy but all around it. Lodians wanted them for their tourist industry, now they're the first ones complaining about all the accidents. A defensive driving class is the first step, but as long as 12 doesn't have center dividers all the way to Suisun City, the problem will never be solved. "

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Mr.HG wrote on Mar 24, 2007 10:01 AM:

" I am so happy to read that something is being done other wreck clean up! Drivers are taking more risks thatn ever. I was on my way home from Kaiser yesterday, when a Hummer shot past in the right lane doing no less than 50 in a residential zone. There just happened to be a patrol car parked using radar at the intersection. The Hummer didn't have a chance. Imagine the lives that could be saved and all the money the Highway Patrol could make for the state in fines. More power to them! "

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