HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-08-06; Loud Exhaust Issues on Carlsbad Boulevard; Gallucci, NeilHonorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council
Aug. 6, 2020
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The resident's concerns were also forwarded to the city's Traffic Engineer on July 28, 2020, in
order to communicate with the city's Traffic Engineering Department that there is a concern
referencing the current speed limit and the request for speed cushions, speed tables and/or
reduction to one lane.
The law regarding loud exhaust has changed several times throughout the years, and currently,
it is a fix-it ticket with a $25 bail schedule, which was confirmed by the North County Court on
July 28, 2020. The resident stated in her email that the fine is up to $1,000, which is incorrect.
Hefty fines of approximately $200 were the standard in 2019, but Governor Newsom reversed
Assembly Bill 1824 in October of 2019, and the current law occurring from this reversal is a fix-it
ticket with a $25 fine for loud exhaust.
The Carlsbad Police Department makes a conscious effort to conduct enforcement within the
city while balancing the need to affect quality of life issues that impact our residents and
conduct enforcement that will impact overall crashes that result in injuries and fatalities. Each
I
are equally as important to our Police Department. Currently, the Police Department has an
ongoing enforcement grant agreement with the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). The
goal of the enforcement grant is to provide an effective means of eliminating fatalities, injuries,
and economic losses resulting from crashes. In unification with OTS, the Police Department
conducts traffic enforcement to make a lasting impact on offenses that contribute to crashes
(i.e., speed, alcohol/drug impaired driving, bicycle safety, and moving violations made by
vehicles and motorcycles). The City of Carlsbad saw a reduction in injury crashes from 346 in
2017 and 378 in 2018 to 308 injury crashes in 2019, and as such 2019 represented a three-year
low in injury crashes compared to years 2017 and 2018. Alcohol-involved injury crashes had ·
declined from 26 injury crashes in 2017 and 21 injury crashes in 2018 to 20 injury crashes in
2019, however, 2019 had one alcohol related fatal crash. (This data does not include traffic
collisions taken by California Highway Patrol on highways in the City of Carlsbad).
The Traffic Division Lieutenant and Sergeant take each and every complaint received by
residents seriously and spend many hours each week fielding complaints, ultimately directing
the Traffic Enforcement officers and Patrol officers to various areas around the city to make an
impact. Many of these enforcement efforts designed to tackle complaints do not yield citations,
but are high visibility deterrents, and potentially end with an arrest instead of a vehicle code
citation or turn into educational opportunities. With 37.7 square miles of roadway in the city,
the Traffic Enforcement officers spend a large portion of their day on the seven miles of
coastline, due to the high level of complaints from residents.
Enforcement:
The resident raised concerns referencing the Police Department only writing five citations for
loud exhaust in a five-year period. The public records request submitted by the resident did not
include written warnings or a complete list of Carlsbad Blvd. from La Costa Avenue to the North
city limits. The data the Police Department has regarding loud exhaust enforcement along
Carlsbad Blvd. includes a total of 12 citations and 43 written warnings in the five-year period.
Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council
Aug.6,2020
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This data does not include loud exhaust tickets, written warnings or verbal warnings written in
other areas of th.e city, nor does it include verbal warnings for loud exhaust where the violator
was written a ticket for another violation, such as speed.
Carlsbad Blvd traffic data between Jan. 1, 2019, and July 28, 2020:
Extra Patrol Details/Enforcement 1,936
Traffic Stops 1,077
Cites 1,204
Warnings 1,253
Equipment:
The Police Department's Traffic Division is consistently adjusting to the needs of the residents
as well as the need to deter crime resulting in crashes and will continue to do so in 'order to
tackle ongoing issues. Recently, the Traffic Division purchased decibel readers that will aid .
officers in conducting a rough field test to assist in their enforcement for loud exhaust. The
decibel reader is not a scientific tool but will simply assist in showing the motorist that their
vehicle is in violation based on the officer's initial assessment, in conjunction with the field test
reader. The decibel readers will arrive in August 2020.
cc: Scott Chadwick, City Manager
Celia Brewer, City Attorney