Growing concerns from ambulance drivers, firefighters, deputies and residents have prompted Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies to plan operations targeting motorists with unsafe driving habits.
Deputy Robert Jensen, spokesman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station, said Thursday there’s been an uptick in local complaints about drivers not pulling over for emergency vehicles, particularly from first responders.
A recent issue during the Fourth of July Parade, which featured Sheriff Robert Luna, put the problem in front of Sheriff’s Department officials, literally, Jensen said.
“We were in a motorcade coming back from the Fourth of July Parade, so maybe two weeks ago, and there’s police car, police car, BearCat (a large special weapons and tactics vehicle), dirt bike, dirt bike, all with lights and sirens on, all in an organized, official motorcade,” Jensen recalled.
And then a civilian driving a Dodge Charger decided to make a left at that moment and cut off the entire motorcade, he said.
He described that as an opportunity for education and enforcement.
Jensen said it wasn’t just about trying to pick on motorists who don’t realize they needed to pull over to the right and make sure emergency vehicles can pass on the left: The operation is intended to make people realize they have to be more aware and focused on the road.
One common infraction he sees is AirPods, or the small wireless headphones that fit into people’s ears. It’s not only a traffic violation to wear them while driving, but also noise-cancelling features can make them dangerous.
“Add to that the e-bikes that you don’t hear coming,” Jensen said. “It’s just a total lack of awareness behind the wheel. So we’re really going to put an emphasis on, or we’re going to push hard to target the areas of concern that we’re seeing.”
He also acknowledged that some people might see deputies using a computer while they’re driving, but he explained it’s out of necessity: Their vehicles’ computers update them in real time with details from patrol deputies and 911 callers who are sharing information about potentially life-or-death situations on their service calls.
“You need to learn the rules of California,” Jensen said, speaking to drivers. “You have to pull to the right. That is required anytime there’s not a median dividing the road, even if you see the ambulance going in the other direction. I mean, we purposely take different routes, right, because we’re trying to avoid traffic.”
That’s why their vehicle might have to make a random U-turn with lights and sirens on, and especially why people need to be aware, he added. “We don’t drive our vehicles the same way that a normal car would operate.”
Jensen said most of the violations being looked for will be traffic infractions, ranging from unsafe e-bike operations to not pulling over to lights and sirens to “go on down the Vehicle Code,” Jensen said.
Station officials were still working on the strategy in terms of how and when the operations would take place, Jensen said, in an effort to include the Crime Prevention and Traffic units, among other additional resources.
In this case, he didn’t mind telling people that deputies were coming, he said. The whole point is to raise awareness about safety.
