Grant to help put the brakes on speeders

By Darleen Principe
darleen@theacorn.com

CAMARILLO, Calif - Eight years on the force and Officer Miguel Duarte of the California Highway Patrol has become an expert in spotting motorist violations.

From the driver’s seat of his black-and-white patrol car, Duarte watched passing vehicles on the 118 Freeway in Simi Valley and Moorpark, looking for speeders, drivers making erratic lane changes or not wearing their seat belts, and others who were breaking traffic laws.

He also stopped to assist a family parked on the eastbound shoulder near Madera Road with hazard lights on because a young girl was having a medical emergency.

During a ride-along last Friday morning, the public information officer of the Moorpark CHP office described the benefits of a recently enacted “DUI safety corridor” along the 118, which was funded last month by a $212,803 grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“Having the grant is really nice,” Duarte said. “It allows officers to concentrate on enforcement.

“We’re saturating the freeway, so people will start to notice and hopefully will drive a little safer.”

The grant, which was awarded to the CHP last November, was supposed to go into effect Jan. 1. But due to state deferments, the agency didn’t receive the money until last month, delaying implementation of the safety corridor by three months.

The safety corridor will conclude in September, Duarte said.

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