CHP drive ends with flurry of citations

BARSTOW — People noticed a few more California Highway Patrol black and whites lining Interstate 15 last week.

CHP officer Taj Johnson said people in Barstow kept telling officers on Wednesday and Thursday that they were surprised at how many officers were on I-15. In all, 90 CHP officers concentrated on I-15 from northern Riverside County to the Nevada state line on Wednesday and Thursday last week.

“It was unbelievable how many people we had out there,” Johnson said.

Johnson said the two-day campaign cracked down on speeding, seatbelt laws and drunken driving. He called it a success not only in terms of the number of citations written but also as a deterrent. He said the sight of so many patrol units make people think twice before speeding around Barstow.

“It kind of opens their eyes up to the dangers that are out there.”

During the two-day campaign, officers from the Barstow CHP station wrote 244 speeding citations, cited 23 people for not wearing seatbelts and issued eight other citations. Along the entire targeted portion of I-15, officers wrote 1,110 citations, including 849 for excessive speed and 46 for not wearing seatbelts. Three drivers were arrested for driving under the influence. None of the arrests occurred in Barstow.

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