States’ highway patrols to join forces on I-15

Stephen Curran

Monday, Aug. 16, 2004 | 10:44 a.m.

In theory Interstate 15 from Baker, Calif., to Las Vegas, with its lengthy straightaways, is a stretch of highway even the most novice driver could master.

In fact, the highway gives many a false sense of security, which may be what makes those 100 miles of asphalt particularly deadly as the temptingly easy conditions produce what the California Highway Patrol calls "a never-ending stream of bad drivers." The bad drivers routinely run their vehicles at high speeds, weave in and out of lanes as well as the shoulders of the road. Periodically, they even resort to violence against other drivers.

It only gets worse on busy holiday weekends, enough to prompt a rare agreement between the California and Nevada highway patrols to join forces starting Labor Day weekend -- which kicks off Sept. 3. Those law enforcers say will work together to cite erratic drivers in what both agencies are calling their most aggressive effort yet to curb dangerous driving along I-15, the key corridor connecting Las Vegas to Southern California.

Dangerous driving claimed 80 lives on the California side of that stretch of road last year, and so far this year the total for the California side is 45, authorities said. On the Nevada side of the state line, 30 people have died as a result of crashes on that length of highway this year to date, Nevada Highway Patrol spokeswoman Angie Chavera said.

Contributing to the dangerous nature of that highway is almost-constant stream of construction projects on the road in California. Troopers say drivers speed through the construction zones posing a risk not only to themselves but also to construction workers. That work is expected to continue through 2007 on the 10 projects, according to the California Department of Transportation.

The interstate campaign, which steps up enforcement near the state line but does not grant the agencies additional authority, will be in effect during every busy holiday weekend, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and Independence Day, she said.

The move, which includes an interstate media blitz heading into Labor Day weekend, will add two NHP officers along the state line, a move that will effectively double the amount of manpower on the Nevada side, Chavera said.

"This way we can focus on direct enforcement," she said of the heightened patrols. "We're both suffering manpower issue so we can't do this all the time."

The state agencies already have an agreement allowing them to pursue speeding suspects up to 50 miles inside the other state's jurisdiction. It was that agreement that allowed a CHP trooper to chase Joseph Galipo across the state line into Nevada when he tried to elude officers near the state line last month, Chavera said.

The chase ended when Galipo swerved to avoid spike strips laid down to puncture his tires. Galipo's Camaro flipped several times and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"It's a very rare occasion we would do that," Chavera said of interstate pursuits. "But it doesn't mean you (a motorist) can cross the magic (state) line and can break the law."

Most often, however, violent crashes stem from a more common culprit, as drivers frequently fail to wear their seatbelts, Adam Cortinas, a spokesman for the CHP's Barstow office, which patrols to the state line, said.

Of the roughly 45 people who have already died this year along I-15 from Barstow to the state line, Cortinas estimated that as many as three-quarters were not wearing seatbelts.

"If they were wearing their seatbelts most of those people could have survived," he said. "You're looking at a good 35 people who would still be alive."

And it isn't just everyday drivers who fall victim to unsafe driving practices along I-15, Cortinas said. Last year, three CHP troopers were struck by fast-moving cars near the same shoulder when the drivers fell asleep at the wheel, he said.

In fact, there are enough fatigued, erratic and incompetent drivers for troopers to theoretically dedicate their entire job to citing them , he said.

"It takes up a lot of our time," Cortinas said. "If we had nothing else to do but write tickets we would never get off the shoulder. There's a never-ending stream of bad drivers."