Traffic Safety

The primary purpose of traffic enforcement is to reduce accidents, save lives, and facilitate the safe and efficient movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic throughout the City. Traffic problems, including congestion, aggressive drivers, and speeding through neighborhoods, consistently ranks among the top 5 police-related concerns of Pacific Grove residents.

The Traffic Division conducts traffic enforcement operations targeted at specific problem locations as well as public information related to traffic safety. The Traffic officer is deployed to those areas of the city where traffic violations are problematic, including school zones during school hours.

The Pacific Grove Police Department Traffic Unit currently consists of one Motorcycle Officer. The officer is responsible for investigating all traffic collisions and for issuing traffic citations.

Traffic Citations

On the average, a traffic officer can issue 100 to 200 citations each month. When a citation is issued to a driver, the driver usually receives a courtesy notice from the Traffic Court four to six weeks after the date of the violation. The following options are available to the driver to take care of the citation:

• The driver may pay the fine that is set on the courtesy notice.
• The driver may pay the fine and attend traffic school. Under most circumstances, a driver is eligible to attend traffic school as long as he or she has not attended traffic school on a violation that occurred within the past 18 months after the date of a previous violation. By attending traffic school, the driver may be able to avoid having the violation appear on their driver license record.
• The driver can schedule a court date with the Traffic Court. Once the date is set, a subpoena is sent to the traffic officer who issued the citation. The traffic officer and the driver appear on the assigned court date. In court, the Traffic Commissioner presides over the testimony of the traffic officer and the testimony of the driver. The driver has the right to ask questions of the traffic officer regarding the citation and the driver has the option of giving his or her side of the incident. If there are witnesses for either party, they can come to court and give a statement regarding what they saw. When both sides have finished presenting testimony, the Traffic Commissioner may either render a decision at that time or take the matter under submission and notify both parties of the verdict by mail.

Most drivers elect to pay the fine and, if they qualify, attend traffic school to avoid having the traffic infraction affect their driving record, which, in turn, can affect their insurance rates. Most drivers can avoid receiving a traffic citation by simply obeying the traffic regulations.

Here are some friendly driving tips:

• Always buckle up and wear the seatbelt properly. Do not place the shoulder strap under your arm.
• Remember residential streets have a maximum speed limit of 25 MPH.
• Take a look at your speedometer periodically and make sure you are traveling at or below the posted speed limit. Of the number of people stopped for speeding, 7 out of 10 were not aware of how fast they were traveling.

The Mobile Radar Unit is equipped with a radar gun which displays vehicle speeds. The Mobile Radar Unit is used to educate drivers of there speeds in various areas and to encourage driver awareness. 

For any traffic related issues, please contact Officer Adam Sepagan at (831) 648-3143 or at asepagan@ci.pg.ca.us.