Services - Traffic Division

The Imperial Beach Station's Traffic Division consists of a Traffic Sergeant, 2 motorcycle traffic deputies, 2 traffic investigators and 4 Community Service Officers that serve the City of Imperial Beach. The goal of the unit is to reduce or eliminate traffic collisions through enforcement of traffic laws and hazardous violations. When drivers obey the rules of the road, accidents are reduced.

According to recent public surveys, increased traffic congestion and speeding are two major concerns of our community. Deputy Sheriffs and statistics support this assessment. Traffic Deputies write more citations for speeding than any other violation. Right of Way violations have become the number one cause of collisions within our jurisdiction; red light violations rank second and unsafe turns rank third.

Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Enforcement Sweeps

While the highly publicized static DUI Checkpoint procedure remains a viable alternative, the Traffic Division enjoys increasing success in combating DUI and other vehicle related crimes with a mobile "sweeps" policy. Under this program, up to a dozen or more patrol cars and motorcycles are assigned to a problem area with one focus - putting drunk drivers in jail. Law enforcement officers saturate the problem area with highly effective results.

Traffic Deputies deploy radar and Lidar (laser) speed measuring devices. In addition, two radar speed trailers are used in Imperial Beach. They are displayed as both an enforcement tool (people do slow down when they see the trailer displaying speeds) and for statistic gathering purposes to assess speed limits or whether other inhibitors are needed.

The Department supports the privately installed sign concept, "25 Miles Per Hour Speed Limit, Children Present". These signs are available commercially as well as from city governments. Experienced traffic control officers maintain that the sign displays play a passive yet effective method to remind motorists to drive safely in residential neighborhoods.