Residents get rash course n traffic accidents

By Michael Picarella

pic@theacorn.com

DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE— The crash car trailer provides dramatic audio and visual accounts of victims of drunk driving to persuade teens to drive more responsibly. Nobody wants to be told how to drive. But the correct visual aid might make motorists think twice about speeding or driving recklessly.

The cities of Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Hidden Hills and Malibu, working with the Lost Hills Sheriff Department’s Sheriff Teen Traffic Offender Program (STTOP), recently unveiled a new crash car trailer, which displays a crashed vehicle and four TVs playing educational videos about safe driving.

“The crash car trailer has a tremendous impact on our young drivers by showing them how quickly a life can change with just one error behind the wheel,” said Lost Hills Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Woodard, STTOP coordinator for this area.

According to Calabasas Assistant Transportation Planner Tom Gdala, the crash car trailer will be on display at many public events and can be requested for special events by calling the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station at (818) 8781808, he said.

“Unless the trailer is being displayed at an event, the trailer will be viewable, though not in full operation, in the front parking lot of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station located on Agoura Road in Calabasas,” Gdala said.

Local cities obtained an $80,000 grant from the Office of Traffic Safety through the Business and Transportation and Housing Agency to fund the program.

To make sure the streets are safer, STTOP also gives area residents a chance to report bad driving before it leads to fatalities. The program was initially designed to report bad driving by teenagers, but it has since been expanded, according to Woodard. He has convinced some elderly drivers to head back to the DMV for driving evaluations.

Woodard will go to the driver’s home and, if the motorist is a teenager, speak with both the teen and parents to resolve the issue. But the bad drivers won’t be given tickets because a patrol officer didn’t catch them in the act.

STTOP responds to calls from residents in Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Westlake Village and Hidden Hills. Other cities nearby also use STTOP.

To report dangerous teen drivers in the area or to request a visit from Woodard, call the toll free number, (877) 310-STOP, ext. 7867. The STTOP hotline shouldn’t be used for emergencies, Woodard said, because calls to the hotline are not answered immediately. Urgent reports, such as a drunk driver sighting, should be directed to 911.

For more information about STTOP, go to www.sttop.net.