CHP Q&A

Someone put warning tickets on cars in our neighborhood near LAE yesterday. We assume it was a County truck? We park one vehicle entirely off the street but it is maybe a foot into the Right of Way. The red warning ticket says that we were parked illegally for "blocking the snowplow" law. Now we spent a lot of time, effort and money to get this space off the street so we were a little surprised to know it was illegal. We have a driveway but it is slightly uphill to get out and just about impossible for little ole me if it snows.
We thought we had found a solution. Most cars on our street park right out in the street and some of them have their parking places filled with boats so they have no place to park except on the street. The boats have to be in the right of way. So are you going after everyone or just the most obvious violators??? Since most people were at work when they came through they did not get the tickets but they always park in the street. I assume this will be posted on ROTW and in the newspapers??? In these tough times a lot of people would really be hurt with an unexpected $250 fine.
Thanks!!!

Coral - we received one of those warnings as well. Our car is parked on our property, and the bumper hangs over the street by maybe 2 inches. I wondered if the cars down the street that park on the street every night will get the warning. Last winter, 3 of the cars never even got moved for most of the winter and the plows just went around them. Never towed or moved. Made for a very skinny street to drive in.

When I went out today I noticed that a lot of people who usually park in the street were parked up over the curb. According to the notice, that won't help. You must be behind your property line. However, I will be happy if people pay more attention to how they park all the time. One car pokes the nose of their car in the top of the driveway and the rest of the car sticks out in the street. You always have to go out and around it. Some people have no manners!!!

Coral, the notices you are talking about are being placed by the County in an attempt to gain compliance before snow arrives. This is a result of many concerns voiced by residents last year. Vehicles blocking the snow plow are subject to citation and or towing. I have been informed the county does have more personnel assigned to the mountain this year to assist with removal of vehicles blocking the plows. If you have any questions, please contact County Publisc Works.

Sounds like the CHP needs to actually write some tickets up here for parking violations instead of ignoring it, I know in crestline vehicles in the street is getting out of control and no enforcement other than the warnings from county roads. Sounds like they are the only ones trying! Maybe give them a ticket book, they'll get the job done because the CHP is obviously to busy to care

CHP-

The thing is that these notices have the CHP star on the top and reference CHP throughout.

This is why the questions are being directed at you.

Are you going to be the enforcement agency, as this notice claims?

Are they placing those warning notices in all neighborhoods? Can I put in a special request?

My husband gave the notice to our neighbors who were not there when they were passed out. I don't have one now to tell exactly what it said. But you are right, OG, it did reference CHP. I don't think Public Works give out tickets??t

I also wondered if they were passing these out on the entire mountain or just some problem areas. Can you target one area and not another? And what about the brochure we got last year that says you just need to get off the street as far as you can?

BTW - don't get me wrong. I want all the violators ticketed and I think it is about time that this is being done. But we were given a warning even though we were entirely off the road but partly in the right of way. My husband plowed snow up here for 40 years and he always does everthing he can to make it easier for the snow plow.

The notices you are talking about are being placed by the County in an attempt to gain compliance before snow arrives.
If you have any questions, please contact County Public Works.

We got notices earlier this week in Running Springs.

As I stated earlier, I think they are looking at a new revenue source.

For the record, I have personally followed the CHP and Sheriff's Office on "Sweeps" through Crestline and other communities and have towed many vehicles for violating the 72 hour rule and for expired tags as well at their order. The cars that were towed were making it impossible for emergency vehicles to get through and others were abandoned and making it dangerous for neighborhood kids to even walk by. (abandoned with broken glass, collision damage with protruding pieces of metal, etc)

In reality, it goes back to the old addage: You Can't Make Everyone Happy.

When we were towing illegally parked cars, people were screaming in the officers faces for towing their cars, but in the same breath, they were directing the officer to their neighbors cars and asking them to be towed as well.

"Oh! You'll tow my car? But what about my neighbor?! They park their cars out here all night. Look at that one! (Pointing down the street) You had better to that car or I'm gonna call and complain!"

Wierd...

But again for the record, CHP DOES monitor the streets as they are expected.

As a matter of fact...

http://www.rimoftheworld.net/discuss/23/54957?page=0

Guess you really can't make everyone happy...

<<steps off soapbox>>

Parking complaints or concerns for vehicles parked on the highway right of way can be addressed by calling the Arrowhead CHP Office at 909-867-2791 Monday -Friday during business hours. All other parking concerns on private property should be addressed to Code Enforcment.

For on highway parking violations, an officer will be sent to examine the allegation and take appropriate action. That action can vary from contacting the registered owner, posting a warning on the vehicle (CHP Form 422), issuing a citation or storing/impounding the vehicle. If a warning is issued, an officer will return to see if the vehicle has been moved after 72 hours.

County Public Works and the Sheriff's Department have been very responsive and we are all working together to proactively tag vehicles that may hinder plow operators, so residents are informed prior to the arrival of snow and removal of someones vehicle for blocking a plow.

Old Guy, the CHP does not receive any funding from citations or arrests. During inclement weather, we are normally inundated with calls for service. As a result, we prioritize our response to calls. Cars illegally parked are low on the priority list. We do attempt to get to them, but any delay does not help the plow operators. Therefore, the County of San Bernardino deploys county employee's who do infact tow cars under the authority of the County Code. The reason the CHP is indicated on the warning notices is a courtesy by the County. When a county employee tows a vehicle, the impound forms are filed with the CHP office and entered into the Ca Law Enforcement Computer System, so the registered owner can determine which tow company is storing the vehicle.

53.0306 Removal of Vehicles.
(a) Any vehicle which is in violation of this Chapter may be moved or caused to be moved by those regularly employed and salaried County or State highway employees designated by the Board of Supervisors, or the California Highway Patrol.
(b) Charges for vehicle removal, tow away, and storage, shall be assessed against the vehicle in accordance with the California Highway Patrol Tow Service Agreement

CHP, can you give us an idea of the definition of "right of way" or direct us to the appropriate code? Fog line? Tires outside the fog line but with bumper hanging over it? Off the pavement-ish? X-number of feet from the middle of the street?

Besides the people who just don't care where they park, I'm sure there are a few (or more) who just don't know.

Thanks

XOXO, The right of way extends beyond the edge of the pavement to the property line, which is generally several feet beyond the edge of the pavement.

So in general, touching the pavement is a no-no? All the neighbors on the street behind me park either right at or just over the pavement line, one almost completely on pavement. One is a huge RV that he's lived in for almost two years while he "remodels" his house. He said the sheriffs told him he was fine. There's a roofing co. truck on Knapps that is ALWAYS either just at the fog line or slightly encroaching (you'd think Knapps is a street that should be kept open) and it's hard not to notice. There are big pickups on another street that routinely encroach 4-5 feet into one of the two narrow lanes.

I guess my frustration is that by the time the snowplow comes down the street and sees cars in the way, and LEAVES, towing hundreds of vehicles from unplowed roads is just not possible or practical or, as you stated, a priority. I have an actual driveway but often can't get out in winter because of the other cars parked with the berm on the outside of them, rendering the road maybe 6 feet wide.

Are they going to be doing more of the warning flyers in other areas? And I guess I'm just wondering if there really is an answer to this (other than fear your neighbors' parking habits...lol).

and I do realize this is just as frustrating for you as it is for us, CHP. You have to navigate around all this AND listen to us whine, whatever you do

So, thank you.

Have they considered outfitting your cars with laser cannons so you can just vaporize offending vehicles?

I posted this in the All Communities thread, but I think is deserves repeating:

I agree that any vehicle blocking a plow should be cited/towed. Based on what is posted here, it seems the county is planning to use non-sworn, non-trained, non-LE people to do this enforcement. THAT I do not agree with.

Where is the right of way? Do you get cited/towed if you are a few inches over? Without an actual survey, there is no way to know where the right of way is. Many of the roads up here were laid as conditions permitted 50 years ago. There are at least two roads that went around trees in the way and are actually on private property. Most of the smaller roads are substandard and have no right of way other than where they have been, and that may not be a legal location. The county road in front of my house is actually on my property. Should I push them on the issue? At my old house, there was no actual road right of way. The road was simply put in where it fit and ALL of it was on private property, yet the county claimed it as a road.

If they start getting nit-picky over a few inches, this is going to be a nightmare. If they stick to going after vehicles actually blocking the plow, it will be a benefit.

I wonder how that clerk with his new found power is going to act?

We have several cars that park on both sides and make it almost impossible to get through with my large SUV. I have to go extremely slow and watch both sides to make sure I am clearing them. It is really annoying and then they have their children playing and running in and out of the parked cars even as cars approach. So I should call the county? I know that a plow cant make it through.