$12,900 MOBILE MONITOR TO SIMI SPEEDERS SLOW DOWN, BE SAFE.

Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer

The Simi Valley Police Department began using a mobile speed monitor Tuesday to give motorists a comparison of the speed limit and their own speeds.

Hoping that an increased awareness of their speed will lead to fewer accidents, police say the $12,900 monitor with a 20-inch screen will serve as a reality check to motorists who exceed speed limits on city streets.

"People drive at a speed they're comfortable with and quite often that speed is in excess of the posted limit," said Lt. Jon Ainsworth, who supervises the department's Traffic Unit. "People don't realize that they're going faster than they should be. They don't realize that it takes quite a while to stop a vehicle."

The Police Department estimates that speed was a factor in about 22 percent of 1,213 traffic accidents that occurred in Simi Valley in 1995. Ainsworth said many injuries could have been avoided if speed limits were obeyed on the 300 miles of roadways in Simi Valley.

"If about 22 percent of our accidents are related to speed and following too close, then people driving more responsibly and reducing their speed will definitely reduce the number of traffic accidents," he said.

The solar-power speed monitor trailer was placed on the southeast corner of Royal Avenue and Appleton Road on Tuesday afternoon. It will be placed in areas with known speeding problems, major roadways, school zones and residential streets.

The monitor displays the legal speed limit, and then using radar signals, flashes the speed of oncoming vehicles.

Ainsworth said on many occasions police will be stationed in areas where the mobile speed monitors are placed, to make sure the speed limit is obeyed.

"We want people to reduce their speed and drive at a speed that is reasonable and appropriate," Ainsworth said. "We want people to comply with the speed limit."

Speed limits on Simi Valley streets vary from 25 to 55 mph, and violators are fined based on the number of miles per hour over the speed limit they are traveling.

The use of mobile speed monitors has been used in other cities, including neighboring Thousand Oaks, officials said.

Sgt. Ken Bailey of the Thousand Oaks Police Department's Traffic Bureau said the city uses two mobile speed monitors, almost daily, in hopes of slowing motorists down.

"I think that they have been efficient," he said. "Oftentimes, people don't pay attention or realize that they are in fact speeding."

Once they see their speed flashing on the electronic signs, many motorists become more conscious of their actions and slow down, he said.

"I think they make the average driver a little bit more aware and conscious of their speed and will act as an indicator to educate them," he said. "It's one of those friendly reminders."

Simi Valley Mayor Pro Tem Bill Davis, who inspected the mobile speed monitor Monday along with fellow City Council members, said the purchase was good use of city money.

"I think that anytime you can put a big sign there and it tells you the speed limit is 45 mph and your speed is 66 mph, people are going to slow down," he said.

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Photo (SIMI and CONEJO--color in SIMI) Simi Valley police Lt. Jon Ainsworth shows off the city's new mobile speed monitor. Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News