MOORPARK POLICE CITE SAFE DRIVERS.Byline: Alicia Doyle Doyle , Sir Arthur Conan 1859-1930. British writer known chiefly for a series of stories featuring the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes, including The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902). Daily News Staff Writer Traffic officer Julie JULIE Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators JULIE Jena University Language and Information Engineering (Germany) Smith doesn't hear the words ``thank you'' very often. But when the Moorpark policewoman issued good driver tickets to unsuspecting motorists this week, these two small words were uttered with smiles, handshakes and sighs of relief. ``It feels great to be appreciated for doing my job,'' said Smith, 29. ``Drivers should be commended for being courteous cour·te·ous adj. Characterized by gracious consideration toward others. See Synonyms at polite. [Middle English corteis, courtly, from Old French, from cort, court; see and safe. It doesn't happen all the time.'' Police in Moorpark issued 10 tickets this month to motorists caught practicing good driving habits. In January, the drivers will be rewarded with dinner and gifts from the Moorpark Kiwanis Club. Throughout the city's streets, motorists were commended for yielding the right of way, stopping for pedestrians and driving the posted speed limit. Because drivers who follow the rules of the road often go ignored, Moorpark police used the holiday season as a time to recognize and reward good driving habits, Smith said. ``For the most part, people in Moorpark are pretty safe drivers,'' said Smith, a Ventura County sheriff's deputy for three years. ``But there are always some who break the rules.'' Driver Kathleen Appleford couldn't figure out just which regulation she had broken when Smith pulled her over one recent afternoon near Williams Ranch ranch, large farm devoted chiefly to raising and breeding cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The cattle ranch was introduced from Latin America to Texas and the plains of the W United States and Canada. . Though she didn't know it at first, the Moorpark resident had been stopped for driving the 25 mph speed limit near a neighborhood park and coming to a full stop at a stop sign. Appleford's grimace grimace Neurology A humorless facial 'mask' typically seen in Pts with catatonia. See Amimia. turned into a grin when Smith issued her a ticket for being cautious. ``I'm a mother, and I always appreciate it when other people drive safely where children play,'' Appleford said. Motorist William Haluska was on his way to buy a lottery lottery, scheme for distributing prizes by lot or other method of chance selection to persons who have paid for the opportunity to win. The term is not applicable when lots are drawn without payment by the interested parties to determine some matter, e.g. ticket from a nearby mini-mall when he saw the red and blue lights flashing in his rear-view mirror rear-view mirror Noun a mirror on a motor vehicle enabling the driver to see the traffic behind rear-view mirror rear n (Aut) → rétroviseur m . The Moorpark man had his driver license and registration ready before Smith even approached his driver's side window. ``I saw the lights and I thought, `What did I do?' '' Haluska recalled. But when he was issued a ticket for coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, wearing his seat belt and driving the 45 mph speed limit, Haluska smiled. ``I always stop,'' he said. ``I stop at all the stop signs.'' Spotting good drivers is not easy, Smith said. In addition to her other policing duties, she issues about four traffic tickets a day for those caught speeding, crossing double yellow lines double yellow lines double npl (Brit) (Aut) → double bande jaune marquant l'interdiction de stationner and not coming to a complete stop. One evening while looking out for good drivers in an unmarked police car at a four-way stop Four´-way` stop n. 1. An intersection of two roads having stop signs at all four entry points. The usual rule for such intersections requires that those entering the intersection yield the right of way to vehicles entering before them. , Smith watched nearly a dozen drivers fail to come to a full stop within the first five minutes. ``Ninety percent of the time, people don't make a full stop or look both ways,'' Smith said. ``And when I pull them over, 90 percent of them swear swear v. 1) to declare under oath that one will tell the truth (sometimes "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth"). Failure to tell the truth, and do so knowingly, is the crime of perjury. up and down that they came to a complete stop.'' There was once a time when Smith felt guilty about issuing traffic tickets. ``But after seeing a few accidents where people were mangled because of unsafe driving, I no longer felt guilty,'' she said. CAPTION(S): Photo: Deputy Julie Smith writes a ticket to Kathleen Appleford comm ending her safety as part of a Moorpark program to recognize good drivers. Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News |
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