SPEED PATROL STOPS 35; CHP TRIO FINDS FAST MOTORISTS ON OLD ROAD.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer

Thirty-five motorists were stopped for speeding Tuesday on The Old Road by a California Highway Patrol special enforcement team armed with a radar gun.

Twenty-five drivers were cited and 10 were issued verbal warnings during the morning crackdown midway between Pico Canyon Road and McBean Parkway, near the Valencia Marketplace shopping center.

Kathy Tarrant of Pine Mountain Club near Frazier Park was among the unlucky. Driving a brand-new white Ford Ranger pickup truck, Tarrant was clocked at 60 mph as she headed north with her son on The Old Road to meet friends at Chuck E. Cheese's children's restaurant.

``It's a lousy day,'' Tarrant said. ``It didn't start out great, I'm getting a speeding ticket and now I get to go to Chuck E. Cheese.''

Tarrant said she normally stays within the speed limit, but wasn't used to the smooth ride of her new truck.

That's typical, Officer Luis Lopez said.

``It's not that people are speeding on purpose,'' Lopez said. ``Most of the time they just aren't paying attention to how fast they're going.''

The three-man Community Enhancement Response Team concentrated on motorists exceeding the 40 mph speed limit by at least 10 mph, said lead Officer Richard Marquez. The most flagrant violator was a man going 68 mph.

``Just about everyone is speeding,'' Marquez said.

The Los Angeles-based team specializes in speed enforcement and is called into areas in the region with chronic traffic problems, Marquez said.

Recent speeding crackdowns in Canyon Country - on the Antelope Valley Freeway, Soledad Canyon Road and Sierra Highway - netted 247 tickets in six days, said Officer Doug Sweeney, spokesman for the CHP's Newhall station.

On Tuesday, the three officers took turns manning the radar gun, standing on the sidewalk near the Macaroni Grill restaurant. Speeders were clocked, then guided by the officer into the parking lot where they were either ticketed or warned.

One elderly woman late for a doctor appointment was among those let go with a warning.

Marquez said a quick assessment of the woman and her car indicated she probably would have trouble paying a traffic fine.

``I talked to her, I told her what she had done and explained that being late wasn't an excuse to speed,'' he said. ``She was nervous and shaking. She's the kind of person who would take a warning seriously. It's a judgment call.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) CHP Officer Robert Marquez aims his radar gun at possible speeders Tuesday on The Old Road in Valencia.

(2--Color) CHP Officers Luis Lopez, left, and Todd Hollowell write citations. Twenty-five motorists received citations and 10 were given warnings.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News