The low growl of high-powered cars running through Santa Barbara County means Monterey Car Week is at hand. For California Highway Patrol officers from Simi Valley to Santa Cruz, however, it means it’s time for a maximum enforcement effort to dissuade exotic-car drivers from pushing the speed limit on the highway.
“No major incident happened last year” to trigger the offensive, said Officer Jordan Richards with the CHP Coastal Division headquartered in San Luis Obispo. “It’s more what we’ve seen in all years and witnessed during Car Week that increasingly has grown.”
The event in Monterey features the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and its lovingly restored vintage and gran turismo vehicles, as well as free exhibits and pricier races at Laguna Seca, rallies, expos, and auctions with sponsors like Porsche and Rolex. Visitors roll in from all parts of the United States for the show, some of them at more than 100mph. That’s what the CHP is looking out for, Richards said.