Santa Clara and Sunnyvale police departments teamed up with the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office in a West Valley ticket blitz that issued 135 traffic violations in a matter of hours.

On Oct. 22, Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Santa Clara Police Department (SCPD) joined Palo Alto, Los Altos and Mountain View police as part of the operation.

Lt. Eric Lagergren, SCPD’s public information officer, wrote in an email that his department dispatched its five traffic units to assist the effort. Those units are only half as many traffic units the city has historically had, he added.

During the ticket blitz, motorcycle deputies at the sheriff’s office issued 101 tickets in Cupertino and 34 in Saratoga. The citations were for speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians, ignoring traffic signs and texting or using phones while driving, the sheriff’s office wrote on social media.

Police also issued several warnings, but, according to the sheriff’s office, police did not track the exact number.

The county joint enforcement operations are usually conducted on a monthly basis and rotate between different local jurisdictions, Lagergren wrote.

Also called an “allied agency enforcement,” a ticket blitz is a high-visibility enforcement effort designed to address specific traffic safety concerns such as speeding, distracted driving or failure to yield.

Police concentrate enforcement in key areas, Capt. Dzanh Le, DPS’s public information officer, wrote in an email. The goal, he wrote, is to raise awareness, deter dangerous driving, and reduce collisions.

“The goal isn’t to issue as many citations as possible—it’s to encourage voluntary compliance and keep our roads safe,” he wrote.

Le wrote that motorcycle officers are especially effective for traffic enforcement. That’s because they can maneuver through traffic more easily and position themselves in areas where patrol vehicles can’t. Their mobility and visibility allow them to observe violations safely and efficiently, helping ensure the operation’s success, he wrote.

Departments schedule ticket blitzes to allow various jurisdictions to participate. The jurisdiction where the enforcement takes place determines the locations and focus of the enforcement, based on recent data and community feedback and concerns about unsafe driving in certain areas.

Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com

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