They've been doing those on occasion recently on the Sunset Highway coming down to the tunnel.

The Terwilliger curves is probably a real good place for some speed limit enforcement. It can be a really dangerous stretch of freeway.

Good thing they are out there cracking down on those Civics, Escorts, and Malibus that are terrorizing the city. Would hate to have them wasting those resources on things like actual crime.

Johnny took the exact words out of my mouth...

Don't forget the waste of enforcing the congestion causing HOV lane on I5 in North Portland.

Those cops belong in jail for causing congestion.

You crabby people should wake up and recognize that the Terwiilliger curves are a frequent site of vehicle accidents, often with injuries, and nearly always speed related. No reason to begrudge the city a few bucks from self-absorbed, distracted, impatient, ignorant motorists. I thought there would be mention of one legitimate complaint: When I came through northbound 20 or so minutes ago, motorcycle cops were pulling people over to the right at the apex of the first curve, the blind part, where it was not possible to comply with the trooper protection law (either by slamming on the brakes or by swerving out of the right-hand lane) without serious hazard to one's self and others. It's a pretty stupid law, trading one hazard for another.

After waiting to make a left hand turn today as the traffic approaching me was passing, and the idiot behind me decided I wasn't turning fast enough - so he made his left hand turn before me, nearly taking out an approaching vehicle making a right into the same lane... Anyone who faults the police for policing traffic (which has gotten way out of line in this city) needs a good laxative. I wish there were more out there and I hope they make a bundle of money on the jerks.

They have been working Linnton too since a bad accident there last week.
The limit there is 35 mph but most folks like to go 50 mph.

Allen L is right on a couple of points. Terwilliger curves are a dangerous place, and the traffic laws should be enforced there. Go PPB! I say write big tickets to the ding dong speeders, and I will wave as I pass by them while not on my phone and while driving the speed limit.

This new trooper protection law does seem to be a strange one. On one hand I think DUII drivers, those not paying attention, and those falling asleep are most likely to injure the troopers and police on the shoulder of the road. Those drivers are still just as dangerous as before the new law. For the rest of us the law is somewhat confusing and down right dangerous as we try to manuever to the next door lanes where traffic is moving by quickly.

I sure hope no one you care about is wrecked for life because of some speeding jag-off.

How about a sting to nail people who drive slow in the left lane? Please.

Oregon State Police arrested two adults and a juvenile Saturday morning when approximately 2.5 pounds of cocaine was found in their car stopped for a speeding violation. The stop and arrest of the three Everett, Washington suspects occurred on Interstate 5 in oregon.
You OK with that Johnny?

I second Hamm's motion...

How about a sting to nail people who use adjectives where adverbs are needed? Please.

Wow! Two cases for Strunk and White in two days!

Well, since SW PDX rarely even gets to see a police officer doing anything proactive, I think this is great. Get your car stolen? Hah, file your report online. Community police officer? Nah, don't need them. Break in? We'll send an officer sometime tomorrow, but you know there will be no suspects caught. Huh? Then what are the citizens paying for? Oh never mind...it's Portland. Doesn't matter.

If this is what it takes to get an officer in the area, then...YIPEE!!!
Maybe they will like it and will stick around. And solve a safety issue in the meantime.

Personally I think that PPB needs to abolish the "traffic unit" until regular calls for service are responded to in a decent timeframe, because right now it is a TOTAL joke if you call for PPB help.

I do understand the mission of the traffic unit, and agree with it somewhat, but the PPB needs to focus on the basics of responding to calls quicker.

I've always thought the metro freeways had no speed limit enforcement: PDX is too busy/shorthanded and the State Patrol seems unable to navigate north of L.O.

Unless you have a bale full of marijuana in the trunk, in which case they always seem to notice if you're tail light is out.

Drug sniffing pigs?

One more death trap to watch out for - East End of the Hawthorne Bridge. THere is a spot when you come off of the bridge where the limit drops and then goes up on Hawthorne.

Um, it's the last of the month and last of the quarter. They're just trying to get their bonus.

Westside guy has an interesting observation, and a decision I think police administrators might struggle with all the time. Should the police abolish traffic enforcement officers, and move those folks to regular patrol duties to increase response times? After all, everyone (except crooks) would probably like to see faster police response times. Traffic enforcement likely remains a major focus for PPB and OSP because the statistics are pretty clear that far more folks will die in traffic crashes, than from being burglarized or robbed.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a public perception that traffic enforcement units exist largely to generate revenue. To an extent this is probably true, but it seems secondary to the need for traffic enforcement. Overwhelming data suggests traffic enforcement "stings" do decrease accidents and save lives, not to mention the occasional drug dealer arrests such as the one Meg mentioned.

It would be of interest though to see where all this traffic revenue finally ends up. It also seems like the fine for a speeding ticket nowadays is pretty unreasonable.

Westside guy,

What do you consider an adequate response time? I'm pretty sure the average response to emergency calls is under five minutes. And the standard for non-emergency calls is an hour or less. Its very, very rare to see a call hold for more than an hour. Have you had experiences other than that?

Unfortunately, traffic cops are a necessary evil. The biggest complaint of the average citizen is agressive, distracted driving.