SBPD and OC law enforcement in joint traffic operation

Agencies to address loud/modified vehicle exhaust and street racing across coastal Orange County

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The Seal Beach Police Department partnered with several coastal Orange County law enforcement agencies to conduct an enforcement operation specifically targeting loud/modified exhaust and street racing violations.  During the last several months, the Seal Beach Police Department has received numerous complaints about loud/modified exhaust and street racing along our roadways. To address these issues, the Seal Beach Police Department has pursued similar education such as issuing press releases, visiting car shows, as well as placing several electronic signboards with messaging in high traffic areas to educate the public on vehicle exhaust and street racing laws in California.

Seal Beach Police Officers also attended a California POST-approved training which involved both classroom and hands-on, in-field vehicle inspections under the instruction of referees from the California Bureau of Automotive Repair. This training ensures police officers can more readily identify loud/modified vehicle exhaust and other illegal modifications to vehicles to increase their effectiveness in enforcement efforts.

On Sunday, May 23, 2021, a joint enforcement operation utilizing over fifty motorcycle officers and other police officers from the Seal Beach Police Department (SBPD), Newport Beach Police Department (NBPD), Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD), Laguna Beach Police Department (LBPD), Irvine Police Department (IPD), Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD), Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) – Cities of Dana Point and San Clemente, California Highway Patrol (CHP) – Santa Ana and Westminster Offices, as well as four investigators from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and four referees from the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) participated in enforcement efforts along the entire length of Coastal Orange County as well as freeway and arterial access points to the coast.

The Seal Beach Police Department would like to thank the allied law enforcement and state agency partners for their assistance with this enforcement operation and we look forward to further joint operations in the coming months. 

As a result of this successful joint operation:

• 445 Vehicles were stopped for violations

• 348 Vehicles were cited for vehicle code violations (which includes loud/modified exhaust)

• 44 Vehicles were inspected on-site for modified exhaust violations by a BAR Referee

• 16 Vehicles were referred to on-site DMV Investigators for possible registration violations

• 4 Vehicles were cited for exceeding 100 MPH

• 4 Vehicles were stopped and the drivers/passengers were arrested for (2) possession/sales of narcotics, (1) unlicensed driver and (1) DUI