At any hour of the day, you’re certain to see an extraordinary automobile on Rodeo Drive. Indeed, Ferraris, Maseratis, Aston Martins and Lamborghinis are no strangers to one of the most iconic streets in the world.
However, beauty can often come with an edge; specifically, a loud revving engine that can shatter the calm of an evening in the residential streets of Beverly Hills.
Exhibitioning, as in exhibiting a vehicle or exhibition racing, continues to be an issue that plagues the neighborhood.
“Every day at all hours, morning, noon, night, middle of the night, dawn, twilight, it doesn’t mater, they will use our community as a racetrack,” said Rosanna Grabel, who has lived on South Clark Drive since 1988. “It’s very jarring. There’s not only the speed factor, there’s also the noise factor. These drivers rev up the car on purpose to make noise.”
Last month, the City installed a series of speed bumps on South Clark as a deterrent, but Grabel said the problem continues to persist. She estimated that she hears a loud revving engine at least seven times a day.
“I understand that they pick the quietest streets because they want to hear the noise, but they’re making the community unpleasant by disturbing the peace,” she said. “You call the police and they say they can’t do anything about it, because they have to catch them doing it.”
In an effort to do just that, this summer Beverly Hills Police Department Traffic Lieutenant Gio Trejo help spearhead a task force to address the issue.
As a result, during the course of a weekend, he estimated that BHPD would give out anywhere from 50 to 60 citations for violations such as loud exhaust, speed, tinted windows or the absence of license plates. On Saturday, Sept. 21, for example, in the span of five hours from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., BHPD gave out 26 citations, issued five warnings and impounded two vehicles for expired registrations.
“It’s very seasonal, we only see a spike in this type of activity, and it’s usually toward the end of summer,” Trejo said, emphasizing that the majority of the vehicles confined themselves to the business district. “Some of these drivers are simply opportunists. It’s the middle of the night and there’s no one around, and they just go for it.”
From the wayward donut to the loud revving of an engine and swift bursts of speed, displays of the prowess of luxury vehicles on Beverly Hills can readily be found online. “They make money off it,” explained Traffic and Parking Commissioner Jake Manaster, who has observed firsthand people gathering on Rodeo Drive during non-business hours in order to exhibit their fancy cars.
“They’re using our streets as a way to behave badly.”
Manaster said that as a member of the commission he has received a multitude of complaints about the issue from residents. Trejo emphasized that it was important for residents and business owners to reach out to BHPD in order for police to investigate both disturbances and safety issues.
“I would ask people, if something is happening on their street, and they need the police to investigate, they need to call us,” he said. “We need to know about these things if they are endangering lives.”
The non-emergency BHPD telephone line is 310-550-4951.
