Throughout Coronado, you see light-up signs directing traffic and reminding drivers of laws. The sign most obvious to commuters is the one at the toll plaza as you arrive from the bridge; but currently there are five around town. Police Service Officer Chris Bellini, named 2017 PSO of the year, is the current man behind the clever signs. A routine day for PSO Bellini is traffic control, checking meters, and interacting with people about town. He does add though, “if you can think of it- we’ve done it.” He’s part of the team that works on flood prevention, crucial this time of year.
PSO Bellini has been part of the Coronado team for fifteen years and enjoys the freedom of walking or biking around the island. A friendly man, he enjoys when residents say hello or when he is able to recommend a local restaurant to visitors. Another way he communicates to both residents and visitors- creating the light up traffic signs. Coronado-raised Layla shares, “I have found these signs hilarious for years and wondered who was behind them! They are a reoccurring topic of conversation among my friends and family.” PSO Bellini divulges that the sign messages are often changed out weekly!
From general traffic information, i.e. the new entrance to the Hotel Del, to warning about phone use while driving, the popular and clever signs are critical in town. While PSO Bellini says that are several officers that think of the messages on the signs, some, like himself, enjoy it a little more. He runs his ideas by the sergeants but not all make the cut. One, he jokes, that did not make it was a speeding sign by the strand, “I thought about doing one when cars hit speed 88 and writing, ‘slow down, your car can’t fly!’ after Back to the Future, but we didn’t know if people would get it and no one should be going fast enough to hit it anyway.”
When signs are approved on the police side, they don’t always garner the response they expect with drivers. “We had a sign ‘You might like your music, but others don’t. Turn it down.’ We received complaints about that one.” One sign that he really enjoyed and thinks a lot of drivers got a kick out of was during the Pokemon Go craze. “We had a sign that read, ‘we know you gotta catch them all, but don’t catch and drive’.”
While the signs are meant to garner attention in a playful way, the meaning behind them is serious. PSO Bellini shares a story about how two people were playing Pokemon Go while driving and drove into the back of police car. Even now, it’s not the game that’s the problem, but any sort of distracted driving. He warns, “When you are looking down at your phone, you are easily covering 100 yards. There is just so much going on in the car nowadays- people eating, texting, putting on makeup. You have to pay attention, not to just what you’re doing but to what other people are doing. When you’re driving, that’s all you should be doing.”
In Coronado especially he notes, “there are children riding bikes, and when you’re driving in the morning the sun is on your face, drop your speed a few miles and be cautious.” While many people seem to have phone in hand constantly, PSO Bellini makes a valid point, stating, “if you’re at the movies you don’t use your phone. You don’t need to use it while driving.” If you need help to take away the temptation of using your phone while driving, utilize the “Do Not Disturb” feature.
Apple phones can automatically detect when you are driving and if someone sends you a message, they receive an automatic reply letting them know that you’re driving. If the message is important, the sender can type the word “urgent” to make sure that you receive a notification. Then you can pull over to read their important message or ask Siri to read it to you. Learn more here.
Texting while driving is a big concern but there are others as well. PSO Bellini shares that speeding is a problem in Coronado. “If you see a sign trailer about speeding, that means we have had a lot of complaints in that area.” Alameda and Palm are big speeding areas as well as the roundabout. Another issue that the signs warn about is DUIs, especially around the holidays. PSO Bellini informs that while sometimes they may go a week without a DUI, other times there are quite a few in one day. Surprisingly, there are a lot of DUIs in the morning.
He also educates that DUIs do not refer only to drinking alcohol, but driving under any influence, even medications. “Many times someone else is calling in a DUI. As officers, there is only so much we can do. After us they have to go to court and then after court they have to make the choice themselves. There are many ways to get home now- take a walk, wait it out, Uber.”
Next time you see a sign and smile at the cleverness, be sure to absorb the message as well.
Disclaimer: All photos were taken from the passenger seat of the car. Do not use your phone while driving.
