Lachlan Whitson
Car week is by far the biggest event that happens in Monterey Bay— and one of the coolest. This year, the event drew over 100,000 visitors to the area. These visitors include a variety of people, such as car enthusiasts, collectors, and automotive aficionados. Pretty much anyone who expresses a deep love for automobiles was found this week in Monterey.
Now, car week may sound fun, and don’t get me wrong, it is. I love to see the cars, but it can be a bit chaotic for residents of Pacific Grove and Monterey/Seaside. For people who have experienced it many times, it can get old having to deal with the amount of traffic there is on the roads during this time. Specifically, sometimes people who come from different countries might have different traffic rules or drive on the opposite side of the road.
Of course, speeding can be a major issue during this time because of all the high-speed and exotic cars like Ferrari, McLaren, and sometimes even Keoniseggs. A reported 129 traffic citations were given out to people during car week. This is rather high since normally Pacific Grove, Monterey, and Seaside are more relaxed and typically don’t have a ton of high-speed action. As we all know, speeding can be extremely dangerous, as there are already a lot of people on the road. This makes car crashes more likely to happen. This year, the police did quite a good job of maintaining this, but still, it doesn’t make speeding and reckless driving any less dangerous.
Overall, Car Week brings in a ton of revenue for Monterey Bay, which is great. However, it doesn’t lessen the fact that all these factors come into play for residents year after year.