Dangerous sideshows need to end
QTo stop the idiots who participate in traffic sideshows, how about deploying water-carrying helicopters to the scene and dumping water on everyone there? Would any element of danger doing that be worse than what these goofball drivers are doing?
— Edwina Johnson, Sunnyvale
A
San Jose police have a better way: Take away their cars. At a recent San Jose sideshow, they arrested four people, impounded five cars for 30 days and issued more than 40 citations. Three arrests were made of people suspected of illegally possessing guns, and the firearms were confiscated. Another arrest was made for multiple counts of allegedly reckless driving.
In addition, the state has earmarked millions for increased crackdowns on sideshows.
Q
Please remind your readers to update their FasTrak account when they sell their car. I didn’t, and the new owner ran up charges of $163 before I noticed it.
I called FasTrak and they said I could dispute it but needed documentation from the DMV to prove it was sold. It took several calls before they accepted my call, and I could not do it online. I am waiting to hear back.
I received a call from my sister
in Southern California regarding charges from the same license plate. Apparently, when I removed the plate from my account, they started charging her account, as she had added that car to her account when I was visiting in 2008. I sent her all my documentation, and she has filed a dispute.
— Joan Rose, San Ramon
A
Good luck to both of you. Be warned that this can happen.
Q
Are we back to pre-COVID-19 traffic on Interstate 80? We had stop-and-go traffic on a Sunday from Auburn through Sacramento to Interstate 680 in San Jose. It was a nice weekend, so I think we can expect it again now.
We need another highway east out of the Bay Area.
— Robin Williams, San Jose
A
A new highway isn’t coming, but while the pandemic continues, Caltrans says traffic has returned to nearly pre-pandemic levels and is likely to worsen, especially if transit service and ridership remain well below pre-pandemic levels.
Q
I was surprised that someone with your experience used the term “accident” in his column instead of “crash” or “collision.” As you know, most crashes are caused by excessive speed, DUI or distracted driving. These aren’t accidents. Use of the term “accident” absolves the driver of responsibility. Most media outlets and government agencies are moving away from the term “accident” for this reason.
Please use crash or collision in the future. — Mike Swire
A
Will do.