I feel guilty for dropping a dime on carpool cheater
Q My husband and I carpool together most days, and in our 40 miles we see a lot of lousy driving. Two of our pet peeves are carpool-lane cheats and, of course, people texting while driving.
The other day on Highway 87 to 101, we noticed a CHP officer parked at the bottom of the merge, nabbing carpool-lane cheats. We waited and watched to see whether the swerving, texting solo driver in the carpool lane behind us would notice and move into the regular lanes.
He did not. I.B. San Jose A Big, big mistake. Q When we reached the metering lights and the officer, we gently honked our horn to get his attention (he was writing someone else up), pointed to the car behind us, and he pointed at that driver and pulled him over.
Hubby and I high-fived and moved along. I.B. A But then ...
Q I now feel a little guilty and I don’t know if I should. Were we wrong to point this guy out to the officer? I know it is going to cost him quite a lot of money. Should we have taken matters into our own hands like that? Is it better to live and let live? Do we have bad driving karma now?
For what it’s worth, my husband does not feel guilty at all. I.B. San Jose A No bad driving karma, although I don’t like using one’s horn unnecessarily because it can startle other drivers. But traffic on the ramp was at a crawl and the culprit oblivious to the CHP officer ahead. So I’m with your husband. No reason to feel guilty.
Roadshow readers, what do you say? Any similar experiences? Please share. Q Your article on BART’s crowded parking lots did not mention the problem at the present Fremont BART station. People are filling up the streets for three or four blocks in all directions from BART. This is compounded by the rapid growth in Fremont, with development around BART and Washington Hospital.
People block my driveway every day while waiting for their children to get out of a nearby school because BART riders have taken every available space in the neighborhood. Residents are leaving garbage cans at the curb all week long to block those who would park there. Some have put up their own “no parking” signs and cones.
Others are snapping photos of illegal parking and sending them to Fremont police. They also post photos on our neighborhood web site. A recent comment prompted 160 responses.
The new Warm Springs station may alleviate some of the problem when it opens, because people south of central Fremont will park there. We’ll see.
Thomas McGathen Fremont A The Warm Springs station will have 2,000 parking spots, with more to come nearby as the area is developed.