With lighter traffic, we still need to drive responsibly

QAs traffic has lightened up due to workfrom-home orders and the coronavirus, I plead with those motorists still on the road to remember basic driving etiquette. Despite the lack of congestion, I’ve noticed countless clueless drivers:

• Not keeping right except to pass.

• Not using their headlights at dusk and in the rain (daytime running lights don’t count).

• Cutting across multiple lanes of traffic to use exit ramps.

• Using their cellphones.

And sure enough, with the increased speeds even during rush hour, I’ve been hearing more about rollovers and other bad crashes. This isn’t due just to speed, but also a lack of common driving sense. If drivers can’t handle lighter traffic, it just gives more ammunition to the anti-car lobby who want us all to sit in congestion until we give up and take transit.

Please, please, please, let’s show the world that we can use our roads responsibly.

— Chris DiPrima,

San Francisco

A

The freeway may be open, but please slow down and drive responsibly. Distractions may be higher now with the uncertainty and many changes that COVID-19 is creating, so factor that in. Be present as a driver. Pay attention. Q With the sudden light traffic on Bay Area freeways and bridges, will Caltrans speed up pothole repair and maintenance work? — Mark Pritchard, Jim Bodwin, Tricia Young and many others

AA

Too early to say. Road workers are also being told to stay home if they don’t feel well.

Q Leong Drive in Mountain View, between Moffett Boulevard and Fairchild Drive, has been in really bad shape for months. Is it scheduled for getting fixed?

— Earl Cherne

Yes, late next year. Leong Drive will be repaved after Mountain View completes a water and sewer main replacement project under construction on Leong. Q Can you provide some help in getting a pedestrian traffic hazard fixed on the sidewalk on Hicks Road near Camden Avenue?

Last year, some badly needed weed abatement was done. But the hazardous condition from mud and rocks and failing retaining walls were never addressed. There is up to 8 inches of mud between the pedestrian curbs at the northwest side of the intersection.

— Terry Barron, San Jose A This section of the sidewalk is adjacent to multiple private properties, meaning the retaining wall and maintenance of the sidewalk are the responsibilities of the property owners. The city is working with one owner who has begun the process of finding contractors and getting bids to repair the retaining wall.

The city will also issue notices to the other property owners, informing them of their responsibility to maintain the sidewalk.