Caltrans looking into ways to stop wrong-way drivers
Q There was yet another death caused by a driver going the wrong way on Highway
101 near San Francisco International Airport. What is Caltrans doing to stop these tragedies?
— Bryon B., Redwood City
A There also was a death caused by a wrong-way driver on Highway 1 near Watsonville last weekend. The state will begin to immediately place reflective markers on hundreds of miles of exit ramps to alert errant drivers that they are entering the freeway going the wrong direction. This will occur as Caltrans installs pavement markers on ramps for maintenance or repaving.
The installation of twoway reflectors was tried in the wrong-way driving test conducted by Caltrans and UC Davis in Sacramento and San Diego several years ago. The number of wrong-way drivers decreased 44% after reflectors were installed.
Also being added are two-way reflective pavement markers that say “Do not enter” with LED lights that flash 24 hours a day and send real-time alerts to Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol if someone does enter the exit ramps driving the wrong way.
Wrong-way collisions on divided highways account for about 1% of all crashes on the state highway system. But when they occur, they are often deadly. On average, 37 people are killed in wrong-way collisions each year on our highways.
Q My sister has Teslas but has not allowed her teens to drive them, feeling that all the bells and whistles do too much to keep the kids from learning how to handle challenging driving situations. She wants them, if the need arises, to safely drive any car they find themselves in.
That the DMV does not allow new drivers to use all the bells and whistles of newer cars during driving tests is a good move. — Lisa Mikulsky, Benicia
A Your sister is a wise mom.
Q The biggest problem with disabled placards is the people who get one fraudulently so that they can park all day for free at metered spots. These people do this so that they don’t have to pay for parking. We should eliminate free parking for disabled placards. — J. Villagomez
A That’s not going to happen, but this can be a nuisance.
Q When disabled placards were first available, our friend Harry, who had emphysema, got one. He parked in the disabled spot by a drugstore, got out of his car and someone shouted at him, “You don’t look handicapped.” Harry turned to the fellow and said, “That is the nicest thing anyone has said to me today.” Kindness can’t be beat.
— Peter Pabst, Santa Clara
A So true!
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