Ticketed for phone use at light was right call, reader asserts

Sloped driveways can prove perilous for catalytic converter thieves

Q It is absolutely correct that Julie Rogers got a ticket for checking her phone at a stoplight and intersection, even though there were no other vehicles around. — Zelek Herman, Palo Alto A Julie was steamed when the cop ticketed her instead of just warning her. But Zelek has good reason to feel the way he does. Q When stopped at an intersection, the driver should be surveying the vicinity for possible problems. Many years ago, I was riding my bicycle across a large intersection in Mountain View with a green light in my direction. When I was 2/3 of the way across the intersection, the light started to change. But a lady who was on her cellphone saw that the light turned green for her, darted out, and hit me, causing serious injury to me and destroying my bicycle.

Had she not been on the phone, she likely would have known that I was crossing the intersection. I believe any driver using a cellphone should have the phone confiscated and should have their mobile account suspended for six months. Apparently, fines are not sufficient to dissuade people from engaging in this dangerous activity.

— Zelek Herman A >> Zelek said he suffered lacerations and contusions to his left ankle and left side of his forehead, resulting in a hematoma around his left eye, a separated left shoulder, and his left thumb was bent at a 90-degree angle. He still has an indentation on his forehead and pain in his shoulder.

Q

I saw a car with an upside-down front plate last week at the San Jose airport as they were picking someone up. Is this legal?

— Ginger Wolnik,

Sunnyvale

A

No. License plates must have characters that are upright, displayed to read from left to right and clearly legible. Q

Just how is backing your Prius into your driveway going to prevent thefts of catalytic converters? The access point is at the side of the vehicle. I think a sloped driveway would be helpful in any case, as it is more trouble to block the wheels and keep the vehicle from falling on the perp when the car is jacked up. — Benn Karne A A sloped driveway makes it harder to crawl underneath a vehicle. There is a story out of Anaheim of this type of dangerous situation.

A suspected thief was crushed to death by a Prius as he was trying to steal its converter when the jack failed and he was crushed under the weight of the car. This has happened in other situations before.

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