Down legal for tailgate, however …

Dear Mahatma: I recently acquired my first pickup truck. Someone told me it was illegal to drive it with the tailgate down. True? — Magnolia

Dear Magnolia: In the newspaper business, pickup truck is redundant. Pickup is preferred. Yes, our copy editors are particular. Or peculiar.

Is it illegal to drive with the tailgate down? Never heard that or asked the question. When stumped, it’s good to ask the Arkansas State Police.

Bill Sadler, who speaks for the state police, said the answer is simple. After which he made it complicated.

There is no statutory prohibition against driving a pickup with the tailgate down, but the tailgate should not block the view of the license plate.

If the truck is loaded with unsecured debris or other stuff, and if that stuff is being scattered all over the highway, such a discourtesy could result in a traffic stop by law enforcement officers.

Common sense, then, tells us to put up that tailgate.

Personal note: The Mahatma recently bought a new vehicle. He almost bought a pickup, his first, but couldn’t pull the trigger. Sometimes, in the night, he dreams of that truck.

Dear Mahatma: I live in Hempstead County. I’m on Twitter, and I think you should be, too. By the way, construction on Interstate 30 near Texarkana has been completed. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has put up signs for traffic information. The signs have a website address. It irks me that the state advises no cellphone usage but then does this. — Fulton

Dear Fulton: Twitter? One beast to feed, this column, is enough.

Surely you mean iDrivearkansas.com, the Highway Department’s informational website. It’s very cool. One of the people behind it is Danny Straessle, one of the public information guys. We posed your concern. Is there a contradiction?

He reminded us, firstly, that mobile-phone use by drivers is illegal in a highway work zone.

And, he said, drivers should not access the website while driving, but passengers can. Or drivers can pull off the interstate to access the website. Not the shoulder. The nearest exit or rest area.

Back to the contradiction, or not contradiction, Straessle said there is a necessity to get out the word about iDrive while road construction in Arkansas — including and especially the interstates — is at an all-time high.

Vanity plates seen on two Volkswagens: SLUGBUG and THUGBUG.

Dear Mahatma: When we see a speed-limit sign, at what point does the speed limit begin? When it is seen or at the sign? — Speedster

Dear Speedster: Your mind is like an open book. This refers to your hope that when leaving a slower speed zone you can speed up when you see that higher speed sign in the distance a quarter-mile up the road.

Self-control, please. Speed limits, both faster and slower, begin at the sign.

Vanity plate seen on a Mini Cooper: ITINY.