Readers are still complaining about highway merging woes

QMany crashes occur as a result of the outdated design of the interchange of highways 9 and 17. Modernizing this interchange would eliminate many accidents and reduce delays of traffic moving into the Santa Cruz Mountains. — Bill Ross and many others

AThat it might. This is one of the nastiest interchanges in the South Bay, and a fix cannot come too soon. Preconstruction studies are about to begin, which will likely lead to a $50 million project to:

• Widen Highway 17 from Lark Avenue to Highway 9.

• Redesign on and offramps.

• Add metering lights and update traffic signals on nearby city streets.

Construction could begin in 2024 and take a couple more years to complete.

QLast week, I was the subject of much beeping, gesticulating, and probably obscenities that went unheard. I drive a Prius, but that’s not the point. I did nothing wrong. I was in the right lane on the freeway, maintaining a safe distance from the car in front and had at least six car lengths of space behind me.

A pickup entered from the onramp, proceeded to match my speed exactly, and ended up alongside me. This was when the beeping and gesticulating ensued.

I will not change my speed to let a car merge when there is plenty of space behind me. Also, if I change my speed, it will affect the judgment of other mergers coming behind the first one, and everybody will be jamming on their brakes just to accommodate the first merger.

I will, however, make accommodations if a merging lane is a short one.

Am I wrong on this? If the driver had slowed just a little, he would have merged smoothly behind me. I have to brake because of his poor driving skills? I imagine the story he told was, “A Prius cut me off and wouldn’t let me merge today.” — Jaime Hedlund

AI’ve been receiving many complaints like this about merging woes. You need to share the road, but the driver entering the freeway is the one who must yield.

QI was out doing spring cleanup in my garden when I heard the unmistakable sounds of a sideshow in progress. This went on for about 10 minutes, and while I was deciding if I should call the police, I heard sirens approaching. I’m sure the kids heard them, too, spurring them to run, and the sideshow stopped quite quickly after that. My question is, why don’t the police approach silently? Wouldn’t that allow them to make more arrests? — Marty Liss, San Jose

APossibly. But it could also cause more chaotic and dangerous driving when people at the sideshow suddenly realize that police are arriving and they try suddenly to flee.