Readers relieved to see CHP cracking down on speeders

QI was cruising down Interstate 680 through Fremont the other day when everyone

— and I mean everyone — seemed to slow down. Up ahead, I saw why.

A CHP cruiser was parked on the shoulder. Yes!

— Fran Evans, Dublin A The CHP is trying to curb the outrageous speeding and this is an effective tactic. Q Every day I have seen at least two CHP units on Highway101 either driving or sitting and waiting. After watching a driver in an expensive car quickly come up behind a CHP motorcycle in the fast lane, it was a pleasure to see two CHP units pull him over down the road.

— Dennis Cole, Gilroy A Justice is sweet. The fine for speeding over 100 mph is $900. Q I recently received permanent disabled license plates. What do I do with the old plates? I presume I need to turn them in, but do I need to take them to a DMV office? Or should I discard them or just keep them?

— Bev Jacksich, San Jose A

Return the old license plates to a DMV office when they reopen. The DMV office on Alma Avenue in San Jose has a mail slot in the front door and the plates can be returned by placing them through the slot. Q On my commute to San Mateo, I noticed new “HOV 2+” signs on Highway 101. Do those HOV signs mean anything different than the older/regular HOV sign?

— Mark Bony, Los Gatos A Yes. The “HOV-2 plus” covers qualifying electric vehicles and motorcycles. Q A shoutout to Caltrans for clearing the homeless camps in the shrubbery along Highway 1 near Morrissey Boulevard in Santa Cruz. Having witnessed people casually walk onto the ramp from the shrubbery more than once has been nervewracking, to say the least. — Karen Poret,

Santa Cruz A

Highway 1 is being widened to add merging lanes and cleaning up the area. Q A couple of weeks ago, I heard something I’ve never heard before on the CHP radio frequency. One unit, when assigned to an incident, asked if there was a “commercial unit” available. I figured this was some sort of specialized detail. Since then, I’ve heard CHP officers ask for this a few more times.

Can you find out what these are?

— Tony DiBenedetto,

San Jose A Commercial units involve officers specially trained for enforcement of commercial vehicles. They typically work in the scales and commercial inspection facilities, but can also serve in a road patrol capacity. They are asked to respond when an enforcement stop involving a commercial vehicle, like a truck and trailer, requires their expertise, or a collision occurs involving one of these vehicles.