Opinion: L.A. traffic is getting deadlier. Drivers need to slow down to stop the carnage.

To the editor: Anyone who spends time on the roads of L.A. is probably not shocked by the number of traffic collisions and the rising death toll, even though Los Angeles Police Department Lt. David Ferry says, “It’s shocking.” (“The number of pedestrians, cyclists and drivers killed in L.A. traffic rose sharply in 2016,” April 3)

Whether a driver, cyclist or pedestrian, one can regularly see drivers speed along residential streets as if on a race course, plow through intersections against red lights, treat stop signs as optional, and drive boulevards as if on a freeway.

The LAPD must punish dangerous drivers by issuing more citations. Drivers must know there are serious repercussions for their dangerous behavior — if not an accident, then at least a citation.

Lisa Liss, Encino

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To the editor: Every morning I am at risk of being one of those many pedestrians killed each year in Los Angeles.

The crossing at Sunset Boulevard and Church Lane in west L.A. is one of most hazardous in the city. Two lanes of vehicles turning right on the red signal threaten the pedestrians crossing with a “walk” signal (which is actually illuminated only at every second cycle). The drivers have become more and more aggressive. There is no other crossing in this area.

Correspondence with the city has been useless, except for a suggestion that I pay for better signs. I have been ignored or told that an idea “cannot be done,” even when it has been done in the past.

Patricia L. Moore, Los Angeles

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To the editor: City Hall calls its plan to eliminate all traffic deaths “Vision Zero.”

But speeders ignore speed limits. Drivers ignore stop signs and traffic signals. Hit-and-runs have become commonplace. Do we know (or care) about unlicensed or uninsured drivers?

We need more police. A state law prevents officers from using radar to catch speeders unless a new traffic study has been done (whatever that means).

Sounds more like “Zero Vision.”

Tom Burton, Van Nuys

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