Stones Hitting Windshields

A letter by Robert Kahn of Bakersfield (Jan. 14), claiming that a trucker threw a stone at his pickup because it was a Nissan, needs comment.

There are enough Japanese vehicles of all kinds on our highways that even the most politically motivated of truckers would have to fill a trailer with stones and a full-time pitching crew just to take care of one or two miles of highways, and that wouldn’t make a dent in the numbers of Japanese or Korean vehicles, especially the hard bodies.

If Kahn actually saw the trucker throw a stone at his windshield, and, somehow, divined the reason was his Nissan ownership, or for whatever reason, why didn’t he jot down the license number? If that was the case even if the trucker were going the opposite direction, he could have contacted the California Highway Patrol since he said he was just a mile from Mojave when the event occurred.

Most stones hitting windshields are launched from tire treads. Many come from rock and dirt haulers who don’t have the foresight or understanding to realize that tarping loads will not bankrupt them; most states have such laws on the books, but the rock and particle haulers in California count on the spineless politicians in Sacramento, so we all suffer. And windshields of 18-wheelers are not immune from being hit by flying rocks, stones and gravel. And Caltrans trucks are equally guilty.

It was unfair of reader Kahn to allege he perceived the reason was his proud Nissan ownership. It would be equally unfair of me to suggest that if that was the reason, perhaps the trucker was around on Dec. 7, 1941, while Kahn was not. As they say, people who live in glass houses. . . .

MIKE PARKHURST

President

Independent Truckers Assn.

Los Angeles