Car-Pool Violations Are Costly but Don’t Mar Record

Dear Street Smart:

Are tickets for driving in the car pool lane counted as a point on your record? I happen to have received one recently. I car-pool five days a week and use the car-pool lanes. But one day I was by myself and I jumped into the car-pool lane without thinking. I was going to jump out, but I wanted to wait for an opening. It was too late. I got nailed by a California Highway Patrol officer.

My fine was more than $200 and it taught me a lesson. But now I’d like to know if it will count against my driving record.

Allen Brass

San Juan Capistrano

SS: Although the fines are steep, a ticket for riding alone in a car-pool lane is not a moving violation and does not reflect on a motorist’s driving record, according to Officer Angel Johnson, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol’s Santa Ana office. As a result, a car-pool lane violator will not see his or her insurance premiums soar through the roof. But the penalties are bad enough, ranging from $246 for a first-time offender to $613 for those caught a third time. Authorities designed the fines in an effort to ensure that the restricted strips of asphalt, also known as diamond lanes or HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes, remain open for cars, trucks and vans carrying at least two people.

Dear Street Smart:

My feeling about the congestion on our freeways is that the problems are not necessarily with our freeways, but the lack of a multidimensional transportation system. In all my travels, L.A.-Orange County has the poorest mass transportation system of any major metropolitan area in the country. It bewilders me why the politicians and county transportation planners cannot seem to understand that more Orange County residents would use other transportation sources if only a mass transportation system really existed that would serve commuter needs.

A mass transportation network should consist of not only five-lane freeways, but monorails running down the center of freeways, trains, car pool networks, and efficient bus systems that could shuttle commuters to major government and private employers. It is such a simple concept, yet I think our planners still cannot see the real problem. The fact is that the more lanes on our freeways we build, the more we will encourage commuters to travel in individual cars. Unless we avail commuters to other transportation alternatives, our freeways will only get worse, despite more freeway lanes and more new roads.

But if we should ever decide to tackle the real problem, it is my hope that the bureaucrats will let private enterprise design, build and maintain the transportation systems. I trust the profit motive more than I trust the myopic bureaucrats who seem to be more interested in politics than finding real solutions to our transportation needs.

Brian Conners

El Toro

SS: Such sentiments are not unique in Orange County and elsewhere around the Southland. But most transportation planners and government officials say they are eager to provide more mass transit opportunities to freeway-weary commuters. In Orange County, the proposed half-cent sales tax hike, Measure M on the Nov. 7 ballot, would raise $775 million for various commuter rail projects. And some cities are working on mass transit projects of their own. Irvine, for instance, is pushing for development of a monorail system linking its commercial core with the train station. Whether those sorts of proposals actually produce results remains to be seen.

Dear Street Smart:

I have been riding a motorcycle for transportation almost exclusively for seven years. In that time I have put over 75,000 miles on two bikes.

There are a couple of reasons that I ride instead of drive. First and foremost is the freedom it gives me. I am far less affected by traffic on a bike than I am in a car. I can go anywhere I want at any time (unless the weather really stinks) without giving much thought to what the traffic is like.

My motorcycle solves most of the problems of L.A. traffic for me. An accident on my chosen route may slow me down, but it won’t bring me to a dead halt, then leave me crawling for miles at less than a walking pace. In the most crowded shopping center, I can get in quickly and find a parking place. The crush of cars in this town doesn’t have nearly the effect on me that it does on you four-wheelers.

Another reason to ride is cost. My bike is quicker and more maneuverable than any street-legal car, but I still get about 35 to 40 miles per gallon. And those are real-world numbers.

Yes, riding is more dangerous than driving. I don’t have any second chances if I screw up and hit the pavement except what my jacket, helmet and gloves give me, and that ain’t much. That means that I have to take responsibility for my own safety. I watch the cars around me and try to anticipate where they might be in the next three or four seconds. Concentration is what it takes to ride and not die.

To the best of my recollection, no one has ever come very close to hitting me. Non-riders who shudder at the idea of lane splitting don’t seem to realize that it’s very hard to change a car’s direction without warning. The head turns or peers in the mirror, the front wheels move, the body rolls and then the car moves toward you. The few times I’ve been surprised by cars changing lanes I’ve been daydreaming.

I almost always wear a helmet. In one of my corner mishaps my helmet turned what might have been a concussion or worse into a few scratches on the fiberglass. I believe in them but I don’t worship them. A rider’s skill and awareness are far more important in keeping him alive than his brain bucket.

If you don’t mind a plug, the single safest thing a new rider can do is take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s Beginning Rider course before going out among the cars. If a rider has somehow survived his first few months without it, then he should try the Experienced Rider course and find out how much he doesn’t know.

If you’ve ever thought about joining us lane splitters, why not take a chance? Bikes can be had cheap, and we aren’t all Hell’s Angels (or profiling wannabes). Some of us ride because it’s fun and a neat way to get around this crowded, car-choked town.

Evan Burkitt

Irvine

SS: Where do I trade in my Mazda? You, Mr. Burkitt, are obviously a man who knows his motorcycles. Your point about the advantages of motorcycles on heavily congested roads--meaning most every stretch of highway in Orange County--is well taken. Many car-bound commuters chafe when they see a motorcyclist zipping between rows of congested freeway traffic, but the maneuver is entirely legal, as long as the rider doesn’t go more than 10 m.p.h. faster than the flow of traffic. People who are interested in hitting the road on two wheels should take one of the safety courses Mr. Burkitt mentioned. The California Highway Patrol also offers an instructional course for beginning and experienced riders (call CC-RIDER for the location nearest you). Riders under 18 years of age must complete the course before they receive a special motorcycle license.

Dear Street Smart:

The Riverside Freeway (91) is the most treacherous in Orange County!

It’s always clogged with cars, semis and accidents, the on/off ramps are poorly designed, the lanes are narrow and there’s no shoulder at the center divider to pull off to in case of an emergency. Basically, it is a very boring-looking freeway (just bushes on either side and no billboards) with no destinations of interest along the way. Definitely a freeway to avoid if you enjoy driving.

I loathe the 91! As soon as I get on it, I want to get off it!

Leslie Milledge

Brea

SS: Your letter raises some interesting questions. Just what makes a freeway interesting? And what do motorists think of billboards? Do they clutter the freeway, or provide a welcome note of visual interest? Let’s hear from other motorists out there. Write Street Smart and tell us what you think.