Airport Off-Ramp Theory Won’t Fly : Traffic: South County residents have only single-lane access from the San Diego Freeway to John Wayne Airport. Could it be retribution?

Dear Street Smart: On July 7, you discussed improvements to provide better access to the Orange County Airport from the north--and how nice they will be.

Now how about those you missed? Everyone who comes from the south won’t see any improvement. There is only one lane off the interstate, even though it looks like there could be two with some restriping. Or is this “punishment” inflicted because those in the south are fighting an airport in the area?

Nancy Wilson

San Juan Capistrano

Hmmmm. Conspiracy theories are always intriguing, but it sure would be picayune of the powers who control our roads to pound on all those southerners just because they don’t want commercial jets buzzing their red clay-tile roofs.

Officials at the California Department of Transportation in Orange County say the MacArthur Boulevard off-ramp, the major conduit to the airport for folks headed north, has not had problems funneling traffic off the San Diego Freeway, something that couldn’t always be said for the southbound off-ramp.

Typically, if the number of cars using an off-ramp exceeds 1,500 an hour, the agency will add an additional lane to funnel traffic off the freeway, Caltrans officials said. The northbound off-ramp to MacArthur Boulevard just doesn’t top that threshold, they maintain.

The off-ramp is most heavily used during the morning rush hour. Between 6 and 7 a.m., nearly 1,000 cars exit there, but that total rises to about 1,400 for each of the subsequent hours, Caltrans said.

Moreover, a majority of those cars are actually turning right, heading toward the office parks straddling MacArthur Boulevard and away from the airport. During the peak hours between 6 and 8 a.m., about 1,500 cars turn left toward the airport, while about 2,250 typically turn right, according to Caltrans.

Nonetheless, most residents of South County would probably love an exit similar to the new transition road off the southbound Costa Mesa Freeway, which ferries motorists right to the new airport terminal. The Costa Mesa Freeway was selected for that special exit because studies showed that far more drivers traveling to the airport were coming from the central county, authorities said.

So South County motorists will have to contend with the MacArthur Boulevard exit as it is--and feel pleased that there’s not an airport in the back yard yet.

It’s always been the sort of sage advice that Grandpa passed on: Buy a big car because the small ones aren’t as safe in an accident. Now there’s some proof.

An analysis conducted by the Highway Loss Data Institute found that small cars were three times more likely to be declared a total loss after an accident than were large cars. The rate of total loss for mid-size cars was twice that of the large models, according to the study.

The Yugo had the highest percentage of total losses for 1988 model cars, with one out of every five collisions involving a total loss, the study reported. Others with high rates of total losses include the Ford Festiva and Chevrolet Sprint. The lowest rate was recorded by the Lincoln Town Car, with fewer than one out of 50 collisions resulting in a total loss.

Before you run off and trade in your Toyota for a Cadillac, remember that small cars have their advantages aside from being a bit flimsy in a crash. They typically deliver far better gas mileage and, in some cases, performance.