License Plates--but Not Frames--Must Pass Taste Test

Dear Street Smart:

I realize that the Department of Motor Vehicles screens personalized license plates for possible obscene meanings, but what is the law concerning obscene or lewd license plate holders ?

We’ve all seen the license plate holders with the cutesy (and very often ridiculous) messages, such as “John & Marsha 4 Ever,” “Patrick’s Grandma,” “Teachers Do It With Class,” and so forth. But what if the message is downright obscene and offensive. What if certain unprintable four-letter words are used?

I ask this question because I found myself behind a truck at a red light in Fountain Valley, and I simply could not believe what I was reading in front of me! I am far from being a prude, but I do object to having lewd and downright filthy comments in front of my face, so to speak.

Marianne R. Grossman, Fountain Valley

While the comments on license-plate frames might be filthy, obscene and lewd, they remain protected by the highest law in the land, the U.S. Constitution.

“There are no vehicle code rules,” said DMV spokesman Bill Madison. “It’s an individual freedom of expression.”

The DMV does censor license plates, as you note, but the department can do this because the plates are technically state property, on loan to motorists as proof of fees paid, according to Madison.

Personalized plates that are requested are screened against a long list of unacceptable words that the DMV has assembled over time, Madison said.

“Anything considered to be obscene or offensive to the general public will not be accepted,” Madison said.

Occasionally, a plate that’s offensive to some people may slip through and be issued. The DMV may withdraw the plate if it receives enough complaints and is unsatisfied with the explanation or justification that it requests from the plate’s owner, Madison said.

Dear Street Smart:

I hope Caltrans is planning to move as many trees as it can from the yards of the demolished homes on the Santa Ana Freeway right of way in Santa Ana. Many of the pines and palms can be moved quite easily. They can be sold to landscapers to defray the cost of the freeway, used to landscape the new freeway or given to the city of Santa Ana. I noticed in Tustin that they just bulldozed them all. If it’s too late for Santa Ana, there’s plenty of time to save the trees during the Anaheim phase.

Thomas Walton, Anaheim

What you suggest is part of Caltrans’ standard procedure when it comes to demolition and road construction. The value of salvageable property, such as trees or bricks, is negotiated with the company contracted to clear the right of way, according to Caltrans spokesman Albert Miranda. The value is figured into the company’s bid and reduces costs, Miranda said.

To oversimplify: If clearing that section in Santa Ana costs $1 million and there is $100,000 in recoverable property, then the bid would be about $900,000.

As for the trees you say were bulldozed in Tustin, the contractor or subcontractor may have decided it was too expensive, too difficult or would cause too long a delay to remove them, Miranda said.

In some cases, groups have been able to remove trees that the contractors would otherwise destroy, Miranda said. Those wishing to find out if trees in a specific area are to be removed and replanted should contact Caltrans, and the department can refer them to the contractor handling the work, Miranda said.

Dear Street Smart:

The corner of Slater Avenue and Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach needs a left-turn signal desperately. Slater has become a very busy through street from Harbor Boulevard to Springdale Street (even beyond).

Going west appears to be the most serious problem. Cars have to wait for up to three light changes to turn left across traffic. In frustration, three or four cars dash through on red, braving the wrath of the Beach Boulevard horde awaiting the light change.

There have been accidents, and one of these days, it’s going to be a bad one.

Dave Rorden, Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach Traffic Engineer Jim Otterson said the city will investigate the problem, but a left-turn signal probably won’t be installed until a “super-street” project begins in that area in about two years. By super-street, Caltrans means coordinated signals, restricted on-street parking and expanded traffic lanes, all to keep traffic moving at a constant and high speed.

Caltrans is responsible for the signals on Beach Boulevard, and Otterson expects that the agency would make such an improvement as part of the super-street work. “They control them. We get some input, but it’s their call,” he said.

In the meantime, those needing to turn left onto Beach may wish to detour from Slater to Warner or Talbert avenues, both of which have left-turn signals onto Beach. It might take a bit longer to reach Beach Boulevard this way, but making the turn may be shorter and safer.

WHAT IS IT? Some motorists on the Orange Freeway may have noticed a recent addition near Chapman Avenue that looks like a cement plant. Well, that’s exactly what it is, Caltrans says. It’s producing material for sound walls, bridges and car-pool lanes along the freeway.