Those Blinkin’ Turn Signals Drive Some Readers Crazy

If your letters are any indication, one of the most annoying driving habits practiced in Los Angeles is the failure to switch off a car’s turn signal indicator.

And I can sympathize. It boils my blood to get stuck behind a car with a turn signal that blinks . . . and blinks . . . and blinks . . . long after the turn has been made. It’s like listening to a ringing phone that no one answers or listening to a record player skip a track over and over and over.

But you are not the kind of readers to just moan and whine about a problem. You offer solutions.

Jesse Marshall Evans of Northridge said he pulls in front of cars whose drivers leave their signals on and then alternately flashes his left and right turn signals until the other motorist gets a clue.

“It usually gets their attention, but if it doesn’t I just give up,” he added.

Another reader, Ann Eyster of Northridge, suggested a hand signal to signal the offending motorist, repeatedly clenching the fist and opening it with the fingers extended.

“Work on getting that accepted as a nationwide symbol,” she urged.

Both of these suggestions sound reasonable. I’m not quite sure, however, just how to get them accepted as official signals for use throughout the nation.

I would feel kind of funny going before a U. S. Senate committee to explain Ann Eyster’s hand signal: “Excuse me, Sen. Kennedy, but can you please make a fist? I wanna show you something.”

Dear Street Smart:

In the Canadian province of Ontario, automobile headlights are kept on all the time--night and day. The greater visibility has reportedly reduced accidents by 20%. Is this true? If so, it would seem that it could be instituted here immediately at virtually no cost.

Richard E. Horowitz

Sherman Oaks

Dear Reader:

In searching for an answer to your question, I tried to get my newspaper to send me on a weeklong, fact-finding mission to Canada but my boss said: “That scam may work for politicians, but it doesn’t work for reporters.”

So, I had to settle for making a few phone calls to our neighbors to the north. I found that Canada adopted a law that requires all cars manufactured after 1989 and sold in Canada to be equipped with daytime running lights that automatically switch on and off with the ignition.

Switching on the ignition automatically turns on low intensity white or yellow lights mounted on the front of the vehicle. Transport Canada, that nation’s transportation agency, estimates that the use of daytime running lights could reduce certain types of accidents by 10% to 20%.

Also, Ontario adopted a law in 1984 that made it mandatory to use headlights starting 30 minutes before sunset and ending 30 minutes after sunrise.

In fact, studies done throughout the world seem to indicate that turning vehicle lights on during the day reduces accidents, because the lights prevent the moving vehicle from blending into the background.

California has taken a step in that direction by requiring motorcycles built after 1978 to have a headlight that automatically goes on and off with the ignition, which is why nearly all the motorcycles you see have their headlights on day or night. The law applies only to motorcycles because they are harder to see than cars. No studies have been completed in California, but studies in other states have shown that daylight headlight use on motorcycles reduce accidents by as much as 30%.

And on some stretches of highway where there have been many serious accidents--California 126 between Fillmore and Santa Paula is an example--signs notify motorists that they must turn on their headlights even during the day.

But for autos and trucks on all other roads, California law requires only that headlights be on when it’s dark. Steve Kohler, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, said he can’t remember a daytime-headlight law ever being proposed in California. Although studies elsewhere have shown that the practice reduces the number of accidents, he said he knows of no similar studies done in California.

So it seems that there is no public interest in adopting such a law here. And most lawmakers won’t propose such a bill unless they believe the public will support them. It’s a pity too, because such a law could make the future of road travel a bit brighter.

Dear Street Smart:

When traveling our local freeways, I sometimes encounter vehicle breakdowns or accidents. Rather than calling 911 on the cellular phone, which may delay more urgent calls, is there a preferred CHP number I should call?

Carl Rasmussen

La Crescenta

Dear Reader:

It may not seem like an emergency to find someone broken down and stranded on the side of the road, but in this day and age it really can be rather dangerous.

Scores of people have been killed after becoming stranded on California freeways. Some try to run across traffic. Others are hit by inattentive or drunk drivers.

Alicia Ritter, a spokeswoman for the state Office of Traffic Safety, said motorists with cellular phones should report breakdowns and accidents to the 911 number. The operators will decide how urgent your call is and handle it accordingly so that more pressing calls are not delayed.

By the way, here are other numbers you can call for other roadside problems: To report road hazards, including potholes and street flooding, within unincorporated Los Angeles County, call (818) 458-HELP. To report potholes on Los Angeles city streets, call (213) 485-5661. To report road hazards on state highways, call (213) 897-4867.

To report graffiti on freeways, call (213) 897-0380. To report graffiti on Los Angeles city property, call (213) CLEAN-UP.

Dear Street Smart:

Has anyone made a study on the time needed to stop a vehicle when using cruise control versus a vehicle without cruise control? There must be a considerable difference.

Without cruise control, the second the braking foot comes off the accelerator, the vehicle begins to slow. In contrast, there is no speed change during the reaction time taken before hitting the brake with cruise control.

My concern is that many older people whose reaction times are already slow are using cruise control, my 93-year-old mother being one of them.

Mari Blankenship

Burbank

Dear Reader:

I can understand how cruise control can make you nervous. After all, millions of cars have been recalled for faulty cruise control devices over the past 20 years.

After calling several traffic safety experts, including some in Sacramento and Washington, I found no studies to show that a cruise control device that operates properly will increase the time it takes to stop a car in an emergency.

Cruise control devices automatically disconnect when your foot touches the brake pedal, so the engine immediately decelerates.

In fact, several traffic safety experts pointed out that when you drive with the cruise control, your foot does not have to be on the accelerator. It can hover directly over the brake pedal so you can slam on the brakes the instant you see trouble. In short, I couldn’t find definitive evidence to allay your fears but several folks with expertise in this subject say you really have nothing to worry about.

But if you want to improve your mother’s driving, there are refresher courses for senior citizens that she could try. If she completes one, she may be able to get a 10% discount on her insurance premiums.

For more information on the Department of Motor Vehicle’s senior citizen driving course, you can call (916) 657-6549.

Street Smart appears Mondays in The Times Valley Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic, commuting and what makes it difficult to get around the Valley. Include simple sketches if helpful. Letters may be published in upcoming columns. Please write to Phil Sneiderman, c/o Street Smart, The Times Valley Edition, 20000 Prairie Street, Chatsworth, Ca., 91311. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited and no anonymous letters will be accepted. To record your comments call (818) 772-3303. Send fax letters to (805) 273-0280.