CHP Gets Fired Up on Seeing Burning Cigarettes Tossed

Dear Street Smart:

I am amazed that, with the recent fires in Southern California, I constantly see people tossing burning cigarettes from their cars. Is there a fine for this and does the California Highway Patrol enforce it?

Michael Berbae

Capistrano Beach

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Yes on both counts, says CHP spokesman Jose Vasquez: The fines are stiff and enforcement is rigorous.

But cigarettes aren’t the only things that are illegal to throw onto the road. According to the California Vehicle Code, it is against the law for any person (pedestrians included) to “throw or discharge on any road or highway or adjoining area, public or private, any lighted or unlit cigarette, cigar, match or any flaming or glowing substance . . . “

In other words, if a CHP officer sees you light a cigarette, blow out the match and toss it out the window, you’re busted. Ditto for flicking the ashes onto the street from a cigarette or cigar.

The law applies on every road in California, be it in the country or the city.

“This is something that most officers cite as often as they can,” Vasquez said. “It’s a big problem: People don’t realize that the wind will blow it off into the bushes and, within 30 minutes, you’ll get a fire going.”

Mandatory fines are $100 to $1,000 for the first offense, $500 to $1,000 for the second offense, and $750 to $1,000 for each offense after that. The penalties are identical to those for littering, Vasquez said, with one important difference: Creating a fire hazard by discarding flammable debris is considered a moving violation and, as such, will appear on your driving record at the DMV and possibly affect your insurance rates.

“It’s a stiff penalty,” Vasquez said. “And we do enforce it.”

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Dear Street Smart:

Driving west on Katella Avenue at the corner of West Street in Anaheim, there is a bus stop where the bus drivers are taking five to 10-minute breaks and blocking the right lane. The traffic is slowing down because the drivers are changing lanes at the stop.

It’s a risk I took several times--otherwise you get stacked at the stop light for quite a few minutes.

Wouldn’t it be much easier for the bus drivers to take their breaks on Walnut Street, just around the corner, where the line ends?

Nick L. Morar

Orange

To begin with, bus drivers are not taking breaks at the stop in question, according to John Standiford, a spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority. There are a number of reasons, however, that a bus might spend a few minutes there, Standiford said.

The driver could be pausing to pick up or let off passengers in wheelchairs. Or the bus could have gotten ahead of schedule and be stopping for a few minutes to avoid arriving at its next stop too early.

“If you know the bus stops at a certain time and you get there five minutes early and the bus already went by 10 minutes early,” Standiford said, “you’re going to miss it. If a bus is running ahead of schedule, there are times when the driver needs to stop for a few minutes to actually slow down to get closer to schedule.”

The situation is exacerbated at the particular spot you mention, he said, by the fact that OCTA buses aren’t the only ones using it; other bus companies that stop there, include the Metropolitan Transit Authority out of Los Angeles, the Riverside Transit Agency out of Riverside and several private shuttle companies.

Because of its proximity to Disneyland, Standiford said, “probably more buses serve this general area than any other area in the county.”

That’s probably why you thought that Walnut was the end of the line; in fact, according to Standiford, it just looks that way because the Riverside buses park there for the night.

The problem could be eased somewhat by the addition of a bus turnout, he said, but that would require the cooperation of the city of Anaheim. If you wish to register an official complaint about the conditions at this stop or any other, Standiford said, call (714) 636-RIDE, Ext. 12.

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Dear Street Smart:

There has been considerable controversy surrounding the tollway authority taking a section of the formerly free public Newport Coast Drive to be part of the Route 73 tollway. Approximately one year ago, users of Newport Coast Drive were assured by the tollway authorities that the toll for using the northernmost three-quarters of a mile in either direction would be 50 cents or less. Was the tollway authority telling the truth?

Richard Gandin

Laguna Beach

The answer is yes, according to Lisa Telles, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies. The toll for traversing that section of the road--collectible at Newport Coast Drive--will be 50 cents.

Other tolls along the 15-mile route will range from 25 cents to $2, depending on where one enters or exits.

The final stretch of the new toll road, including the segment connecting Newport Coast Drive, is scheduled to open on Nov. 21.

Street Smart appears Mondays in The Times Orange County Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic, commuting and what makes it difficult to get around in Orange County. Include simple sketches if helpful. Letters may be published in upcoming columns. Please write to David Haldane, c/o Street Smart, The Times Orange County Edition, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, send faxes to (714) 966-7711 or e-mail him at David.Haldane@latimes.com. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted.