Kids Without Car Seats? Safety Group Lets CHP Know

Dear Street Smart:

Last week while picking my kids up from school, I saw two very small heads sitting in the front seat of a two-seater Mercedes-Benz, no seat belt, no car seat. These kids were between 1 and 4. This is child endangerment. Who do I contact about this? Will anyone do anything about it if I do report it? Help! I am very concerned.

Cheri Astrahan

Los Alamitos

One alternative is to contact a group called SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A., which reports such violations to the California Highway Patrol.

The nonprofit group will mail you a form to record the time, date, location, license number and violation observed. The organization then forwards the form to the CHP, which sends the car owner a letter warning that he or she has been seen breaking the child safety seat law.

According to the group’s executive director, Stephanie Trombrello, SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. has sent out thousands of forms statewide since 1989.

California law requires that children younger than 4 years old or weighing less than 40 pounds ride in federally approved child safety seats because even a minor traffic collision can result in serious injury or even death for a child.

“Most people don’t want to put their children at risk,” CHP spokesman Steve Kohler said. “But often they aren’t aware of the danger. To a child, being in an accident can be the equivalent of being thrown out of a third-story window and hitting the cement.”

The fine for violating the law the first time usually is $50. Subsequent violations are about $100, Kohler said.

For information, write to SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A., P.O. Box 553 Altadena, CA 91003, or phone (800) 745-SAFE.

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Dear Street Smart:

I have a question concerning the El Toro Y reconstruction. For at least two months, there have been signs (three or more) on northbound Interstate 5 approaching El Toro Road that indicate there is a Bake Parkway offramp. All who try it are disappointed because it cannot be used unless one gets off the freeway at Lake Forest, makes a U-turn at Rockfield, gets back on the freeway going north and stays on the ramp to get off at Bake--a very unlikely situation. Normally during freeway construction, ramps that are not in use are blocked to avoid confusion. This does not seem to be the case here. It appears that the opening of the ramp will be several more months away. What gives? Additionally, the Bake exit from the Lake Forest onramp is partially blocked off but has appeared usable for several months. Again, what gives?

Alan Kutcher

Lake Forest

The signs you write about were uncovered by the heavy Santa Ana winds last month, and crews have been scheduled to replace the covers, said Pam Gorniak of the state Department of Transportation.

To do that, however, will require a full freeway closure. Gorniak said that will happen in the next few days.

In response to your second question: Though the Bake exit from the Lake Forest onramp appears to be complete, it isn’t usable yet, Gorniak said. Crews have yet to complete some utility jobs, including electrical work for the lighting system.

All of the Bake Parkway ramps are expected to be open by the end of this month, she said.

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A new express-toll lane on the Foothill Transportation Corridor opened Friday to ease the increasing traffic congestion on this 3-year-old tollway, officials said.

The Foothill Transportation Corridor’s express-toll lanes operate under a system called FasTrak, an electronic toll collection system that allows commuters to pass through a payment booth without slowing. FasTrak automatically deducts tolls from the driver’s prepaid account by picking up radar signs from a small transponder mounted on the car windshield.

Officials with the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), which run the Foothill tollway and other toll roads, said they added a FasTrak lane after studies showed a 14% increase in traffic in the last six months. About 70% of commuter traffic on the Foothill tollway uses FasTrak to pay their toll, TCA officials said.

The TCA was formed in 1986 to plan, finance, construct and operate the San Joaquin Hills, Foothill and Eastern transportation corridors. Currently 7.5 miles of the Foothill tollway is open to traffic.

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.