Dirty Isn’t Enough: Signs Must Be a Hazard to Be Cleaned

Dear Street Smart:

Why doesn’t Caltrans clean the freeway overhead direction signs? Some of them are so dirty that they are hard to read, especially at night. A water truck with a simple high-powered hose and nozzle with a detergent should do the job.

Fred Chapman

Laguna Niguel

The only time Caltrans cleans an overhead direction sign is when somebody reports it to them and state maintenance crews determine that the dirtiness constitutes a hazard. Due to time and money constraints, Caltrans spokeswoman Gail Smith said, the state agency does not deal with what she calls “basic dirt.”

“That’s different than a mound of dirt that makes it so you can’t see an arrow,” she said. “It has to be a travel hazard. Someone has to tell us that it’s disgustingly dirty and they can’t see. Then we clean it.”

If you have any good candidates for cleaning, you can report them by calling (714) 724-2341. A maintenance crew will be dispatched to determine whether the sign in question is worthy of soap and water.

Dear Street Smart:

As a cyclist and dog-walker, I am frequently trying to keep bicycle tires or prancing canine feet out of the broken glass and other sharp debris left by motoring mishaps. When we lived in New Jersey, by state law the tow truck operator called to any wreck had to sweep up the debris before leaving. They carried a broom--no big investment--and took only a couple of minutes to remove these roadside hazards. Isn’t there any such law here in California?

J.M. Anderson

Lake Forest

There is exactly such a law in California. Under the state vehicle code, tow truck operators are required to carry brooms and to remove all glass and debris deposited at the scene of an accident.

Dear Street Smart:

I was excited to see the question I’ve always wanted to ask appear in your column, which was: What do you do when your motorcycle will not trip a traffic light, particularly at left-turn signals?

I don’t always have an hour or more to sit and wait at a signal for the light to change or the repairman to appear. My question remains, when your bike just will not cause a signal to turn green and no cars are there to help you, at what point is it legal to go through a red light to make your turn?

I normally wait through one complete traffic signal cycle, and then just go left on a straight-ahead green light when traffic is clear, even though the left-turn signal is red. Can I avoid jail time?

Richard A. Johnson

Lake Forest

The short answer is: perhaps, if you have a compassionate judge. The more correct answer, says Anne Richards, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol, is that “it’s not OK to go through a red light, no matter what.”

Most left-turn signals turn green every few cycles, whether or not there is traffic waiting. Richards said you should wait until then to make your turn.

If you are unlucky enough to be stuck at an intersection with lights that are not cycling, however, eventually you will have to take your chances by doing the safest thing, which may be turning left against the red light. “I don’t know what other option there would be,” Richards said. “That’s a thorny one.”

Keep in mind, though, that you will be in violation of the law. If you are stopped, Richards said, it will be up to the discretion of the officer as to whether to cite you and, later, the discretion of a judge as to how to respond.

My advice: Practice looking very earnest and sincere.

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. 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.