How to Avoid Rearenders on Shoulder

Dear Traffic Talk:

There is a particular type of freeway accident, usually fatal, that involves a disabled vehicle on the shoulder getting struck from behind by another motorist.

This usually occurs during late night or early morning hours when traffic is light and, more often than not, the offending driver is drunk.

When a disabled vehicle pulls over, my guess is that the driver automatically leaves the car lights on as a warning to oncoming traffic.

However, this may be the cause of being struck from the rear.

On the freeway at night in light traffic many drivers might “draw a bead” on the red taillights in the distance ahead.

More than once I’ve been mildly startled as I would gain on those lights and realize they belonged to a car parked on the shoulder.

It’s easy to understand how someone driving under the influence could plow at full speed into a parked car.

Should drivers who pull over at night leave their lights off?

Susan Hacken

Tarzana

Dear Susan:

There are no hard and fast rules concerning vehicles pulling over to the side of the road. Whether a person leaves the lights on or off is a matter of driver preference. But safety should always be the first consideration.

A spokeswoman with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division said drivers who are under the influence tend to be drawn to lights and can cause serious accidents by mistaking the side of the road for a traffic lane, especially late at night.

While no law requires a driver to use hazard lights when parked on the roadside in an emergency, you should err on the side of safety, she said. To ensure the greatest visibility, especially if a driver must park on a curve or if weather conditions are bad, you should use flashing lights or flares.

Dear Traffic Talk:

I live on a small street right off one of the surface streets that has turned into a virtual freeway, namely Barham Boulevard.

It is either filled with cars rushing by at twice the speed limit or cars creeping along at under five miles an hour during rush hour.

It is during this creeping time slot that I have the most trouble.

All I want to do is turn left across the stream of cars.

Tell me how to get the signs and pavement markings and get the message out that pausing a few seconds while creeping by is the courteous thing to do.

Lauren Badami

Universal City

Dear Lauren:

Direct the request to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s East Valley Office, which handles requests for street markings, signs or traffic lights east of the San Diego Freeway. The phone number is (818) 756-8841.

According to the California Driver’s Handbook, drivers should not block an intersection: defined as any place where one line of traffic meets another.

That definition includes cross streets and side streets, freeway entrances and the entrances to driveways and shopping center entrances.

A driver can be cited for blocking an intersection because of heavy traffic, also known as gridlock. Cars should not enter the intersection unless there is enough space to cross.

Traffic Talk appears Fridays in The Times Valley Edition. Readers may submit comments and questions about traffic in the Valley to Traffic Talk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted. To record your comments, call (818) 772-3303. Fax letters to (818) 772-3385. E-mail questions to valley@latimes.com.