Carpool Lane Won’t Open for Month or 2

Dear Traffic Talk:

Would you please print an update on the status of the second phase of the Antelope Valley Freeway carpool lane construction? I had read some time ago that the stretch being constructed from Sand Canyon Road to Escondido Canyon Road would be opened in June or July, but lately work appears to have come to a standstill.

--Mary Garner

Palmdale

Dear Mary:

Although work seems to have stopped, the second phase of construction is ongoing, said Joseph Brazile, a spokesman for Caltrans. The carpool lane remains closed because the weather has been too cool to apply the striping paint, he said, adding that some cleaning and minor repairs will have to be done afterward.

The carpool lane should open in September or October, he said.

*

Dear Traffic Talk:

I drive to work from Palmdale to Sylmar. Recently, I noticed a car that looked like it had broken down, and the driver was walking, probably to the nearest call box. That’s when I realized the area on the Antelope Valley Freeway from Santa Clarita to the Escondido Summit has no call boxes. When are the call boxes going to be replaced?

--Jill Schaeffer

Palmdale

Dear Jill:

The boxes will be replaced when carpool-lane construction is completed, said Byron Lee, director of Highway Operations Support at the county Metropolitan Transportation Authority. According to Caltrans, construction should be completed in September or October. Caltrans had asked the MTA to remove the call boxes during construction, Lee said.

*

Dear Traffic Talk:

I received a traffic ticket last December for rolling through a stop sign. I paid the fine and figured, since it was only one point on my license, I wouldn’t bother going to traffic school.

It cost me $104, and I thought that was the end of the matter. When I received my last insurance renewal, I discovered that this went on my record and will remain for three years. It will cost me another $400 over three years. Is it too late to go to traffic school once you’ve paid the ticket or once a certain time has elapsed?

--Joyce Goldman

Granada Hills

Dear Joyce:

It is generally too late to go to traffic school after deciding not to go when paying for the ticket, said Allan Lott, a staff consultant of the legislative services division at Los Angeles Municipal Court.

“It has to be an extraordinarily good reason--that’s a finished case,” he said.

The time to decide whether to attend traffic school is when paying for the ticket in person or by mail, Lott said. A mailed courtesy notice includes traffic school eligibility; you can only go to traffic school once every 18 months.

When a motorist pays the fine, it is considered a conviction by the state Department of Motor Vehicles and insurance companies, unless the driver attends traffic school, he said.

The driver’s insurance goes up because the insurance company takes away the good driver discount. Even if you ask for a court date to contest a ticket, you take a risk, Lott said, because if the judge finds you guilty, he can decide whether you will be allowed to go to traffic school.

*

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. Fax letters to (818) 772-3385. E-mail questions to valley.news@latimes.com.