Road Rubbish Causes Tie-Ups and Headaches

Ladders. Wood chippers. Trash cans. Tool boxes. Refrigerators. Chrome tubes.

Sounds like the inventory for Sanford and Son’s salvage yard, right?

Actually, these are just a few examples of the kind of stuff that is routinely if inadvertently dumped on California freeways, causing traffic tie-ups and commuter headaches.

On a recent Monday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol reported the following traffic incidents: A roll of carpet and a dolly were blocking traffic on the Santa Ana Freeway near Santa Ana; a drive shaft was causing problems on the San Diego Freeway in San Juan Capistrano; sheet metal was flying around the Ventura Freeway in Ventura; and a tent was camped out in the slow lane of the Corona Freeway in Pomona.

Dee Dee Dollinger of Sepulveda wrote to Behind the Wheel to complain that this kind of flotsam and jetsam on the freeways too often contributes to roadway injuries and congestion. She blames such problems on motorists who speed on the freeway with oversized loads haphazardly strapped to the back of their vehicles.

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Question: “Why isn’t there a law that states limitations on length of materials going beyond the back end of the tailgate or the walls of the flatbed?”

Answer: There is such a limit, but it varies with the size of the vehicle. According to the California Vehicle Code, a load on any vehicle cannot extend to the rear beyond the tailgate or “last point of support” for a distance greater than two-thirds of the length of the wheelbase of the vehicle. That means that one of those hulking GMC Yukon SUVs can legally drive down the freeway with a tree trunk the size of Shaquille O’Neal sticking out of the back. There is one other requirement: Any load extending more than four feet must display a red or orange flag or lights at night.

CHP Officer Luis Mendoza concedes that the law allows motorists to carry some pretty big loads, but he warns that drivers who fail to secure the loads can be cited. And if that load gets away and brings traffic to a bone-crunching halt, the motorist who failed to tie it down can be liable for injuries and damage, he said.

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Duane Oden of Los Angeles can’t stand it when slow-moving motorists swing into the fast lane, only to bring his high-speed drive to an agonizing crawl. He wrote to say that he suspects some of these dawdling drivers purposely pull in front of faster traffic to aggravate motorists like himself.

Q: “Why don’t CHP officers ever ticket these drivers?”

A: This is a huge annoyance. The law is fairly clear on this subject: Slower-moving traffic must move to the right.

The reason for this law is twofold: The chances for accidents increase when vehicles traveling at different speeds cut in and out of each other’s lanes. Also, transportation experts say that traffic flow improves when vehicles on the same road travel at a uniform speed. In other words, all that passing, braking and changing lanes is dangerous and adds to freeway congestion. The solution: Pick a lane that is moving at your pace and stick with it.

As for Oden’s question: Last year, the CHP issued 1,807 tickets to motorists who were impeding traffic by driving too slow. But speedsters are still the biggest freeway problem. Last year, the CHP handed out more than 925,500 speeding tickets, which represents nearly half of all CHP citations.

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Driving in carpool lanes can be confusing, and sometimes well-meaning friends can only add to the confusion.

Nancy Ritz Hugus of Glendora wrote to say that she has recently moved to Southern California from the Bay Area and is confused by the rules regarding when she can enter and exit a carpool lane.

Q: “My friend here says you can enter anytime but you must exit at the white-line areas. Is she right?”

A: Your friend is wrong and you can do us all a favor by hiding her car keys. The law prohibits motorists from crossing the double yellow line to enter the carpool lane. The only permissible place to enter and exit the carpool lane is at those places where the double yellow line is replaced by a broken white line. If you follow your friend’s advice, be ready to shell out $271 for a traffic citation.

Another reader, Nan Sterman of San Diego County, also wonders about the striping along the carpool lanes.

Q: “What does it mean when there is a double line on the outside of the lane (toward the fast lane) and a single white stripe inside (toward the carpool lane)?”

A: Under the California Vehicle Code, cars are prohibited from driving left of a double-yellow line because, normally, that means that you are driving into oncoming traffic. But on freeways, the carpool lane is usually left of regular traffic lanes, separated by the double yellow line. Thus carpoolers must drive left of a double yellow line. When a single white line is added next to the double yellow line, it signifies that it is OK to drive left of the double-yellow line without fear of becoming a freeway tragedy.

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In previous columns, readers have offered an array of ideas for putting the brakes on police pursuits. The suggestions have ranged from the sensible to the ludicrous.

Law enforcement experts say the safest tactic is to pursue fleeing suspects at a safe distance until they voluntarily stop or run out of gas. Ramming or shooting a fleeing motorist is reserved for only the most extreme circumstances.

But some readers complain that this tactic allows the chases to drag on too long. Here are a few ideas submitted by readers:

Patt O’Neill of Palm Springs wrote to suggest that every car in the state be fitted with a transponder that allows police to shut off the engine of a fleeing suspect by remote control.

“I don’t have a lot of money, but I would be happy to pay it to save lives of innocent bystanders in these grisly chases,” he wrote.

Mike Kirwan of Venice wants to put an even quicker end to these pursuits.

He wrote: “To stop car chases, they should use military-type helicopters to fire missiles at the car. If Israel can do it to assassinate alleged terrorists, our pilots should be able to.”

Ronald Sommer of Rolling Hills suggests a less violent approach.

He wrote: “My idea was to spray slime or mud on the windshield of the car so the driver could not see where he is going and would have to stop.”

Sommer may not have considered that fleeing bad guys could clear away the slime or mud by simply switching on the windshield wipers.

So far, no one has offered the tactic that has repeatedly proven to stop traffic: Drop a ladder, a drive shaft or a tent in the path of the fleeing car.

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If you have a gripe, story idea or question about driving in Southern California, write to Behind the Wheel at 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 or send an e-mail to behindthewheel@latimes.com.