Calling Attention to a Problem

Found your article regarding the increase in accidents among young female drivers informative (Highway 1, Feb. 13). It’s my belief that a very significant contribution to this increase in accidents is cell-phone distraction.

I’m frequently frustrated by the inattentive behavior of drivers who have 20 years of experience behind the wheel and can’t control their car because they’re on a cell phone.

There’s no way newly licensed teen drivers using cell phones in the car can even be slightly protected by the rote driving that many adults slide by on.

Since it’s parents mostly paying the insurance premiums for their young adult drivers, you might want to recommend that they implement a “no-cell-phone-while-driving” rule.

Hard to enforce?

No, just call them at random times while they are out driving. If they answer the phone, suspend the privilege of driving, or the cell phone, or both. It might save their life, or someone else’s.

Lisa D’Onofrio

Mission Viejo

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I was excited to read about General Motors Corp.’s new “Skateboard” design (Highway 1, Jan. 23), and dismayed by the car manufacturer’s old story about how it can’t meet the zero-emission dates.

They’ve had many years to work on this problem, but in the article you quote executives and industry experts who say it could be 30 or more years before the transition from internal-combustion engines to hydrogen is possible!

In the 1960s, when the entire computer memory for the Apollo program had as much capability as a hand-held digital organizer does today, we built rockets that took us to the moon and did it in less than 10 years.

Milton Rosen

Rancho Palos Verdes

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Reader Larry Pike stated that he would favor “a car with a top speed of 75 mph” (Highway 1, Jan. 30). Is that with only the driver in the vehicle, or with passengers? Is that with an empty trunk or a full one?

Finally, Pike said, “In the hands of some freeway drivers, a car at 65 mph is too dangerous.” A car is potently dangerous at almost any speed. Therefore, I do not believe that limiting the horsepower in new vehicles is the solution for making our highways safer.

Paul Smalley

Pasadena