Readers React: Why do Californians text while driving? The CHP lets them.

To the editor: Is it any wonder that more drivers are using their phones while driving? Anyone who has driven on the highways of Southern California is aware that the California Highway Patrol is not capable of dealing with even a minuscule bit of lawlessness on the road. (“More California motorists using phones while driving, study finds,” July 16)

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I did not observe a single car pulled over by the CHP in spite of the incalculable vehicle code violations I observed. As soon as I crossed into Nevada, however, law enforcement was highly visible and had several cars pulled over within the first few miles.

For several years when I made twice-weekly trips to San Diego, a round trip of about 100 miles, I would go for several weeks before I would even see a single CHP car on the 5 Freeway.

Drivers in Southern California generally know the rules of the road, but they bend or break them with impunity because they can. For increased safety, we need more CHP officers actively patrolling our freeways.

Bill Cunningham, San Clemente

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To the editor: Someone needs to tell the reporter who wrote this article that we are far more important today than we have ever been.

Very few of us can wait until we arrive home before checking our emails, texts or voicemails. You see, if we wait the 10 minutes until we get home, we will miss the “like” someone marked on the selfie we posted 10 seconds ago on social media showing the heavy traffic we’re in, and that could ruin any response we may want to send them immediately, showing them that we saw what they responded to.

What is a person to do?

Marie Pollara Lévesque, Lake Balboa

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