LETTERS: HIGHWAY SAFETY NEEDS ATTENTION

To the editor:

The government can and does endeavor to pass regulations to increase safety on the highways. Attention is given to large trucks as a source of casualties. More attention should be given to four-wheelers and the safety departments of trucking firms.

Cars impede traffic by driving in the passing lane. The usual occurrence is for an automobile to get in the passing lane alongside a truck then block the flow of traffic for miles. This blocking is done at less than optimum speeds. Especially is it seen where there are multiple lanes with several lanes reserved for autos and where large trucks are restricted to the right lane.

Trucks have blind spots. Mine could hide two cars on the left side and one on the right side. Cars should not get into those blind spots. There are not enough mirrors to see everywhere. Neither is there time to always keeps the mirrors in sight.

Cars should get off the road when they stop. Memory cannot count how many times my eyes have seen cars stop in fog conditions or in heavy rain. They either stopped dead in the driving lane or stopped on the shoulder with the car's rear end stuck out into the driving lane.

To drive on highways, one should be able to see. Can you see an 18-wheeler? We are required to put out emergency triangles when stopped over 10 minutes. Can you see a car? Not as easily as larger vehicles. When did you ever see a car stopped with triangles put out? Basically never.

Governments must make rules that allow fines to be collected. Safety departments deal with regulations, not with practical matters of safety. Generally, neither is staffed with drivers who know what goes on when driving. To put nondrivers in charge of road safety makes as much sense as using the brain-dead for instructors in medical schools.

WARREN JORDAN

Patton