Sometimes, it is difficult to stay in your lane
Q. I am a retired firefighter of 34 years, and for 25 of those years I was on a paramedic unit and drove lights-and-siren as much or more than anyone at the time. I consider myself a cautious driver. On Christmas day we were driving down to San Diego on the I-5 Freeway. It was about 10:30 a.m. and raining. We were just passing where Highway 1 intersects the I-5, and the freeway lanes disappeared. The road in that area has the current striping; the old striping that Caltrans removed, but with the markings still visible; and multiple rectangles in the surface where the separate concrete pads had been structurally bonded with rebar and new concrete. I exclaimed to my wife, “Where is the lane?” She said it is no better in the full daylight when she drives to the outlet mall. While Caltran’s new policy is to no longer use Botts’ Dots, the agency should reconsider them for these confusing areas. Fortunately, traffic was light as I am sure I wandered out of my lane – though I’m not really sure. If they truly are not going to use Botts’ Dots anywhere, then what solutions will they use for areas like this?
– Bob Pingle, Lake Forest
A. The ol’ Honkster got more flustered going through that same stretch under gray skies recently than he did asking out the now-Mrs. Honk for the first time.
But help is on the way, Bob.
“We do have some projects underway to improve the road along I-5 in south Orange County,” said Van Nguyen, a spokeswoman for Caltrans.
The state is doing surface work, from the El Camino Real under-crossing in San Clemente to north of the Junipero Serra Road under-crossing in San Juan Capistrano – a stretch that includes that troubled area.
“When the surface work is completed on both directions, we’ll re-stripe (the) I-5, which will improve lane visibility in that area,” she said. “That will likely happen by May.”
And, yes, Botts’ Dots, those ceramic discs that rise from lane markings and rattle your car when crossing over them, providing a warning that you are leaving a lane, are on their way out.
Caltrans, which was urged to drop the famous dots by the federal government, figures the ceramic buttons are not reflective, confuse autonomous cars and don’t last very long. The norm is becoming thermoplastic striping, which offers improved reflection at night and during rain, and with plastic composite markers used instead of the ceramic dots. The new markings are still to provide a bit of a rumble.
Q. Because of the spate of horror stories about the Department of Motor Vehicles and its long wait times, I made sure to have an appointment when I went in to renew my license. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, as it turned out) the closest office that had an appointment before my license expired was in Santa Ana. Well, I have to say that my experience could not have been better. I had three women workers help me, and all were extremely helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. And I finished in well less than an hour. Just thought you would find this interesting.
– Glenn Clarke, Laguna Niguel
A. Honk, his readers and others have written about how bad the lines were last year, with DMV officials recently saying there have been significant improvements.
Thanks for confirming the good tidings for Honkland, Glenn.
Honkin’ tip: A year ago, Honk purchased the latest Honkmobile from a dealership in Torrance and was overall quite pleased. But it turned out the registration had expired a month or so before, while the car was resting on the lot, so Honk had to pick up the tab and that wasn’t properly explained beforehand. If he had know, he would have tried to persuade the dealership to pick up the cost. Remember: Cars must be registered annually, and the due date does not change, even when the vehicle is sold.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk.