THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 10, 1994                    TAG: 9406090168 
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON                     PAGE: 02    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: The Road Warrior 
DATELINE: 940610                                 LENGTH: Long 

SURVEY OF TRUCK DRIVERS PASSES ALONG SOME ADVICE FOR MOTORISTS

{LEAD} Hey, how about this? The U.S. Department of Transportation has added us to its mailing list. About time the big guys took us seriously here.

This first packet of information includes the results of a driving survey taken by several dozen veterans of the highways: 45 recent inductees of America's Road Team of the American Trucking Association and 15 life members of the National Private Truck Council's Driver Hall of Fame.

{REST} The drivers were asked to give advice to motorists. The most frequently cited suggestions were:

Avoid tailgating.

Stay out of the blind spots to the sides and the rear of trucks.

Don't speed.

Use turn signals.

Maintain speed when passing a truck.

Do not pull in front of a truck unless it is visible in your rearview mirror.

What geniuses! Actually, the average truck driver questioned has driven about 26 years with 2 million accident-free miles. Each drives more than 120,000 miles a year. Yikes! And Road hates to drive to Hampton?

Anyway, the DOT is spearheading a campaign, ``Don't Hang Out in the No-Zone,'' to alert drivers to the dangers of driving in the ``no zone,'' or blind spot, of a tractor trailer.

The DOT says trucks and buses have larger blindspots on both sides and also directly behind them. A good rule of thumb is if you can't see a driver's side mirror when you're driving behind a truck, then he can't see you.

Some other facts included:

In 1992, there were more than 200,000 crashes involving at least one passenger and large truck.

More than 50 percent of all fatal crashes are estimated to be caused by the automobile driver, not the truck driver.

Most crashes of this type happen in the day on straight, dry pavement during normal weather and are caused by sober people.

So if you remember anything, remember, don't hang out in the ``zone'' of a truck.

SNARLS OF THE WEEK

The following people called Road's INFOLINE number with their complaints.

Jackie, Virginia Beach. I was curious about the rules regarding the riders in the HOV lanes, concerning women carrying small children in infant seats?

RW: Kids count, Jackie. Whether they're in a car seat or buckled in. Pets, however, do not count.

Bill Davis, no address given. A security guard's directing traffic by the Home Quarters office on Lynnhaven. What he does is holds up all the drivers who have the right of way on the main road and actually allows the HQ people coming out of the driveway access, free access, which makes for a huge back-up for those people trying to get on Lynnhaven and actually gives a nice little perk to the people coming out of Home Quarters.

He's not a Virginia Beach policeman and he doesn't do it fairly, he doesn't go two cars and two cars something like that. . . his preference all the time is to the people coming out of HQ and it's causing a back-up.

He does it at noon for a lunch perk, I guess, and then in the afternoon when they're leaving work. Bye.

RW: Apparently, this guy is well-known. He's employed by Home Quarters and has been through a police department training program on directing traffic. So, he's above board as far as credentials go.

The police have gone to the area and checked out his system (to be sure he's being fair) several times and each time they find that he is, indeed, being fair.

The city does not promote the hiring of private security guards for traffic control. However, they will look at the usefulness of such an act and whether it actually does help alleviate traffic on a case-by-case basis.

If traffic's backing up on Viking, engineers suggest using the Saber Drive signal to get out on Lynnhaven.

Ed, no address given. Hi, Road. I'm calling about a bicycle crossing that crosses Flobert Drive and Bellamy Manor, between the 1100 and 1200 block. One of the bike signs is missing and some people have planted shrubbery on the city's right of way. It blocks drivers' view (when traveling north) of the little ones that use this crossing.

It would be nice and could save a little one's life if you could take a look at it. Thanks and keep up the good work.

RW: Engineers said they'd check out the missing sign, as well as the possible view obstruction. Thanks for calling, Ed.

Gale, no address given. I want to complain about the drivers who use Cullen Road from Independence Boulevard to get to Shell Road. I am a walker in the Cullen Road area and the drivers are very rude and discourteous and trying to run me off the road between 7 and 7:30 a.m. every day and there are no shoulders, only ditches, on Cullen Road. Please, drivers, do not run pedestrians off the road. Thank you.

RW: Gee, Gale. It sounds like you could have a case of malicious driving or something. I'd start taking license plate numbers.

Janet Stooker, no address given. The problem is the corner of Greenwich Road, Grayson Road and Witchduck. When Grayson is turning to the right, the Greenwich Road traffic constantly turns left in front of you. If you're turning right to get over to the 44 east on-ramp they are constantly in your lane.

They do not yield turning left off of Greenwich, they do not have the green arrow turning over to Greenwich. They need to put a yield sign up.

RW: Basically, putting a yield sign here is a no-no. Yield signs do not go with signalized intersections, after all, that's what the lights are for.

However, Road will kindly remind folks who are turning left on a circular green from Greenwich onto Witchduck, YOU MUST YIELD to those turning right on green at Grayson.

The only time left-turners would not yield to right-turners across the way is if the right-turners were making a right turn on red, after they stopped.

TJ, Virginia Beach. Two complaints: Why do the troopers stand at the toll booth? It blocks up traffic in the morning and it's basically to me, police harassment. It's annoying.

And another one: Why do people use the highway for an ashtray?

RW: Gosh, these are tough.

First, troopers hang out at the booths because it's the best place to catch and corral a lot of people who aren't legal (i.e. no inspection sticker, expired city sticker, etc.). Second, folks use the highway as an ashtray because they're idiots.

The following wrote to Road:

According to my dictionary, a ``derm'' is a layer of skin. A ``berm'' is a mound of earth. Thanks for a good laugh.

Pat DeJesu

RW: Yeah, the laugh's definitely on Road.

by CNB