A Press Democrat Blog

Road Warrior

Trying to make sense out of getting around

4 ways to improve driving

Tuesday, at 10:50 by

Happy new year! Here’s a New Year’s resolution from the Road Warrior to help us all on the road: –Be smart with cellphones. People must go hands-free while using their cellphones while driving. Almost always the driver I encounter who’s having trouble maintaining speed or staying in his/her lane is driving with one hand while holding a cellphone in the other. Even going hands-free can be distracting to a driver, so you might consider waiting to make or take that… Read More »

Mailbag: Alerting DMV to problem elderly drivers; carpool lanes; Barnes Road

Friday, at 6:07 by

Here’s a question from a reader: Is there a place to anonymously alert someone about an elderly driver who should no longer be driving? The answer comes from DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez, who pointed us to the DMV website where there’s a form you can fill out and send in anonymously. CLICK HERE to get the form. She said once the DMV receives the form, a worker will call the elderly driver and, depending on information derived during the conversation,… Read More »

CHP boss sounds off on cellphone, texting, carpool violators

Wednesday, at 6:17 by

Drivers on their cellphones and drivers illegally using carpool lanes are among the two biggest gripes of Road Warrior readers. So with CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow dropping by the Petaluma police station last week to hand out traffic safety awards to the officers there, we asked him about CHP enforcement of those violations. On cellphones, he said it’s his top pet peeve — “it’s such a safety issue.” And the CHP is addressing the problem by trying to educate the… Read More »

Extended carpool lanes opening in Marin

Wednesday, at 6:00 by

Caltrans this week opened a new southbound carpool lane on Highway 101 in Novato and in a couple of weeks plans to open a northbound carpool lane there. Both are signs that the widening of  101 from northern Marin County to northern Petaluma is inching along, although closing the carpool gap will take years to finish. The new southbound lane runs from Novato Creek to Highway 37. The northbound lane is to open Aug. 9 from Highway 37 to Atherton… Read More »

Mailbag: Towing and illegally driving in carpool lane; cost of tickets

Friday, at 7:48 by

Here are some questions from Road Warrior readers: Question: I am not sure if these questions have come up yet but I saw two instances on 101 that have me confused.  I saw a 4-wheel-drive truck towing a beautiful big boat in the carpool lane and then later that afternoon, during rush hour, was another truck towing a 5th-wheel RV in the carpool lane.  I thought they were to be in the far right lane towing at 55 mph.  Ilene The answer… Read More »

Answers to your Caltrans questions

Wednesday, at 5:00 by

Here are answers to some of the questions readers posed last week for Caltrans: –When will the section of freeway in Cotati change from a 55-MPH zone to a regular 65 zone? Anthony Caltrans officials said once crews finish putting the final paving and striping on Highway 101 there, they’ll boost the speed limit to 65. –Why are you stuffing everybody into two lanes at 3pm creating a traffic slowdown when in Marin it’s 4:30 and things run pretty good?… Read More »

Big changes coming on Highway 101

Sunday, at 3:39 by

The widening of Highway 101 is about to take some big leaps forward. –This week, weather permitting, Caltrans says, construction crews will begin the final paving of 101 from Rohnert Park Expressway to Petaluma Boulevard North, doing the work overnight to limit traffic delays. Northbound work is scheduled for 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., while southbound is 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., ending an hour earlier to get out of the way of commuters. At some point the paving will… Read More »

Sound Off: Readers’ gripes and comments

Friday, at 7:09 by

Here are a few thoughts from Road Warrior readers: A DANGEROUS INTERSECTION Now that the Spring is here and people are out buying plants for the yards, perhaps you could help me understand a dangerous intersection. People turning from Highway 12 to Calistoga Road and in the left left-turn lane sometimes then turn left into the nursery just when you turn on Calistoga Road immediately. Of course, this is a complete surprise to the drivers behind them and probably an… Read More »

Mailbag: Can you use carpool lane to get around an accident? And more…

Friday, at 6:00 by

Here’s a question from a reader: If there is an accident in the “slow” lane during commute hours, can you use the carpool lane to avoid the accident? Can the CHP ticket you for this? This scenario recently happened on the Cotati Grade, it was a major accident. Sue The answer comes from CHP Officer Jon Sloat, spokesman for the Sonoma County office: You can use the carpool lane if directed by a few ways: An officer at the scene,… Read More »

Mailbag: What are the poles with solar panels on Hwy. 101? Carpool signs?

Friday, at 5:18 by

Here’s a question from a reader: What are the poles with the solar panels that are installed along Highway 101? M.W. The answer comes from Caltrans spokesman Robert Haus, who says they’re transmission towers. Embedded in the pavement along Highway 101 are sensors that can track the number of vehicles and the velocity of the traffic. That data goes to a microwave relay unit on a pole and that data is sent to Caltrans’ Traffic Management Center, or “Mission Control,”… Read More »