Q: The last time I drove on Coast Highway from Laguna Beach to Corona del Mar I noticed orangish-yellow dividers preventing you from making U-turns; I have never seen people doing that in all the years I have traveled that route. Why the orange dividers?
– Jim Stedt, San Clemente
A: To further keep motorists from making illegal — and dangerous — U-turns over double-yellow lines.
Those channelizers — flexible, plastic poles — are “a preventative measure to highlight the painted median (double yellow lines) to motorists, especially at night, and deter cross-over collisions,” said Nathan Abler, a Caltrans spokesperson.
The project that installed them was finished in May 2024, a temporary fix.
In the spring, Caltrans intends to remove the channelizers and put in what are called rumble strips — in this case, grooves in the roadway — from the School-State Park turnoff to Newport Coast Drive, to gently jar off-course drivers to attention.
“The rumble strips will alert drivers when they enter the painted median to correct and return to the designated lanes as well as deter them from making illegal U-turns across the double-yellow lines,” Abler said.
Q: Dear Mr. Honk: Lately I have noticed something odd related to the back side of freeway on-ramp signals. I hope you can explain this to me. What is the purpose of the red light that is on the back of the signal?
– John H. Krueger, Diamond Bar
A: To nab motorists for not stopping when the on-ramp signal is red.
An officer can sit downstream of the signal, off to the side, with the patrol car pointed in the same direction as those going onto the freeway and stare into the rearview mirror.
That light on the back side flashes on and off, letting the officer know if the driver had a green or zipped through a red.
Honk doesn’t know what that light is officially called, but he knows its nickname — a tattletale light.
HONKIN’ FACT: If all goes well for Archer, it will provide taxi service for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles with an electric aircraft that is a hybrid of a plane and a helicopter, takes off and lands vertically and flies to its destination. Earlier this year, it was selected as the “Official Air Taxi Provider of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
Archer is working to get certification for its Midnight model from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The company’s “goal is for passengers to be able to go to a vertiport take-off and landing hub near a key venue and then fly 10, 20 minutes in Midnight to their destination of choice within Archer’s LA network.”
Honk hasn’t seen the fares, and he intends to watch some Olympic events in person, but he isn’t counting on being able to afford such luxury.
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. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk