Q: There have been a lot of median-barrier construction projects near the 5/57/22/55 freeway interchanges where they have installed light poles. What is driving the need for these lights?
– Oscar Gomez, Orange
A: Boosting safety.
Nationally, the number of fatal collisions at night is about the same as during the day. But we log three times the miles during daytime.
Lighting, federal officials say, makes a huge difference in cutting down deaths — up to 28%.
“Median lighting has been widely used as a safety countermeasure for nighttime collisions,” said Joseph “L.J.” Maull, a spokesperson for Caltrans in Orange County, where those interchanges Oscar mentioned exist. “Additionally, the width of our freeways necessitates median lights, as the full width of the freeway limits the ability to illuminate the freeway from the right shoulder.”
There are additional stretches that Oscar didn’t mention that have gotten the bright treatment in O.C., too.
Adding those median lights isn’t cheap.
“It is estimated to range from $2.5 to $4 million per mile (including the new concrete median) with lighting spaced at 150 to 200 feet along the freeway,” Maull said, with various factors, of course, affecting the price tag.
That is a lot of cashola — but each resident of Honkland is worth much more than that.
Q: Is Caltrans preparing for self-driving cars? If California wants to lead the technology race, this is an area needing attention.
– Mark Woodward, Anaheim
A: Yes, says a Caltrans official.
“Caltrans is working with the Department of Motor Vehicles and other state, federal, academic, and industry leaders to evaluate potential benefits and impacts of automated-vehicle (AV) technology and prioritize approaches that advance safety, equity, system performance and public trust,” Edward Barrera, an acting assistant deputy director for the agency, told Honk in an email.
“Caltrans has taken several concrete steps to prepare the state’s transportation system for AVs, including widening lane stripes to improve their visibility … and sharing real-time roadway data,” he said. “These improvements will enhance road safety for AVs, human drivers, and all road users.”
That lane striping is the most visible change to most drivers: The standard width has gone from four inches wide to six, allowing automated cars and trucks — and humans, too — to better detect the stripes.
For years, Caltrans has tested what are called “connected vehicles” on State Route 82 in Palo Alto.
If the concept is fully developed, a car could detect speeds and movements of nearby cars and trucks and know that, for example, an unseen vehicle around a corner is speeding so a collision is avoided. And trucks and cars could “talk” with traffic signals and influence the changing of lights more efficiently than the current systems do.
HONKIN’ FACT: A semi-truck driver for the U.S. Postal Service, Joe Sanchez, based in Anaheim, has been awarded the Million Mile Award by the nonprofit National Safety Council for driving that far at work — or for 30 years on the road — sans a preventable incident or moving violation.
Kristina Uppal, a U.S. Postal Service spokesperson, told Honk that more than 30,000 Postal Service employees have accomplished the feat.
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