• Ironic response • Time to revisit the rules of the road • Mark left his ‘mark’ Ironic response I must respond to county Police Commissioner Pastor Tom Iannucci’s response (“Be part of the solution,” Letters, Sept. 20) to my
• Ironic response
• Time to revisit the rules of the road
• Mark left his ‘mark’
Ironic response
I must respond to county Police Commissioner Pastor Tom Iannucci’s response (“Be part of the solution,” Letters, Sept. 20) to my “Where is a cop when you need one?” letter of Sept. 19.
I carry a hand-whisk broom in my backpack when biking and have cleaned up after many accidents, however, I cannot clean up professionally and get rid all the fine particles of glass that can lodge into a thin bicycle tire. Also, it is dangerous with traffic to try to clean with cars speeding by in both directions with people yakking on their cell phones.
It is not just this one intersection, there are many. As I said, I do carry a whisk-broom and have cleaned up many times after others. Your assumption that I do nothing is just that, an assumption.
There was another letter along with your response to my letter from a tourist who cannot believe the dangerous Nu‘alolo Loop Trail in Na Pali-Kona Forest Preserve (“Kaua‘i’s trails are not for everyone,” Letters, Sept. 20). He cites having to crawl in spots to be safe because of the “appallingly dangerous trail conditions.” I suppose we should just tell him to bring a pick and shovel and fix the trail himself?
How ironic that your letter should start out with “your letter was so off base it almost doesn’t rate a response.” You are victim to Psychology 101, where only the guilty speak, since obviously it warranted a response on your behalf. You were compelled to write, but starting a letter with it doesn’t warrant a response is pretty off base within itself, since obviously you responded.
James “Kimo” Rosen, Kapa‘a
Time to revisit the rules of the road
I’ve been reading a lot lately of people stating that they feel a drop of the speed limit from 50 down to 35 may solve or curtail the problem with accidents in “Blood Alley.” Perhaps, that may be one solution. I think the bigger picture here calls for reinstating that dreaded written license renewal test.
As it seems Kaua‘i’s drivers have either forgotten the rules of the road or never knew them at all. These are some of the reasons I think drivers need a refresher driving course, which would be accomplished by having to take the written renewal test.
Did you know that pedestrians in marked crosswalks have the right-of-way? Which means motorists in both directions are required to stop and stay stopped until the pedestrians are all the way across the street. This morning at the crosswalk fronting Wilcox School even with the crossing guard holding a stop sign, one of the motorists thought that once the pedestrians reached the center of the crosswalk, they were free to proceed. Something I find truly amazing is that motorists won’t stop for pedestrians in marked crosswalks, but will drive a few feet and stop to let some one jaywalk.
Did you know that when yielding or merging into traffic, a motorist is required to stop if there is oncoming traffic and no room for them to merge into traffic? Just a tip: You will find it much easier to merge if you stop at the end of the merge lane. An example is the merge lane fronting Lihu‘e Burger King. Seems drivers think they need to stop at the beginning of the lane, at the yield sign and then try to merge into the traffic, which makes it much harder to move into the flowing traffic.
Did you know that the red traffic light and the red octagon “STOP” sign mean the same thing? Yes, you are required to stop! Not accelerate to see if you can get through the intersection before the cross traffic proceeds. Some motorists have found out the hard way that they couldn’t accelerate quite fast enough. A real bummer if you were already late for work or worst yet, you had no insurance.
Did you know that if you tailgate me, I’ll slowly ease off the accelerator and drive just a bit slower? If I’m going the speed limit, I’m not going to go any faster for you or anyone else. If I’m caught speeding, I’ll get the ticket, not you. So just relax and obey the posted speed limit sign.
Lastly, if my proceeding through the intersection will cause me to block it, I won’t proceed. I’ll sit behind the stop line and let people make left turns in front of me until I can get all the way through the intersection. So beep your horn behind me all you want. I still won’t proceed until I can make it all the way through the intersection without blocking it.
While it may make sense to start lowering speed limits all over the island, until people get a clue on the rules of the road, I don’t think it will make much of a difference on reducing Kaua‘i’s traffic accidents.
Francine M. Grace, Lihu‘e
Mark left his ‘mark’
The board and staff of Kaua‘i United Way wish to express our heartfelt appreciation for the many, many contributions that outgoing Garden Island Publisher Mark Lewis has made to Kaua‘i United Way and to our island in general.
Mark assuredly has left his “mark” on our island and we are most grateful.
Aloha and best wishes to Mark and his family on his new assignment. Racine, Wis., just got a little bit warmer.
Scott N. Giarman, Lori L. Almarza, Loretta C. Geis
Kaua‘i United Way staff
Gerald Ako, Kathy Miyake, Kirk Nakamoto, Marilyn J. Allen, S. Lani Aranio, Clifton Arruda, Debra Blachowiak, Lorrie Cahill, Ted. A. Chihara, Connie Clausen, Rowena Cobb, Paul Endo, Carol Furtado, Mark James, Mike Kano, Yoshiko “Dimples” Kano, Kenneth Kimura, Michael Machado, Mark Marshall, Marlene Matutino, Joe Moss, Barbara Nagamine, Doug Sears, Tom Shigemoto, Maureen Tabura, Glenn Tamagawa, Carla Thomas, Beth Tokioka, Dean Toyofuku, Mike Wallace, Robert Westerman, Ron Wiley, Kaua‘i United Way, Board of Directors
