Q: Why do bike riders get free usage of the roads, when I, as a car owner, have to pay for auto insurance, auto registration fees, fuel tax, and smog testing to use the roads? If a biker runs into my car, who pays for my damage? Bikers pay nothing, yet they want to share the road. They should share the cost. When I was a kid, we had to get a sticker license and attach it to our bikes. Bike riders should get their bikes registered and insured. And how about a yearly bike safety check? Accidents caused by bikers should be just like any other accidents. Fair is fair, and then they will have earned the right to use the roads that were built for autos.
C. J. Fox
A: You may be surprised. Bicyclists contribute to road and transportation costs through sales taxes. That brings in more money than a license fee.
Q: We heeded your advice and took Highway 101 to L.A. last Thursday. It was wide open, with very little traffic (road work through King City and Santa Barbara caused a total of about a 20-minute delay). There were no potholes, no dive bombers, no stress, and driving was brisk the entire way. There were gorgeous green hills and lots of wildflowers.
I arrived with a very relaxed husband (he enjoyed it so much that he drove the entire way). There was no road rage, no berating other drivers.
In the future, we’ll take 101, not Interstate 5.
Cheryl Klynn, Los Altos
A: Good to hear.
Q: I-5 potholes are nothing compared to those on I-40 in Arizona! There are lots of wildflowers along I-5 this week, so it was quite enjoyable, except for construction zones.
Leslie Lincoln, Sunnyvale
A: Mrs. Roadshow, take I-40 off our list of roads to travel.
Q: When I go to the Belmont post office on Masonic Way, I invariably run into a car without a placard sitting in the handicap parking space. If I have time, I wait until they come out to their car and advise them of the errors of their ways. Sometimes they say they didn’t see the gigantic blue sign in front of their car or they just look at me like I am crazy and ignore me. I once almost got in an altercation where a guy said he was going to bash my head in, so I called the Belmont police, but they said it was a low priority on their list of things to do.
G. Schooley
A: I hear you. Handicap space scofflaws may someday understand the problem if they need to use those spaces legally, themselves.
Look for Gary Richards at facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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