Straightening Out Confusing Street Signs

Dear Readers:

Letters to Traffic Talk this week are from readers who want to know when they should stay on the straight and narrow, and how they can avoid wrong turns. Traffic Talk has no answer for these eternal life questions, but perhaps it can help when it comes to confusing street signs. Dear Traffic Talk:

At the western T-intersection of Kester Avenue and Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, at which two southbound lanes of Kester dead-end onto Ventura, newly posted signs indicate with arrows that both southbound lanes of Kester may only turn left onto Ventura.

However, newly painted pavement markings indicate with an arrow that right-lane traffic may turn left or right. Legally, which one takes precedence?

Larry Schnolnick

Sherman Oaks

Dear Larry:

The pavement markings are correct and the signs are wrong--you can turn left or right from the right lane. Susan Eisenbarth, a transportation engineering associate with the city, said that the wrong signs were installed due to an improperly filled-out work order. On Wednesday, Eisenbarth said that the new signs were to be installed Thursday if they were in stock, or as soon as possible if they were not.

Dear Traffic Talk:

Tampa and Winnetka avenues both have four lanes southbound at the intersection of Ventura Boulevard, and each have directional signs for each lane. Although both intersections are identical and striped the same, there are different sign instructions.

At Tampa, each sign arrow for through, left-turn and right-turn traffic has the word “only” under it. At Winnetka, sign arrows for left-turn and right-turn traffic say “only” also. However, the sign arrow for the through lane (straight ahead) has nothing under it.

My question is, can I turn left or right in the through lane at Winnetka, since it does not say “only”?

Ray Holm and Lindo Giacapuzzi

Woodland Hills

Dear Ray and Lindo,

According to Ray Wellbaum, a city transportation engineer, motorists in the through lane at Winnetka may only go straight ahead. If it were legal to turn left and/or right there, in addition to going straight ahead, the sign would have two or three divergent arrows conjoined at their base, labeled “OK.”

Dear Traffic Talk:

Is it legal for people, when driving at night, to turn on their high beams to force other drivers off a lane, even if the front car is driving at the maximum allowed speed? Four-wheel-drive vehicles are especially fond of doing that.

Tony Perez

Glendale

Dear Tony,

It is illegal for motorists to turn on their high beams when they are within 300 feet of a vehicle in front of them. William Madison, state Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman, said that drivers who keep their high beams on, or continuously flash them, are violating the law. However, Madison said, if a driver flashes his or her lights at you once, you may consider it an informational notice that he or she would like to get by.

Traffic Talk appears Fridays in The Times Valley Edition.