Q: Gary, you need to start a new tradition, “The Mr. Roadshow New Year’s Wish List.” Here’s mine: All car horns will be linked to a new reporting line, like 911. You get one free horn use per year, and each successive use is accompanied by a fine at an increased rate per use.
All cellphones will sense when a driver is behind the wheel and disable the car when the phone is out of its charger port. Motorcycles and cars will be silent. Bikes will be lit up like Christmas trees so they are highly visible. All vehicles, including trucks, will be electric.
Cars with dark driver’s windows will be confiscated. Dive bombers and tailgaters will be sent to Alcatraz.
And Highway 17 will be repaved from the Cats to Big Moody Curve. What do you say?
Robert Wahler
A: Yours is a very comprehensive wish list. What wishes do some of the rest of you have for driving in the new year?
Q: People are rightfully annoyed about the backup and dive bombers at the Mission Street exit from Interstate 680 south. When I’m on 680 heading to 880 south and see a long line of cars, I stay on 680 and take the next exit, Scott Creek. From there, I go left on Warm Springs and then right on Dixon Landing Road to get to 880. When I’ve used this route during afternoons and evenings, it has saved a lot of time. Hope this helps.
Dale Allison, Sunnyvale
A: It does.
Q: I have a pet peeve about the people who don’t pull their cars fully into the diagonal parking places at supermarkets, drug stores and such. The places are clearly marked, but these drivers either don’t know where the front (and hence the rear) of their car is, or don’t care.
It creates a kind of ski run slalom course to try to drive down the aisle. This is not only awkward, but also dangerous to people on foot who are going to or from their car. Can you use your influence to publish this for the unthinking?
Sandy Heisler, Foster City
A: Consider it done.
Q: I’m wondering if I can renew my Real ID (which I have) online without having to go into a DMV office. It expires next year and it would sure be GREAT to not have to go in. What’s the info on that?
Marci Citti, Saratoga
A: Once you already have a California REAL ID driver’s license, you can renew it online at dmv.ca.gov, by mail or in person at a DMV, unless it involves an address or personal description change, or is a commercial driver’s license.
Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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