Dear Mahatma: I drive from Conway to Little Rock every day. I am amazed and frightened at the number of people who text and drive. Usually they're in the far left lane, driving much slower than surrounding traffic. What should I do? -- Conway Twitter
Dear Conway: Lt. Carl Minden of the Pulaski County sheriff's office says if the texting and driving is dangerously erratic, call 911. Otherwise, call a nonemergency number.
Bill Sadler of the Arkansas State Police says if you see someone doing something that would endanger themselves or others, call 911 or *55. Oh, and try to make that call on a hands-free device.
Dear Mahatma: When you see two rubber hoses across a street connected to a box, I contend that's a mechanism to record speed. So once the Traffic Hose Gods confirm there are speeders on that road, do we expect a bike cop soon? -- Suspicious Mind
Dear Suspicious: Bill Henry, Little Rock's traffic engineering manager, says via email:
"Two tubes are necessary to measure speeds and what type of vehicle is traversing the roadway, be it a car, single-unit truck, bus or semi-truck. The two tubes laid out at 10 inches apart enable the counter to determine that information utilizing software from the counter manufacturers. That's it in a nutshell."
We asked the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department about traffic counting devices. They are used, um, to count traffic and are in no way associated with determining speed.
Then we remembered being told, only about a million times, that speed enforcement is complaint-driven. People complain about speeders whizzing down their streets, and the police provide enforcement. Nary a traffic counter in sight.
Dear Knower of All Things Paved: When traffic merges from the on-ramp to the interstate, who has the right of way? -- Boots
Dear Boots: Merging is a topic that creates much confusion. The Mahatma has written about merging, and has greatly contributed to that confusion. You're welcome.
Let's start with Arkansas Code Annotated 27-51-302, Driving on roadways laned for traffic: "A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane and not be moved from the lane until the driver has first ascertained that movement can be made with safety." No mention of right of way. So it's the responsibility of the merger to safely merge, but it's also the responsibility of every driver to properly and safely change any lane at any time.
We examined the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide. It tells us that when merging, try to enter at the same speed of traffic. Use the on-ramp to build up speed to match the speed of traffic. Don't drive to the end of the on-ramp and stop. Please.
Exiting properly is important, too. Keep up with the speed of traffic while on the main road. Don't slow down until you've moved onto the exit ramp.
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 01/02/2016