Dear Mahatma: I was recently driving behind two large dump trucks and saw neither had a license plate. Does the law exempt such trucks from tags or plates, or are they all ignoring the law so that motorists who get chipped windshields can't track them down? -- Very Curious
Dear Very: Arkansas Code Annotated 27-14-716 allows trucks with a load capacity of 1 ton or larger to display a license plate on either the front or rear. Careful observation shows that most dump trucks have the plate on the front.
Dear Mahatma: Is there a zone in front of a stop sign that constitutes a legal stop, and if you stop with the front of your vehicle outside that zone would it be constituted as an illegal stop? -- Wondering in Conway
Dear Wondering: We checked two sources, the legal code and Arkansas Driver License Study Guide.
Arkansas Code Annotated 27-51-601 tells us that a driver approaching a stop sign "shall stop before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection. In the event there is no crosswalk, the driver or operator shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, but if none, then at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway before entering the intersection."
The Arkansas Driver License Study guide adds this: "If necessary, a driver may pull forward to the stop sign or the edge of the intersection, then proceed only when it is safe to do so."
Our reading of both indicates that the zone is before the stop sign. Outside that zone would be past the stop sign, which would in our feeble mind constitute running the stop sign.
Dear Mahatma: I am on a side road waiting for a gap in the traffic on a main road. I am the second car behind the stop sign. The traffic clears. May I proceed smoothly onto the main road behind the first car or must I pretend to stop at the sign? -- John
Dear John: Back to the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, which describes a stop sign as red with white letters and eight sides.
"It means a driver must come to a complete stop. The driver must also wait until crossing vehicles and pedestrians have cleared the intersection."
As for the pretending part, we all know that many drivers tend to obey the traffic laws informally. Whether or not they get away with such informality depends on the level of law enforcement.
Dear Mahatma: At the entrance to Interstate 40, at MacArthur Drive, in North Little Rock, there is no street light at the entrance to the on-ramp. It is extremely dark. Who should be contacted? -- In the Dark
Dear Dark: Contact the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department to request the installation of a light. Go to arkansashighways.com. Find the contact button at the top right.
If the Highway Department installs a light, the city of North Little Rock would be responsible for its upkeep.
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 11/26/2016