Frank Fellone
Stories by Frank
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Cars yield to walkers, law states
posted: 05/26/2012 3:22 a.m. Discuss
Dear Driveby Mahatma: I’m unemployed, had to sell my car a couple of years ago and walk a lot. I get screamed at by drivers for crossing at an intersection in a safe manner, often at Central Avenue and Grand Avenue in Hot Springs. Doesn’t a pedestrian have the right-of-way at any intersection or crosswalk? — Concerned Caller Dear Concerned: That’s Drivetime, not Driveby. The latter generally refers to traffic matters that involve firearms.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Hole story still hazy on Chenal
posted: 05/19/2012 5:16 a.m. Discuss
Dear Drivetime Mahatma: It’s a pleasure to see the new, long strip of asphalt recently placed over the hundreds of patches on the potholes at Chenal Parkway and Chenal Club Boulevard. But why not fix the water problem? Within a short time they’ll be back patching. Would love to hear the reasoning. — iPad Sender
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: LR park’s footbridge to reopen
posted: 05/12/2012 4:59 a.m. Discuss
Oh Mahatma of Roadways and Walkways: When will the new road in MacArthur Park be complete? Also, will the pedestrian bridge reopen once the road is complete? — Downtown Dweller
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Some will always stay to the left
posted: 05/05/2012 3:12 a.m. Comments 4
O Great Mahatma: The slower-drivers-keepright law is ineffective. It creates traffic vigilantes who smugly drive one mile an hour under the speed limit at peak traffic periods. Texas does it better. Its law mandates the left lane is for passing only and is thus far more easily enforced. Might this enlightened legislation be considered here? — Sometimes Snarling
From newspaper’s morgue: A study in contrasts
posted: 05/01/2012 3:55 a.m. Discuss
Newspapers have morgues. Not the real kind, with real corpses. The journalism kind, full of clippings from long ago. Our morgue is, as it should be, in the basement. In dozens of file cabinets are thousands of envelopes. In those envelopes are newspaper stories from the Arkansas Democrat, the Arkansas Gazette, and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Deputies stalk I-40 for DEA
posted: 04/28/2012 3 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: I travel Interstate 40 and Arkansas 365 between Conway and North Little Rock, and lately I’ve seen a lot of sheriff’s deputies patrolling both highways. They also are using the emergency turnarounds a lot on I-40, even driving into Faulkner County. Why? — Commuter
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Maumelle access still a problem
posted: 04/21/2012 2:50 a.m. Comment 1
Dear Mahatma: Over the past six months I’ve traveled a lot between Little Rock and Conway. Some of the cheapest gas is on Maumelle Boulevard, but it’s not always easy to access. Do you know anything about more interstate access to Maumelle, somewhere between Interstate 430 and the Morgan/Maumelle exit? — Commuting for Love Dear Love Struck: Move to Conway, because the city of Maumelle has been working on this problem since... 1991! That’s what Mayor Mike Watson said after being reminded we asked him this question in November 2008.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Anniversary is excuse to go extra laps with the Mahatma
posted: 04/17/2012 2:37 a.m. Comment 1
Editor’s note: A long time ago - five years this month - in a newsroom in this town, a traffic column was started. Since everyone’s an expert on driving, more questions came to the Drivetime Mahatma than could possibly be answered and published in one column a week. The five-year anniversary is a sneaky way of getting some of them in.
More Mahatma
posted: 04/16/2012 11:06 a.m. Discuss
A long time ago — five years this month — in a newsroom in this town, a traffic column was started, Frank Fellone writes in Tuesday’s Style section.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Roadway litterbugs vex driver
posted: 04/14/2012 3:19 a.m. Comments 2
Dear Mr. Mahatma: Please write about the unbelievable amount of trash on our highways. I think 95 percent of this trash comes out of the beds of pickup trucks and commercial vehicles. Why can’t the state do some sort of campaign targeting these types of vehicles? — Sick of Seeing It
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Potholes filled, and then some
posted: 04/07/2012 3:04 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: Little Rock streets are in sad shape, which is why I voted for the sales tax increase. The good news is some potholes have been patched on Chenal Parkway. The bad news is we now have a BUMP. Is there a reason to leave the new asphalt higher? — Wondering
Kicking the corpse: Claim to (de)fame
posted: 04/03/2012 3:46 a.m. Comments 7
It’s possible the recent Rush Limbaugh outrage has been beat plumb to death. May we kick the corpse, but in a different way? Thanks.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: At 30 mph, lights work downtown
posted: 03/31/2012 3:36 a.m. Comments 3
Dear Mahatma: My faulty memory recalls that several years ago Little Rock spent a huge sum to program traffic lights in downtown to facilitate traffic flow. The funds appear to have been wasted. There is no chance to proceed several blocks along Broadway or Chester without stopping repeatedly for red lights. Green light, your turn, Mahatma. — Tired of Sitting Still
Such fine folk
posted: 03/25/2012 5:40 a.m.
Discuss
It’s the first Monday night in March and a small auditorium at the Arkansas Arts Center bubbles with acoustic energy. For nearly three hours, musicians in iterations of one, two, three and four play and sing old tunes, mountain tunes, folk tunes.
Whimsical lyrics added on whim
posted: 03/25/2012 5:16 a.m. Discuss
The signature tune of the Pulaski County chapter of the Rackensack Folklore Society is surely “Down in the Arkansas.” The song typically ends the monthly meeting with all hands invited to join in. Author unknown, says Brode Morgan, it has numerous verses. He supplied a copy with about 30 separate verses.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Running a yellow light a ticket risk
posted: 03/24/2012 4:47 a.m. Comment 1
Dear Mahatma: My daughter was driving with several girlfriends through a town about an hour south of Pine Bluff. She was stopped by police for driving through a yellow light. After checking her paperwork, the policeman gave her a verbal warning and sent her on her way. Is this really an infraction of the law?
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: A Heights query out of Quapaw
posted: 03/17/2012 5:18 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mighty Traffic Guru: Why is there a speed display panel on Kavanaugh in the Heights, but not on Broadway in the Quapaw Quarter? Why are there “Yield to Pedestrians Within Crosswalk” signs in the middle of Kavanaugh in the Heights, but not on Broadway in the Quapaw Quarter? Perhaps the mayor or police chief have the answer. — Downtown Resident
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Etiquette for funeral: Move right
posted: 03/10/2012 3:44 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: I observed a funeral procession in the opposite lane of a rather busy Interstate 630. Several cars were slowing while others pulled to the shoulder to let the procession pass. Neither action seemed safe given interstate speeds. Slowing unexpectedly has its dangers, while those who pulled off are faced with having to get back into moving traffic. Your thoughts? — Respectful but Cautious
That democracy thing: A real free-for-all
posted: 03/06/2012 5:07 a.m. Discuss
It’s been a great year for First Amendment geeks, and here we are only in March.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Buses safe, even if kids not vigilant
posted: 03/03/2012 3:45 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: For years I have not seen a student look right or left as they exit a school bus and cross the street. Are they taught that drivers can’t be trusted to be completely attentive in spite of stop lights and signs? If not, a teaching reminder at the classroom level is in order. — Sharp-Eyed
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Site makes complaints easy to file
posted: 02/25/2012 3:24 a.m. Comment 1
Dear Mahatma: I was passed by a state-owned sedan on U.S. 67/167. I was doing 72, and the operator of the state vehicle was doing 80-plus. Who authorizes state employees to operate state vehicles in this manner? To whom can I complain? — Zoomed Past Dear Zoomed: Go to the website of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Scroll down a bit and look on the right side for “Misuse of State Vehicle Report.”
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Old cable on street is AT& T’s
posted: 02/18/2012 6:33 a.m. Comments 3
Dear Mahatma: Why are there phone lines (dozens of them) lying across the intersection at Capitol Avenue and Maple Street for months now? I stopped and asked a group of AT&T workers. They said those were indeed phone wires, but I needed to talk to the city. A little obscure. — Jeff
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Rile ’em up Lew sides with chief
posted: 02/11/2012 5:05 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: It appears a roundabout is being built at the intersection of Rebsamen Park Road and Riverfront Drive in Little Rock. Any idea when the work will be completed? Specifically, will it be finished before the Little Rock Marathon runs through the intersection on March 4? — Swift as Mercury
Cheap shots and conspiracy theories
posted: 02/07/2012 4:16 a.m. Comments 4
Radio is a personal medium.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Police on I-30 doing DEA duty
posted: 02/04/2012 4:35 a.m. Comment 1
Dear Mahatma: I see a Benton Police Department car parked in the median between mile markers 107 and 108 on Interstate 30. Do the Benton city limits extend to the Saline/Hot Spring County line? If not, does the Benton PD have so many extra officers it can send them seven miles west of the Saline River? — Color Me Curious
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Big rigs put ol’ Lew in a slow stew
posted: 01/28/2012 4:18 a.m. Comments 6
Dear Mahatma: In the Interstate 40 construction area in East Arkansas, we are encountering some of the big rigs holding up traffic, running side by side and not allowing anyone to pass for at least 10 miles before the single-lane merge. Is this not against the law? — Traveling Lew
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Truckers on phones on notice
posted: 01/21/2012 4:24 a.m. Comments 3
Dear Mahatma: I was on Interstate 30, happened to look at an oncoming trucker and saw he was holding a cell phone with both hands at the top of his steering wheel, texting away. I now see almost all truckers talking or texting. Where are our Highway Police? — Curiouser
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Law says let there be headlights
posted: 01/14/2012 4:08 a.m. Discuss
Last week’s column addressed a question about Rain-X, a product for windshields that causes rain to fly off the glass. Since rainwater didn’t stay on the windshield, a reader asked, would it be necessary to put on the headlights?
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Exception for Rain-X not in law
posted: 01/07/2012 4:26 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: I seem to recall a law saying if your windshield wipers are on, your headlights must also be on. I use Rain-X and do not ever have to turn on the wipers. Do my headlights have to legally be on when it’s raining? — JAH
To serve the state
posted: 01/03/2012 3:59 a.m. Discuss
An acquaintance recently asked how it was that the newspaper found enough news everyday to fill itself up. On the contrary, most of the time there’s way too much to cram in. News, you see, is like a river. And every day it’s the job of the newspaper editor to go down to the riverbank, dip in a bucket, and let the rest go by.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Veterans not tagged as suspect
posted: 12/31/2011 5:27 a.m. Discuss
O Mighty Mahatma: I was in a revenue office and saw a notice for obtaining a driver’s license. One of the questions was, are you a veteran? My brother-in law said it’s because the current administration considers veterans potential terrorists and the designation will alert an officer if he checks your license. That way he’ll be forewarned you may do him bodily harm and be prepared to defend himself. — Bro
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Dirty looks only signal to speeders
posted: 12/24/2011 4:45 a.m. Discuss
Dear All-Knowing Mahatma: I live on Pebble Beach, near the Rahling Road intersection. Many drivers test their vehicle’s acceleration on my street. I’ve taken to mean-mugging drivers who speed by while I’m in the yard, but can’t stay outdoors around the clock. Does Little Rock have one of those fancy radar gizmos that indicate the speed of a vehicle?
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: No child left behind good idea
posted: 12/17/2011 4:55 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: Is it okay to leave a child in the car for about five minutes while returning a movie, dropping another child off for a dance class, or running into a convenience store? I always lock my car when doing the above, and depending on the weather, leave a window cracked. But it makes me nervous because I don’t know what the law is. — Concerned Mother of Three (Soon to be Four) Dear Mom: That’s quite a load you’re hauling around. Both personally and vehicularly. So to speak.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: I-530 driver to trooper: Leave area
posted: 12/10/2011 4:32 a.m. Comment 1
Dear Mahatma: Sometimes during morning rush hour, we see a state trooper parked where Interstate 530 merges into I-30 and I-440 in Little Rock. The normal bottleneck is bad. The occasional presence of a trooper makes it worse, because suddenly everyone drives even slower. Has the state police ever studied this to see if there’s a better way? — Hensley Girl.
Not a surprise
posted: 12/06/2011 5:49 a.m. Comment 1
What’s most surprising about the Penn State child-abuse scandal is that so many people are surprised.
There’s a song there
posted: 12/04/2011 4:15 a.m. Discuss
It’s the first Monday night in November, and the lyrics fly fast and furiously at Khalil’s Pub & Grill on Shackleford Road in Little Rock. For about four hours a rotating roster of songwriters pick guitars and ruminate on life as they know it. Life can be tough sometimes.
Songwriters get feedback, advocacy from association
posted: 12/04/2011 4:07 a.m. Discuss
The Nashville Songwriters Association International is located at a meaningful address. 1710 Roy Acuff Place.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Plan for new road lacks cash
posted: 12/03/2011 4:47 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: There is one road in and out of LaMarche, Maissons and the Courts. There are apparently plans to make a second route that connects to Rahling Road. The beginning of the road from Rahling has been paved and curbed for more than four years. The dead end with barriers at the north end of LaMarche has been present for more than seven years. Any timeline for completion? — West Little Rocker.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Mea culpa not all that warranted
posted: 11/26/2011 4:57 a.m. Comment 1
Dear Mahatma: Really disappointed you recently equated drivers 65 and over as handicapped. Not to defend drivers who don’t understand the need for speed in the left lane, to summarily group all older drivers as handicapped is inexcusable. I’m still driving at 70 — years or MPH, take your pick. — Headed for the Cemetery.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: That line? Just stop right there
posted: 11/19/2011 4:59 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: Would you review what a “stop line” is and its purpose? Seems like quite a few folks don’t know. — Greg Dear Greg: When The Mahatma’s life seems dull and boring — work, cut grass, cook, clean, iron, repeat — he cracks open the searchable online version of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Troopers frown on biker dog
posted: 11/12/2011 4:52 a.m. Discuss
Drivetime Mahatma: Is it legal for a motorcyclist to drive on a highway with his dog on the back? I witnessed this on Interstate 430 after the motorcyclist drove 70 mph on Maumelle Boulevard. I prayed he didn’t enter I-430 but he did, driving just as fast. I could not believe it! — SMC.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Law says no phones in zones
posted: 11/05/2011 4:55 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: Is it true that there is a law that prohibits talking on a cell phone in a construction zone or a school zone?
An intricate dance
posted: 11/01/2011 5:33 a.m. Discuss
Readers are sometimes surprised at the level of editing that goes into this newspaper. Nothing is sacred, blessed by the gods, or otherwise untouchable. That includes, most especially, this thing.
If that don’t beat all
posted: 10/31/2011 4:29 a.m. Discuss
With apologies to Andy Griffith It was a couple of weekends ago, I believe it was. We was going to Laman Library over there in North Little Rock on account of to get us a book to read and maybe look at those magazines with the pretty girls on the cover. There was a commotion over at the plaza, and different ones of us thought that we ought to get us an eyeful of what that was.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Rush-hour cars steal green light
posted: 10/29/2011 5:01 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: In the mornings I go east on Cantrell and wait for westbound traffic traveling onto Rodney Parham from Cantrell. This is fine, except for the three or four cars that blatantly run that light after mine turns green. Has the Little Rock Police Department ever considered putting a patrol car there? It’s a safety issue. For another, the city would receive enough in fines to more than pay for that officer’s time. — Ruggedly Handsome.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Noise wall in west LR ruled out
posted: 10/22/2011 4:37 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: For those of us who live in the valley of the shadow of the Interstate 630-430 junction, is there any possibility of a sound barrier from Barrow Road to Shackleford Road northward? We have now the constant sounds of banging, blasting, tapping, roaring — sometimes into the late night — all this on top of the sounds of car horns, brakes screeching, engines roaring. — Beth.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Taillights in daytime just add up
posted: 10/15/2011 4:44 a.m. Discuss
Mahatma: A friend was recently pulled over for having his taillight out. It was broad daylight. He was given a warning, but here’s the question: Since one is not required to have headlights on during daylight, could one actually be given a ticket for having a taillight out during the daylight? Perhaps, to save money, I disconnect one taillight during the day and put it back in before it gets dark. — Math Professor
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: For bikers, new barrier no riskier
posted: 10/08/2011 4:32 a.m. Discuss
Dear Mahatma: Has anyone considered the results of a motorcycle hitting the cable median barriers being installed on some interstates in Central Arkansas? The probability of surviving an encounter with one of those while on a motorcycle seems very low. — Frank in Greenbrier
No news bias here
posted: 10/04/2011 5:03 a.m. Comment 1
It’s good to have old friends and bookends. One of them asked the other day about an op-ed piece that appeared right in this spot. In that piece, from a guest writer, there was an assertion of an extreme left-wing bias in American and European media.
DRIVETIME MAHATMA: Law says cars yield to walkers
posted: 10/01/2011 4:45 a.m. Comment 1
Dear Mahatma: The Highway Department should take a lesson from Connecticut, which posts signs telling drivers that pedestrians have the right of way. Arkansans need to be reminded of this law, as well as the one to use signals. — Claire Dear
