Q: Dear Professor Honk: While riding my motorcycle on the southbound 55 Freeway, I took the flyover ramp to the southbound 5 Freeway. At the highest point of the flyover, my rear tire went flat and I pulled over to the shoulder. I called AAA, but I didn’t want to sit on my motorcycle while waiting since traffic was passing just a few feet away at 60-plus mph. I tried standing on the shoulder between my bike and the concrete edge barrier, but the barrier is so low, maybe a couple feet high. I imagined a strong wind would blow me over the side where I would fall 30 feet to the 5 lanes below. Scary! I crouched down and hoped for a quick arrival of AAA. Are there any requirements for the height of edge barriers on such ramps?
– Ken Glaser, Irvine
A: Honk is rather fearless — until he is a few feet off of the ground. Him and heights are fierce enemies.
So your account, Ken, gives him chills — the bad kind.
Yes, there are height requirements for that wall in Tustin and others that look like K-rail but aren’t. They are called bridge rails.
Nathan Abler, a Caltrans spokesman for Orange County, said such rails must meet national standards existing at the time they were constructed.
“These bridge rails are built to a height to be crash-worthy for vehicles, and the bridge rail is not designed for pedestrians within the freeway right-of-way,” he told Honk in an email. “The bridge rail for this connector was … built according to the approved standards in 1991 with a height of 32 inches.”
If it were built today, it would be 36 inches high.
Q: Honk: I parallel parked and got a ticket in Los Alamitos for parking more than 18 inches from the curb! I was about 25 inches from the curb. I paid the ticket. Is such a law in effect in all cities in California? I wanted to alert your readers about this city law.
– Diann Zenda, Los Alamitos
A: “This is a state law applicable to all jurisdictions in the state of California with varying levels of enforcement,” Troy Wogu, a parking-enforcement officer for Los Alamitos, told Honk in an email.
In general, when parking a car or truck on the right side of a two-way street, the law lasers in on both right-side wheels.
Some cities or counties could tailor the law, but that 18-inch figure is a good one to remember while parking in the fine state of California.
HONKIN’ UPDATE: A proposed new law, backed by comedian and classic-car lover Jay Leno, recently died in the state Assembly. It would have exempted vehicles at least 35 years old from smog tests. (Source: The Mercury News)
HONKIN’ FACT: At least four times this year, the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector has found smuggled drugs in vehicle batteries. “As we continue to gain operational control of the southern border, smugglers are going to great lengths to push dangerous drugs into this country,” said Jeffrey D. Stalnaker, acting chief patrol agent of the San Diego Sector, in a statement.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk