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Police on I-30 doing DEA duty
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
CLICK & CLACK’S CAR TALK
DEAR TOM AND RAY: I drive in city traffic daily, and I find that at least once per day, I have to brake sharply from traffic speed to a dead stop. I usually check the rear view mirror to see what is happening behind me as I stop.
Big rigs put ol’ Lew in a slow stew
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
CLICK & CLACK’S CAR TALK
DEAR TOM AND RAY: My 88-year-old mother has a 2005 Buick LaCrosse with 15,000 miles on it. It only gets driven to the grocery store, hair salon and church. But that has been the case for all six years she’s owned it.
Truckers on phones on notice
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
CLICK & CLACK’S CAR TALK
DEAR TOM AND RAY: My son is taking a new job in Sioux Falls, S.D., about 850 miles away from our home near Detroit. The old man promised to help him move, even if it wrecks my 56-year-old back. Here’s the issue.
Law says let there be headlights
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?
CLICK & CLACK’S CAR TALK
DEAR TOM AND RAY: The Toyota dealer where I have my car serviced recommended that I replace the motor mounts. Since I had never heard of motor mounts breaking, except maybe in an accident, I declined.
Exception for Rain-X not in law
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
CLICK & CLACK’S CAR TALK
DEAR TOM AND RAY: I recently bought a 2006 Mazda MX5 with 48,000 miles. When I test-drove the car, it seemed like a great car, and since I always wanted to own a convertible roadster, I bought the car. The problem is that after I bought it, when I drove it from San Diego to Los Angeles, I noticed that this car rides pretty rough.
Veterans not tagged as suspect
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
CLICK & CLACK’S CAR TALK
DEAR TOM AND RAY: A friend and I are having a running debate that I was hoping you two would be able to settle. We each recently bought ourselves used vehicles, and we both are members of the dying breed of drivers who love to drive cars with manual transmissions. Both cars are in stellar shape, both have less than 30,000 miles and have their original clutches, both have spotless Carfax history reports, and both were given the thumbs-up by our mutual mechanic when he inspected them.
CLICK & CLACK’S CAR TALK
DEAR TOM AND RAY: My husband is 68, I am 72, and the following has been a lifelong argument. We have a small, graveled hill leading to our driveway. When it is icy, my husband insists on driving (or sliding) down the hill in neutral. Our vehicles are four-wheel drive and have gears 1 and 2 below drive. I say coasting down in neutral is wrong.
No child left behind good idea
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.
CLICK & CLACK’S CAR TALK
DEAR TOM AND RAY: I’m sending this anonymously because I don’t want my friends to know what a bonehead I am. I went out to the driveway to replace the rear brake shoes on my daughter’s ’98 Honda Civic EX. I positioned my floor jack under the rear cross member, but did not jack it up. I then went into the garage to get my jack stands, and placed them beside the car.
I-530 driver to trooper: Leave area
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.
CLICK & CLACK’S CAR TALK
DEAR TOM AND RAY: My “check engine” light came on a few weeks after an oil change. I then took my 2008 Subaru Impreza to the dealer, and they pulled a shop rag out of my car (it was blocking two-thirds of the air intake). Upon request, the oil changing place agreed to pay for the dealer’s services (I am still awaiting reimbursement ). Several weeks later, my air/fuel sensor and my mass air sensor failed prematurely.
Plan for new road lacks cash
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.
CLICK & CLACK’S CAR TALK
DEAR TOM AND RAY: I have the misfortune of needing to drive a beat-up 1995 Volvo 850, which I share with my husband, who fancies himself an expert on cars. Out of the blue, the blinkers (the right and left signals) quit working. Once in a while, the signals work, but most of the time they don’t. My husband stubbornly refuses to believe that they don’t work. He claims that they are working just fine for him, ergo I must be doing something to keep them from working! Is it unusual for signals to work intermittently? — Terry
Mea culpa not all that warranted
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.
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