Drivers will see the light Repairs: State Highway Administration crews are working on illuminating signs along U.S. 29.

INTREPID ASKS: How many road workers does it take to replace a broken light bulb?

We pondered this question after commuter Paul Senn informed your wheelster that lighted road signs along U.S. 29 appear to be more of a luxury than a necessity.

Senn travels the road at night from U.S. 40 to Route 175 and claims that the light fixtures on signs fail to illuminate as intended. He says that makes it difficult for drivers to read the signs and says it's a chronic problem, stemming back almost two years.

But the situation is about to change.

Last week, even as Intrepid spoke with Valerie Burnette Edgar, spokeswoman for the State Highway Administration (SHA), road crews were making their way to repair the lights on the signs.

What a coincidence.

The spokeswoman said that while the SHA tries to keep roadways "well-maintained," input from the traveling public is always appreciated.

So look for the signs along U.S. 29 soon to be adorned in radiant beams. No longer will the U.S. 29 traveler be forced to motor fretfully along the road, industrial-strength flashlight in hand, in a vain attempt to decipher road signs.

The Intrepid One is pleased with such prompt action from the SHA. It's this kind of service that makes it all worthwhile.

'Boulevard Rule' should be the golden rule of the road

Here's a lesson in intersection etiquette from the master -- when the lights are flashing, beware of smashing.

We're talking about an obscure piece of Maryland vehicle law known as the "Boulevard Rule," which motorist Terry Wilson recently experienced a bit too closely.

According to her husband, her car was hit when she tried to cross Loch Raven Boulevard from westbound Taylor Avenue while the intersection traffic lights were out of service.

A driver going south on Loch Raven couldn't wait for the cars in front of him, pulled around them -- and plowed into Terry, Doug Wilson told Intrepid.

Here's where the Boulevard Rule might have helped out.

Usually applied to private entrances, the Boulevard Rule sets the requirement for intersections without official signs and extends to intersections with malfunctioning lights, said Sgt. Scott Saunders of the Golden Ring barracks of the state police.

According to the rule book, anyone approaching the intersection should have stopped before proceeding, just as at a four-way stop sign. Because Terry Wilson already was crossing when the car that hit her arrived, the other driver should have yielded to her.

Despite the unusual circumstances of no lights, drivers "still have to stop and yield to other traffic," said Saunders.

While the other driver's insurance "is clearly going to pay" for the damage to Terry Wilson's car, the couple is upset by the experience.

Let's use this example as a lesson, shall we? Flashing traffic lights don't mean it's time to drive like barbarians.

Smoothing over bumps in the road on Interstate 83

Don't you just hate speed bumps? They ruin all the fun.

Especially for Ken Bitter. Poor guy, he's just had abdominal surgery and every time he drives Interstate 83 -- the stretch from Middletown to Shawan roads and back -- the unofficial "high-speed speed bumps" caused by last year's construction drive him batty.

"They're real incision busters," he told the Intrepid One, obviously in agony. "I can hardly use that road at all anymore."

Never fear, the SHA is here.

The leftover ridges left by construction will be smoothed soon, said Rose Muhlhausen, an SHA spokeswoman.

Starting in late July or early August, the SHA will patch and resurface particularly perilous portions of the interstate in Baltimore County. Crews will hit the southbound between the Mount Carmel and Shawan roads exits first, then northbound from Mount Carmel to Middletown.

Throughout next year, the SHA will attack northbound I-83 from Shawan to Mount Carmel.

You know as well as your wheelster, however, that these things don't happen overnight.

"We can't repair continuously," said Muhlhausen. "It would be too much of a problem for the commuters."

In search of

A chronic speeder. You likely have the speeding tickets -- and higher auto insurance rates -- to prove it. Maybe you've tried to break the habit, with or without success. We're looking to interview you. Call Intrepid Hot Line at 410-783-1800, Ext. 4305. From Anne Arundel County, dial 410-268-7736.

Keep in touch

You can mail, send by fax or call in questions or comments for the Intrepid Commuter. Here's how:

Mail letters -- The Sun, 1300 Bellona Ave., Lutherville 21093.

Fax line -- 410-494-2916.

E-Mail -- IntrepidBaltsun.com

Call Sundial, The Sun's telephone information service, at 410-783-1800, Ext. 4305. From Anne Arundel County, dial 410-268-7736.

Pub Date: 4/27/98