Drivers

Maryland could become one of a handful of states that grant special driver's licenses to illegal immigrants under legislation garnering strong support in Annapolis. The bill, passed by the Senate on Monday, would expand and make permanent an existing two-tiered driver's license system to include more than 100,000 people whose immigration status currently prevents them from applying for a license. Gov. Martin O'Malley backs the plan, which now moves to the House of Delegates. "It's a safety issue," said Del. Jolene Ivey, a Prince George's County Democrat who introduced the House version.

A grand jury on Thursday indicted the driver state police said was high on drugs when his car sped into downtown, striking and killing a pedestrian before it overturned outside City Hall. Johnny Johnson, 43, faces nine counts, including vehicular homicide and homicide by vehicle while under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance, in the April 9 death of city finance employee Matthew Hersl. The indictment mirrors many of the charges the Maryland State Police filed on the warrant they used to arrest Johnson on April 15. Test results showed drugs were in Johnson's system at the time of the crash, while investigators found cocaine and heroin in his car, police said.

As a cyclist and pedestrian, I thought the article "For pedestrians, Md. is one of the most dangerous" (Jan. 24) was particularly appropriate. Recently, I was out bicycling in Columbia and was waiting on the sidewalk to cross at one of the marked pedestrian crosswalks on Great Star Road in the River Hill community. As a driver blew through the intersection, I pointed up at the sign for pedestrian crossing, to direct his attention to it. He actually did a U-turn and came back to yell at me. He claimed that Maryland law didn't require him to stop and that and I had no business pointing to the sign; he then did another U-turn to return to westbound Great Star and, as he passed me, he rolled down his window to yell some invective.

The devil may have taken Skylar Marion away, his father says, but God had to figure out how to spread him around. Skylar, a 15-year-old Chesapeake High School freshman who loved to tinker with bicycles and spend time outdoors, was killed in a hit-and-run just a quarter-mile from his home in Pasadena in April. The driver of the vehicle that hit him has yet to be found. But in a turn of events that surprised two families in the tight-knit Pasadena community, part of Skylar will continue to live on. His heart, transplanted into the body of an ailing friend, will bind two families together for the rest of their lives.

Editor's note: Because of production problems, Stan Dillon's column last week did not appear in some editions. It is being rerun this week.For years, Chuck Taylor and his wife, Larie, have been a big part of drag racing at the 75-80 Dragway in Monrovia.When Chuck isn't racing, he can be found helping other drivers.Larie is a highly visible part of the Taylor Racing team. She also spends countless hours helping others. She constantly keeps abreast of what other Carroll County drivers do nationally as well as locally and reports the results to local papers.

The GMAC Insurance National Driver Test continues to rate Maryland a bottom-10 state for "Licensed Drivers Knowledge of Basic Road Rules. " And like Maryland, numerous Northern states, such as Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, were part of the bottom 10. Nearby Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia scored higher, and are not part of the bottom 10. To me, Maryland's problem is a culture of political stubbornness in not weeding out thousands...

After reading the article "Speed cameras yield $19.2 million" (Sept. 12), I had to comment. Eighty-three speed cameras issued 480,000 speeding tickets in one year in Baltimore City. I am glad that the speed cameras are earning revenue for the city but angry that it is so much. It just shows the disregard that drivers have for the speed limits and the laws. State Del. Jill Carter was quoted as saying she gets complaints in her district about the speed cameras and that elderly ladies complain that they are getting speeding tickets.

There is nothing wrong with the Bay Bridge — it was the victim of short-sighted politicians back in the early 50's, who went against common sense that 4 lanes was the way to go ("Acrophobia on the bay," Oct. 18)! As for the bridge being unsafe, it's like the phrase, "guns don't kill people — people kill people. " The rush to get into line after going through the toll booth, failure to have any space between cars, the constant lane changes, wrongful hookups of trailers and tired/impaired drivers — the list goes on. I'm not a bridge building expert, but I don't see how the bridge — any bridge — could have stopped a tractor trailer at speed from going through the side barrier.

The other day I saw a woman driving with a dog on her lap; the dog was sticking his head out the window.  I thought to myself, boy that's got to be unsafe — certainly as unsafe as talking on a cell phone — and I wondered if she would get pulled over and ticketed.  Later that morning, I almost rear-ended the car in front of me after I spilled hot coffee on my lap. Unsafe?  Yep, but not illegal. And having a conversation with a passenger in my car is probably as distracting as have a conversation on my cell phone.

Yes, let's fine-tune the speed cameras ("Restoring trust in speed cameras," Dec. 10). But also, let's be honest: What underlies much of the fussing over speed cameras is that many drivers just do not want to obey the law. They apparently feel that speed limits are voluntary. Sorry, they are not. Our roads and highways are filled with reckless drivers who put themselves and the rest of us in danger. Thank goodness the speed cameras serve as a deterrent to some; to others, let them pay the fines!

Justin Boston of Baltimore took the checkered flag Saturday to win the pole for today's Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by Crosley Radio, an Automobile Racing Club of America race in Salem, Ind. Boston nosed out Venturini Motorsports teammate Kyle Benjamin by .004 of a second. "We've been neck and neck here," Boston, 23, said of himself and Benjamin. "He edged me out at the test, and I went and watched the video of that. After the qualifying lap he had, I didn't know if I could top that.

Frank Bond Sr., a retired Maryland Transit Administration bus driver and neighborhood activist who believed in the value of education, died Monday of colon cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. "Frank was a wonderful man who treasured education even though he was not an educated man," said W. Byron Forbush II, who retired in 1998 after 38 years as headmaster of Friends School. "His three children went to Friends as well as two grandchildren," said Mr. Forbush. "He was so devoted and proud that his family was part of that institution.

An allegedly intoxicated man allegedly drove into two homes on East MacPhail Road in Bel Air Wednesday night, hit a propane gas line that started a fire at one house and then backed his pickup truck into the other and knocked part of it off of its foundation, according to police. The driver, later identified as Michael Lee Smith, 54, of the 1000 block of Cedar Lane in Bel Air, then allegedly left the scene and was arrested a short time later near his home. At about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday, Harford County Sheriff's deputies were sent to the 1000 block of East MacPhail Road, where a vehicle, later identified as a 2001 blue Chevy Silverado, drove off the road and hit a home and propane gas line, starting a fire, according to a press release from the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

A tour bus company with headquarters in Maryland has been shut down by federal safety officials after an investigation determined its drivers and vehicles pose an imminent hazard to public safety. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Wednesday ordered Washington DC Party Shuttle, which also does business as Onboard DC Tours, to immediately cease all operations for "egregious" violations that demonstrated "blatant disregard for motor coach passenger safety. " The bus company has offices at National Harbor in Prince George's County and operates primarily as a tour bus service in the Washington metropolitan area, New York City and Las Vegas.

We've all seen them on the road - people driving too slowly, drifting out of their lane or oblivious to a changing traffic signal. Chances are, these distracted drivers are using a cellphone. The days of doing so with impunity in Maryland are just about over. The General Assembly has passed a new, tougher bill cracking down on this dangerous behavior and much of the credit goes to a delegate whose district includes both Baltimore and Howard counties, James E. Malone Jr., along with a state senator, James Robey of Howard County, the co-sponsor.

A 64-year-old man was robbed and beaten with his own walking stick after a group of six teenagers and young men attacked him in a parking lot at the Glen Burnie Towne Center late Tuesday night, according to Anne Arundel County Police. The incident was one of two robberies reported in the area within several hours of one another. The man flagged a patrol officer down about 11:15 p.m. to report the incident near the Toys R Us store in the 6700 block of Ritchie Highway, police said.

For the third day in a row The Sun has used the word "revenue" to identify the fines collected from speed- and red-light cameras ("Not so fast," Sept. 14). But these are fines, not revenue. If the city wanted revenue it could solve its budget issues simply by posting cameras along the JFX. What a windfall that would be. I do not know how your editors get around the city, but the places where I drive frequently - Northern Parkway, Charles Street, Boston Street and the JFX - have speed limits that are infrequently observed and rarely enforced.

The problem: Signs directing drivers from eastbound Interstate 695 to Interstate 95 in Rosedale are confusing. The back story: Trips to White Marsh or other points north of Baltimore shouldn't cause panic. But some drivers have been confused by the new traffic pattern from eastbound I-695 onto northbound I-95 in Rosedale. The new interchange is part of the express toll lanes project expected to be completed in late 2014. The new interchanges eliminate left exits in favor of right-hand ramps, which are the safer, more modern standard.

A car hurtled off the highway, fatally struck a pedestrian and overturned in front of City Hall and scores of downtown witnesses. A day later, police said the driver had walked free without charges. Despite anger and outrage from those who knew Matt Hersl, the longtime city worker and neighborhood volunteer killed Tuesday, Maryland State Police said they released the 43-year-old driver and left it to city prosecutors to decide whether to pursue charges. The decision met with criticism from a former leader of the state police, and City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young said he was "very disappointed.

An off-duty Harford County sheriff's deputy fired his service weapon at a man who he said became combative and then fled after the man rear-ended the deputy's vehicle, the Sheriff's Office said Monday night. The altercation led to a chase that ended with the man crashing his vehicle and then being arrested after a foot chase. A little before 5 p.m., an off-duty deputy assigned to the sheriff's office Violent Crimes Task Force, had just ended his shift and was headed home, according to Eddie Hopkins, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.