Roadguy had been saving this first comment for a rainy day, but we aren’t having too many of those this summer, so despite the eternal sunshine, here’s a thought from alert reader Andy:

Any chance there is a way to remind drivers of vehicles that have those daytime running lights that when it rains, they should still turn on their lights so their taillights will let those of us behind them [know] that they are actually in front of us?

I have seen a few vehicles that have sensors in them that will do that for them when the wipers are on, but after the last few rain showers, seems that there are plenty out there with no taillights showing. Makes for fun driving with all the water spray from their tires.

Andy makes a good point; and remember, it’s the law to turn on your lights when there’s precipitation.

Next up is alert reader Z, who has some thoughts on transit:
An issue that I cannot understand other people are not bringing up is the idea of an LRT station where the Ford Plant currently is. The infrastructure is already there with the train tracks!

Rather than spend billions digging up University Avenue doesn’t it make sense to spend a few million to convert the train tracks to LRT tracks, make the Ford site a big hub of LRT love, and somehow connect the hub of LRT love in Highland, St. Paul to the Hiawatha line? Perhaps a tunnel under the river might do the trick. The dam there could also partially power-up the LRT hub. It is almost an instant connection between Saint Paul and Minneapolis…

What am I missing? I heard from a source “on the inside” that this is a definite no anyway as particular politicians already have invested tons of their time & efforts into LRT down University Avenue.

Yeah, the Central Corridor light-rail project has, if you’ll pardon the phrase, left the station — the feds probably wouldn’t take too kindly to a major rerouting toward the Ford site in Highland Park. And the dam has been sold to a company from Quebec. Still, the idea of including a significant transit component on what essentially will be a blank slate is intriguing.

Our last item today is a recent e-mail from alert reader Botski:

I am an avid cyclist who has noticed a phenominon of psycho overpoliteness when it comes to cars stopping when there is no need to stop in order to let me cross. This happened to me again … when I was at stop sign wanting to take a left while the cross traffic had no stop sign. A vehicle approaching from my left decided to brake hard to let me get onto Fairview in St Paul. And of course, traffic to my right was approaching at 35-40 mph and did NOT stop.

My considerate friend was determined to let me onto Fairview. After a short period a line of cars has formed behind him and it’s very likely the drivers’ blood pressures are going up because of “another biker slowing down traffic.” I waved the car on, but the driver waved and gave me a “Go ahead, I am waiting for you!” look. All the while, cars are still whipping past me from right to left.

I finally got off my bike and stood there, and finally he as well as the entourage behind him went past me, giving me a clear view of Fairview’s traffic and a safe entry onto the street.

I am sure these drivers think they are being considerate to cyclists, but it stresses me out. And it seems to be happening more often.

Roadguy hates to say anything negative about drivers who are trying to be polite, but this kind of thing just happened to him yesterday. He was standing with his bike at a crosswalk and was digging through his backpack when the driver of a truck tried to wave him across, even though Roadguy clearly wasn’t ready to go anywhere at that moment. It led to a rather awkward “no, after you” exchange of waves.

Right now, at least, Roadguy is absolutely positive that it’s your turn to go, so share your thoughts on any of the above in the comments section below.

Alert reader Joe has seen the light, or rather, the lights, and he’s not too happy about it:

While returning home to Woodbury late one night, I was traveling north on Hwy. 61 in the Newport area. A police car pulled over a vehicle for a moving violation, and the police car was lit up like a Christmas tree on Barry Bonds steroids. I found it to be very distracting and could potentially be hazardous to other vehicles on the highway due to the very high intensity and flash patterns of the lightbar.

Now, I understand that emergency vehicles need to be seen in certain situations out on the roads, such as if they are blocking a lane of traffic. But, when a police car is pulled all the way over on the side of the shoulder, is there a way to “tone down” the lights a bit?

As many an injured trooper can tell you, even the shoulder is not a safe place, so officers want as noticeable a light as possible. The short answer from our friends over at the State Patrol is there’s no turning down the lights. They advise you to move over and carefully avert your eyes (much the way drivers on two-lane highways do when bright lights approach).

Alert reader Sean also is in search of illumination about police lights:

I’ve noticed a lot of red-light running going on by the metro police lately. They slow up for a red light, switch on their lights, and then run the light and turn their lights off after passing the intersection. One was even almost a casualty: the policeman slowed up, turned on his lights, and proceeded into the intersection, [narrowly] missing a woman and her child entering the crosswalk.

My question is this: Is there a way to report the police cars we see running red lights, and do they face some sort of disciplinary action for running the lights?

According to our friend Sgt. Therese over at the Minneapolis police, “It is legal and police can do it so there is no need to report it.” She suggested that Sean call the precinct where the incident occurred and let a supervisor know about it. “The supervisor can then talk to the officer about safe driving techniques,” she said. She and Roadguy agreed that the officer might not exactly agree with Sean on how close the pedestrian was.

Have any thoughts about police lights, either those flashing on the side of the road or the ones crossing in front of you? Please share below.

Today’s question is from alert reader John of White Bear Lake. A few weeks ago, John was…

…making the short drive home from the Park & Ride. Going north on 61 in Maplewood, and it’s strangely congested. Get to Beam Ave. and there’s a car parked in the right lane. No hazards, no occupant. While trying to maneuver around the car, I see who I presume to be the owner returning with a plastic gas jug. Considering she had to walk about 3 blocks (one way with a jug full of gas) she was probably gone for 15-20 minutes. Car parked in the right traffic lane the whole time.

[The next day] driving into work — strange amount of congestion on 61 south nearing County Rd D. Light turns green, my lane doesn’t move. Cars start to work their way around another stalled vehicle. No hazards, but this time there’s an occupant on her cell phone.

First off, do people know what their hazard lights are for? Secondly, does no one get out and push their car out of the way anymore? Too dangerous? The amount of confusion caused by a parked car on a trunk highway seems much more dangerous to me then a couple people working to get the car out of the way.

Roadguy could see John’s point, but he also knows that walking or standing on — or even near — a major highway is a major danger. (Just the other day, another state trooper was hit during a traffic stop.) Roadguy contacted our friends at the Temple of Transportation about the matter, and he heard back from another John. This John works in “incident management” for MnDOT (the “Highway Helper” program now known as FIRST), and he offered this information:

It is certainly true that a stalled vehicle blocking a traffic lane presents a serious danger to other drivers. We recommend that if you see a situation like this to immediately report it to 911. We do not recommend trying to push a vehicle by hand for the simple reason that a person on foot is far more vulnerable than the belted occupants of a vehicle. Even a very low speed collision with a pedestrian can result in serious life changing injuries, if not death. The same collision between two vehicles, again with all occupants properly restrained, is far less likely to result in death or injury.

State Patrol and MnDOT FIRST units are equipped with push bumpers to allow them to push vehicles clear of the lane while the driver remains inside their truck or squad.

Also, please remind your readers that running out of gas is not a legitimate reason for stopping on the highway. You can be cited for a non-emergency stop and have your vehicle towed. Do not push your luck by trying to run to the last drop or that gallon of gas could be a lot more expensive then you planned! And don’t rely on the computers that some newer vehicles have that try to estimate how many miles more you can drive - I personally have heard the “but the computer told me I could drive 20 more miles” excuse several times.

In other words, the official take is don’t push your car, and don’t push your luck. But Roadguy wants to know your take — what have you done, or seen others do, with stalled cars on major roads? Share your tales and thoughts below.

Today we look at four fairly random questions from alert readers. Only one of the questions came with its own answer, so Roadguy graciously requests your assistance.

First up is alert reader Elizabeth:

Hi Roadguy - I’m not sure if this is totally relevant to your blog, but I don’t know who else to turn to. I’ve seen lots of “So! How are the Children?” bumper stickers. What does that mean? Right now, they’re just annoying, and Google doesn’t help. Thanks!

Roadguy has seen the bumper stickers in question, and he’s always figured they were printed up by a child-welfare nonprofit group. Unfortunately, he has zero basis for this assumption, so he looks forward to a real answer from a member of our Internet audience.

Next up: Alert reader Z., with a bicycle-related question:

I used to commute to my office on my bicycle via the Cedar Lake Trail. Lately I have been using the Midtown Greenway. I love it! It is very flat. Viewing the lakes on the way to work is fun. And I can get going on some good speeds.

Fortunately, they (who, I do not know) do maintenance and/or cleaning on various parts of the Greenway. Unfortunately, when they finish a section of the path they tend to leave behind a mess that makes the smooth and flat ride not as enjoyable. Has anyone else noticed this too? Perhaps they do a basic cleanup and it is a lot better than it could be, but could you see what other bicyclist thoughts are on this?

Roadguy, who zips along parts of the Greenway at least once a month, hasn’t noticed this problem, but he’s sure some of his readers have, and they won’t be shy about their feelings.

We now return, for just a moment, to Albert Lea, because recent Strib contributor Deborah Morse-Kahn sent us the following tidbit after reading Roadguy’s earlier take on the freeway-friendly town:

Marvelous column, loved it! But…you did not solve the ultimate mystery for your readers: what in the name of powdermilk biscuits is a “lea???”

A “lea” is Old English word for a meadow.

Who knew? It hadn’t occurred to Roadguy to look it up. If only Colonel Lea had had a more modern name…

On its southern outskirts, Albert Lea has a very large suburb called Iowa, which brings us to our final question. Alert reader Reuben writes:

What are these white stripes across the lanes shown in the picture? They’re all over Iowa, always in the left lane, and not evenly spaced. I couldn’t figure it out.

Roadguy is stumped as well — perhaps it’s a hyphen that fell from a punctuation truck. If you have a more plausible answer, please share it in the comments below. And, as always, keep those e-mails coming.

Today Roadguy has a two-part post for you. Here’s Part I, on the topic of gas prices and car choices:

Ancient history

Over the weekend, Roadguy was invited to a party down near Lake Pepin, and he wound up snagging a ride with the owner of a Ford Focus wagon. As we rolled along the river bluffs, the driver spoke of how costly such a trip would have been in her previous vehicle, which got about 15 miles to the gallon. Indeed, thought Roadguy — shelling out more than $30 to attend an afternoon barbecue might not fit everyone’s budget.

That conversation was just one part of Roadguy’s efforts to figure out how gas prices are affecting decisions about vehicle purchases. It ain’t easy:

• Last week, alert reader DizzyInCircles linked to this Strib news brief, which pointed out that sales of large SUVs are up this year. (The full story, from the San Francisco Chronicle, is here.) Among Dizzy’s comments: “The market hasn’t changed, and neither has the buyer.”
• On Friday, Roadguy read this New York Times story, which reports that households that have two large vehicles sometimes purchase a small third car to help cut down on gas expenses. The article notes that this makes little economic sense, as saving even several hundred dollars a year on gas will almost never make up for the added expense of owning a third car. But as Roadguy and his readers know, drivers are not an entirely logical bunch.
• Yesterday, alert reader Dob sent in this link to this CBS news story, which says there’s indeed a gradual shift toward smaller vehicles – a shift that the aforementioned Focus owner is apparently a part of.

So maybe the trend is toward smaller vehicles, or maybe it’s toward bigger vehicles, or maybe it’s just too soon to tell what’s happening. But don’t let the confusion stop you from weighing in in the comments section below.

PART II: High-speed local travel?

Friday’s paper contained an advertising feature about “garage condos,” which give car enthusiasts and collectors a place to stash and maintain their rides. Roadguy is not currently in the market for such a condo – the least-expensive one is roughly ten times the value of Roadguy’s car – but he can easily see the social and practical appeal for folks with multiple cool vehicles.

The detail that raised Roadguy’s eyebrows was the ad’s description of the facility as being near Prince’s studio in Chanhassen, “some 12 minutes from downtown Minneapolis.” The company’s website touted a similar travel time, “approximately 12 minutes.” Roadguy has been to Chanhassen a time or two, and our friend the Internet helped him confirm that even the outermost reaches of downtown Minneapolis are a 20-mile drive from Paisley Park; in order to travel that distance in 12 minutes, you’d have to go 100 miles per hour. Unless there’s a secret autobahn out to Audubon Road, time-pressed condo buyers might need to adjust their expectations — or set aside some money for speeding tickets.

A quick post today as we head into the holiday weekend — yesterday Roadguy got this e-mail from one of his favorite correspondents, Dale the Truck Driver:

Roadguy,
I have mentioned before to you all the people I see text messaging on their phones. [Earlier post here.] What I have noticed lately is if people can text at 70+ mph, why does everybody slam on the brakes to read a huge 4-line information sign? Also, I have really started to notice people making u-turns on the freeways where the troopers make their crossings. Must be the next step of our declining society on the road.

Yikes — such U-turns are extremely dangerous. And in a metro area where a single snowflake landing on a windshield can cause a mile-long backup, it’s not too surprising that drivers hit the brakes for message signs. Roadguy has seen it happen, too, and he’s not sure what the answer is. Brighter or bigger lettering on the boards? Fewer messages? Funneling a portion of the gas tax to improve reading education? Your suggestions, and any other thoughts about the message signs, are welcomed below.

And whether you’re driving hundreds of miles or merely walking next door for a barbecue, Roadguy wishes you safe travels on your Memorial Day weekend.