Home › Opinion › Opinion
Your letters
STORY TOOLS
More from Opinion
Why no lockdown?
May 11, at Santa Susana High School, I stepped out of second-period English to see a scene that could only be described as movie- or 6 o'clock news-like: SWAT team members with machines guns and other Simi Valley police officers running toward the other end of the school.
I, along with my friends who were walking with me, darted into the office to try to see what was going on and what actions we should take to be safe.
The office was empty of administrators, and the office personnel had no idea what was going on or where we should go. I called my mom to inform her of the developments before she learned some other way.
After that, I walked to my third-period class.
The entire school was in fear, and teachers had no idea what was going on or what to do.
I called the Simi Valley Police Department and was transferred to a squad car radio and found out that a student had a cell phone out and accidentally had called his parents who had heard gunshots coming from the TV, since the class was watching a movie.
Relieved, I called my mom back and informed students, who informed their parents as well.
I had to do this on my own. No one had any answers. The situation was chaotic at best and was a huge breakdown in communication by the administration. As soon as danger was known, the school should have been locked down. Even for a false alarm, when you have police officers in full commando gear roaming the halls, the fear in students is dangerous in itself.
I know lockdown procedures exist, and throughout my time in school, I've experienced them.
Brad Jashinsky,Simi Valley
Look for motorcycles
Re: your May 11 article, "Moorpark man's motorcycle death similar to many others":
I believe that The Star's point was to state that many motorcycle accidents happen because the rider loses control. I would like to add that the No. 1 cause of motorcycle accidents is due to drivers in cars turning left in front riders.
Most drivers just look for cars when making turns, but they need to look for motorcycles, also.
Every time I approach a car waiting to make a left turn, I reduce my speed and look at the driver to see what he's doing. Most are talking on the phone, eating or talking to someone in the car, so I must be very cautious. After all, it is my life that is at stake.
Please, drivers, look for motorcycles.
Roy Hooper,Ojai
Posted by imp9824 on May 15, 2007 at 6:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I must not understand the situation described by Mr. Hooper. Cars turning left can only do so from the far left lane (except when controlled by a stop light). Does he mean that a motorcyclist is going straight in the opposite direction, or that the driver "cut-off" the motorcyclist? From his comment of approaching a car waiting to make a left, it would seem that he is talking about a car cutting him off. If that is the case, motorcyclists should wait in line just like cars. If they weave in and out of lanes and then go in between cars, they are putting themselves in danger. Again, maybe I misunderstood the situation Mr. Hooper described.
Posted by Andrew_Smolik on May 16, 2007 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The traffic scenario described in the letter would almost certainly be referring to the two vehicles being *oncoming*; this type of right-of-way violation would also commonly be called the “left cross.” (Left-turning traffic is always supposed to yield to oncoming through traffic, except on a protected left-turn green signal.)
The other common right-of-way violation would be called the “right cross,” where a vehicle perpendicularly-facing on the right at an intersection or driveway fails to yield at a right-on-red, one-way stop sign, etc.
Both potential crash scenarios normally involve a vehicle moving at full speed crashing into another vehicle moving at crawling speed in a different direction.
Regardless of what I am driving, when I, proceeding straight-ahead, first anticipate a possible left-cross or right-cross conflict with another particular vehicle, I usually mentally set a “point of no return” in case that the other driver does try to violate my right-of-way: before which I would decide to let the other driver go first (and beep my horn until that driver is out of my way), versus after which I would decide to attempt to beat-out the other driver (and make such intentions very clear by revving loudly or pedaling rapidly) — when speeding-up just a few mph is more feasible than braking many mph in order to avoid the conflict. It's not just adjusting speed but also assertive lateral positioning and movement which can make a difference in avoiding the hazard.
(Requires free registration.)
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.