The Life You Save May Be Your Own

I am not one to complain about very many things. However, two events in the last few months have left me a little less than elated. It has to do with trucks and freeways.

About three months ago, my wife was driving west on the Garden Grove Freeway and a rock flew out of the truck in front of her and struck the windshield of the car. She managed to get a name from the side of the truck, but, as is the case for many of the trucks, the license plate was obliterated by mud. When she contacted the construction company, she was told that she would have to give a license number to positively identify the truck. (Do they cover the license plates with mud on purpose?)

The second instance was on Highway 99 near the town of Chowchilla. My son was returning my pickup when a recap came off the truck that he was following and struck the hood, windshield, steering wheel, the top of the instrument panel and the top of the cab (to the tune of $1,622). Fortunately, he had excellent reflexes and managed to control the vehicle and received only minor cuts on the hand and face.

I recall all the pieces of tires that I have seen lying along the side of the road and wonder how many other cars have been struck or how many other accidents have been caused by flying rubber. I wish something could be done to keep the sand and gravel off the freeways and about unsafe recaps. I believe that safety of others on the road is more important than making money by purchasing cheap recaps.

HAROLD B. WESSELS

Cypress