On mis-aimed DWI checks and fog lights

READERS PUT THE BRAKES ON: Several recent columns have spurred readers to respond with another side to road issues. Here we go:

DISPUTING WHERE APD PUTS ITS CHECKPOINTS: After the Albuquerque Police Department explained it places sobriety checkpoints based on where University of New Mexico number crunchers say alcohol-related accidents occur, Elena Maietta emails that one should have little to do with the other.

“Alcohol-related accidents are not necessarily indicative of where drunk(en) driving happens most,” Elena says. “Those statistics may, in fact, just represent the most high-traffic areas. The city should consider finding information on where the most instances of driving while intoxicated actually occur. I believe that only then will they be able to say with certainty that their checkpoint practices are not prejudicial.”

AND WHAT FOG LIGHTS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO: A reader recently said he was being blinded by fog-light beams, and that has some drivers shedding a little light on the proper adjustment of the lights.

Fishmail emails “I moved here from foggy northern California where fog lights can be a great help. They do not, as one reader claimed, point up into the eyes of oncoming drivers. He is probably seeing high-power driving lights or just newer and very bright high beams.

“Fog lights project a very low and wide beam concentrated on illuminating the edge of the road. Fog lights are meant for fairly low speed use and were originally intended to be used without the headlights on. However, the law prohibits driving at night with only your fog lights on.”

And John Liebson emails that the claim fog lights project a beam upward “is technically incorrect, as fog lights are designed to project light down, not up. For example, when driving in snow, one should turn off the car’s headlights, which do project upward, and use only the fog lights, which tend to not reflect off of snow, as their beam goes under the snow. This is also true for driving in fog.”

John says “fog lights that shine into the eyes of other drivers are mis-aimed. (The original reader) is certainly correct that entirely too many drivers keep their fog lights on when not needed, probably because they don’t understand their proper use. Laws that require the use of low-beam headlights when fog-light use is indicated are self-defeating, as the headlights are what one ought not to be using when fog lights are needed.”

And John knows of what he speaks: He was the fire chief in Crested Butte, Colo., and says “I frequently responded to emergency calls in both my personal vehicle and in fire engines when the use of headlights made it impossible to see due to the heavy snowfall, and where the use of only fog lights allowed either me or the fire engine driver to proceed.”

AND WHY SENIORS HAVE TO RENEW LICENSES EVERY YEAR: Finally, after a recent column on the “express lane” for seniors at its larger and busier state-run Motor Vehicle Division offices, Woodlock37 emails “I’m 76, perfect driving record, excellent health for age, work part time at a mentally challenging job, and have done the annual renewal twice at the MVD office near Menaul and Juan Tabo. There is no senior line there – just take a ticket and wait for the number to come up on the light board. Both times: mid-day, mid week, out in around an hour. But what a ‘melting pot’ that place is – the looks of some of the characters kind of creeps me out.”

“So they are deliberately hassling us (by forcing us to renew in person annually) so we will give up? Not a chance. Guilty until proven innocent? I resent the H out of having to do this when the drunks and scofflaws are driving around with impunity on their four- and eight-year licenses. At least they aren’t charging us a renewal fee any more.”

Assistant editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the Metro area on Mondays and West Siders and Rio Ranchoans on Saturdays. Reach her at 823-3858; road@abqjournal.com; P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103; or go to ABQjournal.com/traffic to read previous columns and join in the conversation.
— This article appeared on page A4 of the Albuquerque Journal