KCBS Radio: Hybrid Exception For Car Pool Lanes

Kind of looks like a filler piece without much in-depth investigation when they start and end the story with, “A law passed in August that allows drivers in hybrid vehicles to drive solo in Bay Area carpool lanes†and “The permits are valid in eight Bay Area counties.â€

Either that or the reporter does not get outside of the San Francisco Bay Area much. No wonder Bay Area people think the world revolves around them. “It’s gotta be true, I heard it on KCBS and they say the law is for drivers in Bay Area carpool lanes. WhooHoo! We're special!â€

 

Huh? Its a local radio station producing content for local folks. They are not saying the law is only valid in the Bay Area. They also don't mention that other states have similar laws. Does that mean that Californians like you "think the world revolves around them"? The presumption is that few folks in Virginia, let alone Australia, the UK, or elsewhere where there are PC readers, will bother listening to a story on a local radio station.

What is important is that when the CA DMV gets to the point where they can audit the program and stop issuing new stickers prior to the ceiling, it sounds like the preliminary conclusion is that the stickers are not causing congestion.

 

KCBS is a 50,000 watt monster which can be heard up and down the state of California, and in the overnight hours in several Western States. They also have directional antennas . . . no need to broadcast way out into the Pacific.

Word for word they said, “The permits are valid in eight Bay Area counties.†To the unknowing, that could mean the permits aren’t valid outside the Bay Area.

It would have been much more accurate and informational for them to say, “Usage of the permits, which are available and valid thought the state of California, have yet to cause traffic back-ups here in the Bay Area, as critics of the program had warned.â€

 

Whatever the better language might be, you used the content of a 20 second local radio broadcast to indiscriminantly tar-and-feather 4+ million people in the Bay Area as all thinking the world revolves around them. Seems rather extreme, doesn't it?

Its better to think of people as individuals, and not judge them on the basis of how a radio station in their locale chose to phrase the news. At least, that is my view.

 

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Well wasn't that nice of him. He buys up a scarce resource that he doesn't use and never intended to use, just to tell people how great hybrids are. If any of you from California should not be able to get a HOV permit, I suggest that you go knock on Andy Ellis' door.

 

Being that you failed to put your location in your user profile, I will assume two things:
1) You are not from around here and haven’t a clue when it comes to Northern California politics.
2) You are from the Bay Area and embarrassed to say so.

One thing I don’t need to assume is that if you were offended by my remarks, you need to grow a sense of humor. I have many friend who live in the Bay Area (or immigrated from the Bay Area to the Sacramento area). None of them would take offense to what I have said . . . but then of course, since they know me, they also are able to consider the source. :huh:

Apparently Andy Ellis helps bolster my contention about Bay Area people. He would rather use the HOV sticker as a political/environmental/marketing statement than to actually allow someone else to benefit from actually using the sticker!