Road Warrior spins out of control

After Superstorm Sandy, caravans of utility trucks slowed traffic on the Garden State Parkway. (Wikipedia)

Editor's note: With every column, the Road Warrior seems to be spinning more and more out of control -- with scant attention to the facts and inaccurately reporting all those statistics he uses to pad his work. Here is another e-mail from a concerned reader who found numerous flaws in the latest piece.

Once again, the Road Warrior misleads, confuses, and misdirects readers with answers to readers' questions in his Nov. 23 column.

His Nov. 23 column is the 17^th article with problems I've brought to the attention of The Record's management & the Road Warrior, starting with his 9/12 article, without indication of any preventive actions to address these problems and only two or three published corrections.

The Road Warrior starts misleading and confusing readers with his statement below.

1.  Misleading false statement - "Today's complaints range from overturned cars and gas-siphoning to E-ZPass and estrogen."

CORRECT FACTS - There were NO complaints or questions about E-Z pass. The column included a complaint about why there was a long row of out-of-state utility trucks stopped [waiting] at cash lanes on the Garden State Parkway (GSP) after the Sandy storm. There were NO complaints or questions about estrogen. The column included a complaint/question about whether testosterone in males causes most road rage.

Road Warrior has a frequent habit to NOT directly address a reader's specific question.   Instead, a response is provided with unrelated or somewhat related info, as noted below.

1. Question (after reading reports of stolen fuel after Sandy) - "Aren't gas tanks now built to prevent siphoning?"

Road Warrior Answer - "They are. But thieves don't need siphons if they drill directly into the tanks."

PROBLEMS WITH ANSWER - Practically all reports about gas theft after the storm were based on gas siphoning and NOT drilling into gas tanks, which is also good for readers to be aware of.  Road Warrior simply did NOT address the issue of frequent reports of gas siphoning from modern cars and whether there are different anti-siphoning designs, many of which make it more difficult, but are not foolproof against all types of siphoning.  Please be aware that modern cars also have hardware, which makes it more difficult to siphon gas, but which is designed to prevent gas from spilling out of the fuel tank in a crash.  Road Warrior could also have mentioned add-on hardware or parking methods to make it harder for others to siphon gas or drill into gas tanks.

2. Question - "I saw a long row of out-of-state utility trucks stopped on the GSP cash lanes. Since we were all waiting for them to restore our power quickly, why couldn't the state waive the tolls and allow them to pass?"

Road Warrior Answer - "The Turnpike Authority insisted payment was waived, but that required a toll collector to hit a button on a touch screen for each vehicle. So, it can take time for big trucks in long lines to stop and pass through one at a time."

PROBLEMS WITH ANSWER - Road Warrior should have asked and provided the Turnpike Authority answer on why they could not have made an adjustment to waive through the trucks without requiring a toll collector to hit a button for each vehicle.  Christie asked authorities to avoid procedures that would unnecessarily slow down emergency responses.  Good reporters follow up w/questions when an official's answer does not fully address the problem. 

3. Question - "Women drivers are more careful because we often have children in our cars, but my husband drives most when we're together. It's the macho thing to do. After all, isn't most road rage driven by testosterone?"

Road Warrior Answer - "That's a good theory. But some research shows spatial skills, like map reading and parking, may be difficult for some women because of their lack of testosterone." Road Warrior then goes on to explain about the benefits of estrogen effects on women drivers.

PROBLEMS WITH ANSWER - Road Warrior NEVER answers the reader's question about the relationship between men, road rage, and testosterone. There are an overwhelming number of reports that the Road Warrior could have referenced in providing a proper answer about this issue.  Any question can be considered a "good theory," but readers are interested in the facts that prove or disprove that "good theory".  Instead, the Road Warrior went off on an unrelated tangent about the effects of estrogen and testosterone on women drivers, none of which has anything to do with road rage. 

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While I greatly appreciate my honorable mention in this column based on a cited correction to the Road Warrior's 11/14 column about women drivers, the bigger questions is why the 3 remaining out-of-date or false facts, which I also identified, were not also corrected in this column. 

Here's hoping for change and better fact-checking, corrections, and oversight of proper answers to readers' questions by The Record's editors, columnists, & reporters based on more reliable, accurate, and common sense info prior to publication.