Rick Wallace
Along the PCH: Launching the ritual of PCH hand signals
This idea should have been thought up 40 years ago. For the past 20 years, it should have been an established practice. So much wasted time…
The problem is this: There are frequent back ups on PCH. We all hit them. We never know when they will come, but every one of us is victimized. Sometimes it’s a traffic light out; often it is an accident. Or, it could be a lane closed for some sort of construction.
In any case, we find ourselves stuck in traffic, on a highway that goes for many, many miles-and we have no idea how long it will last!
Even in the cell phone age, who are you going to call? What Internet site are you going to bring up on your navigation system? (I don’t know – do those systems even get the Internet?) The radio traffic reports rarely help.
The truth is, when we get stuck in PCH bumper-to-bumper traffic, we are screwed. We don’t know if it will cause us three minutes of delay-or an hour. There is no information. And it can happen anywhere on PCH, from Chautauqua to County Line, going either direction.
But there is a way to get information. It can come from the folks going in the opposite direction. Many vehicles whizzing by us contain Malibu residents who know the misery, but are feeling fortunate not to be stuck themselves (or have already passed the hold-up coming from the other direction). And they know exactly how far it is to the problem.
We should all let each other know, with hand signals, how far traffic tie-ups exist. If you are traveling in the free lane, roll down your window, hold your hand out and make a fist for less than one mile to go to the obstruction. Hold up one finger for one mile or more. Hold up two fingers for two miles for more, three for at least three miles, and so on.
If we all do this, it will become an invaluable local ritual (similar to flashing our lights to cars going the other direction to warn of a stealth cop ready to pounce on a speeder).
We would all feel much better, stuck in traffic, if we simply knew how far the delay might last. Is that too much to ask? Seeing passing motorists holding out hand signals would not only give us information, but also relief from the stress of uncertainty. And it might be critical for rescheduling an appointment, alerting a waiting friend of the delay or (seeing several motorists holding up all five fingers), perhaps help us decide to detour or give up on the trip.
Help your fellow motorist along the PCH. A fist means less than one mile (thank goodness), one finger for each full mile of delay, yet to come. I have made this effort a few times, already, Hopefully some poor soul got a hint of what I meant. Let’s hope everyone in Malibu gets the message.
Get the word out. And, get the hand out.