TRUCKS AT I-81 EXIT KEEP ENGINEERS IN A TRAFFIC JAM

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 8, 1993                   TAG: 9302080029
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
TRUCKS AT I-81 EXIT KEEP ENGINEERS IN A TRAFFIC JAM
Q: At Interstate 81 and U.S. 220 (Exit 150), northbound trucks come off the first ramp trying to get to the truck stop. They wind up with the cab in the third lane of 220 trying to turn left, with the trailer across the other two lanes. Would it be better to not allow any trucks to come off this ramp, or have signs directing them to the next exit? It goes right to the truck stop. B.A., Roanoke
A: Your idea about signs should be a good one. Trouble is, the feds don't like it.
Such a sign was there when the interchange was modified in 1987. It directed truck-stop traffic to Exit 150-B, meaning these vehicles should bypass the ramp marked 150-A.
The sign lasted a little over a year. Federal highway officials said it favored one business over the others at this intersection.
Now, the only information directing truck-stop traffic is on those blue signs with the business logos.
Many drivers still seem afraid to pass up exit 150-A.
Safety and engineering staffers have been looking for a solution to this problem for quite awhile, a spokesman for the Transportation Department said.
Trucks can't be banned from 150-A. It's the proper exit for Lynchburg traffic and many nearby businesses.

Making crime pay
Q: I just heard on TV that a man convicted of murder and robbery was given a life sentence and a $100,000 fine. If a man would kill for just a few dollars, where would he get $100,000? Why would they impose a $100,000 fine on a person who could not possibly pay it? If nobody pays, is this fine marked off the books? N.N.
A: Even convicted murderers sometimes come into money - through drug deals or by selling their "life story" for a book or tabloid TV.
Life sentences for first-degree murder mean parole is possible in 11 1/2 years; the defendant could even win the state lottery.
If any of these unlikely events occurs, the state can collect on the fine.
A law passed in 1991 allows fines up to $100,000 for many kinds of felonies.
Some punishments never included fines before. Murder and rape, for example, were crimes that carried nothing but prison time.
The law's main purpose was to produce revenue, according to General Assembly staff members.

Higher brackets
Q: Why, in different articles in the paper, is there a word suddenly inserted in brackets? I always thought this was a word added by the editors that was not in the original submission. However, sometimes the sentence wouldn't make sense without the word - it might be a small word such as "that" or some other insignificant word. Can you explain? D.Q., Roanoke
A: Brackets like [these] are the work of editors or writers trying to make a meaning clear. They almost always appear in quoted material.
Sometimes a word in brackets is inserted when a speaker changes direction in mid-sentence, and a transition word is needed.
You remember President Bush speaking in half-sentences [with] his mind racing ahead of his words [but] he still knew what was going on. He did [that] frequently.
A lot of people have this habit, and the brackets are intended to help them and newspaper readers.
Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB