Rebuttals, revisions, and a few revelations

Randolph native Peter Carleton, who works in General Motors’ HVAC and power train cooling department, happened to read the story. He says we need to add an asterisk to that statement.

“You’re right in that it doesn’t degrade,’’ said Carleton. “But, unlike your refrigerator, where all the plumbing and heat exchangers are connected via hard pipes that are welded and/or brazed at the joints, your auto system has rubber hoses.’’

Refrigerant will permeate through those rubber hoses very slowly, he said. “You’ll eventually come across a need to recharge your A/C system; figure around the 10 year/100,000 mile point or later if all goes well.

“Your automotive system also has to survive running over potholes for miles and miles,’’ Carleton added. “Try doing that with your refrigerator and see how long it lasts.’’

Reader Thomas Brandolini, of East Kingston, N.H., meanwhile, correctly points out that refrigerant isn’t merely for summertime air conditioning. Your car’s defrost system relies on Freon to dry air before it’s heated and blown onto the windshield, and when levels are low, it won’t work very well.

“I recall reading that such a sign anywhere in the intersection meant that all four right turners were precluded from turning right unless there was a sign on their corner allowing such a turn,’’ he wrote. “Why would the authorities deem some right turns safer than others in any given intersection?’’

I can’t think of a community that rivals Cambridge in terms of no-turn-on-red signs, so I posed the question to Lieutenant Jack Albert, traffic commander for the Cambridge Police Department.

“If you have a sign on one side of the intersection, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have one on the other side,’’ Albert said.

In Cambridge, authorities erect signs wherever significant numbers of pedestrians or bicyclists cross a street. Albert said that’s probably how most communities operate. “The more conflicts you have with turning cars, the more likely they’re going to put up a sign.’’

The experts’ consensus was probably not, though it can’t hurt.

Frank Ruscitti, founder of NitrogenMan, a Phoenix business that specializes in nitrogen fill-ups, offered a rebuttal.

He cited various reports, including a March study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, supporting nitrogen’s superiority.

I asked NHTSA officials in Washington whether the federal government recommends nitrogen. Here’s what they said:

“Our message to consumers is that nitrogen is not a substitute for regular tire pressure maintenance,’’ said spokeswoman Karen Aldana. “Regardless of whether you use nitrogen or air, you need to check them and make sure they are filled.’’

I asked Goodyear North America, and here is what public relations manager Jim Davis e-mailed me:

“Goodyear does not endorse nor prohibit the use of nitrogen inflation of tires. Proponents of nitrogen-filling of tires claim one benefit is improved tire pressure retention. Goodyear urges consumers to regularly check tire inflation - no matter what is used to fill the tires.’’

I called Bridgestone Americas, Inc. “We are neutral, if you want to use that phrase, when it comes to using nitrogen in passenger and light trucks,’’ said spokesman Jeremy Smith.

Guess what Michelin North America said? “Michelin designs our passenger and truck tires to operate when properly inflated with air. . . . There is NO substitution for proper maintenance and regular [at least monthly] pressure checks.’’

For official information on tire inflation, see www.safercar.gov. If you want to read more about Ruscitti’s position, try www.nitrogenman.com.

“One day, Aunt Alice drove through a four-way intersection and hit another car,’’ Danvers wrote. “When the other [male] driver asked her why she proceeded into the intersection first, she answered: ‘Because I’m a lady and ladies go first!’ ’’

And John Curtis of Grafton sent in scrapbook photos and weathered news clippings about his grandfather, who was just 10 when he got his license in 1903.

“North Attleborough has the youngest licensed [driver] in the world,’’ read the Boston Sunday Post on Sept. 13, 1903. “The youngster’s name is Therron S. Curtis, and he chews gum and carries his 10 short years to school every morning.’’

John Curtis also helped identify the boy whose photo ran with my story. That driver was Edward Estey, 11, of Brookline, believed to be the youngest licensed chauffeur in the country in 1904, according to a 1980 Patriot Ledger story.

The biker she spotted was on the VFW Parkway, not Route 1, as she had originally stated.

Somerville resident Peter DeMarco can be reached at demarco@globe.com. He also updates a Facebook page, “WhotaughtYOUtodrive?’’