Month: September 2024

Q: I know that cars need to stop for pedestrians at any intersection whether there is a marked crosswalk or not. But beyond that, when a pedestrian is crossing a street and a car stops, how far across the street should the driver let the pedestrian get before the driver starts moving again?  Do you let the pedestrian get all the way across? Is enough if they are now in the other lane of the street?

A: Have you ever read something in English and felt after reading it that you might as well have been reading it in Klingon? That was me the first time I read the law that applies to your question. (I’m assuming no one reading this knows Klingon, but maybe I’m unaware of an overlap in the Star Trek nerd/traffic safety nerd Venn diagram.)

Continue reading “Waiting for Pedestrians”

Q: As a cyclist, I find that some drivers try to be nice and stop to wave bicyclists across the road, even when the driver doesn’t have a stop sign and the cyclist does. I don’t want to upset someone by rejecting their generosity, but I also don’t want to break the law or put myself in danger. What’s the correct thing to do?

A: Just yesterday I came to a stop at a stop sign in my car. Cross traffic was backed up, and a driver waiting in the line waved for me to make a right turn in front of her, which I gratefully accepted. But if I had been intending to cross the lane rather than join it, I might not have been so willing to take that offer, and even less so if I’d been on my bike.

Continue reading “Waving for Cyclists”

Q: Are turn signals required in parking lots?

A: Yes, absolutely. I mean, they’re not required by law, but they are a requirement for human decency.

It’s like golf. Now, I’m no expert on golf. If you cut off one of my hands I could still count on my fingers how many times I’ve golfed, and I’d have digits left over. It also wouldn’t change my golf game. That makes me extra-qualified to make my point. When a golfer hits a ball and it goes an unintended direction, they’re supposed to yell “Fore!” and even point in the direction of their errant shot, to warn other golfers a ball is headed their way. The police aren’t waiting around with a ticket book to issue an infraction to anyone who fails to yell fore, but golfers give the warning because it’s the right thing to do.

Continue reading “Turn Signals in Parking Lots”

Q: Why don’t the police ticket pedestrians walking on the right side of the road with their back to traffic, instead of facing traffic so they can see what could hit them, as required by WA state law? Unfortunately, those hit with their back to traffic believe they should walk on the right.

A: I think you might have answered your own question, so I’ll ask another one. What’s the point of traffic enforcement? I’ll accept answers along the lines of, “to increase safe driving behaviors” or “to reduce crashes.” (And since somebody reading this probably answered, “to generate revenue,” if that were true tell me why the traffic enforcement unit is the first thing to get cut when a police department has a budget shortfall.)

Continue reading “Walking the Wrong Way”