Category: Road Rules

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When and How to Slow Down and Move Over

Q: I know there’s a law about slowing down and moving over for emergency vehicles, but can you explain what that means? Do I slow down and move over, or is it one or the other? And what constitutes an emergency vehicle? Is it just the ones that come when you call 911 or anything with flashing lights on top? Help me out here.

A: The “Slow Down, Move Over” law is one of those rules that seems clear just from the name, but when you actually think about it, you realize it’s not as obvious as you first thought. The law in the Revised Code of Washington is titled (in part) “Emergency or work zones,” so let’s start by defining that. An emergency or work zone is the area 200 feet before and after an emergency or work vehicle. Easy enough.

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Getting Rid Of Roadside Junk

Q: Who determines when freeway shoulders get cleaned? I see debris including broken bikes, mattresses and tires, not to mention lots of small litter and detritus along my commute each day.

A: Maybe the best place to start is by acknowledging the magnitude of the problem. Every year the Department of Transportation (DOT) spends over four million dollars cleaning up over 3000 tons of debris and litter on state highways. Now add on more than 2000 tons and additional cost for all the work done on county and city roads. That’s over 10 million pounds of garbage picked up from our roadways in just one year. Highways don’t litter themselves. This is a human behavior problem that we spend millions of our own dollars on every year.

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White Canes, Guide Dogs and Safe Driving

Q: If I’m driving and I see someone at an intersection with a white cane or a guide dog, is there anything I should do differently than when I encounter any other pedestrian?

A: I can show you the law, but I’m no expert on this topic, so I talked with someone who has experienced first-hand what it’s like to cross a street without vision. Jim Turri is with the Washington Council of the Blind, and is himself blind. All the good parts of this article are thanks to him. The first thing he told me is excellent advice for drivers approaching a pedestrian who is vision impaired or blind, and for any other pedestrians too: Slow down. Yes, the original question asked what you should do differently, so I’ll change it to slow down more.

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Pocket Bikes – Not Even Close To Legal

Q: My son just told me he got a ride from a friend on a mini-motorcycle. It’s got a 49cc motor and looks like a regular motorcycle but much smaller. Are those legal? And if so, is there an age requirement for them? My son and his friend are 14. (And they weren’t wearing helmets.) If they’re not legal, how upset should I be about it zipping around the neighborhood?

A: Those are commonly called pocket bikes, and the answer to your first question is a big nope. They’re not even close to legal. But the people who sell them will answer in their marketing material that they are, and we’re both right. It’s just that we’re not answering the same question. I’ve assumed you want to know if it’s legal to ride on the street. The companies that sell them are just letting you know it’s legal to own one (and you’re welcome to ride it in your yard). Dig into the fine print, and they’ll recommend you check your local laws before riding them on the road. However, that’s just a way to avoid the real answer. In every state that requires motor-driven cycles to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), and I think it’s all of them, pocket bikes are not street legal.

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Getting Your Headlights Right

Q: I’m curious to know if there are any standards for car headlights as to intensity, angle and color. When I drive night I see cars which have very bright lights (as opposed to just high beams) and some cars with a range of colors (white, yellow and even a tint of blueness). If you can shed any light (pun unintended), I’d be pleased.

A: We just passed the fall equinox and entered the half of the year when there’s more darkness in 24 hours than light, so this is a perfect time to talk about headlights. As more of our driving occurs during time when headlights are required, you may want to make sure that your headlights are doing what they’re supposed to do. They should of course illuminate the road for you. One thing we don’t often consider with headlights though, is what they can do to help (or harm) other drivers.

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Short-Stopping: Where’s The Line?

Q: I sometimes see drivers at four-way stop intersections short-stopping (coming to a stop well before the stop line). It seems to me like a jerk move; they do it so that they stop before the rest of the drivers because whoever stops first is the next to go through the intersection. Is that legal?

A: I wasn’t familiar with the term “short-stopping” prior to this question, so of course, I Googled it. I learned that along with your definition, it refers to a kind of telecom fraud as well as when a drug dealer infringes on another dealer’s territory. Who knew? I also discovered that lots of people (at least on the internet) are as irritated by it as you are. I’m speaking of short-stopping at an intersection, not the other two kinds.

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Car Seats – Like a Racing Harness For Your Kid

Q: Why are car seats so hard to install? It should be a lot easier than it is. And where do I go if I need some help?

A: I hear you. Something so important shouldn’t be so hard to get right. As adults we wear seat belts, which is as simple as safety gets. Then you have a kid and you need a mechanical engineering degree to figure out how to take them home from the hospital.

Maybe some of you reading this found installing a car seat easy. If so, you’re in the minority. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 59 percent of car seats aren’t installed correctly. In the past I’d have had to include myself in that group. Back when my kids were young I took a car seat installation class and realized I’d been doing it all wrong.

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Traffic Lights Might Be Smarter Than Your Car

Q: Artificial Intelligence (AI) controlling stop lights seems much easier than AI driving a car. I’m not sure whether any are on the market yet, but seemingly AI stoplights could be an alternative to widening roads or installing new interchanges. And they would save fuel and help air quality by reducing vehicle stops and idling. When might we see AI stoplights in Washington?

A: So instead of a robot driving a car, you want robots to tell you how to drive your car? Actually, you’re totally right. Developing AI traffic control signals is more doable than building fully self-driving cars. How do I know that? Because you can drive through cities with AI traffic control right now. One thing you can’t do right now is go buy a fully autonomous car. Yes, there are a few places you can ride in an AI taxi or shuttle, but those are essentially test vehicles limited to specific routes in a handful of cities across the US.

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Country Driving for Urban Folk

Last week’s article was about some of the challenges folks in rural parts of the state face when they encounter all the lane choices on urban freeways. This week I’m flipping it around and giving the urban folks some guidance on driving rural roads. Maybe you’re thinking, “Hey, it’s a rural road. How can there be any issues when I’m pretty much driving by myself?” In 1895 there were only two cars in the entire state of Ohio, and they crashed into each other. That might just be legend, but it’s been published in multiple texts, suggesting that there is no road too rural to have a crash.

You may have heard the advice, “expect the unexpected.” Yes, the statement is somewhat illogical; however there are some things that an urban driver doesn’t expect at home but should anticipate on rural roads.

Let’s start with the biggest one, at least physically: farm equipment. I’ve never seen a tractor in downtown Seattle, but they’re common in farming communities. They’re generally on the road for short distances, moving between farms and fields. While harvest season has the most activity, farming is year-round work, and you can encounter farm vehicles any time of the year.

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Urban Driving for Country Folk

Q:  As a country guy, driving in the big city, I get confused by the diamond lanes and pay lanes and assorted left lanes in the Seattle Metro area. My wife and I travel through there, and we wonder what the rules are for the various lanes.  Can we take our 5th wheel trailer in the diamond lanes or express lanes?  Do RVs follow truck or car laws? How does one get a pay lane pass and what are the costs?

A: Despite having one set of traffic laws for the whole state, driving in Washington can be quite diverse. If you live in a rural community you probably have to leave your county to find an HOV lane, and if you live in an urban area you may have never encountered a tractor on the roadway. This week we’ll help out the country folks with lanes you’ll only encounter on urban roadways, and next week we’ll explain to city folks how to drive in the farmlands.

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