Road Rules – Page 19 – The Wise Drive

October 14, 2021July 18, 2024

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.

October 7, 2021July 18, 2024

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.

September 30, 2021July 18, 2024

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.

September 23, 2021July 18, 2024

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.

September 16, 2021July 18, 2024

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.

September 9, 2021July 18, 2024

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.

September 2, 2021July 18, 2024

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.

August 26, 2021July 18, 2024

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.

August 19, 2021July 18, 2024

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.

August 12, 2021July 18, 2024

Comparing Washington to the World – Impaired Driving

Q: I’m wondering how other states compare to Washington regarding how much alcohol you’re allowed to consume and still drive. Isn’t there a state or two that has zero tolerance? I know some countries also have zero tolerance. I wonder if the law allowing up to .08 BAC or 5 ng/mL for cannabis gives people the idea that driving with some substances is okay, or that we are “safe” within those limits. Why isn’t Washington’s BAC limit lower?

A: Your question brings up a misperception that I see repeatedly; the idea that it’s okay to drive as long as your Blood Alcohol Level (BAC) is lower than .08. I’ll get to the comparisons you asked about in a moment, but if there’s one thing I want people to take away from reading this, it’s that you can be impaired (and get arrested for impaired driving) well below the per se limit of .08.