Road Rules – Page 21 – The Wise Drive

February 4, 2021July 18, 2024

Right-Of-Way And The Right Thing To Do

Q: At an intersection, where the flow of traffic in question does not have a stop sign, and there are several cars flowing through it, does a pedestrian have the right to step off the curb to cross as long as it does not cause an “immediate” hazard? Who has the right-of-way?

A: I’ll get to the actual answer in a moment, but I want to lead with this: Don’t hit the pedestrian. Yep, you already knew that, I know. My point here is that there is the right-of-way, and then there’s the right thing to do.

We often talk about who has the right-of-way, but that’s really a distortion of the language in our laws. The law doesn’t define who has the right-of-way; it states who must yield the right-of-way. Maybe that sounds like two different ways of saying the same thing, but there is a difference. Think of right-of-way as something floating out there in the universe that you can never take for yourself, but you’re free to give to someone else. Okay, now it sounds like I’m writing a new age self-help book. But the point still stands.

January 28, 2021July 18, 2024

Front License Plates: Are They Necessary?

Q: Has the Washington State law changed about vehicles displaying front license plates? In our area I have noticed a substantial number of vehicles without front plates. Some will have the plate lying on the dashboard and many seem to be newer, expensive models. Has the law changed or is it simply not being enforced?

A: Have you ever committed a minor traffic violation, like maybe you forgot to signal when you made a right turn, and then realized that there was a police officer right behind you? And maybe, if you’re lucky, you experienced this: the red and blue lights come on behind you, but when you pull over the patrol car zooms past. If so, you just got a glimpse of one enforcement demand taking priority over another.

January 21, 2021July 18, 2024

Burnouts – Which Law(s) Do They Break?

Q: I’ve seen plenty of long, black tire marks out on county roads that look intentional. Once COVID struck and the freeways were empty I even saw a 360 degree burnout on the freeway. That can’t be legal, but what law is it breaking?

A: Let me tell you about Cars and Coffee. The title is so on the nose it hardly needs explanation, but I will anyway. These are events in which automotive enthusiasts drive their show-worthy cars to a parking lot where they drink coffee, socialize and admire each others’ cars. In the few that I’ve attended (as a visitor, not a show car owner) they’ve been fun, casual events with some interesting cars.

However, and you knew there was a however, despite the “no burnouts” rule at every Cars and Coffee event, when it’s over and time to leave, there is sometimes a guy (it’s pretty much always a guy) that does it anyway. And as often happens when a car has more power than the driver has skill, some burnouts turn into crashes. When that happens, you’ll have a swarm of young men all with phone in hand, sprinting toward the car to capture the failure in close-up so they can put it on the internet. It’s like live-streaming karma.

January 14, 2021July 18, 2024

Getting Around a Neighborhood Traffic Calming Circle

Q: There is a neighborhood I drive through that has something I’d describe as little roundabouts, much smaller than a regular roundabout, in several intersections. It’s like they took a normal intersection, put a concrete circle in the middle of it and filled it with plants. Do I have to go around the circle to make a left turn, or can I just turn left in front of the circle? It’s such a tight turning radius if I go around the circle in my truck.

A: The intersection you just described goes by a few different names. The Washington Department of Transportation calls them Neighborhood Traffic Calming Circles, so we’ll go with that, but I’ll shorten it to NTCC because the full name is a mouthful. (Can you have a mouthful when your words are in print?)

If you had a time machine and you traveled back to Seattle at least ten years ago, then you could turn left in front of a NTCC. Of course, if you had a time machine, I think you’d find a better use for it than turning left in front of traffic circles. In a moment I’ll explain why it used to be allowed in Seattle, and why it’s not now.

January 7, 2021July 18, 2024

Age and Driving – Knowing When It’s Time To Stop

Q: My parents are getting older, and I’m wondering, how do I know when it’s time for them to stop driving?

A: If you’re a fan of the Guinness Book of World Records, you might have heard of Johanna Quaas, the world’s oldest gymnast. She turned 95 this year and still has a parallel bar routine that would make some of the show-offs on muscle beach reevaluate their life goals.

I mention Johanna to make the point that age itself isn’t the limiting factor in driving, or any other life activity. It’s all the things that go along with age. That might sound like two ways of saying the same thing, but I don’t think so.

December 31, 2020July 18, 2024

Distractions from Dogs

Q: Distracted driving is easy to pin on phone usage, but what about little dogs on drivers’ laps? I’ve seen so many situations that can be very dangerous due to dogs between the driver and the steering wheel or hanging out the driver’s window.

A: First the good news: At any given moment, most drivers (about 93 percent in Washington) are not distracted. Right now you’re saying, “Wait a second, there’s no way that’s true.” I know you’re saying that because that, or some variation of it, is what people usually say to me when I share that data.

December 23, 2020July 18, 2024

Saving Pedestrians With Your Headlights

Q: I’m concerned about pedestrians getting killed on the road. I think the lack of use of high beam lights is likely the cause of the drivers not seeing the pedestrians. I have a problem for you to solve. How far do typical low beam lights light the road ahead and how long does it take the average driver to stop their car traveling at 50 mph? Could these lives have been spared had the drivers just used their high beam lights?

A: Having just experienced the darkest day of the year (we always call it the shortest day, but it’s still 24 hours long so that’s not really accurate is it?) it seems appropriate to talk about headlights. With over 15 hours of darkness in every day this week, there’s a good chance that some of your driving will be in the dark.

December 17, 2020July 18, 2024

Solutions to Speeding

Q: How do we get semis to slow down on the freeway? I was going 69 mph on the freeway and one passed me.

A: I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you were in a 70 mph zone when this happened because I want to believe the best of the people who send me questions. But at the same time, I’m not entirely confident that I’m right, because I’ve had a number (not too big a number, but a big enough number) of people admit to me that they’re speeding while asking what’s going to be done to stop the people speeding even faster. It brings to mind the quote by George Carlin: “Anyone that’s driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone driving faster than you is a maniac.”

December 10, 2020July 18, 2024

Getting a DUI for Talking on Your Phone?

Q: Is it true you can get a DUI for texting or talking on your phone while driving? I’ve heard that people have gotten arrested for it, and that doesn’t seem right.

A: In 2017 Washington legislators overhauled our distracted driving law which, despite being only being ten years old, was already obsolete. Actually, it was obsolete within weeks of being passed. Back in 2007, when our first distracted driving law was written, it prohibited holding the phone to your ear to talk and sending text messages. That seemed reasonable at the time because the only thing you could do with a cell phone was call and text. That all changed with the launch of the iPhone, which came out in, you guessed it, 2007.

December 3, 2020July 18, 2024

If It Melts Ice, It Probably Rusts Your Car

Q: What kind of substance is applied to the local roads during freezing weather? Is the liquid mixture salt or something else? What kind of damage can it cause to cars?

A: Rust. That’s the one word answer. As to what the substance is, that answer is more complicated. But rather than turn this into a chemistry lesson, let’s take a short trip back in time, to the Great Seattle Salt Debate of 2008.

Maybe you remember; the city of Seattle had decided to abandon salt as a treatment for icy and snowy roads, committing instead to using sand. And then the city was hit by the biggest snowfall in a decade. Many roads were impassable, leading to a collision that made international news when two buses full of students slid down a hill and crashed through a concrete barricade, the front quarter of one bus dangling over I-5 thirty feet below. (By magic, luck, physics or divine intervention there were no serious injuries.) In the aftermath, the city switched back to using salt, or other salt-ish chemicals. Some folks speculate that the mayor’s no-salt stance cost him the next election.