Everything Traffic Safety
Q: I know you’re supposed to yield to pedestrians crossing the street at an intersection, but does an alley count as an intersection?
A: An alley does not count as an intersection, but I don’t think that gets to the heart of your question. If I can take the liberty to interpret what you’re asking, I’d guess that what we’re getting at is, “Who yields to who (or is it whom?) where an alley meets a street?” And yes, it’s whom. I just checked.
Continue reading “Yielding at an Alley”
Q: I recently found out that headlights are required 30 minutes after dusk. Wouldn’t it make more sense to require headlights before it gets dark instead of after? And if someone doesn’t have their headlights on at night is it okay to flash my lights to let them know?
A: You’re absolutely right about it making sense to turn headlights on before it gets dark. And based on the word count in your question, you’re roughly 95 percent right about the law. The law doesn’t used the word “dusk”; it uses “sunset.” On a side note, wouldn’t it be great if our correctness was judged on how many words we got right instead of the overall level of accuracy of a statement based on one incorrect word? Okay, maybe that’s a terrible idea, but anyone with good grammar could be factually wrong a lot and still have a high correctness score.
Continue reading “Sunset, Dusk, and Headlights”
Q: Do I have to use my turn signal, even if there is no one around? Do I have to keep my turn signal on when I’m stuck at a light at an intersection? After a while the blinking gets pretty annoying.
A: Is there a revolt brewing against the consistent use of turn signals? In the last few weeks it’s come up repeatedly in conversations I’ve had and in questions sent to me.
It seems like drivers wanted turn signals long before car manufacturers were willing to install them. In 1907 Percy Douglas-Hamilton applied for the first patent for turn signals. His system used lights shaped like hands, because at that time people used hand signals to indicate their turns. In 1914 Florence Lawrence invented a turn signal system. (Florence’s mother invented automatic windshield wipers; quite an innovative family.) Then there was the Protex Safety Signal Company in 1920, Edgar Waltz, Jr. in 1925, and Oscar Simler in 1929.
Continue reading “Giving the Signal”
Q: You say the goal of Target Zero is to eliminate all fatal crashes, but that’s not a very realistic goal, is it? Why set an unrealistic goal?
A: Allow me to make the goal even harder. The goal of Target Zero is to eliminate all fatal and serious injury crashes. How’s that for a big reach? Impossible? In the past when I’ve talked with people about Target Zero, I’ve described it as an aspirational goal; something we should always aim for, even if we never quite get there. And on one level that makes sense. If we instead set a goal of reducing traffic fatalities by half we’re sort of accepting that over 18,000 people will still die in crashes in the US. Yep, if you double that, you’ll be close to the 36,560 total traffic fatalities for 2018. Better to aspire to an impossible goal and achieve milestones along the way than to reach an achievable goal and think our work is done. Or so I thought.
Continue reading “How Realistic is Target Zero?”
Q: Why is it illegal to have a conversation with someone on a phone while driving, but it’s fine to have a conversation with the passenger in the seat next to you? Aren’t they both distracting? And I’m not suggesting that they should make talking to a passenger illegal.
A: Not all conversations are created equally. You already know that’s true after having to sit through listening to Uncle Leonard at Christmas dinner drone on about how he changed the propeller on his boat to a 14 inch stainless steel three-blade with a 21 inch pitch, and with the new Mercury 175 four stroke mounted on the transom he should be able to . . . Okay, I don’t remember anything after that. But I’m sure he’ll explain it again at the next family get-together.
Continue reading “Where Your Friend Is Matters”
A few weeks ago I pointed out that overall traffic fatalities both
in our state and nationally declined last year, but at the same time pedestrian
and cyclist fatalities have increased. In Washington we’ve had an increase in
pedestrian and cyclist-involved crashes, but even more concerning is that
pedestrians are dying at a higher rate. In case you missed the previous column,
here’s a quick refresher on the data: In 2013 we had 3118 crashes involving
pedestrians and cyclists, resulting in 63 fatalities. Last year we had 3718
pedestrian/cyclist-involved crashes, resulting in 120 fatalities. That’s a 19
percent increase in crashes, but a 90 percent increase in fatalities.
I don’t have a good answer for why vehicle/pedestrian crashes have
increased, but as I mentioned previously, there is some evidence for why the
fatality rate has shot up. And right now I’m about to alienate about 43 percent
of my audience. A big reason for the increase in pedestrian fatalities can be
blamed on SUVs and pickups. Don’t take this personally; I’m not accusing owners
of SUVs and pickups (or what the industry calls light trucks) of being worse
drivers. Crash rates for SUVs and cars are about the same. The problem lies in
what happens to a pedestrian in a crash.
Q: It’s common now to see our Canadian friends gassing up their tanks, and then filling up multiple large plastic containers in the trunk. Is this safe? Is it even legal? Seems like it would be a real danger in the event of a serious rear-ender.
A: The answer to this question is way more technical than I anticipated, and to answer with confidence I’d need to be much more well-versed in hazardous materials than I currently am. With that disclaimer up front, I’ll give it my best shot. (And if any hazmat experts out there see something I missed or got wrong, let me know.) You asked if it is both safe and legal; those two answers are not necessarily the same.
Continue reading “Do You Have a Gas Problem?”
In your lifetime you’ve probably heard “the man” tell you not to do a lot of things. Don’t litter, don’t talk during the movie, don’t feed the wildlife, don’t play with matches; you can come up with more, I’m sure. Yes, it’s all sound advice, but the best part of life isn’t in the not doing, but the doing. At most, the “don’t” messages are good but incomplete.
Around the holidays the message is often “don’t drink and drive” or “don’t drive high.” There’s a solid reason for that message; in Washington about half of all traffic fatalities involve an impaired driver, even though most people don’t do it. Possibly the most famous of the impairment “don’t” messages has been “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” Almost everyone agrees with that (as you’ll soon see in the data). But what does it look like to not do something? If we don’t let our friends drive impaired, what is it that we are doing?
Continue reading “Friends Let Friends Crash on the Couch”
Q: In last week’s article you talked about some traffic violations being infractions and some being crimes. Both of them are still illegal, so what’s the difference? Why are there separate categories?
A: If you commit an infraction, you’re a scofflaw; if you commit a crime, you’re a criminal. That’s not really true. I just like the sound of “scofflaw” and wanted to use it. You’re right that both traffic infractions and traffic crimes are violations of the law, but there are some real differences, both in the consequences and in the court process. That’s because infractions, as civil violations, follow a different legal process than criminal violations.
Continue reading “If They’re Both Wrong, What’s The Difference?”
Q: I’ve heard that if you drive at twice the speed limit instead of getting a speeding ticket you’ll get arrested. Is that true?
A: While driving at double the speed limit is bound to get you in some trouble, I’m not aware of any equation, at least in Washington, that automatically moves a speeder from infraction territory to a crime. That’s not to say that you can’t get arrested for speeding; just that there isn’t a pre-set threshold. It’s actually more complicated than that.
Continue reading “When Speed Becomes Reckless”