Category: Road Rules

Q: What are the rules about electric bikes and electric scooters?  We have them riding down the roads and sidewalks and now some of them are doing 45mph. Do riders need a motorcycle endorsement and vehicle registration? What about safety equipment?

A: An electric bike that can go 45 mph is a fictional vehicle. At least according to the law. Here’s what I mean: Washington law classifies electric bikes in three categories. Class three (the fastest category) is limited to a top speed of 28 mph. Any two wheeled vehicle that is capable of speeds greater than 28 mph is not an electric bike (by law).

Continue reading “Is it Really an Electric Bike?”

Q: How should cars and horses share the road? Some horse people say drivers should slow down to five mph and give a wide berth to the horses so they don’t freak out and throw the riders. I was told by someone else that drivers can be ticketed if they move into the opposite lane of travel to give room to horses although I’ve never heard of that happening.

A: I used to live in a semi-rural area, and occasionally I encountered folks riding their horses on the road. Whenever I passed them, I got a particular hand gesture. No, not that one. The one where you hold your arm straight out, hand facing palm down, and repeatedly motion toward the ground. You probably already know what it means, so it’s probably safe to declare it the universal hand sign for “slow down.” Or maybe not, since American Sign Language has an official sign for “slow down” (but it wouldn’t work very well for a vehicle approaching from behind).

Continue reading “Passing Horses on the Road”

Q: Is it lawful for police vehicles to exceed posted speed limits without having their emergency signals activated?

A: Years ago in a former career I was a freshly minted deputy sheriff, ready to protect and serve, and set a good example of safe driving. I made a commitment to always follow the speed limit. It did not take long to discover that a few other drivers I shared the road with did not have that same commitment. My commute to work included a good stretch of freeway driving, and you can guess what would happen (but I’ll tell you anyway.)

I’d see a car approaching in my rear-view mirror and know the moment the driver figured out they were about to pass a patrol car. The nose of their car would dip as they hit the brakes and moved to the right lane behind me. After several cars stacked up, another one would come up in the passing lane and do the same thing, but now there was no room to move to the right. Eventually we’d have a convoy of cars traveling exactly at the speed limit.

Continue reading “Speeding Police Cars”

Q: Are there rules for where no-passing zones have to be placed? Is it just totally to the discretion of traffic engineers or are there regulations to follow? I ask because I find it rather odd that not all intersections are worthy of a no-passing zone.

A: If it turns out that the determination for no-passing zones was “just totally to the discretion of traffic engineers” would that be a bad thing? I’m wondering, who else would you prefer made that decision? Your barber? Your retirement planner? The quarterback from your favorite team? I have as much interest in watching a football game with team rosters made entirely of traffic engineers (I’m sure they’re great, really) as I do consulting with a roomful of NFL players on what zone to set up (assuming we’re talking about road design and not defensive strategies). Generally, I’m a fan of letting the pros do what they’re good at.

Continue reading “No-Passing Zones”

Q: Who has the right-of-way if one direction of traffic has a “right turn yield” and the opposite has “left hand yield on green”? People always act like they have the right-of-way going in both directions, often nearly causing crashes.

A. In life (and in driving) we’re in an ongoing pursuit of understanding. At the same time, perfect understanding is unachievable. A Sisyphean task, to be sure. I lead with that in order that we might have grace and patience for the people we share the road with when they fall short of understanding how to properly yield the right-of-way.

Continue reading “Dealing with Dual Yields”

Q: Is it legal to have a strobe light on the front of your bicycle? In my experience, the strobe light is distracting and dangerous, and cyclists need to realize that while the driver is distracted by the flashing light, everything else disappears. Like a moth to a flame, drivers are drawn to flashing lights and nothing else.

A: Do you want to be noticed, or do you want to be understood? I know, it sounds like some faux-philosophical question posed by an aspiring Instagram influencer. Really though, it’s a question about lights.

Continue reading “Flashing Headlights (on Bicycles)”

Q: In a construction zone with a speed limit of say 35 mph, where the speed limit is normally 55, once through the construction when does the speed limit change back to 55? Is it at the “end road work” sign, or not until you see the next 55 mph sign, which could be miles away?

A: Somebody just read the last part of this question and thought, “come on, miles away? You’re just being dramatic.” Not necessarily. The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Traffic Manual specifies where speed limit signs should be prominently located “for maximum awareness.” It includes the places you’d expect: when the speed limit changes, at major interchanges or intersections, and at state and city limits. Oh yeah, there’s one more on the list. In rural areas, speed limit signs are spaced at 10-to-20-mile intervals (for maximum awareness.) No, that’s not a burn on WSDOT. There’s a science to proper sign placement, and they know what they’re doing.

Continue reading “Construction Zone Speed Limits”

Q: I was on a state highway and saw what I thought was a stop sign posted on the side of the road, not near an intersection. As I got closer, I saw that the sign actually said “shop” and was in front of a store. Other than the change from ‘t’ to ‘h’ it looked like an official stop sign. Is that legal?

A: There’s a line somewhere between clever marketing and criminal behavior. Remember the Fyre Festival? That was the once-in-a-lifetime music festival on an island in the Bahamas with luxury accommodations, gourmet meals, and a line-up of famous bands. Sounds like catnip for influencers, right? In reality, attendees were housed in disaster relief tents with rain-soaked mattresses, served pre-packaged cheese sandwiches, and the bands didn’t show up. That kind of misleading marketing gets you a six-year prison sentence and 26 million dollars of restitution.

Continue reading “Illegal Traffic Signs”

Q: Do electric cars have a sound added to them? I heard one drive past me the other day and it sounded like something from Star Wars.

A: In 1886 the Benz Patent Motor Car made its debut as the first car powered by an internal combustion engine. Ever since then, nearly every car you’ve encountered has had a similar inherent safety feature: they’re noisy. Particularly for pedestrians, the engine noise generated by a car is an effective warning. Before you even see a vehicle, you can make a decent guess about how close it is, how fast it’s going, whether it’s approaching or moving away from you, and even how big it is.

Continue reading “Your Car Sounds Like a Spaceship”

Q: I have an old car with broken air conditioning, and I’ve found that driving with the windows down hurts my ears (and I’m concerned with long-term hearing loss). I assume people with convertibles might suffer this same issue. Is it legal to wear earplugs while driving? And if so, do you recommend anything in particular?

A: Assuming you’re not willing to keep your windows up while driving (and I understand why you might not – a closed-up car on a summer day can get unbearably hot,) I feel like there’s not a perfect answer to this question. It’s a trade-off between long-term hearing loss and immediate driving safety.

Continue reading “Driving with Earplugs”