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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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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.

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Side-By-Side Cycling Vs. Riding To The Right

Q: I have had some vigorous discussions about bike etiquette with my die-hard biking friends. My question is about RCW 46.61.770 “Riding on roadways and bicycle paths.” Section (1) says ride as far to the right as possible if traffic is going faster than the cyclist, and Section (5) says riders may ride no more than two abreast. This seems contradictory to Section (1) for the rider to the left when two are abreast. Can riders ride two abreast on a county highway?

A: Can two opposing ideas both be true? Philosophers and scientists have debated this question; Einstein theorized that it’s a fundamental structure of the universe. But that’s about as far as I go with quantum physics, so let’s start with a look at the law.

Yes, the law allows cyclists to ride two abreast on the road. Actually, if we want to get technical about it, the law sets a limit, stating, “Persons riding bicycles on a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast.”

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The Opposite Of How Roundabouts Work

Q: We’ve all driven through the roundabouts and while I feel like the general idea is to alleviate congestion I cannot help but feel like I’m fighting for a spot before I’m smashed by the oncoming vehicle. I’m curious if there has ever been any official statement or even suggestion on how to navigate roundabouts correctly? I could be wrong but it sure seems like if everyone let the car at the next entrance freely come into the circle (please just go! There is no stop sign!) we’d all move along a little more efficiently. Can you please tell me if the roundabout is set up on basic common sense and common courtesy or is it a kill-or-be-killed system?

A: Oh boy, where do I start? Let’s begin with this: I’m confident that our traffic engineers aren’t out there designing kill-or-be-killed infrastructure. Actually, when it comes to roundabouts, the data show the exact opposite. Roundabouts reduce total crashes by 37 percent, injury crashes by 75 percent, fatal crashes by 90 percent and pedestrian collisions by 40 percent compared to traditional intersections. Beyond safety, roundabouts can handle more cars per hour than a light-controlled intersection, improving transportation efficiency. They’re also more cost-effective to maintain and they still work when the power goes out.

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Expired Tabs, Loud Mufflers and What To Do About Them

Q1: I have noticed that a lot of cars have expired tabs. Is that not being enforced anymore? What is the current fine for not having current tabs displayed?

Q2: Why are the police not enforcing a muffler regulation? I hear muffler-free cars all days sounding off; have things changed?

A: What do expired tabs and loud exhausts have in common? It sounds like the setup for a joke, doesn’t it? I wish I had a good punchline for you. While I’m thinking of one, here’s a summary of the law for both violations:

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Can You Leave Your Engine Running on an Electric Car?

Q: I have Chevy Bolt EV and during the recent heat wave I left the vehicle “on” while parking in order to leave the air conditioning running. The car is designed so that it can turn itself “on” in order to cool the battery, so turning it “off” doesn’t mean it’ll necessarily stay “off”. Making the vehicle move when it’s “on” still requires that you have the fob, have your foot on the brake, your thumb on the shifter button while shifting out of park, after taking off the parking brake. So, in my opinion with all these interlocks, it’s perfectly safe. But is it legal in Washington?

A: Back in 1965 (and probably even earlier, but that’s far enough back for the purposes of this article) we had a law in Washington that stated, “No person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle shall permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake . . .” Fifty-five years later, our current law on unattended vehicles starts with the exact same sentence.

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Motorcycles: Passing is not Lane Sharing

Q: Can a motorcycle pass another motorcycle on the right if the riders are not lane sharing?

A:  My favorite motorcycle movie has to be Hot Rod; a film in which stunt man Rob Kimble tries to earn his step-dad’s respect by attempting (and failing) numerous motorcycle jumps. It’s probably the least capable motorcycle rider doing the dumbest riding ever put on the big screen. At the other extreme, there’s The Terminator, who races helmetless through Los Angeles traffic, smashing through chain link gates, jumping his Harley into an aqueduct and outmaneuvering a villain in a truck to rescue the young John Connor.

The common denominator is that both riders take extreme risks on their motorcycles, and both survive. The Terminator survives because he’s an indestructible robot from the future; Rod Kimble survives because the hero never dies in a fictional comedy.

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Putting Up A Sign Doesn’t Make It Official

Q: I live in a rural town and my neighbors have been harassing us lately to slow down on a road that by law is 25 mph. They have today now posted a “slow down: speed limit 10 mph” sign they bought off the internet. Does this sign have any legal standing?

A: Can you imagine if you really could just decide what you wanted the speed limit to be in front of your house and then put up a sign? What happens if I think the speed on my street should be 20 mph, but my neighbor three doors down prefers 50 mph? With enough opinions, we could be changing speed limits at each property line, and maybe even have different speed limits on each side of the street. Of course, this is all nonsense, as it’s not up to the individual residents on a street to decide the speed limit.

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What Kind Of Parent Lets Their Teenager Go On A Road Trip?

Q: My daughter just graduated from high school, and now she and her friends are planning a multi-day road trip to celebrate. I’m not sure how smart or safe it is to let four teenagers drive together for several days. I’m trying to figure out if letting her go makes me a good parent or a bad parent.

A: I am reasonably qualified to answer a question about traffic safety. I’m certainly not qualified to determine if you’re a good or bad parent, so I can’t help you there. However, the fact that you’re asking the question has me leaning toward the former.

I can imagine the questions you’re asking yourself, because several years ago I was asking myself the same ones as my son departed on a road trip with some recently graduated friends. Based on that statement, you might think I’m going to recommend that you let your daughter go on the trip. But I’m smarter than that; I’m not going to tell another parent what’s right for their kid.

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The Dance: Opposing Turns In An Intersection

Q: I’m new to Washington State and I’m curious about left turns at lights with no protected signal. When turning right onto a multi-lane road, I know that I must enter the lane closest to me. When turning left on a green light, I must also pull into the lane nearest me. So when two cars are turning onto the same multi-lane street from opposite directions, we both have the right of way into our own lane, correct?

A:  Welcome to Washington! I might be biased, but I think it’s pretty amazing here. Lots of other people, possibly including you, agree with me, which sometimes leads to folks who have recently moved here questioning traffic rules they thought they knew. This is just a guess: Either you come from a state where the rules are as you described in your question and when you encountered this scenario here it didn’t play out as expected, or you came from a state where the rules were different and now you’re trying to figure out how to apply the new rules.

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