Everything Traffic Safety
Q: Too often I read or hear about young people involved in serious car crashes. I’m guessing that’s because they’re in them more often than experienced drivers. Why are they crashing more? Are they not getting enough training? What can we do about it?
Starting next week, extra patrols will be happening all over Washington, focusing on drivers who don’t wear their seatbelts. If that’s you, you’re in a dwindling minority. About 95 percent of Washington drivers wear a seatbelt. This PSA takes a scary/humorous approach to the importance of wearing a seatbelt.
Q: Heading west on Fraser St, off of Woburn, there is a school speed limit 20 MPH sign and a flashing light. There is no sign indicating where the school zone ends, so I usually assume it ends where the school zone sign starts on the opposite side of the road (the sign for drivers heading east). Where does it really end? And why isn’t there a sign?
Q: Are you concerned about the role of robot cars in the future?
Q1: At a two-way stop intersection where cross-traffic doesn’t stop, what is the protocol if cars approach the stop signs at different times during heavy traffic, and have conflicting proposed motions? If I am taking a left turn from one stop sign, and waiting for cross-traffic to clear, and a car comes up to the other stop sign opposite me, wanting to go straight, who is required to wait for the other? Would I be required to wait for the opposite car, even though I arrived at the intersection first?
Continue reading “Can You Ever Really Have The Right-Of-Way?”
Q: Why don’t you write about drivers that are too cautious? Numerous times I’ve witnessed drivers that drive 45-50 MPH on the freeway, stop at the top of the ramp before entering the freeway, refuse to turn left against oncoming traffic until the left turn signal light returns, drive 10 car lengths behind another car in a 35 MPH zone, drive 25 MPH in a 35 MPH zone, and stop 60 feet before a crosswalk startling the car behind them.
Continue reading “Can You Be Too Cautious?”
Q: Is it legal to park in front of a mailbox? My neighbor keeps parking in front of mine, and I’m missing mail deliveries. Asking him to park somewhere else hasn’t worked because there is a shortage of parking spaces in the neighborhood, so I’m hoping there is a law that can be enforced.
April is Distracted Driving Awareness month, and our local law enforcement agencies are doing their part to reduce the number of distracted drivers on our roads. I talked with Bellingham Police Traffic Sergeant Carr Lanham about how and why this emphasis patrol is so important. Here’s what he said:
Q: Last summer the state passed a tougher distracted driving law. Is it working? It doesn’t look like it to me.
Continue reading “Distracted Driving Makes You Dumb (For Real)”
Here’s a distracted driving PSA with a happy mom, a cute kid, and no car crashes. How is that possible? Good decisions.
At any given moment, less than one in ten people are using their phones while driving. If you’re still on the phone behind the wheel, you’re including yourself in a dying breed. (Bad pun, sorry.) Join us in making driving the priority. If not for yourself, then for your most valuable cargo.
Continue reading “New Distracted Driving PSA – This One Is For The Moms”