Driver’s Ed

A crash course for drivers.

The Seattle switch

This happens so often in the Pacific Northwest, there has to be a study somewhere to explain it. You’re driving along, in one lane of a two-lane highway. It’s not crowded. There are no cars in sight behind you, and just one up ahead. You’re in one lane, and the car up in front of you is in the other. But not for long… There’s something they must teach in driver’s ed in the Pacific Northwest that they don’t teach anywhere else. (OK, there are actually a lot of things they teach in the PNW that they don’t teach…

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Speed bumps slow leftists

I was recently driving in a neighborhood that had this, the rarest style of speed bump: Unlike most speed bumps, which span the width of the road, this one defeats the purpose a bit by leaving two tire-width swaths unencumbered by speedbump. Thought exercise: When you approach this speed bump, do you position your car so at least one side threads the needle and avoids the bump? Or do you just drive to avoid the divots and make sure both wheels experience the speed bump? If you illustrated the most basic creative problem solving and said you’d avoid the…

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Desire to control – a reliable indicator of liberals

Caring about what other people have. Caring about what other people are doing. Caring about what other people are saying. These are all personality indicators of liberals. (Like all human traits, they’re not 100% reliable. But definitely directionally correct.) It’s why most Hollywood actors and actresses are liberals, and why those who follow them are, as well. By definition, actors care what their audiences think because the entire point of the exercise is to make them think and feel something specific. And to spend any mental energy caring about what celebrities are doing is take the focus off your…

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The Seattle blockade

There’s a driving phenomena that I’ve only noticed in Seattle, and it’s prevalent: the Seattle Blockade. I’ve never driven anywhere where so many drivers consistently drive exactly the same speed next to each other. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on the highway or on city streets. For however long the road is, it is not at all uncommon to find two, or sometimes three, drivers who drive exactly the same speed, right next to each other. And, as you would expect, always at or under the speed limit. As I’ve wondered before about whether or not the State of…

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Stop… and then go

When I’m approaching a stop sign at a four-way intersection, and someone is already stopped at one of the signs to my right or left, I’m expecting them to go after they’ve stopped. But instead, too often those people wait until you stop at your stop sign before they go. Yesterday, I was driving up to a four-way stop sign intersection. As I was approaching, there was a car on my right already stopped at their stop sign. I was hoping they’d move on so that when I stopped at my stop sign, I could just go right away….

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Getting somewhere fast isn’t just about speeding

This morning, I was driving my normal route to work. The speed limit is pretty consistently 40 mph until I hit the highway. In a 40, I always drive 50. (10 over is pretty much my rule, unless it’s a 25 mph zone. Then it’s 5-7 mph over the speed limit.) Today, I was pretty much alone on the road. There was one car about 200 yards ahead of me, and then I noticed one coming up from behind me. As I was going 50, he must have been going at least 55-60 mph. As he passed me, he…

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Abandoning common sense for the sake of rules

The other day, I pulled up to a four way lighted intersection at 5:15am. There were no other cars visible. When I arrived at the light it turned green so I could drive through. Because there wasn’t anyone standing there when it turned, the walk light didn’t change. Just after the light turned, and I started driving through, a man walked up to the light with the intent of crossing with the green. However, because he didn’t arrive in time to push the button to enable the walk light, he didn’t get the walk light. Instead of walking anyway,…

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Don’t wait for me to stop before you go

Have you ever approached an intersection governed by a stop sign to see another car already waiting at one of the other stop signs? There they sit. Stopped at their stop sign as you approach. And they wait. And wait. And you finally arrive at your stop sign. But instead of being able to stop and go, you now have to wait for them to go. They could have gone while you were approaching, but instead they sat there. Now, instead of stopping and going right away, you now have to stop and wait for them. If everyone simply…

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Not going to sugarcoat this one…

I’m not going to dress this one up or wrap it in a story. It’s pretty straightforward. If you’re pulling out of a residential area or parking lot onto a busy road, don’t pull out right in front of another car unless you are certain you’re going to drive faster than that car is going. And if, for some reason, you misjudged their speed, and you do, go at least as fast as that car, if not faster. It’s just courtesy. (This, by the way, is made worse when you pull out right in front of a car with…

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Solving road rage… or enhancing it

With all of the apps and in-car communication devices proliferating on our phones and in our vehicles, I think there’s an opportunity to solve our road rage issues. Like the anonymous internet, where everyone feels empowered to say whatever cold, ruthless, and heartless things to people that they would never say to their face, people freely sit in their cars and shout at each other or give other drivers the finger (or a variety of other meaningless articulations). So what if we personalized driving? What if there was a way to communicate with the drivers around you. Obviously, one…

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