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Then suddenly it's THERE! Right behind you and you have cars on both sides and in front of you!
And as we all know, it's better to use vehicles instead of just letting them sit.
I am sure some of that sending a hook and ladder to get a frisbee off a roof is good driver's training, too - I have good respect for those who drive such vehicles (and trucks and buses) on city streets here.
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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No issues here.
Teenager driven cars should have a device that zaps them when they yap or text.
The first roundabout that I know of was installed probably fifteen years ago and is several blocks from house right by I-90 where Bellevue turns into Issaquah.
At first they made it simply too small for trucks and busses to get around unless they drove on top of the thing which they did. It wasn't until the third remodel that they got it "right".
Now, they have merged another roundabout into it so it's a "double".
It's not a matter of not liking change. Most drivers by now have it figured out and know what to do. It's the over aggressive drivers that charge right in or the overally timid people who are too nervous to make a move when needed.
Quite a few people fit into those two categories and THAT is why I don't like them.
If cam to life in I believe the 1930's. I believe four main streets fed into it and it was NASTY to navigate. There were at least two lanes going around the thing and you had to be constantly moving your head. It was possible to make three trips around if you missed your exit.
It was universally despised by everyone and accidents were commonplace.
When I was about 17 a fog bank moved off the ocean and I had to drive my VW beetle through the traffic circle not being able to see ten feet. I rolled down my window and listened for cars that might be in my way!
Maybe those memories still sour my opinion of them.
I heard they redid the old Traffic Circle a few years ago and made it better.
If you "google" Long Beach Traffic Circle you can read about it. It was HUGE and nothing like the wimpy ones we have here in WA.
Here's a huge circle I remember driving through in Hollywood, FL - even the nutjob Florida drivers seemed to get it. Unfortunately, many entrances have lights, defeating the purpose.
On the dumb driver front, today I saw a Jetta turn right from a straight only lane, no signal, then veer through an occupied crosswalk. No cops around, of course.
12 major arterials feeding into the circle.
Wife and I watched the carnage from atop the arc one time, at rush hour, on a Friday...
We couldn't stop laughing.
I suspect the cost is the big issue. Maybe realize that massive infrastructure projects helped create the boom which did alot to make some more experienced people relatively prosperous. Maybe it needs to be paid forward.
Arc de Triomphe is insanity of its own world - roadways designed before cars existed. I love the bikes and scooters weaving around too - the average WA driver would freeze up and cry in that scene.
Would ladder trucks need to go on EMT calls?
The amount of people from first world Europe who have visited an American urban area and remarked about the skill of drivers and quality of infrastructure is exactly zero. People who have passports and working minds and have explored other areas know it could be better here. Back when some of the past generations were young, the US had world-beating infrastructure. Now, it doesn't, as those of the past don't value progress or exceptionalism as they claim, rather, they just want to clutch the prosperity they often blindly walked in to.
Or, of course, it's handy to rescue a cat.
In the summer they line up motorcycles in a row!
Also lots of them around the 148th/150th area near the HQ, although I suspect most hurrying through that area are heading to 'Lil Jon's for a bite to eat.
Was out last night in downtown Bellevue - stuck behind an old X5 going ~20 in a 30, it slowly stumbled into a turn lane, I went around and tooted the hooter, it then got behind me - I figured I might have incited a road rager - but it kept crawling, and then went an opposite direction. I suspect someone was really lost, or drunk.
We need that gun that kills people for 10 minutes :@
(We lost by one to ranked Colorado State in OT.
My Barber Shop is in that little strip mall facing the Toyota store.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Low and behold, a Dodge Durango decides that lighting is not important and flies out into the intersection from the left. I brake, the guy next to me brakes, and we both sit there in the intersection barely crawling forward as this Durango, which flew quickly into the middle of the intersection (protruding partially into my lane), comes to a near-stop, then turns on his left blinker and *slowly* (and I do mean SLOWLY) pulls into my lane ahead of me. Then, the guy manages to crawl up to about 30. I waited for the right lane to clear, gave him a few seconds to pull right (which he never did), then blew around him and continued on my way.
It warmed up dramatically over the last couple of days (went from -20 on Saturday to about 30 now), so the roads definitely slicked up at intersections yesterday. I suspect that they may have approached the intersection expecting a green light to hold, it turned yellow, and they didn't make the stop (although, when I saw him, it didn't look like he was trying to stop), and decided to just go. Then, when he saw us driving through, he panicked a little.
But, that doesn't explain why he failed to accelerate unless he was a little gun shy about the road conditions all of a sudden.
Did y'all move away from Fairbanks?
On the "pointlessly overdoing it" tangent, the City of Bellevue has done a bang up job of slatherng the hill I live on with de-icing liquid and powder, no concern that humidity is very low (and barometric pressure is at record heights) - so there's zero ice anywhere anyway, so little that cars left out all night in 25F temps have no frost on them. Must be a cushy OT padding for some, probably at the behest of the same "engineers" who perpetually fail to optimize traffic controls. Must be a nice gig, no worries, good enough. It'll be fun when it rains again and all that gunk gets coated on cars and makes windshields nice and oily.
Last year, the City of Seattle dumped so much de-icer on a bridge, in fear of a snow event that never materialized, that cars crashed from the slickness. I hope that resulted in some legal action.
I like that last part, it works with the perpetual dumbing down/"safe" movement that is turning the roads into a lowest common denominator paradise.
Another nice commute today, love this week. I better enjoy it. While on foot saw some crosswalk crowding stupids and a small woman in a large Dodge 4x4 "driving" and playing with her phone, so I know I am still in the same place. Maybe along with progressive fines, there should be progressive penalties based on vehicle size/risk.
And the de-icer seems to have mostly evaporated today. I wonder if some nice OT will be earned by replacing it in the low humidity no frost environment tonight.
I'm talking about young, able bodied people here.
Had the old car out today - a Prius pulled out in front of me (clear line of sight) like I wasn't there, then proceeded to go slower than I prefer, even in a car that's far from fast. Saw another Prius tailgating and trying to dodge through traffic, but having no luck. Some things stay the same in a new year. All I needed was a non-signaling Range Rover or X5.
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
for Bonus Points: wait until the last second to take the left, just as the light is yellow and about to turn red. This leaves the fraidy-cat parked exactly where they were before, at a red light, awaiting a left, never moving into the intersection. In Boston, people go-around and take the left ahead of the fraidy-cat - one light cycle after another, leaving the fraidy-cat stuck at the left turn for quite a while, s/he learns how to take a left turn in a busy intersection.
btw, one time for a "friend of mine", a very unpleasant interstate-roadside conversation&paperwork with a state employee and resulting remuneration to the state confirmed that a single strobe/flash of the turn-signal is enough to satisfy the requirement to signal before changing lanes !
no-headlights-at-night became much worse when DRLs were mandated. another example of unintended bad side-effect of a federal mandate.
(A much worse example of unintended result is:
The hundreds of infant fatalities due to being left in back seat accidentally in a hot car - caused by the federal airbag-mandate for front-passenger seat. Such deaths did not occur prior to the federal airbag mandate because parents know better than the feds in this case: infant-seat is often best-placed in front passenger seat, not in the back seat.)
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Are DRLs mandated now? I thought that was only in Canuckistan and maybe some European areas. When I mention a car with no lights, I mean nothing - no DRLs, no parking lights (some still love to run with only parking lights - I guess they don't want to be *too* visible, and I think some think it looks cool, in a weird cultural or generational way that I don't understand), nothing - just a non-illuminated two ton box whizzing down the road in the dark. Oblivion is inconsiderate, for sure.
I haven't seen any quantifiable data showing the airbag requirement actually produces infant deaths - sounds more like inconsiderate/inept parenting, to me.
On the thread topic, haven't seen too much lately, traffic still seems lighter than around Christmas. I did notice people were moving a little slow yesterday, even for this area, but that happens now and then.
And, regarding Massachusetts, it's not a myth! Mass drivers are the MOST aggressive drivers anywhere in the US (and Canada, for that matter), and this doesn't only hold true in Massachusetts (e.g., you can take the driver out of MA, but you can't take MA out of the driver - LOL). I had no problems getting around in MA last year (er., TWO years ago now - dang), but, yeah, for some reason those drivers take turn signals as an invitation for them to speed up. I suspect that I torqued a few of those guys with my unwillingness to be timid when they did so.
Granted, I haven't driven yet in every single state and province, but I have driven in most of them, and, on average, MA drivers are surprisingly aggressive (as if they're literally on the edge of road rage at all times).
I would say Quebec has the worst, most aggressive drivers in NA, but our last trip through Montreal was uneventful so maybe they've calmed down a bit. Seattle's not much fun to drive in but that's mostly the layout of the area. Atlanta's not bad if you don't mind going 15 over the speed limit everywhere to keep from getting run over. There's a lot of narrow curvy rural roads in the Chattanooga exurbs that have limited shoulders and deep open ditches on either side. The usual speed limit is 40 but you'll get tailgated bad if you don't go 55. Not a good place to text and drive at least.
About the worst I've seen around here are the drivers on the sidestreets who cram on their brakes at the last second and stop almost out in the intersection. Usually seem to be musclecars. For some odd reason I tend to drift over in their direction when I spot them.