DOUG DAHL

January 12, 2020July 18, 2024

How Realistic is Target Zero?

Q: You say the goal of Target Zero is to eliminate all fatal crashes, but that’s not a very realistic goal, is it? Why set an unrealistic goal?

A: Allow me to make the goal even harder. The goal of Target Zero is to eliminate all fatal and serious injury crashes. How’s that for a big reach? Impossible? In the past when I’ve talked with people about Target Zero, I’ve described it as an aspirational goal; something we should always aim for, even if we never quite get there. And on one level that makes sense. If we instead set a goal of reducing traffic fatalities by half we’re sort of accepting that over 18,000 people will still die in crashes in the US. Yep, if you double that, you’ll be close to the 36,560 total traffic fatalities for 2018. Better to aspire to an impossible goal and achieve milestones along the way than to reach an achievable goal and think our work is done. Or so I thought.

January 5, 2020July 18, 2024

Where Your Friend Is Matters

Q: Why is it illegal to have a conversation with someone on a phone while driving, but it’s fine to have a conversation with the passenger in the seat next to you? Aren’t they both distracting? And I’m not suggesting that they should make talking to a passenger illegal.

A: Not all conversations are created equally. You already know that’s true after having to sit through listening to Uncle Leonard at Christmas dinner drone on about how he changed the propeller on his boat to a 14 inch stainless steel three-blade with a 21 inch pitch, and with the new Mercury 175 four stroke mounted on the transom he should be able to . . . Okay, I don’t remember anything after that. But I’m sure he’ll explain it again at the next family get-together.

December 22, 2019July 18, 2024

Cars vs. SUVs vs. Pedestrians

A few weeks ago I pointed out that overall traffic fatalities both in our state and nationally declined last year, but at the same time pedestrian and cyclist fatalities have increased. In Washington we’ve had an increase in pedestrian and cyclist-involved crashes, but even more concerning is that pedestrians are dying at a higher rate. In case you missed the previous column, here’s a quick refresher on the data: In 2013 we had 3118 crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists, resulting in 63 fatalities. Last year we had 3718 pedestrian/cyclist-involved crashes, resulting in 120 fatalities. That’s a 19 percent increase in crashes, but a 90 percent increase in fatalities.

I don’t have a good answer for why vehicle/pedestrian crashes have increased, but as I mentioned previously, there is some evidence for why the fatality rate has shot up. And right now I’m about to alienate about 43 percent of my audience. A big reason for the increase in pedestrian fatalities can be blamed on SUVs and pickups. Don’t take this personally; I’m not accusing owners of SUVs and pickups (or what the industry calls light trucks) of being worse drivers. Crash rates for SUVs and cars are about the same. The problem lies in what happens to a pedestrian in a crash.

December 15, 2019July 18, 2024

Do You Have a Gas Problem?

Q: It’s common now to see our Canadian friends gassing up their tanks, and then filling up multiple large plastic containers in the trunk. Is this safe? Is it even legal? Seems like it would be a real danger in the event of a serious rear-ender.

A: The answer to this question is way more technical than I anticipated, and to answer with confidence I’d need to be much more well-versed in hazardous materials than I currently am. With that disclaimer up front, I’ll give it my best shot. (And if any hazmat experts out there see something I missed or got wrong, let me know.) You asked if it is both safe and legal; those two answers are not necessarily the same.

December 8, 2019July 18, 2024

Friends Let Friends Crash on the Couch

In your lifetime you’ve probably heard “the man” tell you not to do a lot of things. Don’t litter, don’t talk during the movie, don’t feed the wildlife, don’t play with matches; you can come up with more, I’m sure. Yes, it’s all sound advice, but the best part of life isn’t in the not doing, but the doing. At most, the “don’t” messages are good but incomplete.

Around the holidays the message is often “don’t drink and drive” or “don’t drive high.” There’s a solid reason for that message; in Washington about half of all traffic fatalities involve an impaired driver, even though most people don’t do it. Possibly the most famous of the impairment “don’t” messages has been “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” Almost everyone agrees with that (as you’ll soon see in the data). But what does it look like to not do something? If we don’t let our friends drive impaired, what is it that we are doing?

December 1, 2019July 18, 2024

If They’re Both Wrong, What’s The Difference?

Q: In last week’s article you talked about some traffic violations being infractions and some being crimes. Both of them are still illegal, so what’s the difference? Why are there separate categories?

A: If you commit an infraction, you’re a scofflaw; if you commit a crime, you’re a criminal. That’s not really true. I just like the sound of “scofflaw” and wanted to use it. You’re right that both traffic infractions and traffic crimes are violations of the law, but there are some real differences, both in the consequences and in the court process. That’s because infractions, as civil violations, follow a different legal process than criminal violations.

November 24, 2019July 18, 2024

When Speed Becomes Reckless

Q: I’ve heard that if you drive at twice the speed limit instead of getting a speeding ticket you’ll get arrested. Is that true?

A: While driving at double the speed limit is bound to get you in some trouble, I’m not aware of any equation, at least in Washington, that automatically moves a speeder from infraction territory to a crime. That’s not to say that you can’t get arrested for speeding; just that there isn’t a pre-set threshold. It’s actually more complicated than that.

November 17, 2019July 18, 2024

When The Robots Take Over

Q: From everything I’ve read in the news about autonomous cars, I don’t want one. I’d rather drive myself than give that control to a car. Why is everyone so excited about autonomous cars when people are getting killed in them?

A: What if I told you people aren’t actually being killed by autonomous vehicles? You might respond with any of the following: “Are you forgetting the Uber crash in Arizona that killed a pedestrian? The Tesla crash in Florida that killed its driver? The Tesla crash in California that killed its driver? The other two Tesla crashes in Florida that killed their drivers?”

November 17, 2019July 18, 2024

Traffic Safety By The Numbers

If you’re not one of those people who each year waits with anticipation for the federal government to release traffic crash data, you might not have seen the 2018 numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). And that’s what I’m here for. In case you’re in a big hurry, but also want to know about the state of traffic crashes in America, here’s a summary: If you’re in a car things got slightly better; if you’re walking things got worse.

November 3, 2019July 18, 2024

Skateboards Are Not The Problem (We Are)

Q: How are they going to reduce accidents to zero when they don’t stop skateboarding period? There should be laws in place to stop people from riding skateboards either on the road or on sidewalks. I have been hit by somebody’s skateboard on the sidewalk while walking my dog, and my dog has been hit by skateboarders. Skate parks should by the only place you can ride a skateboard. It should be required by law that if a person wants to be skateboarding in the road then they need a driver’s license, license plates, registration, and insurance on the skateboard. Could that become a law?

A: Before we tackle the possibility of changing the laws about skateboards, let’s first review what the laws are now. Yes, I’m putting off dealing with the hard part, but it’s also good to start with what we know. According to Washington State law, a skateboarder is a pedestrian. It might not fit your (or the dictionary’s) definition, but our law includes, in addition to the normally understood meaning, any person who is using “a means of conveyance propelled by human power other than a bicycle.” Skateboards, kick scooters, roller blades, wheelchairs; using any of them qualifies you as a pedestrian.