The Wise Drive

Q: I have noticed a high number of cars and trucks without their lights on in bad weather. But here’s the thing – about 75 percent of them are black, dark blue, dark gray – the color of wet asphalt. I’m clueless about why people with dark-to-black cars see no need to turn their headlights on, especially close to sunset on rainy days. I often don’t see them coming from behind. Any ideas?

A: I just stepped out of my office and took a look at the cars parked along my street. Of the 25 cars I can see, 16 are black, gray or silver. That’s higher than national studies showing that these colors make up around 52-55 percent of vehicles on the road. If our choice of car color is correlated with the clothing color choices for the typical Washingtonian, that makes sense.

Q: At an intersection with a red light camera, what is the period of time required by the camera to be considered a complete stop before making a right turn on a red light?

A: There’s a story behind this question, isn’t there? Did anyone else read that question and think to themselves, “Someone just got a ticket.” That’s way too specific of a question to be just a curiosity.

A red light camera is, at its core, sensors, cameras and a computer. The sensors, installed in the pavement, measure the movement of cars through the intersection. When the traffic signal is green the computer ignores the messages from the sensors. When the light is red, the computer listens to the messages from the sensors. If the sensor says, “hey computer, this car is still moving,” the computer tells the camera to take a couple pictures of the car. An officer then reviews the data to confirm a violation has occurred. The people who design these systems might tell you it’s more involved than that, but you didn’t ask an engineer.

Q: What am I supposed to do when the person who has the right-of-way is “polite” and tells me to go? If something goes wrong won’t I be responsible? I’d rather they just go.

A: A few years back a PEMCO insurance commercial captured what you and many other folks have felt about the too-polite driver. You might remember it; two deferential drivers at an intersection alternating between gesturing to each other to go and inching forward after accepting the other driver’s offer. To really drive home the point, it ends with a jogger getting to the crosswalk, where they all have a three-way polite-off. The title of the ad: “4-way stop you go, no you go, no you go guy.” Maybe you’ve been there. Maybe that’s you.

Yes, of course it’s good to be polite. But can it be illegal? To answer that we need to understand right-of-way. To keep things simple, let’s consider a four-way stop. The law states that when two drivers approach an intersection at approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.

Q: What action should one take when witnessing severe unsafe driving? For example, on a recent trip I saw a semi truck repeatedly cross traffic lanes, three motorcycles drive in between lanes and cars through traffic, and two cars race ahead at 80+mph. Should these incidents just be ignored? Do you call 911 to report unsafe driving? Or, do you stay in your zone listening to podcasts to avoid your own road rage from building?

A: Anyone who has been driving for a while has had a day when you were seriously annoyed by another driver. And there’s a good chance there has been a day when you were the annoying driver, too. Hopefully not on purpose, but mistakes are inevitable in life, and if driving is part of your life you’ll make mistakes there too.

Then there are times when another driver actually scares you. Maybe you fear for yourself, or possibly you have a vicarious fear for the other drivers on the road. Things like a semi truck drifting into another lane or cars racing down the freeway can do that.

Last week I mentioned something called a frequency illusion, and I accused it of contributing to negative driving behaviors. I feel I should explain. For those that missed it, a frequency illusion happens when something you just discovered starts showing up everywhere. Frequency illusion is often benign, like when you buy a car and then start noticing ever other driver with the same car, or when you discover a band and then start hearing their music everywhere. However, it can also shape our perceptions in ways that increase the risks we take.

As an example, on your commute you might notice a couple cars speed past you. Now that the speeders have your attention you notice them all, without noticing all the drivers who are respecting the speed limit (because they’re not passing you). You might start to think that most drivers speed (which speed studies consistently show to be untrue.) Here’s where the risk comes in: research shows that when a person believes that most other drivers engage in a high-risk behavior, they’re more likely to do it too.

Q: As a driver coming from a different state, one of the first things I noticed here is that the cars seem so spread out at stop lights. I was taught to pull up fairly close to the vehicle in front of you to make room for other vehicles on the road. I’ve seen people leave one, two and even three car lengths between their car and the one in front of them. Is this courtesy not taught in driver education around here? The “big space” people block others from getting to a turn lane, block cars from entering the roadway and sometimes use up a good portion of a green light to get through an intersection.

A: Until I read your question, I hadn’t noticed this as a problem. And then, on my next drive, I saw someone leave what looked like three car lengths between themselves and the car in front of them at a traffic light. Had I been overlooking a wide-reaching issue that’s been right in front of me? Probably not. More likely, I just experienced a frequency illusion; when something you just discovered suddenly starts showing up everywhere. While mostly benign, frequency illusions can influence traffic safety, and not in a good way. But that’s a topic for another article.