freeway – The Wise Drive

August 19, 2021September 1, 2021

Urban Driving for Country Folk

Q: As a country guy, driving in the big city, I get confused by the diamond lanes and pay lanes and assorted left lanes in the Seattle Metro area. My wife and I travel through there, and we wonder what the rules are for the various lanes. Can we take our 5th wheel trailer in the diamond lanes or express lanes? Do RVs follow truck or car laws? How does one get a pay lane pass and what are the costs?

A: Despite having one set of traffic laws for the whole state, driving in Washington can be quite diverse. If you live in a rural community you probably have to leave your county to find an HOV lane, and if you live in an urban area you may have never encountered a tractor on the roadway. This week we’ll help out the country folks with lanes you’ll only encounter on urban roadways, and next week we’ll explain to city folks how to drive in the farmlands.

March 11, 2021March 10, 2021

The Speed Limit on a Freeway Ramp

Q: What is the speed limit on an on- ramp, and when and where does it change? Where I live there is a street that turns into an onramp. This street has a 30 mph speed limit on it. The highway has a 65mph speed limit on it. When and where does that 30 end and the 65 begin?

A: My instinct is to say that onramps are part of the freeway infrastructure and subject to the same speed limits. But once you asked the question I realized that I couldn’t provide you with a law that led me to that conclusion. After searching through state law, the Code of Federal Regulations and the US Department of Transportation’s Freeway Management and Operations Handbook, I still can’t provide a direct quote from the law. That’s not to say it’s not out there, but I haven’t found it yet.

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020

The Slow Merge; It’s More Than a Horsepower Problem

Q: I often see cars enter highways at speeds well below the speed limit. The cars merge without getting up to speed. Other drivers routinely move left to make way for them. I think it’s dangerous for merging drivers to expect those on the highway to yield or slow down. Most often, the cars do reach the speed limit, just later than they should. Maybe those who drive slowly should put on their flasher lights. Wouldn’t it make sense for there to be a minimum speed posted on I-5?

A: Back when America built the interstate system our roads rumbled with V-8 powered cars ready to launch onto any on-ramp and reach freeway speeds before merging onto the highway. At least that’s how I imagine it; the Washington stretch of Interstate 5 was completed in 1969, before I was born. But my imagination doesn’t reflect reality. Yes, the 1970 Cadillac El Dorado had a 500 cubic inch engine (if that doesn’t mean anything to you just know that it’s huge). But as a kid I envied my neighbor’s 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger, a car with about as much power as a Honda Fit. The reality is, as long as we’ve had freeways, there have been cars (and drivers) that don’t reach freeway speeds before merging.

August 4, 2019July 31, 2019

Cycling on the Freeway

Q: I thought it was legal to ride my bike on the freeway, but I don’t ever see people doing it. Can I ride on the freeway, and if I can, is there some reason nobody does it?

A: Back when I was 15, there was a girl I liked that lived about 15 miles away from me. Not having a driver license, I hoped on my bike and rode to her house on a route that included a five mile stretch of I-5. A few months later I got my driver license, and that was the last time I rode my bike on the freeway. Until now. To properly answer this question I had to do some research, so I grabbed my bike for a round trip between Blaine and Bellingham on I-5. How’s that for commitment to your questions?

April 21, 2019April 19, 2019

Side Streets Vs. Interstate: Which is Safer?

Q: I believe that studies show after changing an intersection to a roundabout, there will be more crashes in the roundabout than an intersection but the crashes will be less serious in the roundabout. Could there be a similar phenomena concerning side roads and expressways? For example, if I travel from Fairhaven to the airport, would I be more apt to have a collision if I took side roads than if I took I-5, but if I had a crash on a side road, would it probably be less severe than if I had one on the expressway?

A: You’re 83 percent correct about the studies on roundabouts and collisions (and I just made up that percentage). But the following percentages were determined by actual researchers: A national study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that roundabouts decrease fatal crashes by 90 percent, injury crashes by 75 percent, pedestrian collisions by 40 percent, and overall crashes by 37 percent. However, those studies focused primarily on single lane roundabouts.

December 24, 2017November 21, 2018

Is The Right Lane Always The Right Lane?

Q: My friend and I have a disagreement. On a 3 lane highway with very light traffic, which lane should a 60 mph driver choose? I say the far right. My friend says the middle. My reasoning is because if I’m going 65 mph and need to pass the middle lane driver, I am required to pass on the left. Meanwhile, the right lane is wide open and it’s discourteous for the 60 mph car to be camping out in the middle lane. Slower traffic keep right, correct? My friend says the middle lane is a thru lane and if you’re going the speed limit, it’s fine to be there. The second part to this question: There is a 60 mph car in the middle lane. I am going 65 mph in the right lane. Do I pass him on the right? Or should I pass on the far left?

A: First of all, if 60 mph is the speed limit, why are you openly admitting to speeding in a question to a traffic safety guy? I’ll do my best to set that aside for a moment to answer the question. Continue reading “Is The Right Lane Always The Right Lane?”