West Seattle traffic: ‘Slow Down’ rally planned for ‘I-35’

| High Point | Safety | West Seattle news

(WSB video from October 2008 rally on 35th SW)
Concerned about safety on 35th SW, a rekindled topic here after the deadly motorcycle-car collision last month, and speeder-targeting police patrols? One of the High Point-area neighborhood advocates who has been working on the issue for years, Denise Sharify, just sent word of a “Traffic Slow Down Rally” planned for Wednesday, May 11th, 4-5:30 pm (weather permitting) – 2 1/2 years after the last one, which followed a crash that sent a student to the hospital. All are welcome to participate in this one; we’re checking on the exact gathering place.

Recall McGinn May 2, 2011 (4:53 pm)

Excellent!

Westsider May 2, 2011 (5:01 pm)

Is there currently an electronic forum in place for people interested in I-35 safety to exchange ideas, emails, and plan organizational meetings e.g. a Yahoo or Google group?

WSB May 2, 2011 (5:21 pm)

Westsider – not that I have heard of, and I am rather rabid about finding and getting onto mailing lists. That said, doesn’t mean there’s not one out there! I would suggest getting a hold of Denise Sharify via High Point Neighborhood House to ask her – TR

homedk May 2, 2011 (5:16 pm)

Speaking of speeding & dangerous driving along 35th, it looks like a car drove up on the parking strip & completely destroyed one of the street trees last night – SW corner of 35th & Dawson, across from the entrance to Camp Long…

Yardvark May 2, 2011 (5:20 pm)

Thank you!

anonyme May 2, 2011 (5:22 pm)

This is awesome! I’ve thought about organizing such an event for several years now, but just haven’t had time. Thanks, Denise!

I think it would be very effective if groups could gather at different locations along the corridor. I live south of Roxbury, and even though the speed limit is only 30 mph here, nobody slows down – even after 35th narrows to 2 lanes.

Dan May 2, 2011 (5:27 pm)

Rallies are swell, but speed bumps, noise ordinance enforcement, stop signs, and/or a camera to issue tickets to the dirtbags who rip up and down 35th are far, far more effective. After all, why use the precious free time of law ABIDING residents to stand around (weather permitting, of course) when we should be taxing the time of aforementioned dirtbags? No, these solutions aren’t free, but a rally just seems more feel-good populist than productive.

cjboffoli May 2, 2011 (6:12 pm)

35th certainly has seen its fair share of serious/multi-car/roll-over accidents over the past few years:

http://bit.ly/kaje0a

http://www.vimeo.com/8658612

http://bit.ly/lbg2MH

MindDrive May 2, 2011 (8:31 pm)

Make it a little later and I can probably get there in time from work….

Blander May 3, 2011 (12:25 am)

I fully support any effort to make our streets safer and it seems like there is real oppertunity with 35th for improvement. I have to wonder why there is so much discussion about speed on the WSB, when it seems like safe driving is the issue that people are really interested in. Although the consequences increase with speed in accidents, it is rarely the root cause. Is it possible that speed is talked about so much simply because it is easy to quantify? Can we de-couple the discussion of dangerous driving from fast driving?

Sherman Potter May 3, 2011 (6:16 am)

Blander-

Your argument makes no sense. If safe driving, not speeding, is what people have an issue with, and the “consequences increase with speed in accidents”, how is speeding rarely the “root cause”? It’s the same thing.

There are plenty of bad drivers on the road; driving 45 in a 35 and switching lanes repeatedly gives no option to another good or bad driver that may not be able to anticipate their oncoming moves which leads to traffic accidents that mess people’s lives up, physically and financially.
What you are arguing for seems to be that there are professional drivers among us that do not need to follow the simple rules of driving.

“De-coupling the discussion” means you may have just taken a college class in economics or railroads.

Here is something to quantify: You have just been in a car accident caused by a professional driver. Sorry, your insurance didn’t cover your totalled car. Maybe you have spinal problems that lead to a lifetime commitment of doctor care and you can’t do your chosen work ever again. Woops, you can’t work at your job anymore so you don’t have health insurance. It’s OK, because you don’t have a car anyway.

At least you were hit by a professional.

redblack May 3, 2011 (7:08 am)

blander: i don’t see how to decouple the two.
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drivers who are passing traffic that’s obeying the speed limit – especially on city streets – are inherently dangerous. and if those speeders tailgate, pass in the center or right turn lane, or intimidate other drivers into getting out of their way, for example, then speeding leads to unsafe acts and aggressive driving.
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it’s all relative.

Westie May 3, 2011 (7:53 am)

I’m not sure whether or not a rally would help much, but if they do decide to rally I think it should be a line of people stretching down both sides of 35th for as many blocks as possible. I think that would be an interesting statement.

DP May 3, 2011 (10:14 am)

Last night, a woman passed me on 35th northbound. She made a left at an intersection a few blocks ahead, but didn’t use her turn signal. She was driving a minivan — not the most maneuverable vehicle to start with — and as I drove past, I could see that she was yapping on a cell phone. Her body mobility appeared to be limited as well, so it’s no surprise that she wouldn’t have bothered with the turn signal while she was on the phone. (At least she knew her limits.)
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But you know what? She was going the speed limit.
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So yeah, I’m with Blander on this one: speeding is by no means the only way to drive stupid.
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Apparently the cops are with me and Blander. Last time they did a speed trap on 35th, they handed out plenty of tickets for driving while stupid.
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Of course I’m sure nobody on this forum ever does that. That’s why I feel so free to speak my mind on the subject.

Danny May 3, 2011 (11:11 am)

@ Blander and DP. I’ve seen a few different studies in this country and others that have shown excessive speed as the main factor in only around 2% of accidents. I agree with you whole-heartedly. Inattentiveness and lack of driving knowledge is far, far more dangerous.

But you’re right, it is easier to ticket someone for going a quantifiable amount over the speed limit rather than being a bad driver.

Al May 3, 2011 (12:01 pm)

Show me a link to those studies.

I’ll show you just a few links to studies and other information that speed kills. First reduce the speeds, then the SPD can concentrate on the stupid.

http://www.preventinjury.org/PDFs/PEDESTRIAN_INJURY.pdf

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/pub/hs809012.html
The idea that the faster a striking vehicle is traveling, the more damage is done to a struck pedestrian, has been documented in a number of studies. Pasanen (1992), for example, concluded from three studies relating collision speeds and pedestrian injury severity that about 5 percent of pedestrians would die when struck by a vehicle traveling 20 mph, about 40 percent for vehicles traveling 30 mph, about 80 percent for vehicles traveling 40 mph, and nearly 100 percent for speeds over 50 mph.

http://www.stoppingdistances.org.uk/

https://www.sfdph.org/dph/files/trafficsafety/Press_kit_project/contents/Ped_Injury_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Rachelle May 3, 2011 (12:42 pm)

I have been dreaming of organizing a day when people gathered all along 35th with signs during commuting hours. I think it would make an impact. I hope this is what will happen with this event. Count me in!

Blander May 3, 2011 (12:50 pm)

Sherman,

you’re right. A driver doing 45 in a 35 repeatedly switching lanes is probably being dangerous. I was not arguing that a “professional driver” should be allowed to speed, rather more to DP’s point that all of the bad driving habits that you and Redblack have pointed out can be done below the speed limit. If traffic is heavy or it’s raining making the average speed on 35th 25 MPH, someone can fly through at 35 weaving through traffic. He’s not speeding, so according to the simplistic “speeding is bad, everything else is fine” mentality, that driver’s done nothing wrong. Furthermore, that driver could be driving at the same speed as everyone else and still cause havok.
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My point is that when talking about saftey on the roads, speed is a red herring. It’s tempting to talk about because 45 in a 35 is much easier to communicate (and ticket) than someone who is not paying attention and making poor descisions.
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By the way, it’s been a long time since I took a college course in anything, but I didn’t lose the ability and desire to think about issues critically.

george May 3, 2011 (1:38 pm)

There are just as many stupid people driving 25mph who create issues too. Move over.

NotMe May 3, 2011 (1:51 pm)

Only 2% of accidents are caused by speeding? Wow. I sure am glad I looked here for some REAL facts. Those speed limits are stupid, right? Nobody put ANY thought into those numbers on the signs.
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I have seen some pretty entertaining “facts” on here regarding the speed limits, getting caught, the police department’s agenda of only doing this to get rich, and even a guy adding up what he claimed was a few DAYS of time wasted by going 30 instead of 35 on Admiral.
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Thanks for a laugh, Danny.

Paul May 3, 2011 (2:38 pm)

And I wonder how many accidents this Rally may cause, Drivers are easily distracted and will be paying more attention too your rally than their driving

WSB May 3, 2011 (2:41 pm)

The one a few years back caused zero. There was a minor crash a few hours later, however, as we noted at the time in a followup story.

Paul May 3, 2011 (5:38 pm)

all you really need to do is stand next to a motorcycle and point a hair dryer at traffic…that should do it

Sherman Potter May 4, 2011 (4:23 am)

Blander-
OK, I do understand your point. Bad driving is bad driving. You can be equally harmed by an unsafe driver obeying the speed limit as you can by someone who may be above the speed limit.
Your post seemed to minimize the danger of drivers that travel well above the speed limit, as well as the fact that it can be very dangerous to get in the way of someone that is traveling at an unsafe speed. Although I must also say that I have never seen it raining which made the average speed on 35th 25 MPH.
I do agree though that for police to intervene on dangerous driving, it is far easier for them to sit with a radar and point it at traffic. Their other option is to drive around in traffic waiting for someone to drive by while talking on their cell phone or change lanes without signaling or something else. Everyone knows that the police do not have the manpower or money to do that kind of thing, so maybe that is why stupid driving is so easily seen and felt by everyone else but them.
Mix some bad drivers doing the speed limit in with a few bad drivers that think they are able to weave their way through the streets by going faster than all the others is a tragedy waiting to happen.
And it does happen with life changing circumstances, that was all I wanted to point out.
Also, the last college class I took was stupid.

Sorry, comment time is over.