5:15 PM: Thanks for the tip. On our way to 16th/Myrtle to find out more.
5:25 PM: Just arrived north of the crash scene. 16th is blocked both ways.
5:35 PM: 2 vehicles, 5 people hurt but no major injuries. Police believe the SUV driver was speeding, northbound, and trying to ‘get around’ the other vehicle when the collision happened. (Residents on this stretch of 16th have long been fighting for something to be done about speeding.)
6:28 PM: The scene is clear.
Slow down!! I was recently passed by someone on Fauntleroy where it’s one lane only each direction. I guess 30 mph wasn’t fast enough for the young man? I was shocked to be passed.
It never happened for the first 10 years that I lived in WS, but twice in the past 3 months I have been passed on two lane roads by someone going 45mph in the middle turn lane. Everyone just assumes now that police don’t enforce traffic laws, and anything goes. Welcome to the downward spiral. It will get steadily worse. You can thank the Very Progressive(tm) politicians and activists who brought us de-policing.
Could this be the side effect of the new(ish) 25mph speed limits city-wide? Not that it is an excuse, but I wonder if it’s causing more road rage.
No. Aggressive and reckless driving is increasing across the entire country, regardless of speed limit alterations. This is a behavioral issue, likely coupled with the notion that police, who have not been defunded, have decided that (despite it being one of the leading causes of unintentional death in America) they’re not going to do anything about speeding anymore. Of course, people also think they have a constitutional right to speed because “it’s OK if I do it.” This problem has each technical solutions, but our cowardly, timid politicians are too afraid to ever take action to ensure speeding drivers are forced to slow down. In the meantime, we will be engaged in an ever-escalating death-spiral of deaths, injuries and damage.
Well said! What most people don’t realize (though they subconsciously know) is that drivers will go the speed they feel comfortable regardless of the posted speed limit. Changing the speed limit on a street without redesigning the street will not change the majority of driver behavior. You have to redesign the street to get safer streets our American roads are simply too wide, and encourage people to drive ludicrous speeds. The good news is if we want to redesign these areas we have a lot of space to work with for protected bikelanes / expanded sidewalks/ and street trees. We simply need SDOT to stand up and change our standards.
This is NOT happening all over the country. Recently drove to eastern WA and eastern OR – people driving safely the entire route until our return to eastbound I-90 just outside of North Bend – that is where the entitled speedsters were flying at 80+.
I could see this being part of the reason why. I think speed limit changes on roads where people feel more comfortable driving faster (wide roads with few obstacles) leads to some people following the speed limit while others get frustrated by the “slow” drivers and end up trying to dangerously pass them.The best approach would be to make people feel uncomfortable driving past 25 mph, or rather make them feel like that 25 mph is the “natural” speed of the road.
Unfortunately, it’s expensive and more time-consuming to do that than just changing all of the speed limits, so there is a bit of a time lag where we see roads that were designed with much faster driving speeds in mind with a lower posted speed limit.
You can thank the self-absorbed instant gratification Don’t Tread on Me Damn the Consequences Freedumbs your Trump Cult released on this country.
I had the same experience recently on Trenton, Passed by somebody near Westwood Village entrance. Unbelievable, there’s a school crossing there lots of pedestrians, and vehicles turning…
It’s the gol durn rock n’ roll hippity hop music makin’ kids kuckoo bananas.Have car accidents just recently become a thing?C’mon people.The sign is like that always so people don’t walk to the moon.I’m relieved no one was killed. I live.nearby and it sounded terrible.Agreed that intersection is trouble. Will get better when bridge opens I hope.
The SUV driver was absolutely at fault. SUV was overtaking victim vehicle and a white sedan which was in between them. SUV overtook the two others on the left. Victim vehicle was traveling slowly and began executing a left turn when struck by the (overtaking on left) SUV which overturned. White sedan appeared to stop in time. Unknown person ran eastbound, possibly to avoid the still moving collision.
Fallen sign seem oddly poetic in a twisted sort of way.
[‘get around’ the other vehicle] what “get around?” There was no traffic today!
I live near there and I can’t believe how fast people drive on this street. The speed bumps that were put in do nothing to slow people down. That intersection should be turned into a four way stop.
A blinking 4 way stop at that. Strange if you go a couple blocks I believe East and west in each direction from the corner of this accident that we have 4 way stops on the mostly or should be quieter side streets.
A blinking 4 way stop would be great! I know west of it there is a roundabout and stop signs.
That looks awful. I’m grateful there are no major injuries, and hope everyone makes full recoveries.
Drivers ed 101. Use your mirrors. Constantly amazed at all the drivers that are oblivious to their surroundings. How did the driver not see someone on their left before turning??? While the SUV driver was clearly at fault doesn’t diminish the need for everyone to be off their phones and actually defensively driving.
I forgot the lesson in drivers ed where I have to check to make sure someone isn’t illegally passing two vehicles before making my left turn.
The other poster is right, be aware of your surroundings. Ambulances frequently need the center lane and people don’t even know they’re coming or what to do when the time comes. I swear by default they just do a u-turn and make things worse
I agree with The King and Al King. When I took Driver’s Ed in high school, then actually taught it to other high schoolers while I was a student in college, we were encouraged to constantly be able to recite what type and color car is behind and/or around us. The instructor, and later myself, would unexpectedly put the end of their legal pad over the rear view mirror and ask the student what was behind them at that moment. Awareness of one’s surrounding at all times is the single best defense we have as humans; both while driving, and also every other moment in one’s life. Pay attention to your surroundings at all the times, especially when injury or death (yours or others) is at stake.
Thank you Westwood, I agree. You’re not being inattentive if you neglect to check to see if someone is passing you illegally on the left as you’re turning left in an intersection!
Sorry, DM, you actually DO need to check your left mirror before making a left turn. Just like you need to look both ways even when crossing a one way street. Perhaps even more so, because you’re operating a heavy vehicle that can kill people.
It’s called checking your blind spot… A driver’s ed basic. Actually part of driving whether someone else is driving illegally or not
The hilarity in your comment is that they indeed do teach you to always look the direction you’re turning, and there’s no need to be looking for legal or illegal obstacles. Looking is looking. The original commenter also mentioned they understood who was at fault, and just gave extra advice. If it were a teen driver that also wasn’t at fault, it would be incumbent upon the mon or dad of that teen to mention to always look no matter what. But hey, good snark anyway
This is supposed to be a Greenway crossing. SDOT better rethink their design.
This is not where the greenway crossing is on 16th from Puget Ridge into Riverview. It’s at 16th and SW Webster.
16th is such a mess of aggressive, speeding drivers and the City choosing to just restripe the unprotected bike lanes as if that will do anything for safety is an insult to everyone in the neighborhood.
The half dozen planned crossing islands along 16th that SDOT has already painted in the outlines of will no doubt fix everything. Making drivers swerve away from the direction of travel towards parked cars and pedestrian crossings is definitely not a bad idea in any way and will surely not result in any tragic accidents whatsoever.
Is it just me or does this seem to happen more since they created all of these safe streets where you have to drive on the wrong side to enter the block and the rapid ride streets, people passing buses. Also the bike symbols on main streets where there is no bike lane. It’s become normal to drive down the center lane to pass, even cop cars do it. Not sure what the answer is but with a teen about to get their license….I don’t what to do to feel safe letting her go out on her own. One flawed design after another and the city keeps going. I feel like I am just echoing every discussion on this blog after every incident. Is there any automatic design review after a road is revamped?
So tired of the excessively loud, speeding vehicles in the 16th/Myrtle area. Also, very concerned about all the speeding vehicles up and down Myrtle from 16th to Riverview Park. The hill needs calming measures but NO MORE SPEED BUMPS! There are too many here and they do nothing to slow people down. They’re an absolute nuisance to the people who live in the area. We can’t get in or out of the neighborhood without driving over the excessive, irritating bumps.
My daughter was in a similar accident in 2005 at the same place by a speeding driver going 50 to 75 mph trying to pass on the left while her vehicle was making a legal left turn . She now lives with rods in her legs and a permanently injured wrist.Never saw the jerk coming. Then the coward ran and left his victims to possibly die.. Don’t try and blame the victims who are innocent. Slow down and drive legally. Think before you make a hurtful comment as well.
HPsquared. Watching your mirrors and paying attention behind the wheel was taught in drivers ed and by my dad when i learned to drive 50 years ago. That’s not victim blaming that’s just common sense. Bad drivers have ALWAYS existed-not a new phenomenon. Bad accidents caused by bad/careless/impaired drivers have happened as long as I’ve been alive. Sad, but it’s reality.
I was in my yard when this crash happened today. It sounded really horrifying. I’m so relieved to hear no one was killed. A traffic light is needed at 16th and Mrytle intersection; it’s a school crosswalk, as well.
@K, I agree. I was also nearby and it sounded awful. Thanks out to the neighbors who arrived on the scene to help. I’m so glad that pedestrian escaped. Please reach out to SDOT and share your comments with them; they seem to think their improvements are fine unless they hear otherwise from people who live nearby.
Boy, how to drive when others are speed racers and passing in non-passing lanes? While every driver needs to be aware of their surroundings, we do not have 360 degree vision every microsecond. These guys will be behind you at one moment and all we have to do is blink and they are dangerously passing at a very high rate of speed. Even the most cautious driver can not anticipate the dangerous moves of these speed racers. Unfortunantly it is going to be attrition with these guys and everyone else is at risk. Another problem with the “bone-head defund the police” concept—-no traffic monitoring!!!!!
Crowsitter – yes, SDoT’s failure to adhere to Technical Standards has reduced safety for all users.
Log a few million miles on a motorcycle and if you’re still alive you’ve most likely acquired some defensive driving skills. Apply those to everything else and you might live another day. “Right of way” can equate to “dead right”, etc., etc.
I wonder if the SUV still thinks the 15 seconds they would have saved before the next red light were worth it.
This morning I took a walk up to the mini-mart at 35th & Barton. On the way back, I waited to cross Barton southbound on 35th. Waited for the signal, and after a few seconds delay due to the crosswalk being blocked, I started across the street. One car sped through the red light and made a left turn, cutting me off in the crosswalk. But then FOUR more vehicles did the same thing, blowing right through a red and blowing through the crosswalk. I was standing there trapped as these vehicles sped by me. I glanced over at a car waiting at the light, and that driver threw up their hands in disbelief at what they were seeing. From now on I’m carrying a can of spray paint with me. OOPS.
Everyone in this thread should email Herbold and SDOT and ask for a 4-way stop on 16th (or two or three).Road@Seattle.govLisa.Herbold@Seattle.gov
Crowsitter – yes.
D-Ridge – you do understand that traffic volumes on all approaches need to be similar for All Way Stop control to be warranted?
Please cite your evidence – actual evidence – that the lowering of posted speed limits in Seattle is what contributed to this crash. Actual evidence. Not your theory. I’m willing to wait a long time since that evidence doesn’t exist.
The number of cars I’ve seen using the California Ave middle turn lane as a passing lane to go the speed people feel comfortable in is breathtaking and not in a good way. In my 8 years here I can recall the number of traffic stops on one finger, and even that one I saw the motorcycle just speed off when he had the opportunity, and the policeman just shook his head.It’s not about the comfort level of the driver, it is the danger to pedestrians and others that should be the defining factor, and there should be a level of enforcement that at least introduces the possibility that there will be the possibility of a fine or worse.Remember when tickets and points against your license were things you worried about impacting your insurance? Yeah, good times.
Gee thanks for your kind and caring thoughts Al King. What a prince. The person who injured my daughter and others was actually found guilty of a crime and went to prison for it . Shows what you know. Hope nobody close to you gets hurt by someone doing something illegal.
Sorry, comment time is over.
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