Seattle Police Speed Trap

[Anonymous]

Perfect opportunity for SPD to make an impact on the traffic issues plaguing the area that are only going to get worse when all these road projects get going full steam.

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[alki_2008]

Kind of off-topic — but if they really want to increase revenue (see linked article above), then they should make the hands-free cell phone law a primary offense (or whatever it’s called). If they could issue tickets just for that, instead of having to have another reason to ticket a driver, then they could make some big bucks!

NO sarcasm intended…I’m serious. Can’t people just use headsets with their phones? They cost less than $10 if you buy them online.

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[JoB]

traffic tickets for exceeding the speed limit …

hmmm.. sounds like a perfectly appropriate sin tax to me:)))

it increased public safely by cutting down on speeders and by funding the police department…

sounds like a win win to someone who generally pays attention to the speed limit…

i can see why speeders think it’s unfair though..

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[JoB]

alki_2008

i have to say.. i would probably be all for further criminalization of cell phone use…

i would probably end up with a ticket for that one since i can’t seem to figure out how to use the bluetooth when someone calls… and with my luck i would be pulled over during the time it takes me to answer and tell them i will call them back:(

but i would particularly like to see cell phone use criminalized so that when someone is talking on their cell phone and hits another car or a pedestrian they are prosecuted for assault or some form of homicide…

A good friend’s parents were literally run down in a residential area a block from their home by a woman driving an SUV talking on her cell phone as she supposedly reached down to turn on her headlights … a few years ago.

The blame was considered shared because the parents were wearing black… and night was falling… making them difficult to see.

Mind you, they were in a legal crosswalk in a residential area and were carrying the groceries they had purchased home…

but… and they were legal immigrants who didn’t speak english…

The woman involved killed two people and the resulting stress ruined the career of the man whose parents were killed.. but she was not even ticketed.

There was no law against her using her cell phone in the car… and she claimed to have been turning on her lights… it was considered an accident.

It is no accident when you choose to pay more attention to your cell phone or the kids or animals in the car than to what is in the road ahead of you…

and yes, enforcing that one would really add to our local revenue…

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[JanS]

alki_2008…about headphone use in a car..it’s illegal in this state..

http://www.seattlepi.com/transportation/282783_getthere28.html

saw a woman just this morning driving west on Admiral at 41st SW doing exactly this…listening to her iPod using headphones while driving…

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[Anonymous]

Headsets (used in one ear for cellphones) and headphones (primarily for music and used in both ears) are not the same thing.

Alki_2008 said headset and is referring to phone use.

There’s even a website giving them away for free to encourage their use.

http://www.freeheadset.org/home.php

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[JanS]

oh…my mistake…blutooth headsets are great. Even better…there’s a reason cell phones come with voicemail – lol..I just let them leave a message while I’m in the car. The only thing life shaking that needs to be responded to is a life and death situation. If people leave me a message, I find a comfortable place to pull over, turn on speaker phone to listen to the message, and get on my way…:) I can repsond when I get to my destination.

I confess, I’m no longer good at chewing gum and stomping my foot at the same time ;-)

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[JanS]

Alki_2008…I would love to see it be a primary offense…but do we have enough law enforcement officers to meet the demand of ticketing all these people who think that they’re special and still talk on the phone while driving?

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[Garden_nymph]

Per the link above, [“Wearing headphones while driving is against state law, Washington State Patrol spokeswoman Courtney Stewart said. The activity falls under RCW 46.37.480 (2), which states it is illegal while driving to wear “any headset or earphones connected to any electronic device capable of receiving a radio broadcast or playing a sound recording” if the headset or earphones also muffle other sounds.

The law in some form has been on the books since 1977 and has been modified through the years to fit changing technology, Stewart said. A ticket, which troopers issue when observing a violation, carries a $101 penalty.

“With the vast popularity of MP3 players we are seeing more and more drivers wearing these devices while driving,” Stewart said. “The popularity of these devices crosses all age lines. Keeping drivers alert to key sounds “is definitely the main reason for the law,” Stewart said. “Traveling motorists have to be aware of their surroundings at all times. Wearing any device that inhibits your ability to hear puts drivers at a clear disadvantage on the roadway.”]

My question, if limited hearing is a dangerous disadvantage on the roadway, then why are the deaf allowed to drive? My friend’s husband is deaf, so I don’t think it is wrong, I just don’t understand the law.

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[alki_2008]

As JT noted…what I meant to convey is headsets for talking on your cell phone. Thanks for the link JT.

I believe headsets that are either wired (which are typically fine in just one ear) or wireless (those bluetooth dongles people have growing on their ears) are fine to use with your cell phone while driving. I also believe using the speakerphone with cell phones is okay. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Seems to me that using one hand to hold the phone is more distracting than just the conversation itself. There are lots of people that can have conversations on the phone or with passengers without losing focus on driving…although some studies suggested that phone conversations were more distracting than in-person conversations, but can’t remember the rationale behind _why_. In any case, driving with only one hand is going to affect driving ability, so hands-free cell phone use is legal.

I’m surprised that many people would wear headphones for listening to music in their cars…unless their cars’ sound systems aren’t working right. Is that a primary offense? If so, then seems hand-held cell phones would be a great candidate for primary offense status. Maybe in time, when people are ‘used to’ the new law. JanS, having it be a primary offense would at least ALLOW officers to ticket someone. I don’t see how a lack of resources means that something should be a primary (instead of secondary) offense. Were the same arguments made when the seatbelt or speeding laws were enacted?

Of course, there are many people that have their stereos turned on so loudly that they hear just as little as people with headphones. :p

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[hopey]

if limited hearing is a dangerous disadvantage on the roadway, then why are the deaf allowed to drive?

There is a big difference between wearing headphones and being deaf. When you are wearing headphones, you are actively listening to another source of sound. The issue is not simply the fact that outside sounds are blocked, but rather the portion of one’s attention directed to listening to the sound coming through the headphones and not to the road.

I am partially deaf, and I have to be more vigilant than most when I drive. I use my mirrors a LOT. Whenever I think I may hear emergency vehicle sirens in the distance, I must visually scan my environment and be extra-cautious at intersections, because I do not have the ability to know if the sound is coming from behind me, from one block over on the right, or if it’s traveling away from me rather than towards me. Until I see the flashing lights, I don’t know where the emergency vehicle is.

From what I understand, people who are fully deaf are not allowed to drive cars without the modern allotment of mirrors — such as antique vehicles — for that reason. I am sure your friend’s husband is very aware that he needs to be much more vigilant when driving than folks with normal hearing.

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[datamuse]

A feature that I really like about my Prius is that it came with an on-board, in-dash Bluetooth system. The phone connects to it automatically when I start the car and I can pick up and hang up by pressing buttons on the steering wheel. It’s great.

I don’t get wearing earphones to listen to an iPod in the car. Most newer cars seem to have an aux hookup to the stereo–connect your iPod with a cable and play it through your stereo system. Easy peasy.

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[urbanrobot]

Another speed trap (data gathering cam) located at S.W. Myrtle and Fauntleroy Way S.W.

Caution because the “speed trap” speed is 20 MPH.

Data Cam will catch ya! You got it folks…20 MPH 24/7 and 365 days of the year. HELP FILL THE THE CITY AND COUNTY BOTTOMLESS MONEY BUCKET.

Good luck!

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[JoB]

myrtle and fauntleroy?

where is that anyway?

lots of patrolling action on 35th today with more than one car pulled over for citations.

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[Julie]

Isn’t that the school zone? In that case, isn’t it 20 mph only when the lights are flashing, or “children are present”?

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[miws]

Yes, that’s by Gatewood Elementary.

Mike

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[Author]

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