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October 21, 2009 at 3:48 am #592735
jimParticipantJust moved to WS from East Coast. Question, why do most WS folks drive below the speed limit, and I don’t mean just on Alki? On California and Fauntleroy I am perplexed at the 25 mph drivers, of all ages. Help me here.
October 21, 2009 at 3:54 am #680297
DianeParticipantcan only speak for myself; I drive so ridiculously slow apparently, when I come upon those speed trap signs, usually under speed limit by 1 or 2; for me it’s WAY more about getting older than which coast; I was a maniac speed demon in younger years
October 21, 2009 at 3:59 am #680298
JanSParticipantJim…where from on the east coast? I was a transplant from PA 35 years ago. Have been in WS ever since. We go slow? Maybe it’s to look at the beauty around us…..keeps the blood pressure down :)
October 21, 2009 at 4:08 am #680299
christopherboffoliParticipantjim long: Welcome, fellow East Coaster! I hope you brought your own supply of bagels because you’re not going to find any here. (Paradoxical considering all of the excellent salmon we have in Seattle)
Let me lay something else down for you if you haven’t noticed it already: Seattleites seem to have the colors red and green reversed too. When they see a red light they drive through it. But if you are behind them when the light turns green you’d better get used to waiting because you’re not going anywhere.
October 21, 2009 at 4:16 am #680300
datamuseParticipantAlso, apparently your car horn is deactivated upon entry to the state. It’s the only explanation.
—Another East Coast Transplant
October 21, 2009 at 4:16 am #680301
JanSParticipantChristopher..not us…we’d NEVER do that – lol…
October 21, 2009 at 4:20 am #680302
DianeParticipantso when you hear a car horn here it usually actually means something; back east with all the horns all the time, it just becomes ambiance
October 21, 2009 at 4:21 am #680303
johnnyblegsMemberNot sure what you mean. I’m a native Seattleite and I drive fast. It must have been that 4 month stint in California that changed me. Driving slow is still better than driving like Queen Anne Hiller’s. They can’t seem to navigate a four way stop properly at all.
October 21, 2009 at 5:55 am #680304
LeroniusmonkfishMemberKinda related to this topic…when I moved to Arizona seven months ago I would frequently have oncoming cars during the day flash their lights at me. I would check to see if for some reason I had mine on and they were on bright but that wasn’t the case. I soon figured out that whenever that happened lo and behold just around the bend would be a police car. I don’t recall that ever happening to me in the 41yrs I lived in Seattle…I was born in Boston but was too young when we moved but when I asked my folks they said that was common on the East Coast too…kinda a strange courtesy I suppose?
October 21, 2009 at 6:02 am #680305
pigeonmomParticipantPeople here also FREQUENTLY forget to use their turn signals!
October 21, 2009 at 6:16 am #680306
JanSParticipantnow, Pigeonmom, that’s only on signals optional Fridays ;-)
October 21, 2009 at 6:25 am #680307
JanSParticipantMr. Fish…yes, that happened on the east coast to me, and I haven’t lived there since 1974. Also, truckers would flash their lights, travelling in the same direction , like on freeways/turnpikes,when passing, to let you know it was safe to get back in the lane.
October 21, 2009 at 12:25 pm #680308
EscondidoMemberI tend to drive slower because the streets are so congested and there are lots of pedestrians and children and pets. With so many cars parked on the side of the streets, it is difficult to see what may be coming out onto the street. My conservative speed has helped me stop “just in time” quite a few times. Plus, as mentioned before, relax and enjoy the beautiful neighborhoods, especially with all the colors out there with the season change!
October 21, 2009 at 2:14 pm #680309
datamuseParticipantDiane: this is true, however on more than one occasion I have witnessed the following:
Lineup of cars at a stoplight.
Light turns green.
First car doesn’t go.
Not ONE car of the dozen or so behind it honks.
Ten seconds pass. Fifteen. On one occasion it was twenty. (I counted; I was at a bus stop and had nowhere else to be.)
Now I’ve never been one to lean on the horn out of sheer cussedness, but every time I see this it sort of defies belief, and I’ve never seen this behavior anywhere else so I’ve concluded it’s a regional cultural thing.
October 21, 2009 at 2:44 pm #680310
austinMemberDon’t forget to yield to the oncoming left turners at a green light. Especially at Avalon turning to go to the bridge.
Seriously though, drivers, keep the speed down. You’re not paying enough attention to be going fast.
October 21, 2009 at 3:34 pm #680311
JoBParticipantleroniusmonkfish…
they assume you are speeding in Arizona and that the policeman they just passed is a speed trap :)
and they are probably right
October 21, 2009 at 4:11 pm #680312
CMPParticipantJim, you must not drive on 35th often…that’s where most people speed, but I agree with your problem streets b/c I’ve been stuck behind plenty of morons driving 22 mph on California which baffles me. I learned to drive here and gladly use my horn (honked at three drivers yesterday), drive fast and park normally. Prius, Volvo and Jetta owners are the worst so watch out for them.
October 21, 2009 at 4:24 pm #680313
KBearParticipantI was in Phoenix recently, and the drivers there were as rude and aggressive as Seattle drivers are clueless and oblivious. Either way they’re just as dangerous.
October 21, 2009 at 4:26 pm #680314
GAnativeParticipantJim – Drives me crazy especially on the interstate where people line up next to each other blocking all lanes and all doing less than the speed limit.
October 21, 2009 at 4:27 pm #680315
swimcatMemberI’m always amazed that people here don’t give you a little warning flash of the lights when there is a cop up the road. I’m always tempted to do so, but then figure that no one here would understand. When I was in Costa Rica, other drivers extended this warning flash for all kinds of things- it was a life saver given some of the things we encountered on those roads!
October 21, 2009 at 7:34 pm #680316
dawsonctParticipantI have driven on streets and highways all around the U.S. and can assure everyone that clueless drivers are abundant all over this fine country of ours (you Canucks aren’t exempt). Directional signals as optional equipment is epidemic from coast-to-coast.
You ever drive in Texas? Speeds range from 100+ down to however fast you can get the old jalopy rolling, everyone drifting from lane to lane, seemingly totally unaware anyone else is on the roads with them.
Inquiring about his recent visit to R.I. and Conn., the first thing my brother said to me was, “the drivers would P (me) off, they never use their signals.”
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I really love having someone from the Midwest think that driving on a snowy hill is the same as driving some flat, featureless landscape. Or a drylander who doesn’t understand how much oil builds up on the roads around here between rains. Or someone straight out of college who spent most of their childhood in the car playing their PSP, as novice drivers surrounded by better drivers, or in college not driving, so when they get here their only real experience is with Seattle drivers and they end up parroting the same line you hear from every driver in EVERY region of this country:
“the drivers around here sure do suck!”
October 21, 2009 at 7:48 pm #680317
JiggersMemberWhy are you in such a rush?
October 22, 2009 at 4:30 am #680318
jimParticipantI moved here from Richmond, VA, which hardly is the speeding capitol of the USA. I’m not in any rush usually, I just would like be allowed to drive at least the speed limit so my engine gets cleaned out now and then and I can get from Admiral/California to the junction in less than 30 minutes!. The slowmovers on Alki and Beach Drive seem courteous and pull over but those on California and Fauntleroy just mozie along at a snails pace hogging the road. Isn’t it illegal here to drive below the speed limit? It is in VA. Are there a lot of medical marijuana clinics around here or something?
October 22, 2009 at 4:41 am #680319
austinMemberNot a lot a lot but we’re working on it. :)
October 22, 2009 at 5:02 am #680320
Bikefor1MemberSomething I read about Captain Sully in Parade magazine applies to cars, not just planes. It was a fortune cookie fortune he had saved and stuck into his manual: “A delay is better than a disaster.”
So please everyone, slow down and leave a lot of space.
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