Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › Vason Commuters are a&%&holes
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
May 8, 2013 at 7:22 pm #607435
ricoMemberDriving into work around 5:40/5:45 a.m. varies from a nice driving experience to feeling like I just fell into the middle of Manhattan.
The variation is due to whether or not I become intermingled with Vashon Ferry traffic or not.
It is not just the motorcycles (though they are a large part), but cars as well. I go well above the speed limit on the West Seattle Bridge to avoid “slowing down their important rush”(50 – 55 mph or so) and when in front of or intermingled with Vashon Ferry traffic I constantly have people tailgaiting angrily, passing dangerously at 70 mph or so and general disregard for any consideration of other drivers or rules of the road.
I have a number of friends who moved to Vashon and met others who have been there for years and a common feeling I get from them is a need to be different, free from city issues etc. For some reason I think this has caused many of them to feel entitled to simply be a*&holes when they leave the island.
End of rant today, but after another morning like all three this week, the rant may escalate.
May 21, 2013 at 5:06 pm #789665
KJBParticipantI have a rant for all the jerks out there who think they are buses and abuse the bus lane and those who cross the double white lines! They are not all Vashon people and they need to be stopped! This morning I even saw a van following 2 motorcycles and a cop car in the bus lane…no consequence the cops just kept on going and took the 4th ave. exit. Then a big rig crossed the double lines and held things up for a bit to long! I do agree that I see alot of Van pool Vans that are probably from Vashon or Southworth traveling way to fast during both of my commutes across the bridge.
May 21, 2013 at 6:32 pm #789666
pigeonmomParticipantOMG, the stories I could tell you.
May 21, 2013 at 8:31 pm #789667
KJBParticipantJust want to point out that I don’t have anything against Vashon Drivers – I grew up there so should consider myself one of them:) It should be noted that just as many if not more of the cars that get off the Fauntleroy ferry boats are from Southworth. I just wonder what can be done about all of the slow downs due to illegal lane changes – that is way more dangerous than going over 30 on the viaduct – SPD should be much more present during the morning commutes!
May 22, 2013 at 5:09 pm #789668
ricoMemberGood point KJB, I should have expanded my rant against all ferry commuters, both Vashon and Southworth. And I should have spelled Vashon correctly in my title. But the rant remains valid regardless.
Just because being an A#$%%$#hole is not illegal, doesn’t mean it is OK.
May 22, 2013 at 5:36 pm #789669
wakefloodParticipantI’m not entirely sure about the equity between SW and Vashon drivers on those runs. I live nearby and take boats across to SWorth often. The lanes during commute times especially are significantly fuller with Vashon folks.
And I’ve seen all sorts of a$$holish and simply stuipid behavior from drivers, again, especially during commute hours.
And not that it’s either here nor there but we all subsidize those Vashon residents since the fares don’t cover full cost. And I’ve certainly witnessed Vashonites throwing their collective weight around during discussions of service and support during ferry public meetings. Entitlement is a word that comes to mind…
May 22, 2013 at 6:57 pm #789670
pigeonmomParticipantwakeflood is on target.
May 22, 2013 at 9:22 pm #789671
MBParticipantI was born and raised in West Seattle and its only by the grace of god and my own awareness while driving that I make it home alive on a daily basis. There are a whole lot of idiot Vashon drivers and just as many idiot West Seattle drivers. I think it would be swell if everyone could pull their heads out of their asses and just pay attention, regardless of where you are coming from. As for entitlement, how quickly we forget the entitled complaints while construction on the WS Bridge was being done…and that’s with multiple alternate routes available. You subsidize a whole lot of things you don’t personally use with your taxes, its kinda the foundation of our government.
May 22, 2013 at 10:00 pm #789672
KJBParticipantWakeflood -Just wondering how you are able to tell which cars are from Vashon and which are from West Seattle.
May 22, 2013 at 10:07 pm #789673
wakefloodParticipantThe Vashon drivers are in different lanes than the ones going to SW.
Re: MB – I don’t disagree that we all subsidize things we don’t use – and rightfully so. I was merely suggesting (obviously poorly), that them’s that are already getting a pretty good deal from the system might want to be a little less “it’s all about me” when we try to sort out how to optimize resources in difficult times.
Regardless, your point about all of us being more careful and courteous on the roads is humbly taken. I try to remind myself of that frequently.
May 22, 2013 at 10:08 pm #789674
KJBParticipantI must say that I come across some real a holish drivers right here in West Seattle who refuse to yield, drive in the bus lane, ignore the new turn only lane on Delridge at Andover, cut off drivers who are coming from Beacon Hill as they merge from 1-5, and forget to use blinkers! Let’s not blame stupid and inconsiderate driving just on Ferry commuters! Although, as I have said previously, Van pools vans are crazy when they are heading to the ferry!
May 22, 2013 at 10:12 pm #789675
KJBParticipantWhat I was referring to is how are you deciding who is a Vashon driver when you are talking about bridge traffic. If you have ever commuted from Vashon you would know that many times, there are overloaded boats from Southworth that take very few cars from Vashon. Hence most of a large boat might be full of mostly Southworth cars. I realize that some islanders (including myself) may have a VSH sticker, but most are just another car on the road unrecognized until they pull into the ferry line.
May 22, 2013 at 10:30 pm #789676
wakefloodParticipantI don’t disagree regarding determining who’s from where in the general traffic. I’m merely indicating that I’ve seen a fair bit of silliness from those who end up in Vashon lanes on the dock. That’s not to suggest that there isn’t plenty of it happening in general, cuz there’s a LOT of it.
I’m actually more interested in the seemingly selfish mindset of those who have chosen to put themselves at risk by living on island with a single means of entry/exit. One which forces them to frequently transit what is ostensibly a residential enclave (as opposed to a highway/freeway) that was never designed to act as a major transportation hub. And doing so exclusively using a limited resource that is constantly under pressure to provide more and better service to other users in the system. All of which is to say, a little humility and courtesy goes a long way to soothing ruffled feathers…
May 23, 2013 at 3:49 am #789677
KJBParticipantI am taking a deep breath and going to sleep on my response to you wakeflood.
I was raised on Vashon and really take offense to your comment regarding the “selfish mindset” of those who live on Vashon. I am not sure where you live and how familiar you really are with Vashon- but you have hit a nerve.
May 23, 2013 at 4:32 am #789678
angelescrestParticipantYes, with me as well. This post is filled with vitriol and bad feelings. Vashon has welcomed our kids to their schools–and for us, it was the heartiest welcome. There’s awful driving all over the place, and I question theanimosity towards Vashonners that Wakeflood apparently harbors.
Let’s close this post!
May 23, 2013 at 4:54 am #789679
pigeonmomParticipantI’ll speak for myself.
There are no personal attacks going on here, just observations from people close to the action regarding driving and the attitudes that surround taking a ferry in our neighborhood.
I’ve had 20+ years of up-close experience.
I am not saying all islanders are bad or have rotten interpersonal skills or are poor drivers.
A few really suck, that’s just a fact and that’s all we are talking about here.
May 23, 2013 at 5:52 am #789680
wakefloodParticipantNo vitriol here. Pmom spoke for me as well. No one was impuning all Vashon drivers. It’s the few who create the impression described above, as is usually the case with these things. Close away…
May 23, 2013 at 5:57 am #789681
wakefloodParticipantAnd to respond to KJB: I live near the ferry dock and have so for over 15 yrs. I’ve attended meetings where assumptions seemed to be made by Vashonites that Fauntleroy (and the ferry system) needed to suck it up and deal with the growth of Vashon and the impacts of the corresponding commuter traffic. Seemed to be a pretty self-consumed from my point of view. Hence my comments. That’s all I was trying to say.
May 23, 2013 at 7:22 pm #789682
F16CrewChiefMemberHaving three children attend Gatewood Elem. with one still there, the ferry commuters are horrible! I know there are a lot of bad drivers period, no matter where you go, but the ferry commuters are especially horrible. I assume it is due in part to having to make the boat. But having seen ferry commuters fly through the Gatewood school zone and use the center turning lane to pass those drivers obeying the school speed, I have no respect for ferry commuters that violate that school zone. And I’m pretty sure that is why Seattle installed a speed camera there at Gatewood.
May 23, 2013 at 7:54 pm #789683
datamuseParticipantI don’t know Vashon drivers from West Seattle drivers, but after 17 years in Washington State, I have to ask: why does nobody here know how to merge?
May 23, 2013 at 9:34 pm #789684
ricoMemberdatamuse said “I don’t know Vashon drivers from West Seattle drivers,”…
Well if you are on Fauntleroy early in the morning (I am on the road at 5:40 a.m.) it is quite obvious to recognize when you become intermingled with Vashon (and Southworth) ferry traffic. And quite unpleasant when you become intermingled with such arrogant Ferry Commuters.
May 24, 2013 at 6:22 am #789685
BrassyMommaParticipantThe middle of Manhattan?
Really?
I never thought of Carnegie Hall just South of Central Park as a tape by which to measure rudeness nor poor behaviour – you now…the Middle of Manhattan.
I love WS, but being from back East, I find Seattle always using my home a a tiring, easy, lazy descriptor as the stick by which people measure rudeness. Seattle is the rudest city I have ever, ever lived in (except for the natives born and raised here – hmmm) – thank god for West Seattle and Tacoma! What great people and food and attitude…most folks don’t shoot you a nasty look of you talk to someone in line waiting to by groceries like over the bridge.
Yeah – Vashons are quirky. So were Long Islanders!
But you know what? So What!
Leave NYC out of this. Our chinese food will always kick ass! :D
May 24, 2013 at 3:35 pm #789686
amaliaParticipantThanks, Brassy, it had to be said. People who diss on NYC I suspect have never been there. It’s diabolically helpful when you need it – we just don’t preface conversations with strangers with a bunch of Namaste small talk. (I bet a few Seattlites think that comment’s rude, though, so I guess it’s a matter of perception.)
.
Seattle drivers suck. Colosally. The clueless and the self-absorbed and the entitled souless. That’s what this east-coaster thinks. At least NYers use their horns when needed.
May 24, 2013 at 4:06 pm #789687
KJBParticipantThanks Amalia
It really doesn’t matter where the drivers are from many many drivers out there suck and make it a mess for the rest of us.
May 24, 2013 at 4:08 pm #789688
KJBParticipantIt would be great to have a conversation about some of the “hot spots” that plague the morning commute.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.