driving

Lane closure

Posted on by backuphill

low angle photography of orange excavator under white clouds

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I have said it in the past but I am going to say it again. Sorry if it sounds like I am a broken record, but WADOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) seriously has to do a better job – not just them, but the contractors they hire as well.

It was another painful travel weekend. It think it was three weeks ago I mentioned the reduction of lanes on a major interstate highway (it’s actually I-5, a federal highway) and how badly it affected the traffic on a Friday night. Well, this last Friday was no different. Miles and miles and miles of lane closures and not a soul in sight doing any work! While progress may be getting done, it surely doesn’t appear like it and they are in no hurry to get it done. It’s kind of ridiculous really.

So, yesterday (Sunday for those of you keeping track), a major north/south highway had ALL of the northbound lanes closed. That’s right, I-405 was closed with only one lane (a collector/distributor lane) getting by. That means five lanes diverted to one. To top it off, they didn’t close on-ramps that directly affected that one diverted lane, so merging traffic and diverted traffic had to fight for the same space. Ultimately, that mean five lanes got bottle-necked and didn’t have a steady flow. Kind of a CF if you ask me!

Look, I get that construction needs to get done. I am fully aware of the condition of the roadways. But, let’s be honest here. These days, there is never a good time to close highways and there is never a good time to avoid the hassle.

BUT, what doesn’t appear to be happening is that WADOT isn’t requiring construction crews to complete the work in the fastest time possible (overnight work, 24/7, until it is done). Traffic volumes are much lower at night and it affects for fewer people/travelers when work is done then. And, let’s face it, with the technology that is available these days there is no reason work can’t be done at night.

Get it together WADOT! You are costing people money and time.

Again, traffic…

Posted on by backuphill

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Well, I am late again today. I guess maybe I need to do a better job planning ahead and get some blog posts ready on the weekend.

Anyway, there was a huge accident on the highway this morning and blocked all southbound lanes. Unfortunately, I found out about it too late and ended up getting on the highway at a stretch behind the backup where there was no way to get off the highway for about miles…so traffic crawled for an hour before I could exit and go around.

It looked pretty bad. Heard there was one fatality.

People were impatient and even blocking the shoulder this morning, making it tough for emergency vehicles to get to the scene.

Come on people. Drive safely and stop being stupid. It really isn’t worth it.

Hey, I’m driving here!

Posted on by backuphill

person holding red umbrella walking on street

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I sure hope you aren’t one of these people. I hope you aren’t a rude slow poke.

I’ll venture a guess you have experienced this though…

You enter a parking lot and proceed to look for a parking space. In the time that you are slowly driving around looking for a space, you inevitably encounter people who have exited the store, or perhaps are even headed into the store, and are walking right down the middle of the “road.” Thus, blocking you from moving any further as you wait for them to move.

Sometimes there are multiple people, walking shoulder to shoulder, creating a line across the roadway and preventing you from passing. They are oblivious to others around them, just walking and talking, taking their sweet time as your crawl at a snail’s pace, if you can move at all.

Rude? You bet! Frustrating? Of course. Wanna run over them? OK, keep that one to yourself as sometimes silence is the best policy…

GET.OUT.OF.THE.WAY!

Really, it’s not like I am in a hurry. In most cases, I am patient and can wait. But it is the principle of the thing – let’s not just be concerned with ourselves, shall we?

What are your parking lot pet peeves? Do you have bad habits you are can admit?

There she goes

Posted on by backuphill

silhouette of girl running on the seashore during golden hour

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Strange things have been happening around here. My little one has turned 16 and a new form of freedom is upon us both.

I love it!

I hate it…

It feels very weird. I mean really weird.

Yesterday, after having her license for three whole days, was the first time she got in a car and drove away by herself. There was no one in the car…except her…

After 16 years, it is time to do a little letting go and I have to admit it is scary. I mean, I love watching my daughter grow and mature and become her own person, but inside the pride is mixed with hurt. Not the kind of hurt that is caused by someone that has done something to you, but a hurt that just aches because you know the “little girl” is gone.

It was surreal watching her drive away. Away to a place of her choosing. She has many more destinations ahead of her and I am not going to be able to protect her as she goes.

Man, growing old is tough. These new adventures my daughter is taking me on are tough.

There she goes…

Snow day telecommute

Posted on by backuphill

black vehicle traveling on road near person walker

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Well, the snow came just as they predicted and it hasn’t let up yet. This is somewhat unusual for the Pacific Northwest and there was a collective “YES!” across the region as schools are mostly closed today.

As you may recall from earlier posts, I drive about an hour to work every day. Weather like this makes it a challenge, to say the least, so I have decided to telecommute today. That makes work much easier and less stressful that trying to battle the roads and elements.

Quite frankly, I didn’t want to drive today. NOT because of the weather. I can handle that and have enough experience to handle what the roads may throw at me.

However, what I can’t account for are the other idiots on the road! I gotta tell ya, for a region that does a lot of driving in less than ideal weather, people are freaking stupid when it comes to this stuff. I see more four-wheel drive vehicles on the side of the road, in the ditch, upside down than I see any other vehicles. Guys (and I do mean that literally), just because you have a four-wheeled vehicle doesn’t mean you are invincible. You still need to use your brain, and a little less of that lead foot.

So, playing it safe from the other drivers today. And, if you live in the NW like I do, take it easy if you have to go out. The object is to get there. It isn’t about how fast you got there.

 

I can almost see clearly

Posted on by backuphill

Anyone else hate driving with windshield wipers? Yeah, me too. Which is a problems since I live in the northwest where liquid falls from the sky more than it doesn’t.

I want my windshield to act as though it has that RainX stuff on it all the time. I don’t like to apply the stuff because it takes time and effort, so why can’t the glass technology just be that way? Why can’t I just not have to drive with windshield wipers permanently?

If that were the case, I could see clearly all the time, even when liquid falls from the sky in a torrential kind of way.

Get to it glass people!

It’s rain people…

Posted on by backuphill

blur cars dew drops

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News flash: We live in the Northwest and it rains here. It rains here a lot.

Now, I know that isn’t news to those who live here but DANG it already! Why do you all have to forget how to drive in the freakin’ rain??? We have rain pretty much 9 months of the year (yes summers are not as rainy) so why is it so hard to remember how to drive in such conditions?

I swear, for so many smart tech people in this area, they are a bunch of idiots behind the wheel of a car. Drive slower, leave more space between vehicles. Simple. When you do that, you have to step on the brake less and you don’t bash into others as often. Duh!

Now do it.

#SMH

O Canada…

Posted on by backuphill

canada flag with mountain range view

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Our neighbors from the northern land!

Improve your driving we shall command.

Your lack of skill comes as no surprise,

Violate the laws and you won’t be free!

From the border you come,

O Canada, you speed on the freeway.

God you’re rude and pushy too!

O Canada, we won’t stand to let you speed.

O Canada, we won’t let you speed for free.

A little ode for our Canadian neighbors, sung to the tune of their national anthem. If you live in the upper left corner of the United States, you can totally relate to this little ditty. Shoot, if you live anywhere within reach of the Canadian border, you can probably relate. Am I wrong?

Total generalization here, but the general consensus (or commonly held stereotype) is that Canadians are generally a docile and friendly people. If you are actually IN Canada, I have found this to be true for the most part. They are nice people. However, in my experience, the are not great drivers.

Once they cross that border in the US, that stereotype goes away and another becomes the reality. They apparently forget all rules of the road and all manners while shopping. If you live within 200 miles of the border in Washington, this is a well known fact.

Reality is that Canadians are rude and self-absorbed. Two areas this is blatantly obvious: driving and shopping. This is displayed in driving because they speed, weave in and out of traffic, cut people off, tailgate, and otherwise display poor behavior with abandon because there is apparently no consequence for it, even when they get pulled over. The other area is shopping. The clog up our stores (especially close to the border) and purchase weird amounts of milk and gas (can we thank socialism and price controls for that?). They are pushy. They are usually very loud. They sometimes appear to not even understand the purchasing process…I mean, really?

So, how about we try this? Shop online and we’ll ship it too you. We want your money, but we can do without the bad driving and invasion of our stores every time you have a holiday in the land of maple syrup and Mounties.

 

I wonder if it really makes a difference

Posted on by backuphill

smartphone car technology phone

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On any given work day, I have nearly two hours of commute (round trip) time. Yeah, I can feel your groans. I do it too. To be honest, the commute is the worst part of my job and if I could not do it and make the same income I would change in a heartbeat. But, it is what it is.

So, I have been using the Waze app to see if it can help alleviate the commute time a little. Supposedly it is “real time” traffic routing based on user reports. It is owned by Google, so all it does it take the traffic reports and move it to a different app instead of the regular Google Maps app. Anyway, I am not sure it is helping.

Why is it not helping? Or at least, why do I not think it is helping? Well, it takes me just as long to get home when I use it and when I don’t use it. By time it routes be down some obscure neighborhood road, or through every traffic light in town, it has taken me roughly the same amount of time to get to the exact same choke point at just going the most direct route, via the highway where all the other cars are sitting in traffic. Maybe it is just the nature of the necessary route to get home (there are literally only two ways to get home via two choke points). But, one would think that you could at least get to the choke point a little faster using the app. Not so.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

#trafficiskillingme #smh

Do you know why I pulled you over?

Posted on by backuphill

*Disclaimer #1, no, I haven’t been pulled over for this yet.

There are some really dumb traffic laws out there, and this happens to be one of the dumbest. The sheer nature of the law assumes that someone will be speeding and someone else will be impeding their progress.

Bahn Storming

wesleychapelcommunity.com

So, let’s talk about this for a second. Let’s assume you are trying to follow the posted speed limit and are not exceeding it. Slower vehicles are supposed to stay to the right (it’s the law, right?). If, by the nature of traveling the speed limit, you are able to pass people while traveling in the left lane then you are not causing anyone grief because you are in fact going the speed limit.

Let’s just say an emergency vehicle comes up from behind you with their lights on. What do you do? You move to the right, like the law says to do. If you don’t move right, you can and should be ticketed for not following the law. So, is this an issue with traveling in the left lane?

If you are going slower than the speed limit, well, then you could be pulled over because you are actually being a hazard to other drivers and should be pulled over for being a danger to yourself and others.

Finally, that leaves anyone who is going over the speed limit, which I do regularly. *Disclaimer #2 – I do not condone speeding, I am just merely using myself as an example. First, if you are speeding you can be pulled over for that because you are violating a law already on the books. However, since you are speeding you are likely passing slower people who are staying on the right. Thus, no need for the law. If you are one of those jackwagons (is that gender specific or is it all-inclusive?) who decides that you are going to speed at an unreasonable rate and unsafely, well then there is already a law on the books for that. It is called reckless driving.

So that leaves a scenario where I am traveling over the speed limit and passing people on the left when a jackwagon speeds up from behind me and tailgates me as I don’t move immediately out-of-the-way. Who is in the wrong here? As we are both exceeding the speed limit, both of us are passing people on the left. We are both speeding, only one of us is doing it in an unsafe manner. I am not really impeding anyone in traffic, except the jackwagon behind me who feels the need to run everyone off the road to get to where they are going. Get my drift here?

The “keep right” law is dumb.