Traffic/Road Etiquette in Seattle area (gated, living, law)

[packet]

The drivers around here are my major pet peeve. 5-10mph under the speed limit on nearly every road. They can NOT merge on a highway as they seem to think it's save to merge at 40mph when highway traffic is going 60-70. Signaling can be an issue and almost every time I go out, someone comes close to t-boning me when they don't look as they turn right at an intersection. It takes 3-4 seconds before someone will take their foot off the brake when a light turns green. Any time the weather changes, people drive like idiots.

I drive all over the country depending where my client for the week is. Honestly, I hate driving at home the most. NYC is the second worst, but at least they're predictably bad.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by la_fuerza

Another thing that is common in Seattle on the freeway is passing on the right. I always drive 72-75 in the fast lane and if the person in front of me is going too slow I will go around them and pass them on the right. Many other drivers do the same thing.

I used to tailgate slow vehicles and flash my lights at them to get them to move out of the fast lane but I don't do that anymore. That's not Seattle etiquette on the freeway.

There is no such thing as a fast lane on the freeway. The speed limit in all lanes of the freeway is exactly the same as the posted speed limit.

What people call the fast lane is actually a passing lane, that is why there are signs that read, "Keep right except to pass", or something to that effect.

Tailgating and flashing your lights is a good way to get yourself into trouble.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by packet

The drivers around here are my major pet peeve. 5-10mph under the speed limit on nearly every road. They can NOT merge on a highway as they seem to think it's save to merge at 40mph when highway traffic is going 60-70. Signaling can be an issue and almost every time I go out, someone comes close to t-boning me when they don't look as they turn right at an intersection. It takes 3-4 seconds before someone will take their foot off the brake when a light turns green. Any time the weather changes, people drive like idiots.

I drive all over the country depending where my client for the week is. Honestly, I hate driving at home the most. NYC is the second worst, but at least they're predictably bad.

People complain about drivers in almost every city and state forum on C-D...the problem as I see it is that everybody thinks that they are the best driver on the road...

[packet]

Originally Posted by seattlerain

People complain about drivers in almost every city and state forum on C-D...the problem as I see it is that everybody thinks that they are the best driver on the road...

I'm certainly not the best driver on the road, but people here are quite afraid of driving. I work in anywhere from 8-10 states a year and drive in all of them. I don't have the issues with drivers anywhere else that I have here. No one can merge at highway speeds and people don't seem to understand that the fast lane is for passing, not traveling at 60mph in a 70mph zone.

Everyone else I know that's from out of state has the exact same complaints, so I'm not alone here either. My neighbors actually brought it up in conversation before I mentioned anything about it in the past.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by packet

I'm certainly not the best driver on the road, but people here are quite afraid of driving. I work in anywhere from 8-10 states a year and drive in all of them. I don't have the issues with drivers anywhere else that I have here. No one can merge at highway speeds and people don't seem to understand that the fast lane is for passing, not traveling at 60mph in a 70mph zone.

Everyone else I know that's from out of state has the exact same complaints, so I'm not alone here either. My neighbors actually brought it up in conversation before I mentioned anything about it in the past.

My point is that people complain about the drivers in almost all the city and state forums here on C-D.

If it's not people who can't merge properly, it's people who don't signal, if it's not people who don't signal, it's people who signal too soon, if it's not people who drive too fast, it's people who drive too slow, if it's not people who drive too slow it's people who tailgate, if it's not people who tailgate, it's people who leave too much room between them and the car in front of them, ad nauseam.

Complaining about drivers in any city other than the city where you live, or learned to drive in seems to have become a national pastime.

Oh, and thy the way, there is no fast lane...there is a passing lane...but it is not a fast lane.

[newguy416]

Not the best source but from Wikipedia:

A passing lane is often colloquially referred to as a fast lane because it is often used for extended periods of time for through traffic or fast traffic. In theory, a passing lane should be used only for passing, thus allowing, even on a road with only two lanes in each direction, motorists to travel at their own pace. Good driving practice is to slip out of the passing lane once slower cars have been passed.

Signage
The use of the left lane for faster traffic is sometimes acknowledged with signs using phrases such as "Slower Traffic Keep Right" (in Canada, where the passing lane is to the left). The U.S. state of Rhode Island and Georgia uses the idea of a "Truck Lane" for tractor trailers traveling express through the state. In a study by the AASHTO Subcommittee on Traffic Engineering, all 24 states involved used some form of passing lane courtesy signage, nine of which only use those signs for steep graded roads.

Depending on where you live, the term "fast lane" is commonly used.

[godhead]

Tailgating on the freeway? Flashing lights? Please take the bus.
It's less stressful to just read the habits of the other drivers and "go with the flow", no matter what city your driving.

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by packet

I'm certainly not the best driver on the road, but people here are quite afraid of driving. I work in anywhere from 8-10 states a year and drive in all of them. I don't have the issues with drivers anywhere else that I have here. No one can merge at highway speeds and people don't seem to understand that the fast lane is for passing, not traveling at 60mph in a 70mph zone.

Everyone else I know that's from out of state has the exact same complaints, so I'm not alone here either. My neighbors actually brought it up in conversation before I mentioned anything about it in the past.

The roads here are just not built for fast driving. They are, by comparison to most places, narrow, curvy, hilly and often slippery. Traffic congestion limits the ability to move at speed on the freeay near Seattle, except well after rush hours.

Seattle drivers are timid, but there are other factors as well.

[MaikeerinWA]

That's moronic behavior in any of the 50 states.

Originally Posted by la_fuerza

I used to tailgate slow vehicles and flash my lights at them to get them to move out of the fast lane but I don't do that anymore.

[packet]

Originally Posted by AlohaHuey

The roads here are just not built for fast driving. They are, by comparison to most places, narrow, curvy, hilly and often slippery. Traffic congestion limits the ability to move at speed on the freeay near Seattle, except well after rush hours.

Seattle drivers are timid, but there are other factors as well.

I grew up in CT. The roads are narrower and more curvy, they get a lot more snow, and the merritt and i-95 are far worse than 405. Granted people usually do 85 in a 65 and there are far more idiots in a ditch when it snows. My problems though usually stem from people on I-90 east to the pass going 55mph in the left most lane of the road.

Funny enough 4 of my friends spontaneously started complaining about the drivers around here tonight.