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There's a common perception that Seattle drivers are polite to a fault, and pokey as a rule.
But the police officers who patrol the city's roads say otherwise. Seattle’s streets are less crowded than three years ago, but the rate of collisions is rising. And the Seattle Police Department thinks it knows why.
“It’s rare to find anybody actually traveling the speed limit,” said Officer Louie Olivarez, as he patrolled Admiral Way in West Seattle on a recent Tuesday morning. “I’d say 99 percent of people are exceeding the speed limit.”
Olivarez said he finds the same thing when he patrols Aurora Avenue North (SR 99) and other major roads throughout the city. He said he routinely cites drivers for going anywhere from 15 to 50 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. “When you’re exceeding the speed limit by that many miles, it’s extremely dangerous,” he said.
Tickets range from $154 for 15 miles per hour over the posted limit to $411 for 35 miles over. Olivarez also has the option of citing speeders for negligent driving, which carries a $550 citation. Beyond that, the offense is considered reckless driving, a criminal violation that requires a court appearance.
Olivarez is one of four officers who make up SPD’s Aggressive Driver Response Team, which was established in 2007, then disbanded in 2011, only to be reactivated last year.
“Any type of problem in the city that is a high risk of causing injury or property damage is what we concentrate on,” Olivarez said.
Excessive speed is by far the biggest problem. Olivarez said he usually focuses only on drivers going 15 miles or more over the speed limit. But even targeting just the worst speeders keeps him busy, especially when he's patrolling busy roads like Sandpoint Way, West and East Marginal Way, MLK Jr. Way and Rainier Avenue.
The National Highway Safety Administration estimates that about one third of all crashes can be attributed to aggressive driving. But motorists seem surprised to learn that excessive speeding falls under the "aggressive" category.
Olivarez stopped Jim Kuhlman for driving a company vehicle 57 miles an hour on Aurora -- 17 miles over the posted speed limit. Kuhlman said he drives that corridor a half dozen times or more nearly every day and just wasn’t paying attention. Asked if he considered himself an aggressive driver, Kuhlman said: "Absolutely not. Absolutely not. No. No way."
Olivarez gave him a warning instead of a citation, and Kuhlman vowed to slow down: “Oh, God yes. If I have to get out and push the car,” he said.
Olivarez doesn’t just go after speeders. He cites a lot of drivers for following too closely, making unsafe lane changes, and failing to signal.
He also targets drivers who are just as dangerous as drunk drivers but whose addiction is not alcohol -- it’s a cell phone. Staking out motorists on 1st Avenue South in Seattle, Olivarez recently stopped several drivers of large vehicles for talking on their cell phones, including a semi-truck driver and the driver of a large bus used for shuttling workers to job sites. Both received a $124 citation and a stern warning: “You need to stay off your phone while driving; it’s very dangerous.”
Olivarez said he can easily write a couple thousand dollars worth of tickets in a couple of hours. But he said for him it’s not about giving the City of Seattle more revenue -- it’s about giving people a wake-up call.
“I would love to go one day and not have to stop anyone,” Olivarez said.
While he does occasionally stop a driver who's been weaving crazily in and out of traffic, Olivarez said more often the person he’s after is doing things many drivers are guilty of -- speeding, using a wireless device, tailgating or neglecting a road sign.
Report aggressive driving
The Aggressive Driver Response Team also responds to community complaints. In Seattle, you can report a problem by calling SPD's Traffic Section at (206) 684-8757, or call SPD’s non-emergency number at (206) 625-5011. Tips can also be sent in via the department's website.
Last edited by Andy Patrizio; 02-19-2014 at 08:15 PM..
There's a common perception that Seattle drivers are polite to a fault, and pokey as a rule.
But the police officers who patrol the city's roads say otherwise. Seattle’s streets are less crowded than three years ago, but the rate of collisions is rising. And the Seattle Police Department thinks it knows why.
“It’s rare to find anybody actually traveling the speed limit,” said Officer Louie Olivarez, as he patrolled Admiral Way in West Seattle on a recent Tuesday morning. “I’d say 99 percent of people are exceeding the speed limit.”
This is bull. At least on 405 and 5. Drive on a bank holiday at 8am. You are guaranteed to see people driving 40-50 in a 60MPH zone despite there being nobody on the road.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,551 posts, read 81,085,957 times
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I see plenty of speeding and tailgating too, but that has nothing to do with the overpoliteness. I still find that at every 4-way stop, everyone waits for someone else to go first, and we all sit until I finally go ahead and start. Most of my driving is on the eastside, however, not in Seattle itself. What really cracks me up is that when you get off I90 at Issaquah by the Ford dealership, almost everyone is texting on their phone. A cop could sit there and write tickets all day long. Perhaps they are waiting until they are no longer on the freeway, which I suppose is good.
I wish we had an Aggressive Driver Response Team where I live. People not only speed and tailgate, they weave in and out of traffic without signaling. Police could have a field day just arresting people who don't use their turn signal. Apparently drivers feel it's optional. But here, police don't even stop people who run red lights, which is quite common. Even if there's an office in the adjacent lane to someone who runs a red light, nothing happens.
In all my 20 yrs of driving experience, polite drivers is good to have for neighborhood streets but politeness creates more traffic accidents for busy streets.
Driving is all about forward progress, if people keep slowing down or stopping that's where you have accidents.
In NYC where I am from, why is it that slow drivers get involved in so many accidents? Because when they slow down or brake a lot they become obstacles on the road.
Politeness is greatly appreciated at crossings, shopping ctr, and neighborhood streets but not on the highway and busy roads. It will create more accidents and slow traffic.
One of the reason I can't live outside of NYC because of all the slow idiotic drivers elsewhere.
Back in the day, I used to comment that the Redmond PD probably issues extra ticket books to the officers patrolling near 51st/40th exit off 520 (east and westbound, really north and southbound) in Redmond. Not one, not two, but three signs at 520 east (north) off ramp for 40th (east) near 156th indicate "No Right Turn on Red". Some still run it anyway.
The plethora of people with entitlement issues working nearby is probably a bonanza for an officer's unspoken citation quota. Many opportunities to pick off aggressive drivers who can't seem to intellectualize that whole "share the road" thing. Wonder if they have red light cameras in the area now, unless that's been outlawed: would probably save the PD a lot of manpower yet bring in steady revenue.
(Caveat: I have a sports car, driven infrequently, and may or may not have entitlement issues And, I do pass through the above area often. I do, however, obey signs, pedestrian right-of-way, and speed limits in urban areas without fail.)
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,551 posts, read 81,085,957 times
Reputation: 57744
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blondebaerde
Wonder if they have red light cameras in the area now, unless that's been outlawed: would probably save the PD a lot of manpower yet bring in steady revenue.
No, Redmond removed the red light cameras. There is still a speed camera on 2nd Ave SE in Issaquah by the High School.
There's a common perception that Seattle drivers are polite to a fault, and pokey as a rule.
But the police officers who patrol the city's roads say otherwise. Seattle’s streets are less crowded than three years ago, but the rate of collisions is rising. And the Seattle Police Department thinks it knows why.
“It’s rare to find anybody actually traveling the speed limit,” said Officer Louie Olivarez, as he patrolled Admiral Way in West Seattle on a recent Tuesday morning. “I’d say 99 percent of people are exceeding the speed limit.”
Olivarez said he finds the same thing when he patrols Aurora Avenue North (SR 99) and other major roads throughout the city. He said he routinely cites drivers for going anywhere from 15 to 50 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. “When you’re exceeding the speed limit by that many miles, it’s extremely dangerous,” he said.
Tickets range from $154 for 15 miles per hour over the posted limit to $411 for 35 miles over. Olivarez also has the option of citing speeders for negligent driving, which carries a $550 citation. Beyond that, the offense is considered reckless driving, a criminal violation that requires a court appearance.
Olivarez is one of four officers who make up SPD’s Aggressive Driver Response Team, which was established in 2007, then disbanded in 2011, only to be reactivated last year.
“Any type of problem in the city that is a high risk of causing injury or property damage is what we concentrate on,” Olivarez said.
Excessive speed is by far the biggest problem. Olivarez said he usually focuses only on drivers going 15 miles or more over the speed limit. But even targeting just the worst speeders keeps him busy, especially when he's patrolling busy roads like Sandpoint Way, West and East Marginal Way, MLK Jr. Way and Rainier Avenue.
The National Highway Safety Administration estimates that about one third of all crashes can be attributed to aggressive driving. But motorists seem surprised to learn that excessive speeding falls under the "aggressive" category.
Olivarez stopped Jim Kuhlman for driving a company vehicle 57 miles an hour on Aurora -- 17 miles over the posted speed limit. Kuhlman said he drives that corridor a half dozen times or more nearly every day and just wasn’t paying attention. Asked if he considered himself an aggressive driver, Kuhlman said: "Absolutely not. Absolutely not. No. No way."
Olivarez gave him a warning instead of a citation, and Kuhlman vowed to slow down: “Oh, God yes. If I have to get out and push the car,” he said.
Olivarez doesn’t just go after speeders. He cites a lot of drivers for following too closely, making unsafe lane changes, and failing to signal.
He also targets drivers who are just as dangerous as drunk drivers but whose addiction is not alcohol -- it’s a cell phone. Staking out motorists on 1st Avenue South in Seattle, Olivarez recently stopped several drivers of large vehicles for talking on their cell phones, including a semi-truck driver and the driver of a large bus used for shuttling workers to job sites. Both received a $124 citation and a stern warning: “You need to stay off your phone while driving; it’s very dangerous.”
Olivarez said he can easily write a couple thousand dollars worth of tickets in a couple of hours. But he said for him it’s not about giving the City of Seattle more revenue -- it’s about giving people a wake-up call.
“I would love to go one day and not have to stop anyone,” Olivarez said.
While he does occasionally stop a driver who's been weaving crazily in and out of traffic, Olivarez said more often the person he’s after is doing things many drivers are guilty of -- speeding, using a wireless device, tailgating or neglecting a road sign.
Report aggressive driving
The Aggressive Driver Response Team also responds to community complaints. In Seattle, you can report a problem by calling SPD's Traffic Section at (206) 684-8757, or call SPD’s non-emergency number at (206) 625-5011. Tips can also be sent in via the department's website.
Take it with a grain of salt. The primary raison d'etre for an Oliverez is to write tickets and bring revenue into city coffers. The most dangerous driving behavoirs are a) unsafe lane changes; b) slow drivers, which result in people continually coming up behind them, and performing an unsafe lane change to get by them.
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And, I do pass through the above area often. I do, however, obey signs, pedestrian right-of-way, and speed limits in urban areas without fail.)
