Road Warrior

The in basket: Bonnie Thane writes that her daily trip from Olympic College, where she works, home to Port Orchard takes her through the intersection of 11th Street and Callow Avenue in Bremerton, where she turns left.
“I have noticed that the sign that says ‘Left turn yield on green’ is gone. You can see that it has been cut away.
“Is there no longer any left turn yield on green? Must you wait for the green arrow and only turn left when that arrow is on?” she asks

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It was 10 years ago Sunday that the first Road Warrior column appeared
in this newspaper
It was a rarity at the time. Now, many newspapers have something
similar and a lot of them are called Road Warrior.
In the ensuing 10 years, I’ve written 804 Road Warrior columns. It has
been by far the most popular thing I’ve ever done in my 38 years working
here.
Now, we are undergoing yet another sea change in the newspaper business. You’re invited to “blog” the Road Warrior.

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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 19, 2004
The in basket: I hear from readers from time to time who feel seriously endangered by people who run red lights.

Michael Hill and Julie Jones have described it in a similar fashion in recent e-mails.

Julie wrote, “One doesn’t dare take off at a green light anymore. It seems there are always two or three people still coming through an intersection LONG after THEIR light would have turned red.”

Michael says all the lights on Highway 303 out to Fairgrounds Road “are ‘hot spots’ for those in too much of a hurry to stop. I have adopted a five-second count before I pull out on my green signal in fear of some idiot killing my family.”

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The in basket: The fatal rock fall in Snoqualmie Pass last fall prompted Aimee Warthen of Bremerton to ask about the cliffs between Bremerton and Gorst on Highway 3.

“The southbound traffic travels precariously close to overhanging rocks,” she wrote. “As someone who travels this road most days of the week, I was wondering if we could experience our own tragic rock slide someday along this route. Do you know who monitors the rocks and how often they are checked for stability?”

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The in basket: Phil Hunter responded to a Road Warrior column
about the HOV-only limitation on the westbound Jackson Avenue on-ramp to
Highway 16 just before one crosses the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
I had mentioned in passing that that restriction will remain in place
even after the second bridge is open and both bridges are in full
operation.
“Are they saying that they are anticipating that the new bridge will do
little to cure the congestion problem, thus the need to leave the HOV
restriction?” Phil asked.

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The in basket: D.A. Jahaske writes to say, “I am troubled by the dangerous glare from private property floodlights that hit the driver headed south on the Illahee-Brownsville Road just south of the Illahee community. This is in the 25 mph speed zone and in the curve to the left and then to the right. I assume that these may be security lighting.

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The in basket: Bonnie Martin of Port Orchard asks “What’s the scoop on
New Fiegley Road? It has been closed for a long time, and I never see
anyone doing anything on that street…? Any ideas when it will open?”

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The in basket: Val Tangen e-mailed after seeing an earlier Road Warrior about state troopers specifically looking for aggressive drivers, defined as ones committing three violations in quick succession, usually speeding, tailgating and not signaling a lane change.

Val wondered what to do about the opposite kind of driver, the excessively timid one.

“I was driving on Bond,” Val said. “The road was clear and dry and it was light out but quite cloudy. The driver in front of me had no lights on; drove 35 in the 50 zone and 20 in the 35 zone. She was constantly breaking, especially if another car came in the opposite direction.

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The in basket: Mick Danielson responded to the Dec. 26 Road Warrior column that said adults in a car who don’t have their seat belts buckled would get the $101 ticket, not the driver, if the car is stopped by an officer.

“You and the State Patrol failed to mention that a person not wearing a seat belt becomes a moving object when involved in any kind of accident,” Mick wrote. “The unbuckled person can cause serious injuries or even death to other people in the car. For this reason, any driver or passenger can feel justified asking everyone to buckle up.”

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The in basket: Linda Woodward writes: “Every morning I enter (Highway) 3 southbound via the Newberry Hill entry that comes in from the east. It being rush hour, I often have a knot of traffic to contend with, as well as traffic entering from the western entry off of Newberry Hill.

“As I’m getting wedged between two streams of traffic, it is my understanding that, while I have to merge in with the (Highway) 3 traffic, the vehicles from the other entry have to merge into my lane of traffic. Am I correct?

“I have had horns blown and single-finger salutes waved by people coming in from the west who seem to think it’s my responsibility to defer to everyone on the road, regardless of which side they are approaching from.

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