The in basket: At coffee one recent morning with the Original
Coffee Group in downtown Bremerton, i was remarked that state
troopers have been seen patrolling Perry Avenue at Mountain View
Middle School, writing school zone tickets.
It brought to mind something I looked into years ago, before there
even was a Road Warrior column, about a trooper who stoppe a young
woman in from of South Kitsap High School for exceeding 20 mph
“while children are present.” I wondered why troopers wander so far
off the state highways to do school zone enforcement.
Monthly Archives: June 2006
No License Plates? Unmarked Vehicle Still a WSP Car
The in basket: Darrell Hogue on Tuesday e-mailed to say “I saw a
white State Patrol car this evening coming from Banger, then
exiting at the Mall exit, head over the hill to east Bremerton.
This car had NO PLATES on the front or back. I thought all cars had
to have a license but the State Patrol cars would have exempt
listed on their plates. Is this something new?
On Thursday, it was spotted again. Charles Jacobsen e-mailed that
at 6:20 p.m. that day “I saw what looked like a white, unmarked
Ford police car parked on the side of the road. eastbound in the S
curve on Luoto Road before it’s intersection with Viking Way. It
had emergency equipment in the rear window (police lightbar), but
no license plates on either the front or rear. The area on both
bumpers where the plates should have been was blank, mat black. No
visible plates raises several legal questions should this vehicle
attempt to make a traffic stop.”
Mini-Mart Exit is Bad Luck for Driver
The in basket: Lea Curtis wonders about the traffic controls
around the AM-PM Mini-Mart where Highway 308 intersects Viking Way
west of Keyport.
She was hit by an uninsured driver who was coming in the exit at
the northeast corner of the store last December. Twelve days later,
the same thing almost happened again. A driver came in the exit and
nearly hit Lea as she tried to leave.
“If I wasn’t being cautious because of my prior incident, we most
definitely would have collided and it would have been worse because
of her speed,” Lea said. “I was so surprised that someone else
would do such a dumb thing, especially when there is a vehicle
coming through!”
Local Highways Don’t Get Special Attention, Trooper Says
The in basket: Don Bolles of Bremerton asks, “Why does the State Patrol set up speed traps along Highway 3 near Port Orchard and before Gig Harbor? When I drive, I drive with my cruise control set at 65 so have never had a problem. BUT when I’ve driven on I-5 for several trips to the city, if I don’t drive near 70 I’m blown by by many vehicles. I haven’t seen a State Patrol car on I-5 in eight or ten trips on the highway between Tacoma and Seattle. Are they using Highway 3 for training or to get the easy prey (young military guys, etc.)
Be Cautious in Using License Plate Covers
The in basket: Craig Tompkins of Bremerton, who got a bum steer from a couple of law enforcement officers about when fog lamps can be lit on one’s car, the subject of a Road Warrior in April, said one “also indicated that the clear plastic license plate covers I had installed were also illegal and also subject to a $101 fine.”
Speaking of Fleas and Other Favorite Acronyms
The in basket: A couple of recent Road Warrior topics produced
some entertaining responses.
The discussion of the Navy’s penchant for weird acronyms, and the
state’s going along with “Subase Bangor” on some Highway 303 road
signs, inspired George Karl (presumably not the pro basketball
coach) to write “Your story sort of makes me smile. Back when I was
in the Navy I had a school I attended in San Diego. My
friends that sent me letters, etc. always complained about the
address:
FLEASWTRACENPAC
Better Buttons Coming Soon
The in basket: Last year Kitsap Sun photo chief Steve
Zugschwerdt encouraged me to watch people on foot at intersections
with push-button walk-don’t walk lights to count how many times
they push the button to change the light.
It should only take once, he said, but people seem to push them
three or four times, he observed.
Narrows Bridge Observers Seeking More Information
The in basket: Larry Benson of Port Orchard writes, “Watching
the construction of the Narrows bridge has been fascinating, to say
the least, but the casual observer, unfortunately, sees only a
small amount of the designing, engineering, building, etc. I hope
that the state has commissioned someone to put together a
documentary of some sort that will be available when construction
is complete.”
Cathy Vandersluis had a bridge question, too. “Do you know who to
contact for employment with the Tacoma Narrows bridge toll booths?”
she asked.
