The in basket: Joann Williams happened to be caught in a backup
on Highway 3 in North Kitsap during a police chase on Sept. 5 that
later turned into a front page Kitsap Sun story. The fleeing man
had phoned in bogus reports to 911 of crimes hoping it would draw
away the officers following him. It didn’t work and he was
arrested, but there’s a chance the incident might have gone
unreported had Joann not e-mailed me with a Road Warrior question
as a result.
“Since this is not the first high-speed chase near
Hood Canal Bridge,” she asked, “shouldn’t the 1450 AM highway
traffic radio have been warning motorists of this?
Monthly Archives: September 2006
Why Smokers Keep a Window Rolled Down
The in basket: A week ago Wednesday, I asked on behalf of Sen.
Bob Oke why the readers think smokers often drive with their
windows half-way down. I got a lot of answers.
The out basket: A surprising number were from smokers themselves
and they said that looking through and breathing in their own
second-hand smoke isn’t nearly as enjoyable as getting it straight
from the cigarette.
Parking on Ridgetop Median not Ticket-Worthy
Steve Erickson wrote in July to say: “Recently, two cars have
been parking on the grassy median on Ridgetop Boulevard, just north
of the Point of View entrance at Plateau Circle. My guess is that
they are visiting one of the homes to the west of Ridgetop
Boulevard that have long entryways off of Silverdale Way.
“These houses are physically much closer to Ridgetop than to
Silverdale Way and most have gates in their fences on Ridgetop.
“It seems fairly obvious to me that the grassy median is not
intended to be a parking lot, but the drivers of these two cars do
not share my opinion.”
Readers; views on drive-up windows
The in basket: My invitation last week for readers to explain
why smokers often have their car window half-way down, and why
people without children in their car willingly endure the
limitations of drive-up windows brought a lively response.
Two dozen readers weighed in on one or the other.
Motor Home Speed Limit Same as Trucks”
The in basket: Ken Amo asks, “Can you tell me what is the
maximum speed limit for motor homes on Washington state
freeways?
“I’ve researched the RCW codes and can only find one reference to
speed limits that might apply to motor homes,” Ken said. “That is
RCW 46.61.410 that states any vehicle over 10,000 pounds gross
weight must obey the truck speed limit.”
Smokers’ car windows and drive-up windows
Today, I’d like to devote Road Warrior to sounding out the
readership on a couple of curiosities: Why smokers roll their
window down halfway and why some many people use drive-up
windows.
Plus a suggestion for not getting stuck waiting for the left turn
light on Silverdale Way to go east on Ridgetop Boulevard.
Is cable barrier a special hazard to motorcyclists?
The in basket: Our three-day dissertation on cable median
barrier last month didn’t exhaust the subject, it turns out.
I heard from a number of motorcyclists, whose comments can be
wrapped up in that of Steve McDermott. He wrote, ‘Motorcyclists
have a different name for these atrocities: Cheese-cutters.”
Myhre Road Closure Causing Backups at Light
The in basket: Richard Gonzales of Silverdale says that since
Kitsap County closed Myhre Road to replace the culvert for Clear
Creek, “the traffic on Silverdale Way has increased tremendously.
The (left-turn) traffic from southbound Silverdale Way to Ridgetop
Boulevard is especially heavy.
“The timings of the affected traffic lights appear not to have been
adjusted to compensate for the increased traffic,” he said.
