Seattle Area Driving 101: Incompetence Rules the Road

Well we all know the NW is famous for the "You go, no you go, no you go" exchange that happens at 4-way stops. Let's just say that this is not due to the fact that drivers here are polite. In fact, it's because they are totally incompetent behind the wheel of a car. If you don't believe me then just do a search for worst drivers by state.

Not only does the greater Seattle area have some of the worst drivers in America, but their ranking has been getting worse every year! Some people say that the more experienced you get at something the better you should be at it. Well that's the opposite here. I have been driving for over a decade now and I can say I'm better than most people who have had their license 20+ years here.

Now here's a list of all the crazy things I see daily on the road and my idea of how it should be:

1. Turn Signals: Apparently turn signals are optional here. Hardly anyone uses them correctly, if at all. They either leave them on for miles at a time, signal after a merge/turn as opposed to before, or they just turn/merge without a signal at all.

2. Speed Limits: I don't know where to begin with this. For the most part I drive the speed limit or 5-10mph over depending on traffic. However, a lot of people in the area will go 5-10mph under the speed limit. There are some who go 20+mph over as well who also tend to screw things up. You mix slow and fast drivers together on the same roadway and things tend to break loose. I had a feeling if we all maintained the same speed then there'd be far less accidents. (P.S. The left lane is supposed to be the "fast lane" used for passing).

3. Braking: Brakes are used far too often in the NW. Has anyone heard of slowing down by taking your foot off the accelerator or down shifting? You could avoid causing the person behind you slamming on the brakes every time you freak out because you need to slow down. I can see why Les Schwab has been doing so well in the NW for so many years. They are making a killing off the over use of brakes here. Here's a money saving tip people! Next time you're on the freeway and you see traffic slowing up or you need to get off the freeway, then just take your foot off the gas and/or down shift to 3rd gear. You'd be amazed at how quickly your car will slow down without the use of brakes and you won't cause the person behind you to run into the back of you because you overreacted.

4. Freeway On-ramps: Apparently people here don't realize that they are getting on the freeway because every single time I get behind someone on the on-ramp I have to merge onto the freeway going 40mph as opposed to 60mph. Now you'd think that maybe the on-ramps are too short (which can be the case when those stupid stop lights are creating on-ramp backups). However, when there's no traffic and a 1 mile long on-ramp I still seem to be behind too many cars who are going under the speed limit. This causes the cars in the lane you're merging into to slow down far too much and creates even more traffic.

5. 4-Way Stops: As stated earlier we seem to have no awareness as to how 4-way stops work here. If more people took computer science class they'd learn how FIFO (first in first out) works. These days if I see anyone hesitate to go then I just go myself. I'm not going to sit at a 4-way stop for 3 minutes while we play "you go, no you go, no you go."

6. Where Am I?: Far too often people just seem lost and confused. You seem them merging into lanes that are ending or exit only then merging right back into the lane they came from. Other times you see a "lane closed" or "left turn only" sign miles ahead. Then they wait until the last possible second to get out of that lane and cause the entire other lane to come to a halt just to let them in because they weren't paying attention. Another thing I hate as much as this are people who "cut in line" when there's traffic. They feel the need to pass as many cars as they can before getting back into the lane they need to be in. This results in them saving roughly 10-30 seconds off their commute and adding time into every else's since they have to slow down to let the incompetent person back into their lane.

7. Technology: This is probably rampant everywhere. Nobody can drive without the distraction of talking on the phone or texting. I avoid nearly all phone calls while driving and only interact when absolutely stopped at a long red light. If everyone learned how to do this then they could pay more attention to the road and cause far less accidents.

In the end if everyone followed the basic rules of the road I can imagine accidents and traffic would be cut in half. It's not that hard to pay attention people!

Friday the 13th 2012 Horse Races

Perfect day for a rare post. Thunderstorms on a Friday the 13th. Who would've guessed?

First update is on race horse ownership. Commuter retired last month after bowing a tendon. It was tough to see. We had to give him away and retire him from racing for good. He was a good horse and I got to experience all emotions of a horse owner during my year with him. From the highs of winning to the lows of being scratched from races and finally getting hurt. In the end I probably lost anywhere from $500-800 on him total.
Everyone knows a race horse is a bad financial investment. You do it for fun. That's why I appreciate everything Horseplayers Racing Club LLC does. You get the joy of ownership without all the costs by entering as a partner through syndicates. You pay x% of a horse's costs and you get x% of its winnings.
After commuter I took a short break from the races. No horses and no track visits. A week ago that ended. I own parts of 4 horses now. 2% of two yearlings, Thrillagee and Angel of Harlan, 3% of a three year old gelding named Sentimento, and 4% of an older Philly who is a potential stakes horse named Satin Bouquet.

That's the end of my horse updates. I have other rants, raves, and stories to publish shortly. Stay tuned!