Roundabouts and reader rants

Reader B.J., of Elk, has been driving for a little over 40 years, and recently sent me an e-mail stating, “Attitudes have changed dramatically over the decades, creating a lot of self centered people with uncomfortable senses of entitlement and lack of concern for others.” He also feels that drivers in big cities, like Los Angeles, exhibit more tolerance than in smaller communities such as Spokane.

I must admit, B.J., I couldn’t have said it better myself. Just today, while I bummed a ride home from a dealership service facility, the professional shuttle driver expressed a similar sentiment. From her observations, she also believes that too many drivers have a “me first” attitude, and take other drivers’ actions too personally. She is right, and these character flaws lead to aggressive driving and road rage incidents.

I believe, unfortunately, that we may now have a society that is collectively more testy and aggressive than in the past. While within the isolation and perceived anonymity of our vehicles, many of us exercise these aggressive tendencies to a fault — and operating a motor vehicle does give us power.

I further believe that in bigger cities, drivers encounter more potentially aggravating situations than we do here, and they simply must learn to deal with them in a sensible fashion in order to survive physically and mentally. Tolerance is an important virtue when navigating the roadways among other traffic — there will always be driver screw-ups, intentional or not, and good drivers must not take these offences personally.

As I often state, rather than getting irate toward another driver, become a detective. Try to determine a reason why drivers are acting like crazed idiots — maybe they just got bad news from their doctor, are under the influence, or a spouse just threw them out!

This guessing is safer, and more fun than chasing the driver down, cutting them off, and giving him or her the finger.

Before B.J. finished his rant, he also complained of drivers who “cheat” by using business parking lots as short cuts at corners, rather than waiting for lights. He feels that this practice is unsafe to drivers and pedestrians within these lots. Once again, B.J, your disgust is warranted. This method of corner cutting is illegal and unsafe, and if a law officer spots the trick, he’ll respond with a treat: a costly citation.

Another reader, A.M. of Mead, has noticed some improper use of the new roundabouts we have in our region. One is located at Wellesley and A Street, and another is found at SR 206 and Bruce Road. As with all modern roundabouts, they are designed to move traffic at optimum flow, but slowly, safely, and simply. They accomplish this without the expense and ongoing maintenance of traffic signals.

The only catch to achieving the goal of the roundabout is that drivers must learn the simple rules of negotiating them. There is a wealth of information at the Washington DOT Website: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/roundabouts/default.htm where one can find everything you need to know about roundabouts.

A.M. adds that he has seen some cars stop in the roundabout to yield to drivers entering the roundabout — this is incorrect. He also has witnessed many cars that stop before entering the roundabout — this is also wrong — they are not 4-way stops. Finally, A.M. sees many drivers who fail to use their right signal when exiting the circle.

Polls show that drivers who are unfamiliar with proper procedures do have anxiety when encountering this relatively new (here) traffic control facility. Once they learn how to use them, however, studies show that the majority of users like them quite well.

So, try to get used to them, as many more are planned for here and across the nation.

Here is a synopsis of the rules found at Washington State’s Website:

• As a driver approaches a roundabout, there will be a YIELD sign. The driver should slow down, watch for pedestrians and bicyclists and be prepared to stop if necessary.

• When the driver enters, he/she yields to circulating traffic on the left, but does not stop if the way is clear.

The roundabout will have ONE WAY signs mounted in the center island. They help guide traffic and indicate that the driver must stay to the right of the center island.

• Upon passing the street prior to the desired exit, the driver should turn on his/her right turn signal and watch for pedestrians and bicyclists as he/she exits.

• Traveling around the central island completes left turns.

• The circle is designed to be navigated at 15-20 mph, and accommodate the turning radii of all vehicles. The bottom line for a roundabout: try it; you’ll like it — that is once everyone learns how to use them properly.

This week, as with all weeks, your comments are excellent — please continue!