be careful Wash State drivers...

[mwbaum]

Note the following story re State Patrol cracking down on aggressive drivers. I was on I-5 on Sunday pm on an open road and a Toyota ricer tried to get me to race.....I was going about 10 over (80) and this guy blew by me trying to entice me. I knew there was a common speed trap ahead and I didnt even think about it. Sure enough a trooper was on the overpass and he nailed the guy doing I estimate about 100 mph. Be careful out there..no reason to be taking those risks....as well as the risk to yourself and others.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/138757_baddrivers09.html

[island911]

Since the beginning of the year, 19 unmarked cars, from SUVs to station wagons, have roamed the state's freeways, looking for drivers committing multiple violations.

But enough federal grant money has been obtained to allow the state to buy 12 unmarked cars for the program before the year is out, Trooper Kurt Adkinson said.

Nice.

One of their(WSP) gigs is to tailgate you in hopes you will speed up and move over. (read: speeding and abrubt lane change = "aggressive" driving )

Of course they (the PI) say nothing about these unmarked police cars driving "aggressively."

[mwbaum]

yeah...well I tell you having lived here for 40 years...there is a rash of recent freakin idiots on the road....I say "book 'em Dano..."
Maybe this is old news to you SoCal dudes.....we're kind of mossy and moldy up here...and yes it rains all the time and you dont want to live here....

[island911]

Tyipical California type driving will get you a "road-rage" ticket up here. Califirnians know how to keep it all moving. Apparently, here, you are to do nothing more than ride behind the wheel. Making efficient use of the limited freeways (read: lane changes in front of the guy who left 300yard in front of him) is considered illegal.

"road-rage" tickets are just more of the same shake-down. there are plenty of existing laws for speeding, reckless driving. .. we don't need some vague "road-rage" laws.

[mwbaum]

I agree....just posting a pertinent article....I hope. WA cops are surely more Red than Socal POlice imo.....

[Schrup]

I saw a WSP get out of a completely unmarked white 03 Camaro a couple months back in the Puyallup area. I try to stay close to the speed limit on the freeway. I'd be curious what other type of unmarked vehicles they have.

[phoneguy]

See 'em here in E. WA!

Volvo XC Wagon
Couple of Suburbans
and a SAAB!!!

All are unmarked and have deep tint.... Sneaky!

[island911]

ain't it great? . . .deep undercover, to snuf-out the quick-lane-change criminal element.

It's a good thing we don't have bigger threats to our society.

[Random Alias]

Originally posted by mwbaum
...and yes it rains all the time and you dont want to live here....

To be fair it sometimes doesn't rain much in August, and during the other 11 months out the year sometimes it's just cloudy all day and doesn't actually rain. Really, it's not the light misty rain that's bothersome but the lack of sunshine for days on end.

And yes, people in and around Seattle drive slow and do weird things like come to a dead stop to let someone merge into traffic. Which is nice if you're the one merging, but a little disconcerting when you're behind someone who stops when there are no signs and or signals indicating they should.

Of course most of the time this is a moot point becuase you're going to be sitting in stop and go traffic anyways.

[kbrown]

It's too bad people are stupid and don't operate their vehicle within their driving ability and the ability of the automobile they drive...I guess I could move to Europe.

[ronin]

well, let it be said that the new WSP chief is a real *********. I don't remember exactly, but I think he was transplanted up here from Ariz. he was hired to "crack down" on speeding, reckless driving etc. I get really sick of all this talk about making the highways safer when the real thrust is to enrich the state coffers. I don't know what the numbers are now but speeding tickets alone at the state level brought in appr. 3 to 4 million to the state general fund in '97. the state considers this as revenue. and what do you do when revenue declines? you take measures to get more. case in point

[RANDY P]

And yet another contrived "epidemic" that the WSP has to save us citizens from. Screw the WSP. Get a ticket call John @ the Driver Defense Fund. Free legal help to beat tickets and whatnot. (206)725-9594. Works great, ask me how I know

[Paul Franssen]

Originally posted by kbrown
It's too bad people are stupid and don't operate their vehicle within their driving ability and the ability of the automobile they drive...I guess I could move to Europe.

Arggh...just stay in Wash state...over here, mostly (but not this past summer!), the weather is just like in Seattle (right now maybe 15 C and drizzling), and the drivers are absolutely +NO+ better.

Matter of fact, I take bus and train to work (leaving the driving to the suckers) and only drive my Porsche on weekends, on dry days.

[k9handler]

I guess the Germans arent so bad after all, a camera flash is about all I have seen and then the ticket a month or so down the line...and only 1 this past year and it was only for 10 km over (35 euro).

[ronin]

Originally posted by RANDY P
And yet another contrived "epidemic" that the WSP has to save us citizens from. Screw the WSP. Get a ticket call John @ the Driver Defense Fund. Free legal help to beat tickets and whatnot. (206)725-9594. Works great, ask me how I know

good to know!! it's high time that people stand up to this type of b/s. I've been doing a little research myself and will share anything of value.

[Drago]

Originally posted by pschrup
I saw a WSP get out of a completely unmarked white 03 Camaro a couple months back in the Puyallup area. I try to stay close to the speed limit on the freeway. I'd be curious what other type of unmarked vehicles they have.

I met the northend equivalent earlier this summer near High Bridge Rd (not the beaten path). He let me off with a warning. I was shocked!!!

[cowtown]

We have a Causeway between my town of Davis and Sacramento, which is a three-lane raised road over flooded ag. land. It's the main artery into Sacramento for commuters, and traffic flows around 70-80 nearly all the time, though it's marked for 65.

Now, the CHP has a white Camaro patrolling that stretch, and it's just like dropping a net into a well stocked lake for them. Everyone is "speeding".

It's a funny thing, though, the agressiveness and cluelessness isn't going away at all. It's like people are willing to slow down a bit, but never become better drivers when the police presence gets stronger.

[kbrown]

Hey Marc...I live in Snohomish too...just work in Seattle...Can't remember seeing your white targa around town..do you live out a ways?

[Superman]

Short time for now, but I'll be back to read this carefully. For now, I'd like to announce to some of you (and remind some of you) that I feel I was baited into a speeding ticket by one of these "Aggressive" Driver Units. I entered a 60 mph zone from a 70 mph zone and held my speed hoping the nutcase behind me would give me some space. The nutcase wore a badge, apparently, and wrote me a ticket.

Be VERY careful. Safe, sane driving counts for nothing today. Let the games begin in Washington State.

[Drago]

Originally posted by kbrown
Hey Marc...I live in Snohomish too...just work in Seattle...Can't remember seeing your white targa around town..do you live out a ways?

Snohomish is what the address says but I'm closer to Mill Creek. You know the road that they just punched through from 132nd over to Hwy. 9 (Cathcart Way)? That has made my commute to work in Lake Stevens a dream...no more Seattle Hill Rd. We're in a development called Gold Creek FWIW.

I regularly see a grayish 964, a black 944 and a mettalic blue 914 on my way to work in the morning. This morning I saw a red Targa too. What color is your cab?

Regardless, you ought to join us local guys for the "Welcome Texan" (Mark Wilson) mini-Round-Up on Sept. 27th. Here's a link to more info:

A new Ducktail on the east side