Celebrations bring temptations for young drivers
It was a sort of man-bites-dog headline.
A Florida limo driver was busted just last month for drinking and driving while taking several students to a high school dance.
More likely, according to the Washington Department of Social and Health Services, is the kids will be drinking.
Washington statistics show that the majority of high school students don’t drink alcoholic beverages, but 43 percent of high school seniors have within the last 30 days.
So with proms and graduations approaching, please remind your kids to be safe and never ride in a car driven by someone who has been drinking.
Chicago bans phones
If you rent that car in Chicago, don’t use your cell phone while driving.
The City Council there banned the use of hand-held cell phones by drivers starting this summer.
Tickets will be $50 or $200 if you’re involved in an accident.
Student mechanics
Two local high school students are state finalists in a AAA auto skills competition.
Both Christopher Carr and Sands Anderson of the Spokane Skills Center made the cut after taking a written math and computer exam.
The next step is to find out what is wrong with and repair a car at a timed competition in Renton on Tuesday.
The prize is a college scholarship and a trip to the national competition in Washington, D.C., next month.
Lock times
If you use the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Columbia and Snake River locks for summer boating, make sure you get there at the appointed times.
Upstream lockages for recreational boats are at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Downstream lockages are a half-hour after the above times.
These are the only times recreational boats have priority over commercial vessels. At other times you may be able to piggyback with a commercial boat if the lockmaster approves.
Ramp closures
This isn’t your year if you want to get on or off Interstate 90 with any predictability.
Watch out tonight for closures at the westbound Sullivan Road on-ramp. Since the westbound Evergreen Road ramps are closed, you’ll have to get on early at Barker or head to Pines.
On Tuesday, I-90 work between Argonne and Sullivan may mean night construction traffic. Watch for the vehicles at the ramps.
Farther west, the ramps at Monroe and Third are scheduled to be closed today and Tuesday between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following day.
The off-ramps at Maple/Walnut are set to be shut down Tuesday through Thursday.
Basically, if you’re taking I-90 downtown this week, try the Division or Hamilton ramps.
Slow going
Dishman-Mica will be closed from Eighth Avenue to 16th Avenue Wednesday and Thursday for installation of a sewer line.
Spokane crews are working on Regal between 38th Avenue and the city limits. Expect lane restrictions and tie-ups.
And a reminder about work on Government Way: The city says lane closures there were delaying some drivers by as much as 20 minutes last week. Plan accordingly.