Precision driving: Pretend the police are near, closing in

Have you noticed how driver behavior improves in the presence of the authorities? Drivers tend to clean up their acts when in the visual vicinity of a cop’s cruiser. Have you ever sped with knowledge of a “black & white” on your tail? I don’t think so.

When traffic patrol officers are present, drivers’ manners improve markedly. This is why the police often must hide to catch speeders, or use unmarked vehicles to catch scofflaws.

Such is the case with the Washington State Patrol’s current emphasis patrol, which targets aggressive drivers. The cops might be observing your behavior from, and pulling you over with, an old Subaru, Volvo, or Ford van. That is why I recommend imagining a police presence as you drive — there very well may be one, even if you don’t see one.

Driving with this attitude will only have positive benefits — you’ll drive more safely, plus you may avoid a wallet-draining and insurance-hiking ticket.

This time, the WSP is using unmarked vehicles to ferret out speeders — but not with just radar. Now, officers will be driving among us in their stealthy rigs watching for drivers working too aggressively to make their way through traffic.

Patterns of excessive speeders include tailgating, hard braking, and weaving in and out of traffic. These driver actions are products of traveling at a significantly higher speed than the surrounding traffic — doing so makes you stand out in the crowd.

If your driving outings consist of those aggressive driving warning signs (tailgating, lane changing, and excessive braking), tone things down a bit. Operating near the speed limit, or near the speed of vehicles in your proximity (going with the flow) is a more relaxing, and safer way to drive.

I saw a sign on the back of a commercial vehicle yesterday that read, “Professional driver on board — Safety and courtesy is our business.” There was also a toll-free number to report exceptions to that company’s displayed policy. I wish that every vehicle showed a similar sign, or at least, a driver who reflects the sentiment.

Remember, even if the police aren’t watching you at the moment, someone is. And today, that someone is probably armed with a cell phone. If your driving gets sloppy enough, Joe Citizen may report you, and he is always watching.

Minding your Ps and Qs as if a “sneaker” cop were present would improve other driver infractions besides speeding and aggressive driving. For example, maybe the driver to my right yesterday at Riverside and Browne wouldn’t have stopped well into the crosswalk for the red light. I was to his left on Riverside, and wanted to take my “free” left turn during the red indication — then, I wouldn’t be blocked from doing so upon green indication by the oncoming traffic that was lined up at the red. The only problem with my plan was that the van to my right had made his stop past the stop line, fully into the crosswalk, effectively blocking my view of traffic coming from the right.

Since I couldn’t see if traffic was clear to make my turn, I ended up waiting through a second light, as there was too much traffic to make the left during the green light. Smartly, the driver to my right during the next red light stopped in the correct spot (at the stop line before the crosswalk), allowing me to see traffic, and make my turn.

The point is to think about your driving while you’re at it — if you imagine that you are being watched and graded, it may help. Big Brother is watching, and it doesn’t have to be from a white Crown Victoria.

Best Have Your Wax On

Our vehicles could use some protection, since it’s about the time of year when liquid ice-melter will hit the streets. Soon we’ll see those telltale stripes on the roads, where calcium chloride has been dispensed from the nozzles of city rigs. Not much later, all of our vehicles will be a matching monochromatic dark brown, and reading a license plate or the advertising on a bus-wrap will be impossible due to the dirty, gooey stuff’s takeover.

By the way, the WSDOT is experimenting with salt and sand again, as the cost is about half, and the corrosive properties about the same, when compared to liquid melters.

Thanks for your continued input — all thoughts and opinions welcome!