Red-light running and my other Idaho driving pet peeves | Opinion
People running red lights is just one of my traffic pet peeves here in Idaho.
A couple of stories from Idaho Statesman reporters piqued my interest recently and made me think of all the other driving quirks that make me shake my head.
Reporter Shannon Tyler reported one troubling trend that Boise police have noticed: People driving more than 100 mph in city limits — at a time when fatal car crashes are sharply on the rise in Idaho.
And Amaia Gavica reported on the growing problem of red-light running but that police agencies are issuing fewer tickets. Great.
It seems that the problem of red-light running has gotten worse and worse, as more drivers seem to be not just speeding through yellow lights but actually speeding through the intersection even after the light has turned red. How many times have you seen someone barreling through the intersection while your light has turned green? Too many times, I’m sure.
At the risk of sounding too much like Andy Rooney (Google it, kids), did you ever notice that drivers seem to have lost their minds since we came back from the pandemic?
Running red lights is among the many things that Idaho drivers do that just bug the heck out of me. Some of these things aren’t just pet peeves; they’re really dangerous, too.
The “gap.” Someone please explain to me why some people leave one or two car lengths of space between them and the car in front of them when stopped at a stoplight. When I was in drivers ed, we were taught to pull up enough so you could see where the rear tires of the car in front of you touch the ground.
I do remember seeing something on Oprah, I think, some years ago about a stopped car getting hit from behind and smashed into the car in front of it. Maybe that’s where it comes from? Perhaps that’s the safe thing to do if you’re the last car at the end of an exit ramp, but I think it’s hardly necessary if you’re stopped at a stop light at Parkcenter and Broadway.
Why does it matter? It’s inefficient. Some traffic lights are timed to handle a certain number of vehicles based on the time of day. If 10 cars space themselves out to take up the space of 20 vehicles at a traffic signal, that can back traffic up into the previous intersection (more on that later). Or spaced-out cars end up blocking access to right- or left-turn lanes.
Just pull up!
Improper use of acceleration and deceleration lanes. If the speed limit on a highway is 65 mph, it’s just plain unsafe to slow down to 50 mph when you’re getting ready to exit the freeway (especially when you know very few people are actually going 65 mph). That’s what the deceleration lane is for. I can see slowing down a little bit, particularly if the exit ramp is unusually short, but no way should you slow down more than 10 mph below the speed limit while you’re still on the freeway.
Similarly, when you’re getting on the freeway, you’re supposed to use the acceleration lane to do just that: accelerate. Speed up to the highway’s speed limit before you get on the freeway. Remember, vehicles are coming at you at 65 mph (at least); don’t pull out in front of them going 50 mph — especially if it’s a semi.
Vehicles on the freeway have the right of way. If you’re merging onto the freeway, it’s your responsibility to match the speed of the oncoming traffic.
Entering an intersection before it’s clear. This tends to happen a lot in downtown Boise. Someone enters the intersection, but traffic is backed up in front of them. Still, they enter the intersection, then their light turns red, leaving them sitting there in the middle of the intersection, blocking the cross traffic whose light is now green (there are probably cars leaving too much space in front of them).
The usual suspects. Everyone hates it when someone is driving too slowly in the fast lane. We actually have a state law against it now. And no one likes a tailgater. And don’t get me started on guys who park their F-150s with the monster trailer hitches in a downtown parking garage.
Boise is growing, and traffic promises to only get worse. If we all practice good driving habits, though, we might be able to cut down on that other troubling traffic statistic: road rage.
