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Northwest drivers are quite polite. Really?

September 5, 2012 @ 3:45 pm (Updated: 4:06 pm - 9/5/12 )

DOTAll the honking and flipping as drivers navigated the Mercer Mess and Dexter Disaster must have been an anomaly, because a poll finds drivers in Washington are quite polite.

The survey, from PEMCO Insurance, finds our reputation for being mellow and polite extends to our driving.

Six out of 10 drivers in Washington and Oregon say they didn't exhibit a single aggressive behavior in the past month. That's what they say anyway. Who's going to honestly report they've been rude behind the wheel?

PEMCO tracks how frequently drivers demonstrate and observe polite driving such as the courtesy wave, proper signaling, and yielding the right-of-way. They call that the "polite-driving" index, and according to their research overall aggression on that 100 point scale is down six points.

This poll seems to conflict with the state transportation department's 2012 Congestion Report that found drivers in our state spent 16 percent more time in traffic in 2011 than they did in 2009.

What's your experience with other drivers on the road?

Photo courtesy WSDOT

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Comments (23)


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  • Daddy Dennis wrote...
    My experience
    September 5, 2012 3:05 pm
    The first time I drove to California, there was a school bus on fire on the side of the freeway heading into SF from Sacramento. Nobody slowed down one bit. They just raced by like it was nothing.

    Seattle drivers are the most aware of any driver I have seen. This is great when it comes to the hand waves and changing lanes and such. It is horrible when it comes to distractions like accidents. Seattle drivers are the biggest gawkers anywhere.

    They are very polite drivers outside of slowing down to look at stuff and staying in the passing lane when not passing.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FrapFreak wrote...
    @Daddy Dennis...
    September 5, 2012 4:39 pm
    I disagree... Seattle drivers as a whole are among the most unaware drivers I've encountered.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Unaware or otherwise clueless.
    September 5, 2012 5:17 pm
    Seems like nobody looks anymore changing lanes (HINT: turning on your blinker is NOT supposed to mean 'get out of my way - NOW). .. Also, seems a lot more people ignore stop signs to get in front of you, even when there is plenty of space behind.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SuperJay80 wrote...
    No it does not.....
    September 5, 2012 6:27 pm
    In seattle it means, oh your blinker is on? Well I am going to tailgate so you will never be able to get in AH HA HA! I win YOU LOSE!....People don't understand the concept here of space, allow space between vehicles, and allow people to merge in a zipper like fashion and most of our traffic woes would ease.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Daddy Dennis wrote...
    My opinion
    September 5, 2012 8:20 pm
    It is based on 2+ decades of driving this roads. Outside of knowing when to get out of the passing lane, Seattle drivers are very polite and hyper-aware.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mnpat wrote...
    I have a long commute
    September 5, 2012 4:29 pm
    So I don't fight it, it is what it is, over in my lane (the slow one) people are for the most part always wanting in to get off on in to move to the left...they have been decent. One thing that would help (in my opinion) to improve upon traffic congestion would be to forget the HOV lane (waste), instead use one lane for slow moving vehicles....that would include buses, trucks, and vehicles with more then two axels or any vehicle towing....that's all I got today.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BarnDerk wrote...
    I agree
    September 6, 2012 7:36 am
    A lane devoted to trucks would be a much more efficient use of a designated lane.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FrapFreak wrote...
    So that means...
    September 5, 2012 4:38 pm
    4 out of 10 would be honking while at the Mercer Mess. 40 out of 100 cars. 80 out of 200. 120 out of 300. How many cars are in the Mercer Mess at any given time? I can see why the perception is that all drivers are not polite.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TKTK wrote...
    Drivers in the NW
    September 5, 2012 6:19 pm
    Just moved up from Dallas. I thought I had moved to San Fran because most seem to be driving in a fog. People stay in the left lane going slow, and speed up after they pull over when you go to pass. Must say the pace up here is sssssssllllllloooooooowwwwwwww. Not a lot of Type A's huh !!!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TwoTrees wrote...
    I would say that Seattle drivers are passively aggressive.
    September 5, 2012 6:24 pm
    At first they seem polite, but then they ignore my blinker to merge...at that point I get a look from the driver as if to say, "Oh, you wanted THIS lane? Fine...whatever." It's just a cold shoulder from there on out.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Two Trees -
    September 5, 2012 6:57 pm
    Have you considered merging behind the other car? Very few drivers, if any, will deny you access that way.

    Remember, your blinker is a REQUEST.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Pressman wrote...
    Ron-
    September 6, 2012 12:41 am
    to merge behind the other car makes it the next driver's issue- I can grant you access all day long, unfortunately my grant doesn't mean squat to the next driver in line...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Pressman - far too many times a car will quickly cut in fromt of me
    September 6, 2012 4:57 am
    and when I look at my rear view mirror, there is not another car for 500 feet or more.

    When I change lanes, I usually try to do so behind, but some would never be 'behind' another vehicle to save their lives. As if that somehow insults their ego.

    .

    And, BTW, whatever happened to YIELD signs on freeway entry ramps? .. It ain't the cars already on the freeway that should have to yield.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    I have studied this is great great detail.
    September 5, 2012 7:00 pm
    if you drive nice,people will drive nice around you. If you drive like a jerk, people will observe you and be a jerk back. You have a direct effect of how people react to your driving. people observe the aholes among us and instinctively alter their positions in traffic to effect the aholes.If you slow down and leave a space between you and the car in front of you - one out of five times you will be tailgated and the driver of that car will pass you and and go tail gate the next guy, but the rest of the time the guy behind you will slow down and do the same. I believe there is a subliminal consciousnesses that you can effect in traffic, and it works. try ti and see.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TwoTrees wrote...
    @ ron prevost
    September 5, 2012 7:04 pm
    I'm jesting, my friend! Please don't take my post THAT seriously! In all honesty, I think Seattle drivers are polite, but sometimes rather clueless.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Regularjoe44 wrote...
    Seattle drivers....don't
    September 5, 2012 7:32 pm
    They text...they take calls...the apply make up....they eat....they read...they block the left lane...they seem to day dream....they are pre occupied with many things, including downing their triple tall latte....and maybe they are more polite. They certainly do not drive.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • C"mon Man wrote...
    Some truth here
    September 5, 2012 8:46 pm
    After what I have seen in the Southwest, those states need to make their driving tests harder, driving is a privledge, not a right. My only beef with the Evergreen State driver is the ones camped out in the fast lane, taking ownership, driving under the speed limit,only to speed-up when you attempt to pass them.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Left lane
    September 5, 2012 10:54 pm
    So many people "think" they belong in the left lane the Right lane is the fast lane. Many of the left lane slowpokes have a cell phone screwed into their ear.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Daddy Dennis wrote...
    The exits
    September 5, 2012 11:40 pm
    Having exits on the left causes a ton of this problem. The people that designed the roads around here were sadists.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Yup
    September 6, 2012 5:00 am
    Especially in heavier traffic. The right lane of the freeway usually IS faster.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Pressman wrote...
    The Answer?
    September 6, 2012 12:46 am
    make the PIT manuever legal for J-Holes who think that they need to do 55 mph in the left lane- let's start spinning out these retards at a high rate of speed into the median- extra points awarded for airtime... sorry folks- touchy subject- spend a lot of time on the "free" way...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rational wrote...
    I've seen worse
    September 5, 2012 11:28 pm
    I lived in New England (MA) for a year and they're much worse there. What scares me about NW drivers is they do seem oblivious and there is a scary number of drivers putting on make up, talking on phones, texting and every other distracting activity one could imagine in a car.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }