SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: WSDOT poll frames questions dishonestly to take your tax dollars

May 29, 2019, 1:56 PM

flooding, incident response, WSDOT...

(WSDOT)

(WSDOT)

Want to talk about a waste of our tax dollars? The Washington State Department of Transportation has just sent out one of the most insane surveys that I have ever seen. I have never seen questions so designed to elicit a certain answer. If WSDOT takes this poll as justification for taxing us more, it is incredibly dishonest.

Let me read to you some of the questions in this WSDOT poll. They called for you to agree or disagree with the given statement.

“In order to reduce serious crashes, I would support lower speed limits on major streets.”

I don’t support lowering speed limits; 25 miles per hour on sidestreets and 30 or 35 on arterials is fine. But according to this question, that means I want more car crashes, injuries, and death. The only way you can be politically correct is to say, “Yes, of course I want to lower the speed limit to reduce serious crashes.”

RELATED: How 405 toll lanes are cheating drivers 

Here’s another one. “I would be willing to drive more slowly on streets in cities and towns to make it safer for everybody.” 

Apparently I don’t want to make it safer for everybody, because I don’t want to slow down. And I don’t think them lowering the speed limit is a good thing for regional mobility. They want to gridlock the streets so that they can force everybody out of their cars.

“I value road changes that prioritize saving people’s lives, even if it means changing the way it feels to drive on that road today.” 

I guess I don’t prioritize saving people’s lives, because I don’t really want road changes.

“Every child should learn the rules of the road and how to walk and bicycle safely in school or another place available to children.” 

How much of our tax dollars did WSDOT spend on this poll so that they could get a green light for taking more of our tax dollars and gridlocking us further? Every single question is worded in a way that frames their goal as the only moral choice. People can only give one particular answer — the one WSDOT wants — or else they seem like horrible people.

That is as bogus a survey as I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of push polls in my life. Using those baited questions as a way to get our tax dollars is absolutely dishonest.

A variety of robots are displayed at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, Friday, July 17, 2026. (A...

Associated Press

US bans foreign-made humanoid robots, targeting China over national security

HONG KONG (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. said on Tuesday it would ban the import of foreign-made humanoid robots in a move that targets China, arguing they pose a national security risk. The decision could strain bilateral relations as the technology race between the two world leaders advances. China makes substantially […]

7 minutes ago

Patrick Clancy, the father of Cora, Dawson and Callan Clancy testifies for the prosecution against ...

Associated Press

Lindsay Clancy’s ex-husband set to resume testifying about the day she killed their 3 children

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — The former husband of a Massachusetts woman on trial for killing their three young children is expected to return to the stand Wednesday, continuing his testimony about a day that began with art projects and playtime in the snow and ended with him coming home to find the bodies. Prosecutors say […]

2 hours ago

seafair blue angels...

Frank Lenzi

Seafair CEO, a Las Vegas shooting survivor, details security for weekend festival after deadly Bite of Seattle

The deadly shooting at the Bite of Seattle that claimed three lives came less than one week before the Seafair Weekend Festival.

4 hours ago

federal way fatal crash...

Jason Sutich

Semitruck driver killed in crash near Federal Way rest area was not wearing a seatbelt

The driver killed in a fatal car and semitruck crash near the Federal Way rest area on Tuesday was not wearing a seatbelt.

4 hours ago

7 bite of seattle shooting scene...

John Curley Show

‘A big deal using the gang word’: Photog Steve explains what city lost when it disbanded its gang unit in wake of Bite of Seattle shooting

Seattle leaders confirmed the shooting at the Seattle Center on Sunday, which killed three people and wounded at least four, was gang-related.

5 hours ago

boeing (1)...

KIRO Newsradio Staff with Wire Reports

FAA orders inspection of Boeing 737 MAX seats that could come loose during turbulence or emergency landing

The FAA is telling airlines to inspect hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX jets after reports that some seats may have been installed incorrectly.

6 hours ago

Dori: WSDOT poll frames questions dishonestly to take your tax dollars