‘Are we more reckless or more distracted?’: Gee and Ursula weigh road safety after three I-5 crashes involving troopers

Drivers crashed into Washington State Patrol vehicles on I-5 three times in 10 days, with the latest collision occurring Sunday near the Kent-Des Moines exit. A trooper helping with a disabled vehicle was outside his patrol car and escaped injury, while the other driver was badly injured and was expected to face a DUI charge.

The crashes prompted co-host Gee Scott to question whether drivers are becoming more reckless or distracted during “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, and co-host Ursula Reutin argued the two can overlap.

“Are we as people more reckless today, or are we more distracted?” Gee said. “Are we more reckless with our driving, or are we more distracted?”

“I think we are more reckless because we are distracted,” Ursula said.

Three crashes involve stopped patrol vehicles

The latest collision followed a motorhome striking a patrol car near the ramp to SR 520. The trooper inside suffered a leg injury and a possible concussion; investigators attributed that crash to an inattentive driver rather than impairment.

Three days before that collision, a driver struck a patrol car in Federal Way near S 272nd Street, pushing it across the freeway into a barrier. The trooper was outside the vehicle and unhurt. State Patrol said the emergency lights were flashing and the driver was cited for DUI.

The incidents brought Washington’s move-over requirements into the discussion.

“Do you even know anything about Washington’s move-over law?” Ursula said.

“No. Explain it to me,” Gee said.

Washington law requires space and reduced speed

Washington law requires drivers approaching an emergency or work zone to proceed cautiously, reduce speed, and move away from the occupied lane or shoulder when safely possible. If moving over would be unsafe, drivers must slow to at least 10 mph below the posted speed limit.

The zone extends 200 feet before and after qualifying vehicles, including emergency vehicles using warning signals and certain roadside work vehicles.

Ursula connected the discussion to a recent close call.

“Just yesterday, someone just barely missed hitting us as we were driving along,” Ursula said.

She contrasted that encounter with a ticket she received during the summer for crossing the tip of a gore point, the marked area separating lanes at an exit or entrance.

“How did I get a ticket this summer about going over the tip of a gore point, and this person, also driving like a maniac, and no one was there to stop him?” Ursula said.

Gee describes distraction without a phone

Gee discussed losing focus even without music playing or a device in his hands.

“Even when I don’t have the music on or anything on, when I drive home, I find myself even still distracted,” Gee said. “Has anybody ever been driving, and you forget where you are, and you forget, like, oh man, I’ve been driving?”

The conversation moved beyond phone use to the demands competing for a driver’s attention.

“Sometimes I think we got so much on our minds today. We have so many tabs open in our minds,” Gee said. “We’re just so distracted. Even without touching anything, we could be focused on a road and distracted.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio.