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.

Please follow our Community Guidelines

Associated Press

Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism and puts him on wanted list

Russia’s main domestic security agency said Wednesday that Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging app Telegram, has been charged with “aiding terrorism” and put on an international wanted list. Telegram’s administration has not removed “numerous channels, chats and bots” that are “actively used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies, terrorist, and extremist organizations to prepare and coordinate […]

2 hours ago

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 […]

3 hours ago

The border between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams is seen Tues...

Associated Press

Fringe Israeli settler group is sneaking into Syria to try to claim land for a Jewish outpost

NAHARIYA, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military was about to launch a nighttime strike on a group of men in southern Syria when the soldiers noticed the long curls dangling from the temples of their targets. The troops held their fire. These were not Syrian militants attempting to breach Israel’s border but religious Jews who […]

3 hours ago

This satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC on July 27, 2026 shows smoke rising from the Saudi...

Associated Press

Jordan intercepts Iranian missiles as US and Saudi Arabia launch strikes against militias in Iraq

CAIRO (AP) — Jordan’s air defenses intercepted five missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday, the country’s military said, hours after the U.S. military said it had knocked down an Iranian missile barrage launched against American forces in the Middle East, shattering a brief pause in fighting. The Jordanian military said the missiles had been “intercepted […]

4 hours 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 […]

5 hours ago

Northwest Travel Life...

Northwest Travel & Life

In the Shadow of the Cascades: A Highway 97 Road Trip

Originally published on Northwest Travel & Life. Besides the scenery, the joys of a road trip include the stops along the way—roadside curiosities, a small town or city, historic markers, the best burger in the state. You can map out your itinerary in advance or let spontaneity reign. I chose the free-and-easy spontaneity method on […]

6 hours ago

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