Look Both Ways!!
I have an interesting question for the readers. When you turn right, do you look both ways? Every time? I’m guilty of looking only to the left, and I’m sure a lot of other people are as well. I know at least one other person is, because I just about got into an accident with him today.
I was on my way home this afternoon, on Lincoln Rd just outside Poulsbo, sitting behind a little hatchback that was moving slower than I would have liked. (map)
The road was straight, visibility was good, I had a dashed yellow line, and all the room in the world to pass the little hatchback. I accelerated, signaled, moved into the oncoming lane, and began to overtake him. As I was overtaking, a small SUV approached the road from the left. He had a stop sign, which he more or less obeyed, then proceeded to turn right, directly into my path. To avoid a nasty head on collision, I stomped on my brakes and quickly moved back into the right-hand lane, behind the hatchback, at which point the driver of the small SUV honked his horn and threw his arms up in the air, as if to say “what in the hell is wrong with you?!”
My response: LOOK BOTH WAYS!!
I saw the SUV driver quite clearly when he got to the stop sign. His head never even faced my direction.
When turning right, you MUST look both ways. For all you know, a pedestrian or bicyclist could be crossing the street on your right, or could be approaching from the right, to cross in front of you. If you don’t look, you could run into them. In this particular instance, by not looking both ways, the SUV driver positioned himself for a head-on collision. On page 41, the Washington State Driver’s Guide says the following:
Drivers entering a road from a driveway, alley, parking lot, or roadside must yield to vehicles already on the main road.
This does not specifically mention drivers entering a road from a side-street, but the principle is the same. On a two lane road, you have no idea if a driver to your right is overtaking a slower driver, and is therefore in your intended lane of travel. As that vehicle is already on the main road, you, being the vehicle on the side-street must yield the right-of-way to vehicles already on the main road.
Overtaking on a two lane road is never completely safe, but I was in a legal passing zone, with plenty of lane space. He’s the idiot that didn’t look both ways. This SUV driver put us both in harm’s way, then acted as if I was the one who did something wrong.
Get a clue, buddy.
