Police officers do morally wrong things | Letter

Published 4:03 pm Wednesday, June 5, 2013

I am so grateful to Ms. French for her recent letter concerning the trick “no right turn on red” signs by the Totem Lake Transit Center’s “Ticket Trap Corner.”

She cared enough to respond to my letter, to express her views honestly and to graciously continue this very important conversation. I only wish more Kirkland citizens were as concerned as she is about what is going on in our city.

She is absolutely correct in emphasizing the importance of traffic safety and the fact that the traffic lights at Ticket Trap Corner do serve a vital purpose. Unfortunately, the signs do not serve any purpose due to the fact that almost no one sees them.

She is also correct about buses leaving and arriving at that station every five minutes. The trouble is that half of them are empty and the other half have only about three passengers.

Some people don’t have cars or driver’s licenses for various physical or financial reasons. I know this because several of them are my friends and I frequently provide transportation for them in my car.

We do need to provide for these citizens, but we need to do it intelligently. The small number of people whom I have seen riding these buses during my many hours of observation on this corner during the past year could be transported much more efficiently and economically in minivans or maybe even in taxis and at much less cost to the taxpayers.

In answer to her question about what time of day I was there –  I am usually there three or more hours a week on different days and different times of the day just watching an average of 30 cars per hour, 40 during heavy traffic hours, sail around that corner on the red light. That’s one right turn on red every two minutes and no horrific accidents.

Why no accidents? It is because of the strength of the survival instinct that causes people to stop when they see a huge bus coming right at them in their lane.

Also because all that the bus drivers really have to do, if some evil person who doesn’t see the trick signs manages to slip around the corner just in front of them, is take their foot off the gas. Of course, this makes some of them hopping mad!

In my many hours of observation over the last year I have seen several bus drivers almost lose it completely, responding with screamed insults, rude hand gestures and 30-second horn blasts.

The innocent driver is just startled and confused and continues around the corner with no clue as to the cause of the bus driver’s hissy fit.

On one occasion I observed an unusually intelligent bus driver, who happened to be a middle-aged white male, simply slow down, catch the right turner’s eye, gently point over his left shoulder and up at the camouflaged “no right turn on red” sign and wonder of wonders, that evil right turner stopped right in his tracks. Instantly. Like magic!

Common sense, courtesy and respect work so much better than screaming, swearing and rude hand gestures.

Which brings me back to the main point of my original letter. People are not blatantly, defiantly, rebelliously “disobeying” the signs. They are not seeing them.

If you do not already know that the signs are there, there is only a very small chance that you will notice them. This is the truth.

On two separate occasions I have observed marked police cars turning right on the red light at this corner. One, an Edmonds Police car, and the other, a King County officer. Obviously these officers were unfamiliar with this area and did not see the signs either.

Of course Kirkland officers all know this intersection very well as the prime spot to go if they have been too busy with domestic disputes to do much traffic patrol and need to fill out their ticket quota with easy tickets.

My questions are: Why can’t the sign be placed right next to the traffic light as is the “yield on green” sign? Why can’t the “no right turn on red” sign have a red dot on it like the yield on green sign has a green dot?

Why can’t the sign be made actually noticeable rather than just technically visible for ticket-writing purposes? Is this really too much for Kirkland citizens to ask? Are the city and the police really concerned about safety? If so, why not just fix the signs? What is the true objective here? Safety or tickets?

And no, I’m not thankful that I was robbed at this corner by a police officer who knows very well that the signs are not visible in the reasonable, practical sense of the word and who knew that I had done nothing wrong and that neither my life nor anyone else’s was in any danger by my actions.

It makes me very sad that our police officers, who we are supposed to trust, honor and obey, are willing to do morally wrong things in order to keep their jobs. Perhaps such a job is not worth having even in this economically difficult time. What good is all the wealth in the world if you lose your soul?

Jane Peterson, Kirkland