EDMONDS, Wash. — Tempers are boiling over in state ferry lines, leading to road rage incidents and arrests.
The situation is so serious at one ferry dock, the police and state patrol are stepping in and cracking down on line cutters.
On a sunny summer Friday, it isn't unusual to see the ferry line in Edmonds stretch for two hours or more, as people cue up to get out of town. But some want to get there before everyone else.
Ferry workers say line cutting happens on a daily basis in Edmonds.
Passenger Randy Matthews wondered, "What makes people think they can do that?"
Workers reported at least four cutters in less than three hours on Friday. Among them was a pair of couples on vacation from Georgia.
The driver said it was an honest mistake, that he's an "accidental tourist."
"I got stuck in the wrong lane. I'm a visitor. Our two wives were in the back telling us we have to turn around, we have to go back. We were like 'OK, we'll go back, we'll go back'," said Chris Little of Atlanta.
There have been at least two arrests in recent weeks for assault and harassment in the ferry line.
Edmonds police and the State Patrol are now going after line cutters with emphasis patrols. Police posted a tweet saying, "We've had too many complaints turn into road rage situations."
"When you're sitting here and you're waiting, and waiting, and waiting and somebody cuts in front of you, that doesn't surprise me," said passenger Sabin Broadfoot, as he waited in line.
Ferry workers are often on the receiving end of frustrated passengers' rants.
"They can get pretty grumpy," said ferry worker Jason Gartner. "Not so much with us, but with the situation in general. They'll tell someone not to cut the line and the person will just roll up their window."
Traffic control workers keep an eye out for violators, but they tell us unless one of them catches a cutter in the act before he gets to the toll booths, the driver gets off free.
"I let them know that I apologize. I want to kick them out, but I can't do anything. Unless our cashiers see it, they can't really do anything about it either," said Gartner.
Enforcement is left to local police and the State Patrol.
Cutting a ferry line comes with a $139 ticket.
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