How far over the speed limit can you go before getting pulled over? If it's 3 a.m. and the red light isn't changing, can you run it? We tackle these and more.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Johnna Batiste has seen a few things in her many years as a trooper. Namely, law breakers like the rest of us. But she takes an energetic, positive approach to the job, and tells us she absolutely loves what she does. That's because she views it as a chance to help anyone she interacts with be a safer driver.
"We're all about education," she said.
This means state troopers aren't always handing out tickets. In fact, a trooper may choose instead to issue a verbal warning (in situations where they believe you perhaps didn't realize what you were doing was wrong), or a written warning, which many troopers will use for things like equipment violations or expired tabs. The written warning gives you a certain amount of time to get it fixed, and then send proof of the fix back to the department.
We peppered Trooper Batiste with a lot of your questions:
Here are just a few of the questions viewers asked in the Take 5 - 5 Hive:
Q: James says: "I have a traffic light near my house that stays red for a very long time, especially at 3 a.m. Is it ever ok to safely run a red light?"
A: Trooper Batiste says: "Nooooo. No No NO."
Q: Sue asks: "Is there a minimum speed for I-5 or Highway 16? I often encounter folks doing 58 in the passing lane or carpool lanes."
A: Trooper Batiste says: "There is no minimum speed, however... no left lane camping. Maybe 58 is the safe speed for the road conditions, but they still probably shouldn't be doing 58 in the left lane unless they're passing someone who's doing 45!"
When she says "left lane camping," Trooper Batiste is referring to people who get out in the left lane and stay there, rather than using it to pass someone and return safely to their original lane.
I asked her if she pulls people over for this, and without missing a beat she replied, "Absolutely!"
And here's a reason that many of us maybe haven't considered: The fewer cars there are in the left lane of a highway, the easier and safer it is for a trooper and emergency vehicles to use it to get to the scene of an emergency.
Q: Kristy wanted to know: "How far over the speed limit can we actually go before getting pulled over?"
A: Trooper Batiste says: "You're risking it! Every trooper is different, and we have discretion, thankfully, when it comes to that. But you never know which one of us you're going to encounter, and what their threshold is at. Technically speaking, (in a 60 mph zone), 61 is breaking the law."
I pressed her to share her personal threshold for pulling someone over, and she said it was around 68 mph.
Several of you also asked for the best way to handle it when you encounter someone with road rage.
Trooper Batiste says you should call 911 if their behavior makes you feel unsafe. They also encourage people to try exiting the freeway, and get back on to see if the person is following you.
"Sometimes you just need to create that separation," she said.