A 27-year-old man went to the hospital with significant injuries to his face after his moped collided with a car near 25th and Spring early Saturday morning.
The car’s 51-year-old driver was assessed for DUI, but officers found no signs of impairment. They do, however, suspect the moped rider was intoxicated, according to a post on the SPD Blotter.
The man’s injuries are not considered life-threatening.
From SPD:
At approximately 1:30 am this morning a 27 year old male was riding his 1979 Puch (Austrian made) moped northbound on 25th Avenue approaching East Spring Street. At the same time, a 1989 Chrysler New Yorker driven by a 51 year old was eastbound on East Spring Street approaching 25th. The two vehicles collided in the intersection and the moped driver was thrown to the street.
The 27 year old sustained substantial facial injuries. He was wearing a helmet, but no face shield. Seattle Police and Seattle Fire responded and the medics treated and transported the rider to Harborview. His injuries, while significant, are not considered life-threatening. The moped rider did exhibit signs of alcohol impairment. He was evaluated and processed for DUI. The driver of the car was also evaluated at the scene by officers, but no sings of impairment were detected.
Detectives from the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) responded and processed the scene. They will continue to investigate this collision.
It’s true that I don’t know all the details about this incident. However, this spot embodies one of my pet peeves about Seattle–totally unregulated intersections being a thing!
The first time I saw one, I wanted to call *somebody* to alert them that there was a *huge mistake* in neglecting an intersection with the appropriate signage. But slowly it dawned on me that that’s just A THING here. What?
It drives me kind of crazy that everybody could be following the traffic rules to the letter and a collision can still occur at an intersection.
One will be the end of me. I know it.
At an unmarked intersection the vehicle on the right has the right of way.
I did not know that. Thanks! :-)
Still feels like a bad idea and I’d love it if the city got rid of them.
Excuse me for asking, SeanH, but I hope you don’t have a driver’s license? Because if you do, how did you get one without knowing that? That question has to be on every DL exam. It’s true in every state. (and I assume every other country where people drive on the right, too)
No problem, JimS! :-)
I do have a license, yes. I took my actual driving test when I was a teenager in Western New York. Like I said, before moving here, I had never seen or heard of one before and was particularly surprised that they were almost all within the limits of a *city.*
The closest was the rules I had learned about an intersection that has a failed traffic light (it becomes a 4-way stop).
I took what felt like a comprehensive paper WA driver’s exam when I moved here eight years ago.
Though I do not recall any question on my WA State driver’s exam (or in the material I used to study) about unregulated intersections.
Instead I have been approaching uncontrolled intersections with a combination of annoyance, extreme caution, some disbelief, and prayer that I’ll be able to detect unexpected or obscured traffic quickly enough and avoid an accident in time.
It’s far more emotionally exhausting than stop signs. :-)
I agree that I’m responsible to know all the traffic laws for the area and I *am* grateful that carolyn pointed that rule out to me.
But, my peeve remains, totally independent of whatever rules may surround them. Uncontrolled intersections are backwards and really are just asking for trouble, especially in a city. Frankly, I feel the same way about 2-way yields. Why aren’t these things all just stop signs?
Despite the law saying that technically a driver ought to yield to traffic on the right, in practice it’s not hard to imagine the would-be yielder being unable to detect cross-traffic.
In fact, we don’t have to imagine too hard. Looking at the story above, according…
read more
to carolyn, the moped had the right of way.
Of course driver on the right has the right away. Blows my mind that people don’t seem to know this.
SeanH, with all due respect, you shouldn’t be driving.
It’s not just your complete failure to grok the concept of “right of way” (look, it even has right in it; they don’t call it the left of way, now do they?), but it’s seemingly every other sentence you’ve written out makes you come across with someone who lacks a basic understanding of vehicle handling, road design, and simple physics.
Sadly, that puts right in the middle of what passes for the low-end biased bell-curve of “drivers” on the poorly maintained and designed roads in this town.
O lord! Hear my prayers! Please render unto Seattle a usable, workable public transportation system to get these people off the streets!
These unregulated intersections are a “unique feature” to a city the size of Seattle and are dangerous – completely freaked me out the first time I realized they are everywhere. The point is not that the driver on the right has the right away. Sure, that’s fine in ideal driving conditions with good visibility – i.e not 1:30 am or when cars are parked so you can’t see approaching traffic. I do not see cars cautiously approaching these intersections making sure they have the right away – people routinely blow right through them because there is no stop sign. Sheesh, way to jump on someone with a legitimate concern with the ole “I don’t know what it’s like where you’re from Sonny…”
I’m about 90% sure that there is a clearly visible YIELD sign at that intersection for any and all of the eastbound and westbound traffic crossing 25th between Cherry and Union. Sounds like that person in the car was at fault on a number of traffic laws.
There is not. Between 23rd/MLK, there are NO yield signs along Spring. One block away, there is an east/west yield at 25th/Marion. I never trust that drivers will yield there- and I think part of the reason they don’t is because the intersection markings are so inconsistent.
I do hope the moped driver is doing alright. And, I hope we’ll all slow it down, yield to the driver to the right, and call a cab, call a friend or walk after a night of drinking.
I must be thinking of the one on Marion. I tend to avoid Spring most of the time due to a few unsavory characters. We need the city to install more Yield signs there.
Oh right you think this is nothing about race. please.
Ignoring the obligatory descent into race that it seems every post here tends to take….
I really don’t see what difference another yield sign will make. Do you really trust them anyway, even when the other driver has a yield to you?. If you drive through neighborhoods and just expect other drivers to yield or stop because they’re “supposed to”, you’re really naive and stupid. Another sign won’t assure you of anything. And it won’t help when people are drunk and driving (including drunk driving mopeds).
Another thing to consider is that SDOT is resistant to installing stop signs because there is a proven traffic system rule that if there are too many stop signs, people stop obeying all of them (less likely to make complete stops, etc). So they want to put stop signs where they are most needed, increasing compliance. That’s the idea, anyway.
This is one reason why SDOT prefers traffic circles to four-way stops. Unfortunately, traffic circles are fairly costly (at least compared to stop signs). The circles are proven to reduce collisions, especially injury-causing collisions (t-bone collisions are among the most dangerous, and the circle makes them nearly impossible).
Another unfortunate reality is that it sometimes takes a collision for a solution to be put in place.
Leon. It is self righteous egos that you exhibit (“SeanH, with all due respect, you shouldn’t be driving.
It’s not just your complete failure to grok the concept of “right of way” (look, it even has right in it; they don’t call it the left of way, now do they?), but it’s seemingly every other sentence you’ve written out makes you come across with someone who lacks a basic understanding of vehicle handling, road design, and simple physics”.) when put behind a steering wheel causes road rage.
Plus, nobody should be driving so fast through a neighborhood that they can’t stop, regardless of what the other driver does.
Leon – Well, like I said, I’m grateful and humbled to be educated about a rule of the road that I was responsible for knowing.
But I think it’s a bit extreme to say that I shouldn’t be driving or that I don’t grok the concept of right of way at all. If I didn’t understand right of way, I would never be able to safely negotiate a left turn or a four-way stop or countless pedestrian interactions.
I know I’ve presented my opinions on the topic in a colorful way. But I am an observant, conservative, and patient driver.
I do agree with you about poor road design and I think uncontrolled intersections are a part of that poor design (though thanks for the additional background, Tom!). I would also love something awesome like a complete subway/rail system so that we all can drive less.
It is true that I never was good at physics. ;-)
I agree with Jim. Yield signs wouldn’t make any difference at all. As a cyclist I actually prefer to use arterials than to use back streets because of the unregulated intersections. I know I can’t see very far down the side streets and cars blow down them waaaaaay too fast to see me (when I do drive I think 15mph is about tops for a safe speed on a side street). I’ve also nearly been hit head on by folks who insist on going around the traffic circles on the wrong side of the road….. On busier streets I am actually more visible and at least I can expect that most motorists will stop and look 1) because there is light or a stop sign and more importantly 2) because if they ignored those and simply pulled out the risk of being T-boned would be quite high – they have to look for cars on those streets….
The intersections have been a non-issue for 100 years. If your going to be peeved about something be peeved about rape and child abuse. Putting up stop signs isn’t going to solve anyone’s troubles. Locking up perverts will.
Are you suggesting that the use of the phrase”unsavory characters” is making this about race???
Sure. I’ll bite that. What would Juan Williams say (WWJS?). I get nervous on airplanes when…. The answer could get you fired from the liberal news media or deleted from the CDN post.
In all probability the unsavory character one avoids in the CD are….? Can’t we all just be honest? Or, is that not compatible with “Can’t we all just get along”, to paraphrase the honorable Rodney King.
Clive,
Why the heck are you bringing race into this. Did I miss something? Did you mean “race” as in NASCAR? I know the moped rider (he’ll be ok) and he has skin of the darker complexion. Trust me when I say race had nothing to do with this collision. So, why bring it up? Seems to be that YOU, Clive, are the only person in this feed interested in a race debate. If anything has to do with race here it’s because trolls like Clive bring it up. Sheesh! Go away.
Ouch man. I nearly cut my left foot and hand off in a motorcycle accident. Also had my face smashed by a softball – thus the chronic ugliness. So I can really actually feel for the guy.
Is he OK?
Basically, car drivers do not respect anything on two wheels. I saw a older guy on a yellow vespa nearly get killed when a SUV ran a stop sign to beat the scooter out. I have seen bikers nearly run into the curb by busses and “big cars”. The bigger the car the bigger the ego and bigger the ignorance!
I like you, SeanH. Even when someone throws jerky comments at you, you respond respectfully and not out of anger. And I totally agree with your arguments. I did pass a driver’s test and also happen to be very good at physics and I make it a point to approach intersections like these with the upmost caution. The people on this blog may all be very good drivers but that doesn’t mean everyone in the world is.
Well tell Paul he should be more carefull on that yellow Vespa.
I’ve seen studies suggesting that unregulated intersections are even more dangerous when navigating them while drunk at 130 in the morning
I love the havoc these moped driving thugs are causing on are world wide web!! These menace to society NASCAR hating people must be stopped! The end you pesky moped drivers is near.
Who is Paul?
:-)
Everybody drinks Fred. Try not to be such a peckerfaced hater when people get hurt.
No, not everyone drinks – even if they did that isn’t an excuse.
I have a feeling that wasn’t Freddy’s point.
People should have rage against driving drunk, not stop signs or mopeds vs larger vehicles. Or better yet, race.
…which is precisely the point :) you *should* approach an uncontrolled intersection with the utmost caution (and slower speeds). That makes them far safer for pedestrians and cyclists, who are far more vulnerable (as are moped/motorcycle riders) when struck at higher speeds.
Like the other person said, “I know the guy that was driving the moped”, I also know that the same person had a moped accident days before this one, everybody is telling him to get better and that they think that is a “miracle” and that “the world is better with him in it”, sorry people but drunk driving doesn’t deserve any kind of sympathy from me and he should be accountable to his actions and grow up!
For what it is worth, we have tried repeatedly to get this intersection regulated–traffic circle, signage. The amount of traffic and number of accidents there did not convince the city that it merited regulation.