Doug Dahl, The Bellingham Herald Journalist Profile

Articles

The Wise Drive | Navigating narrow neighborhood streets

6 days ago | wenatcheeworld.com | Doug Dahl

Q: I live in a neighborhood with some two-way roadways that, when cars are parked on the side of the road, are too narrow for cars approaching each other from opposite directions to pass. Who has to yield when there are cars parked on one side and not the other? A: I used to think that what you’ve described was a problem. Now I think it might be a feature.
Don’t engage with drivers displaying ‘road rage’

6 days ago | bainbridgereview.com | Doug Dahl

Q: Is it just me, or is aggressive driving and road rage getting worse? A: How bad is road rage in Washington? If you’ve been the victim of it, pretty bad, for sure. And from a broader perspective, the fact that it occurs frequently enough to have a clever name suggests that it’s far too prevalent. But it’s not as easy as you’d think to put a number on it.
Rules of the Road: Advice for navigating narrow neighborhood streets

1 week ago | thenewstribune.com | Doug Dahl

Cars line Franklin Street looking toward Lakeway Drive in Bellingham, Washington. Robert Mittendorf The Bellingham Herald Q: I live in a neighborhood with some two-way roadways that, when cars are parked on the side of the road, are too narrow for cars approaching each other from opposite directions to pass. Who has to yield when there are cars parked on one side and not the other? A: I used to think that what you’ve described was a problem. Now I think it might be a feature.
Open container law doesn’t apply to limousines

1 week ago | bainbridgereview.com | Doug Dahl

Q: I know it’s illegal to have an open container of alcohol in a car, so why is a limo allowed to have a bar? A: Before I answer your question, I have one of my own: Why would we craft a law that makes it illegal to have an open container of alcohol in a vehicle (assuming it’s not the driver that’s holding it, of course)? Prior to 1983, Washington didn’t have an open container law, but as Bob Dylan sang two decades earlier, the times, they were a-changin’.
Rules of the Road: Assessing the crash risk for a driver of an unregistered vehicle

2 weeks ago | thenewstribune.com | Doug Dahl

A 2017 Washington state license plate. Pickn528 Wikipedia Commons Q: On my daily walks I’ve noticed a large increase in outdated license tabs, some of them for more than a year. Is there a fine for not renewing? It doesn’t seem fair as I thought our state needs the money for our infrastructure. A: If you ask a traffic safety guy about revenue, you’re probably not going to get the answer you’re looking for.
The Wise Drive | Driving a homemade vehicle

2 weeks ago | wenatcheeworld.com | Doug Dahl

Q: I saw a, I’m not sure what you’d call it. Imagine the front half of a motorcycle attached to the back half of an old VW bug. It got me wondering: how much can you modify a vehicle before you’re required to get some sort of approval to drive it on the road? A: One good indicator that it needs approval is when you don’t know what it is. Is it a 1972 VW Beetle or a 1987 Yamaha Virago?
You can legally drive that motorhome, but should you?

2 weeks ago | kitsapdailynews.com | Doug Dahl

You can legally drive that motorhome, but should you? By Doug Dahl • April 4, 2025 1:30 am Q: I was in the right lane of a two-lanes-in-each-direction road. An RV came up in the left lane and swung slightly right – wheels still in the left lane, but wide-mounted mirrors extending into my lane. The RV’s mirror passed over my driver’s side mirror by a few inches. If I’d been in a taller vehicle, they would have clipped.
Road Rules: You can legally drive that RV. But should you? - The Northern Light

3 weeks ago | thenorthernlight.com | Doug Dahl

Question: I was in the right lane of a two-lanes-in-each-direction road. A RV came up in the left lane and swung slightly right – wheels still in the left lane, but wide-mounted mirrors extending into my lane. The RV’s mirror passed over my driver’s side mirror by a few inches. If I’d been in a taller vehicle they would have clipped. It seems the driver wasn’t aware of the size of their vehicle. Is there any license requirement or training for driving bus-sized vehicles?
Rules of the Road: Do you need state approval to take your Frankenstein vehicle on the road?

3 weeks ago | bellinghamherald.com | Doug Dahl

A two-seat, three-wheeled racing motor vehicle with BMW flat-twin motorcycle engine. Jean-Pierre (Cjp24) Wikipedia Commons Q: I saw a, I’m not sure what you’d call it. Imagine the front half of a motorcycle attached to the back half of an old VW bug. It got me wondering, how much can you modify a vehicle before you’re required to get some sort of approval to drive it on the road? A: One good indicator that it needs approval is when you don’t know what it is.
Confusing left turns - too many choices

3 weeks ago | kitsapdailynews.com | Doug Dahl

Confusing left turns – too many choices By Doug Dahl • March 28, 2025 1:30 am Q: I drive through an intersection, almost daily, that has two left-turn lanes, while the cross-street they turn into has three lanes. There are some dots curving through the intersection that seem to suggest that the inside left-turn lane can choose from the two left-most lanes, and outside left-turn lane should go to the furthest right lane.