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Cutting the ferry line in Washington state can lead to a fine and more

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In summertime in Washington state, millions of people ride the iconic green-and-white ferries. Some of them are commuters. Others are tourists visiting the state's islands and peninsulas. Some walk on board, some bring their bikes, some drive their cars, and, as Casey Martin from member station KUOW tells us, some cut the line.

CASEY MARTIN, BYLINE: This past July, Erin Edwards and a friend were headed to catch a ferry to Whidbey Island, north of Seattle. They'd just gotten into what they thought was the start of the ferry line when they noticed people approaching their car.

ERIN EDWARDS: The person in front of me had gotten out of their car. The person behind me had gotten out of their car. They both approached my window, and so I put the window down and just endless shouting, we're going to call the police.

C MARTIN: This was Edwards' very first time riding a Washington ferry. She had no idea how to line up for the boat and, in her rush to catch the ferry, had mistaken the actual ferry line for a bunch of parked cars.

EDWARDS: I legitimately could not speak, not one word - just endless yelling until they walked away.

C MARTIN: Edwards says she was shocked and mortified. She's a journalist and wrote about the ordeal for The Seattle Times. And she got a ton of feedback. Some people said they've also accidentally cut the line, and other riders punched their car or honked at them all the way to the ferry. One person wrote Edwards that...

EDWARDS: You would have been better off cutting down your neighbor's tree than cutting the ferry line.

C MARTIN: People who ride the ferry regularly say it's a huge violation of etiquette to cut the line and can bring out intense road rage in a place that has more of a reputation of being nonconfrontational.

DARCY RYAN: Better not cut. You can get fined for it.

C MARTIN: Darcy Ryan grew up on Vashon Island, which you can only get to by ferry. She was headed to the island to see friends and was waiting in a string of cars that stretched back about half a mile.

RYAN: And if you try to turn left coming the other direction, that's huge - right? - just a big no-no.

C MARTIN: Ferry workers say most people who cut are like Edwards - unintentional, not malicious. Darcy Ryan isn't so sympathetic.

RYAN: Google it (laughter). Google Seattle ferry culture.

C MARTIN: So what happens to someone when they cut the line? That's where Dana Billington comes in. She loads cars onto ferries and says that multiple times a shift, someone jumps the line.

DANA BILLINGTON: I'm going to pull them over to the side and explain to them why everybody behind them is honking their horns and upset. And then I'm going to hold them a few cars and let them go.

C MARTIN: Cutting is against the law in Washington. People who get caught can be fined $145. But Billington says that Washington State Ferries instructs ferry workers not to pull cutters out of line unless they have a police officer present. They worry it could escalate into an unsafe situation.

EDWARDS: Better signs - I think that would be the solution.

C MARTIN: That's Erin Edwards again. For her part, she says, she's not taking the ferry again any time soon. She'd rather drive the long way, using a bridge, rather than risk another confrontation.

EDWARDS: I have been back to Whidbey Island, and I didn't even consider the ferry.

C MARTIN: With the end of summer coming up later this month, Billington says it will be back to mostly local riders again and hopefully fewer cutters - until next vacation season.

For NPR News, I'm Casey Martin in Seattle.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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Casey Martin