Confusion occasionally pops up when we describe the direction vehicles involved in collisions were traveling.

For the sake of simplicity, we usually just write “southbound” or “northbound.” Purists, of course, call this nonsense because on Whidbey Island nothing is simple, particularly directions. Highway 20 is technically a east-west highway that spans across the state before it plunged down Whidbey Island.

The fact there are two highways joined as one doesn’t help. Highway 525 on South Whidbey mostly runs south to north, but there are places where it leans east to west, just like Highway 20 on North Whidbey.

Penn Cove and Holmes Harbor both cut deeply into the island, making a simple south/north route impossible, except for cars that are also boats. So the highway goes north, south, east and west. Highway 20 on North Whidbey starts out going south at the Deception Pass Bridge, but eventually goes west until it hits the ferry at Keystone Spit, and then proceeds west by boat to Port Townsend. The point where Highway 20 finally goes directly west and doesn’t change is at the Race Road intersection, which is where Highway 20 begins, heading north/south at that point.

But this only partially describes the confusion. Get out your computers, maps and compasses if you need to know the particulars, but it’s not our job to confuse readers any more than necessary.

The fact is, travelers on Whidbey Island don’t notice the changes in direction. The vast majority are heading either north or south. Only those driving to the ferry dock on Keystone Spit are actually heading some other direction.

That’s why in our accident reports, we write “southbound on Highway 20,” when technically speaking, the highway at that point may be heading west. It’s the “bound” part that is important. Everybody on one side of the highway is bound north, and everybody on the other side is bound south. That probably describes 90 percent or more of the drivers. Only a small portion are trying to get off the island by going west. The other ways off are to the north at Deception Pass, or to the south at the Clinton ferry dock.

So for the sake of simplicity, we simply write that someone’s unfortunate accident occurred when they were northbound or southbound on Highway 20 or Highway 525. Readers can relate to that information and know what it means; they were heading toward Oak Harbor or Freeland, for example.

Northbound and southbound aren’t perfect, but they tell the reader what she needs to know without making her look at a map to figure out the exact direction. Whidbey Island has two major parts, South and North, and that’s how our highways run. At least most of the time.