It seems to me as I put together a mental list of the things that drive me crazy during a commute or a simple trip from here to there is that the lion's share occur on the roads. There have been studies showing that many of us really reveal our inner-selves when we get behind the wheel of a car, a truck, an SUV or just about any other motorized contraption. In many cases it's the anonymous nature of the activity even though, in the worst-case scenarios, the license plate numbers can reveal who is behind the wheel or at least who owns the vehicle and turned this person loose on the world.
Nevertheless, here are just a few of my initial thought on the things that bug me. I'm certain that many of you have similar experiences and maybe even better examples. The other day I was driving on a major interstate highway around Washington. Yes there are many of them but I don't want the particulars of this one to cloud the issue here. In the second from the left was a bright yellow car going much slower than the rest of the traffic around it. This created several near misses as drivers swerved to avoid the New York Taxi-colored car. By the way, I should note here that I spend a fair amount of time in New York between children in college there and friends. I love the city and the challenge of getting around there. It is something I frequently mention in contrast or comparison to our own traffic, transit and travel situation.
So anyway, this guy and his passive-aggressive attitude of driving a couple miles per hour below the speed limit puts a number of people at risk. I find these people more of a hazard than aggressive drivers who drive faster than they should in areas where they shouldn't. At least these drivers get out of the way (if they haven't caused a crash first).
The other group that makes me nuts because, in my opinion, they put others at risk is the drivers who wait until the last minute to merge into traffic at exits or in areas where a lane is running out. These drivers apparently feel like they don't have to or shouldn't have to sit in the long lines like everyone else. The problem is that they exacerbate the problem by making the lines longer. They create a situation where the merge is not like the shuffling of a deck of cards but is rather like trying to stack boxes--it works, but not as efficiently.
Would it come as a surprise that most of the offenders, or at least as I perceive them, are those drivers behind the wheels of SUVs and small German sports cars? I'm not sure what it is but the people who drive these vehicles seem to feel that they have a special pass; that they aren't subject to many of the same laws and general rules as you and I.
Steve Eldridge is a long-time reporter, observer and commentator on the Washington region's transportation issues. You can contact him directly by writing to: Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com. Unless otherwise requested, letters or portions of letters can be used within future columns. Letter writers will be identified by their first name and city/neighborhood.
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