Traffic rant, Part II
I know these latest traffic rants seem to be an aberration from my usual political dialog. But I like to think the two are closely related. You have idiots on the road, and idiots holding office.So yesterday and today I was reminded of how stupid drivers can be. We're not talking about the stupid-because-I'm-fumbling-with-my-cell-phone types...or the stupid-because-I'm-putting-on-make-up. While those types of drives are dumb for their actions, at least they have an excuse when they screw up. No, you see, there is a whole new level of stupid on the road that doesn't have an excuse. I've been trying to find a reason for their actions for years now and still haven't the faintest clue.
Yesterday I hit a traffic jam on I-695, the Baltimore Beltway. The radio said the jam took up the entire western side of the Beltway, which is roughly 20 miles. At one point, we sat idle for 10 minutes without moving an inch. As I made my way through the mess and the traffic began to inch along, the reporters on the radio began to laugh. Turns out a guy's car was starting to stall on the interstate. He was in the left lane and tried to move to the right to get off the road. He didn't make it. He blocked 3 lanes of traffic during the morning rush hour.
This is a prime example of no excuse stupid. The guy who stalled his car isn't my problem. It's the idiots sitting behind him who refused to get out of their toasty warm vehicles and help the poor guy push his car out of the way. Even the radio announcers laughed at the fact it took so long before someone helped. Are we that spoiled in America that we can't endure 5 minutes of cold and physical activity to help another person?
Today on my commute I witnessed a massive traffic jam on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. After 15 minutes of stop and go, we passed a transportation vehicle on the side of the road. The guy was picking up trash. Some idiots saw the orange truck with flashing lights and began to slow down. The problem is, they slowed down so much they created a traffic snarl from Ft. Meade to the DC beltway. The guy wasn't in the street. He wasn't blocking a lane. He was picking up trash. Relax people, the orange truck isn't going to jump out and get you!
And lastly, I've noticed a rare and odd trend in Maryland traffic patterns that has left me speechless. To this day I have no idea why it occurs. But during every traffic jam I've witnessed to this point in Maryland, it's the left lane that completely stops. You would think because of basic congestion and endless vehicles entering and leaving the interstate, the right lane would be your slow side. Nope! Out here they stop in the left lane while the busy right lane trucks along. I don't know what causes it, but I know there's some stupidity in there.
Labels: Traffic, Transportation