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
Born with a rubber neck
As promised, here is your first official Real Republican traffic report. I think as time goes on I'll just call this my weekly traffic vent. But for now we can call it a report, cause boy do I have some material to discuss!
It all started when I moved from California to DC. Driving across country alone gives you plenty of time to think and ponder what you are seeing on the road. Not to mention, it allows you to come to the realization that the majority of our regional transportation departments are completely incompetent.
Take for example, Arizona. I stopped in a small town just across the border from Cali to grab some dinner. I hit the road around 7:30 p.m. with Flagstaff as my next destination with New Mexico my target for the evening. 5 hours later I'm pulling into Flagstaff in the middle of a major snow storm. I had to drive half way across Arizona at 20 mph because the transportation crews had snow trucks going west. Not one truck was going east. You'd think they would remember the other side of the highway.
Or take Texas as an example. Almost all the way across the northern tip, through Amarillo, there is construction. Half the time they push you to one lane. The other half it's a very narrow lane without a shoulder. Here are my questions...when they have three lanes, why do they always insist on closing two at a time? Why can't they close one lane at a time to lessen the traffic burden? And why...why in the world would you narrow the lanes to the point only a Mini can fit through? And lastly, when a construction barrier is put in the middle of the highway, doesn't it make sense to have the barrier high enough to block the onslaught of car lights heading your way, as you drive in the mini-lane, in the rain, with the 18-wheeler next to you? Yeah...
My other question is, if I-40 is your major highway through your state, why on earth does the road look like something from a third-world?
I was driving across with a small Uhaul trailer. I noticed several times along the way other Uhaul customers who had blowouts. I feared the entire drive that my trailer was going to suffer a similar fate. And so you can imagine how freaked I got every time I hit a pot hole the size of Kansas. And this wasn't just from one particular state. About the only state worth anything in good roads was Oklahoma. Give them a few years and I'm sure they'll join in the fun.
And lastly, what on earth is wrong with society when we see a police car? I can understand the guy who is driving 80 mph in a 50 slowing down if he sees a speed trap. But when the cop already has someone pulled over, you he's not going to get you! And you sure as hell don't need to drive 20 under the speed limit just to make up for things. Hell, I wish the police pulled over the nimrods who do slow way below the limit just for giggles. You couldn't look more guilty.
And so there it is, my traffic rant from the great cross country trek. I'll add more as I see fit...which will probably be tomorrow after I make the hour long drive from Towson. Safe travels!
Labels: Traffic, Transportation
