Maryland Drivers = Aggravation! (Bowie: tax, safety, design)

[Mr. Wanderlust]

Originally Posted by JacksonJeep

I'm not a native Marylander. But since moving here over a year ago I have nothing but frustration with the driving habits here. First let me say that the State Police lack a total control over the roads. I very rarely see them out patrolling or shooting radar. And even if I do, they are well seen by everyone ahead of time so they can react. Anyways I see far too many people talking and texting on their cell phones. Even if they're not Maryland drivers (mostly WV, VA, & PA drivers), they should not be using their cell phones while driving in Maryland. Also I once heard on a radio station that cars in Maryland don't come with turn signals. Must be true because no one uses their turn signal here. Whether they're making a turn of changing lanes no one uses that quick little blinker! Apparently they don't teach about it in Maryland driving tests. As for the left lane... it is for passing, stay out of it and to the right if you're not passing someone. At the same time don't tailgate or push people to go faster than the speed limit. Going 10 over is excessive enough. Someone seriously needs to implement driving assessment programs down here! Just my rant...

There's actually too much micromanagement and too many overzealous traffic cops here. The thing is they aren't really concerned so much with safety, but revenue. Give it a little more time and you'll see. They will never be the solution.

The real problem is that there are simply too many people on the roads; too many that lack common sense...


...Welcome to Maryland...


Be glad you don't live in the B-W corridor if you want to see truly bad traffic/drivers.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by P47P47

While I wish that more people would practice the lane discipline of "slower traffic keep right", there is nothing in the Maryland highway code restricting the left lane of a multi-lane road to passing only, nor is a driver prevented from passing a slower car on the right, which is good for when some left-lane bandit is blocking faster traffic by not moving to the right where they belong.

Are you sure? It's in the driver's manual - slower traffic keep right. I'd like to know if it really isn't in the code.

[tgs_bg]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wanderlust

There's actually too much micromanagement and too many overzealous traffic cops here. The thing is they aren't really concerned so much with safety, but revenue. Give it a little more time and you'll see. They will never be the solution.

Yes... because a cops' salary depends on how many tickets they write.

Don't commit any traffic violations and you won't get pulled over. It's really quite simple.

Go on and tell me about how they have a quota, too

[Mr. Wanderlust]

Originally Posted by tgs_bg

Yes... because a cops' salary depends on how many tickets they write.

Don't commit any traffic violations and you won't get pulled over. It's really quite simple.

Go on and tell me about how they have a quota, too

Ah, one of the cop boosters. I'm sure you're one of the people who have a sticker on your car? Um... honey drips from your mouth if they stop you.

No, an individual cop's salary may not depend on it. But, you think the dept(s) itself or themselves don't get funding from traffic tickets and citations?

What part of Maryland do you live in? Is it made up?

[cali3448893]

10 mph over the speed limit is not that bad. 40 and over is bad.

[seethelight]

Originally Posted by selhars

And if you get hit it's the other guy's fault. How inconsiderate.

But your reasoning is the exact reason that, especially when I'm driving in DC (on NY Ave say) -- even though I am driving in a clear open lane, going past a long line of cars (that are stopped at a light or waiting for their lead car to turn left)...I have to slow down to a creep, even though my lane is wide open....

...because some inconsiderate joker or trifiling jacka$$ will just out of the blue pull out of his lane and into mine. Did this person see me? NO Did this person SIGNAL? NO.

Why should I have to slow to a crawl in an open lane because an a##h0le just decides he's going to do something unsafe? And pulling in front of another car, that's right up on you and driving past in an open lane is UNSAFE!

Turn signals are on cars for a reason. People who don't use them are too stupid to know that you use them to protect YOURSELF, so other drivers know what you might be planning to do.

And BTW -- signaling means you'd LIKE to get over, NOT "I'm COMING OVER no matter how close you are to me, I'm FORCING my way in." The signaling driver is still supposed to YIELD. HELLO!

There is a bumper sticker I like

TURN SIGNALS...Not just for smart people anymore

[kcmo]

MD drivers are no worse than any place else. I think about 40% of all drivers suck everywhere.

Just stay out of the left lanes and we shouldn't have any problems.

[Mr. Wanderlust]

Originally Posted by tgs_bg

Yes... because a cops' salary depends on how many tickets they write.

Don't commit any traffic violations and you won't get pulled over. It's really quite simple.

Go on and tell me about how they have a quota, too

I see by your older comments that you're a HoCo cop. That explains your churlish attitude. You people put the O in overzealous and the O in overbearing.

You'll just have to deal with other O-pinions until you can get that O-utlawed.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by MDguy99

I've probably been driving for more decades than most of these posters have been alive. My question is: what is this whole thing with the left lane being the "fast" lane. Is the speed limit not a LIMIT? How is it okay to routinely go much faster than the speed limit? We're not talking about a quick pass in front of a slow driver. People routinely travel the left lane entire strips going well above the SL. Officers should simply patrol this lane since you're expecting everyone in it to go above the speed LIMIT. If the speed limit is bull**** and it's okay to go faster in the left lane, they should simply set the REAL speed limit and post it. Never understood this.

Well, one problem in DC is that often if everybody did 55 (which is way too slow for a wide urban interstate IMO) then the thing would back up a lot more often. It would carry less volume. Pretty simple. You can watch slow drivers trigger backups behind them. Speed limits in the DC area (especially in the district) are stupid low for a major metro area). I get the downtown streets with pedestrians, but everywhere else it just creates congestion and opportunities for speed camera revenue.

I think the cops do a pretty good job trying to enforce traffic laws on the beltway though. I feel for them trying to pull people over on roads like 495. They are risking their lives doing that and I think that’s one reason you don’t see it too often. If they do pull somebody over during rush hour, they can trigger a 30 plus minute delay and risk causing more accidents in the congestion as people rubberneck. Cops do come out during the day and on weekends where there is less traffic and its safer. That's why they are all over the ICC. It's just easy and safe to get that revenue and the ICC has WAY too low of speed limits for such a low volume, limited access highway so easy picking.

I just don't think speed is a big issue. Bigger issues are distracted driving and just being a complete moron and not knowing what's going on around you. If you are being passed on both the right and the left and you are creating gridlock and road rage behind you because you want to do 50-55mph when everybody else it trying to do 70 (including the cops), then you either need to think about taking a different route or staying in the far right lane.

You see, I stay out of the right lanes because I think it's far safer to jump into the left lane and go 70-75 than driving in the right lanes and constantly having to deal with people getting on the freeway going 40. Now that's dangerous. If the cops spent as much time pulling people over for not being able to properly merge onto a freeway at whatever speed traffic is flowing, that would do far more good than most of the other enforcement they do.

[MDguy99]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Well, one problem in DC is that often if everybody did 55 (which is way too slow for a wide urban interstate IMO) then the thing would back up a lot more often. It would carry less volume. Pretty simple. You can watch slow drivers trigger backups behind them. Speed limits in the DC area (especially in the district) are stupid low for a major metro area). I get the downtown streets with pedestrians, but everywhere else it just creates congestion and opportunities for speed camera revenue.

Yeah okay, but that's your opinion and not the law. The law and the LIMIT is 55. Since when is it okay to break the law "by a little". Breaking the law is breaking the law. Perhaps they should raise the speeds, but you're still breaking the law as it is.

Originally Posted by kcmo

If you are being passed on both the right and the left and you are creating gridlock and road rage behind you because you want to do 50-55mph when everybody else it trying to do 70 (including the cops), then you either need to think about taking a different route or staying in the far right lane.

See, this is the mentality I don't understand. Road rage because someone is going the speed LIMIT or 5 below (which is not illegal or unacceptable)? I don't understand.

Let's all arbitrarily create our own acceptable speed limits...