Help us find Annie
Giving in to immature drivers
The past few years it has been fashionable to worry over "road rage," which in the simplest possible terms, is just immaturity on the part of drivers.
We've had cutsie-poo public service announcements, "aggressive driver imaging" signs and cameras on the highway, pontification from the American Psychological Association, and God only knows what else. Finally, it appears the MD Highway Administration is giving in. If you travel I-70 east towards its terminus, once you enter Howard County you'll find no fewer than four (possibly five) roadside advisory signs that give the estimated travel time to the I-695 Baltimore Beltway. These are updated every minute or two, using a series of expensive-looking solar powered roadside video cameras, and heaven only knows how much computer software.
Maybe you don't find anything wrong with this, but I do. We are pandering to the kind of infantile temper tantrum that causes children to whine, "are we there yet?" In particular, once you have crossed the US-29 interchange, you are stuck on I-70, come what may, until you fork either on to the beltway or the stub end of the road that terminates in the middle of park land.
Here's my opinion: if you don't like commuter traffic, move closer to your job, or find a job closer to home. If you travel during "drive time," be sure you use the bathroom before leaving, carry a sip of cool water and perhaps a bit of food that will boost blood glucose levels. Then, grow up and drive: you'll get there when you get there, and no amount of fuming, lane-dodging, horn-blowing, bird-flipping or any other silly behavior will get you there a second sooner. Moreover, if you allow yourself the luxury of a tantrum, you endanger yourself and others, accumulate additional wear on the car, and use more fuel. You should be ashamed of yourself...
