Monday, March 21, 2011

Keep right... I'm f***ing begging you

Not for the Sunday driver
This post has been a long time coming.

Why does the state of Maryland breed these types of drivers? Driving through no other state raises my blood pressure more. Is it ironic that one of the more leftist east coast states has a very Laissez-faire attitude towards lane etiquette. No Virginia isn't good with this subject either and DC doesn't really have a whole lot of "proper" highways, but Maryland generally has a level of Left-lane-entitlement that cannot be matched by any other jurisdiction. Either in that state, or nearby when you see a MD plate doing 58 in the passing lane. Because that's really my problem with it. Its not just the left lane, its the PASSING LANE. The ONLY reason that lane should be used (on a highway) is to pass another car, then move back. I would really enjoy it if I came up behind somebody and flashed my lights (THE THING I AM SUPPOSED TO DO) and they actually moved over, instead of slamming on the brakes, giving me the finger then pacing with the car in the middle lane.

What I really don't understand is why?  Do these people want to spend their life on I-95? I get it, you have a really nice Camry. Why wouldn't you want to leave it, but I'd like to not have to take 5 hours to drive from DC to Philly if at all possible.

I'm not the only person who feels like this either. The problem is multi-fold . From unclear law phrasing, to mutually exclusive laws on bordering states, to sometimes an inexplicable lack of such an ordinance in some areas. Yeah yeah yeah you can call snob on my next statement, that driving on (most) European Motorways is much more enjoyable for this reason but the fact is, there are less fatal accidents on a (largely) speed-limitless German Autobahn, then the US interstate system. Speed limits were employed for 2 reasons, oil and generating money from violators. I'm aware how much larger the Interstate system is, all facts can be taken apart to mean nothing, but I just figured I'd mention that fact. I'm aware of the bias towards all things German, you'll just have to get use that that on this page, the Italian Autostrada (even though it has a limit) is another fantastic highway to traverse. If limits were raised as is, yes, it was be a total disaster. A totally different approach by law enforcement would need to be made regarding lane etiquette (maybe starting with actually enforcing it), new legislation would be required to clear up what the laws actually say, and MOST IMPORTANTLY training must be instituted to all drivers (maybe start with newer first-time licensees) as to how to properly use a multi-lane highway.


This post can easily morph into an argument against how ridiculously low the speed limits are here, how (way too) easy it is to obtain and keep a license here, or why its more ridiculous that a 7500lb work truck has to follow the same motorway limits that a car like my Volkswagen has to.

As said above almost all facts can be distorted in order to have a particular spin on it, but one I heard last weekend when watching a special on History with Wifey about the Autobahn was funny. "Opponents of the modern Autobahn argue that a car moving at 120mph uses twice as much fuel as the same car going 60mph". Why that fact was in mph, I have no idea, but I did think it was funny that it used twice as much fuel, but covered twice the distance... Am I missing something here?


(sorry if I offended any Marylanders, however - If you don't drive like that, then I wasn't talking about you, so I'm not sure why you're mad)

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