Sunday, April 19, 2009

Maryland Drivers are the worst in the land

And I live in Massachusetts - I know bad drivers when I see them.

I even have proof:

68,000 pounds of truth, being passed on the "suicide" side by a driver in Laurel, MD. No offense, T-Bolt.

And offered for your consideration: when you cross the border from Virgina to North Carolina on I-95, the speed limit increases from 65 MPH to 70 MPH. Traffic speed doesn't change. It's almost like they're using an artificially low speed limit to raise funds with speeding tickets, or something.

UPDATE 20 April 2009 9:26: A comment makes me think that this sweeping condemnation needs more background. Here's my answer, but I think it's worth pulling up to the post:
I should have elaborated. The drivers were consistently overly aggressive, from the first rest area southbound on I-95 to the Wilson bridge over the Potomac.

Multiple lane changes, especially in heavy traffic is what I was talking about. When I took that picture, we were in stop and go traffic, and people were moving across three different lanes to try to get an extra 100 feet.

The Mrs. and I had about a half an hour discussion about this. Every time the subject was about to change, someone woulod do another "can you believe that" maneuver.

Not trying to slander all MD drivers here, and in fact I was one of them for 12 years. Just making an observation based on almost 1000 miles of travel on I-95.
The discussion that the Mrs. and I had was how we used to drive like this, too, when we lived in Maryland. I remember a trip to Utah once where I was the terror of the highway, until I realized I didn't need to drive in that over-the-top-aggressive manner. We've been gone long enough that it was quite striking when we were suddenly back in that environment.

I have no idea what causes this, but it appears from my experience to be a local phenomenon. Anyone have any ideas?

3 comments:

Sevesteen said...

I hope he's not blocking the passing lane with those stickers...

I sometimes pass on the right, but only when someone won't move over like they should. I've been hit once by a truck, and had two near misses...both times passing on the left.

Borepatch said...

Sevesteen, I should have elaborated. The drivers were consistently overly aggressive, from the first rest area southbound on I-95 to the Wilson bridge over the Potomac.

Multiple lane changes, especially in heavy traffic is what I was talking about. When I took that picture, we were in stop and go traffic, and people were moving across three different lanes to try to get an extra 100 feet.

The Mrs. and I had about a half an hour discussion about this. Every time the subject was about to change, someone woulod do another "can you believe that" maneuver.

Not trying to slander all MD drivers here, and in fact I was one of them for 12 years. Just making an observation based on almost 1000 miles of travel on I-95.

TOTWTYTR said...

About a month ago I was in the Baltimore area visiting a friend of mine. He's originally from MA, but moved to MD while he was in the Army. He stayed after his discharge, which was back in the late 1960s.

He told me that on the highway you don't signal lane changes because most drivers will move to cut you off if they see your directional light blinking.

As I watched, I noticed that neither he nor anyone else used directionals for lane changes.

Made for some very interesting turns. :)