IF YOU DON'T LIKE PAIN...

Foul weather does require a fair amount of attention.

(Photo by THE GRIDLOCKSMITH)

If you don't like pain,

When driving in rain,

This warning, please heed:

When tempted to read

Bumper stickers -- refrain!

(You will not win a Darwin Award!)

"CUT OFF?"

A local paper in Silver Spring, Md., The Gazette, which mysteriously appears weekly in the front yard, has a traffic column called, "Bumper to Bumper." Recently, they offered readers a chance to sound off (in 50 words or less) in a new feature, "Driving Me CRAZY." I could not resist the opportunity to use "Our new outlet for road rage." Below is my first foray into venting upon this new venue...


Am I the only one who knows what it is to be "cut
off?"

Drivers have yelled at me that I was trying to cut
them off when they were the ones that cut me off!

If someone changes lanes in front of you, how are you
"cut off?" Where is it that you are prevented from
going?

If I change lanes because my exit is near, the last
thing I need is some doofus speeding up to get in my
way!


I fear that my 50 words are used up, but it would be
nice to add:

Passing on the right is illegal for a reason. It is
dangerous to speed up into someone's "blind spot."

WILL USPS BE OUR VALENTINE?

Many of us have wondered what effect it would have on Rush Hour if delivery people would just vanish for awhile. Couldn't hurt, eh? So, when a discusion regarding USPS trucks unfolded in the pages of The Washington Post, I had to chime in. Below is what I sent to the long time traffic maven, Ron Shaffer, AKA, Dr Gridlock.

Dr Gridlock,

Regarding the recent discussion about USPS trucks
during Rush Hour, perhaps a win-win solution is
possible.

The P.O.could use better public relations as well as
some cost cutting.  Why not adjust schedules so that
the trucks are off the streets during Rush Hours and
save fuel? (Not only for the P.O., but for the rest of
us, as well.)

This would result in less cursing at the P.O. by
motorists, of course, but it would also be a blessing
to the legions of office workers who engage in daily
panics to get the mail out before the final pick up.
(The P.O. might even get some of the business that now
goes to the competition.) With a later pick up, some
workers will stay in the office a bit longer, thus
making traffic a little  less gruesome.

Another benefit to us all would be gas savings, and
less dependence on you-know-what.