District Extra Thursday, July 16, 2009
4
DR. GRIDLOCK Robert Thomson
Some Drivers Have an Unyielding Sense of Entitlement
A
recent study by the Texas Transportation Institute says the Washington re- gion has the nation’s sec-
ond-worst traffic congestion. Statis- tically, our drivers yield only to Los Angeles in their misery.
But on the road, they quite often must yield to each other. That’s why I don’t need statistics to tell me our traffic congestion is intense. I just read my mail. The topic that generates the most debate among readers is over the most polite, le- gal and practical thing to do when two drivers want to occupy the same road space.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
Although one should be polite, al-
lowing a one-to-one merger when a road narrows to one lane, the driver in the lane that continues has a right to be irritated. With signs posted 1,500 feet in advance on New Hampshire Avenue — now un- dergoing major repairs — indicat- ing that first one lane will dis- appear, and then two, many motor- ists, instead of merging early, race along the unoccupied lane next to it and, when their lane ends, expect every motorist who has patiently waited to let them in.
Why is this individual’s time
more valuable than that of people who have chosen to regard the merger signs and get into the lane
that is valid? Politeness and pa- tience are virtues, but they are test- ed by those who are inconsiderate and believe they are the only ones on the road.
NELSONMARANS
Silver Spring
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
Drivers should merge into the through lane as soon as the signs warn that a lane is ending. Merge at the first sign, not the last.
Merging onto a major road: It’s wrong for drivers to assume they have the right of way over traffic in the through lanes. Also, it is correct to have the turn signal on.
S. DUBOS
The District
Marans and DuBos are in the ma- jority among my letter writers. But some traffic engineers disagree. They don’t want good lane space going to waste, so they suggest that drivers use all available lanes up to the point where a lane ends, then merge into the through lane. The drivers in the through lane are ex- pected to take turns letting in vehi- cles.
Drivers Want Justice
Drivers already in the through lanes have a strong sense of their rights, and it’s best to use a turn sig-
nal when merging and acknowl- edge a driver who opens up space for the merge. Here’s the thing through-lane drivers really hate: Traffic flows best when drivers don’t hang on one another’s bump- ers and block the merging traffic, even when the merger is someone who pulled out of the lane earlier and rushed forward to the merge point.
This letter protests bad behavior in another type of highway merge.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
There are many lanes, long and short, used by people who don’t un- derstand who has the right of way. The lane ending needs to yield the right of way to the lane that is not ending. Even Thomas Calhoun [Dr. Grid- lock, June 21] doesn’t seem to rec- ognize that perhaps people stop in the merge lane because the right of way isn’t clear in the through lane. I have been forced many times into oncoming traffic by people who move out of the merge lane into the through lane without even looking to see whether it is occupied. It is not an automatic cut-in line.
A person can choose to hold up the through lane to let someone in, but it isn’t always the best choice and certainly not automatic. I’ve had in- sane-sounding men yelling obscen- ities at me on a public road because
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they felt the merge lane was an au- tomatic butt-in line. These are the same people who get into lanes they know are ending just so they can race people through the intersec- tion to cut them off. These people are not only rude, but they are acci- dents waiting to happen.
LINDA NEAD
Rockville
Give Them a Sign
Drivers complain about one an- other’s behavior in merges, but the highway departments play a role, too. If signs are clear and properly placed, any style of merging will work better.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
As Interstate 70 comes into the Baltimore Beltway from the west, the eastbound lane exits before the beltway and splits into a south- bound and a northbound exit, but some traffic also merges into that northbound exit, which is quite long.
My favorite merge signs are a large one that says ALTERNATE MERGE and the next sign, which says NOW. I suspect there are many places that would benefit from such commands!
CECILYWOOD
Ellicott City
Shop Around
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
I have just read Mike Rivers’s let-
ter [Dr. Gridlock, July 5] about his switch to Virginia E-ZPass on ac- count of Maryland E-ZPass’s unfair charges to infrequent users. Faced
with the same problem, I have re- cently switched to Massachusetts Fast Lane, which is operational any- where E-ZPass is accepted, imposes no charge for transponders and re- quires a credit-card account bal- ance of only $20 to get started (to be replenished when the balance falls to $10 or lower). Hallelujah!
GEORGE BASON
Chevy Chase
Drivers can look for the best deal among the Northeastern and Mid- west authorities that operate elec- tronic tolling systems. Some Mary- land drivers, especially those who use their transponders rarely, are doing that now because the Mary- land Transportation Authority has imposed a monthly fee of $1.50 on its E-ZPass accounts. It won’t be just a matter of check- ing the account fees. There are, for example, different rules on tran- sponder costs and on penalties for violations. Also, the other juris- dictions could change their free structures, just as Maryland did.
Dr. Gridlock also appears Sundays in the Metro section. Comments and questions are welcome and may be used in a column, along with the writer’s name and home community. Personal responses are not always possible. To contact Dr. Gridlock: By mail:Write to Dr. Gridlock at The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071
By e-mail:
drgridlock@washpost.com
On Get There blog: blog.
washingtonpost.com/getthere
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