March 27, 2006
Morning Roundup: Bad Maryland Drivers Edition
The debate now seems to be settled -- Maryland has the worst drivers out there. According to the Washington Times, last month alone Marylanders were responsible for 64 percent of the traffic violations caught on the District's traffic cameras, while D.C. residents accounted for 20 percent, Virginia 9 percent and all other states 7 percent. Of course, we are just kidding that this number may say something about Maryland's drivers. Some of them seem to say exactly the opposite, in fact, claiming that they are being unfairly targeted. A spokesperson for AAA said this of the news -- "When 65 percent of those citations are from a particular jurisdiction, it creates in the public mind the notion of a carefully crafted commuter tax. Marylanders are at the mercy of the city." Why yes, we here in the District are crafty enough to come up with a plan this ingenious.
Georgetown Students Cry Foul on Living Wage: It was a year ago that Georgetown University students won university employees a living wage, ending a nine-day-long hunger strike that attracted national attention. But now student activists are complaining that university officials haven't lived up to their promise to pay employees a minimum wage of $13 an hour, reports WJLA. Is another hunger strike in the offing?
Gray Jumps Into Council Chair Race: Council-member Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7) officially jumped into the race for the D.C. Council's top slot, writes the Post. Gray, a first term member of the council, will face fellow council-member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3) in the race to replace Linda Cropp, who is currently running for mayor.
Stadium Site Landowners to be Evicted Today: Five landowners on the site where the new baseball stadium will be built are set to be evicted today, allowing for construction to begin within the next weeks, notes WTOP. The business evicted include a Metrobus parking facility, an asphalt company, a warehouse and several others.
Dulles Toll Road Control to Pass Hands: Hoping to avoid recent uncertainties that have arisen concerning the building of an Orange Line extention to Dulles International Airport, Virginia state officials are set to announce today that they are granting control of the Dulles Toll Road to the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority, reports the Post. The transfer of control will allow the airports authority to assume responsibility for the federal and state portions of the estimated $4 billion tab for the 23-mile extension, which would by 2015 reach Tysons Corner. The deal has angered some Fairfax County officials, though, who claim that commuters on the toll road may now face higher tolls.
Briefly Noted: Homelessness increases in Fairfax County ... Nats TV conflict hits Capitol Hill ... Fairfax County to analyze wastewater for cocaine ... Republicans try for power in Montgomery County ... Arlington man wins inaugural National Marathon.
Picture snapped by LWPrencipe.
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Not to be picky, but you have a typo. In your story re the businesses being evicted it says "The business being evicted include" instead of "businesses."
I thought that 2015 was the estimated date of completion for the whole project, and the part through Tyson's would be done by 2010-2011. I was also under the impression that if the Airports Authority took over the metrorail project, it would completed much faster.
Clarification, anyone?
finally, the argument that MD drivers are the worst ever has hard evidence behind it. I feel so vindicated!
Clarification, anyone?
Looks like the official dates are still 2011 / 2015 for the two portions of the line. MWAA has guaranteed completion by 2015. I think this deal just shifts the financial burden: Virginia will no longer operate the toll road, and the MWAA will fund the state / federal portion of the rail.
http://www.dullesmetro.com/info/faqs.cfm#2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/27/AR2006032700033_pf.html
I know you know you were being purposefully silly about the traffic camera count. But still, traffic camera violations mean little in that tally unless you look at where these cameras are located, and the amount of traffic on those roadways.
Could Maryland's disproportionate traffic violations be due to the fact that most major entry points from MD have speed cameras? How many are passed on the route from New York Avenue to 395 alone? It doesn't seem like the bridges from VA are as heavily speed checked.
Ghetto,
Perhaps the reason there are few speed traps on the VA bridges is because traffic on the VA bridges never get over 20MPH?
There. My sarcasm for the day.
As for the MD vs. VA camera debate, you also have to think about the types of roads that connect the states to DC. Correct me if I am wrong, but most roads that connect DC to VA are interstates or parkways (due to the Potomac) and most points that connect MD and DC are streets and roads (mostly residental). It would be hella hard to set up speed cameras on 395 and 66 due to the extremely high volume of commuters and the fact that everyone would be ticketed because who really follows the speed limit on the interstate?
It doesn't seem completely fair, but because of the way the borders are set up, there aren't many other ways.
Maryland drivers are actually quite good. Anyone who can merge into 80 mph beltway traffic at 40 mph deserves a medal.
Maybe it's just because I used to walk south to work along 16th Street from my Dupont neighborhood but I would count the license plates caught in traffic along 16th and the vast majority were from Maryland. Maybe 1 in 100 would be from DC. On the other hand, when I had a bike and biked along the Rock Creek Park trail to work north on 15th St, the traffic was heavy with Va drivers.
And then the out-of-staters have the nerve to complain about the condition of our roads. If you drive into DC and want better roads, then be willing to pay for them.
wow, in addition to being most responsible for moving violations, MD plates are also most reponsible for buying drugs in my 'hood.
This validates a personal less than scientific theory of mine. Cap Hill residents can attest to the scary driving habbits of commuters pouring in from PG and beyond.
This validates a less than scientific theory of mine. Cap Hill residents can attest to the scary driving habbits of commuters pouring in from PG and beyond.
A random sample of cars parked overnight in Adams Morgan would probably show more MD/VA than DC tags...there are an awful lot of people living in the city who don't register their cars for one reason or another. Maybe the ticketing statistics are proof that more people live in DC with MD tags than VA tags.
ha!
Can you help me and my buddy Marion out with a ride through your hood in one of those MD-plated cars? You can pick me up at the White House...that's hoUse, not hoRse.
The comment about VA only has interstates, etc. coming into the district isn't fully valid. DC-295/I-295 in Anacostia has speed cameras set up (usually the portable units) and that is a major MD entry point...
And as GhettoBurbs mentioned above, most of the MD entry points have cameras and are located from about Tacoma Park on around PG County along entry points into the district. You don't see speed cameras on Wisconsin or Connecticut Ave's or on the 14th St Bridge... NY Ave and Benning Rd have them, as do many others....
For who ever originally printed this article, Maryland drivers think DC drivers are the absolute WORST in the country. Besides the fact a article on MSNBC printed the country's worst drivers by state (in this case DC had to be considered a state) and DC came in 2ND PLACE next to Rhode Island (Maryland came in 5th), everytime a DC driver is in Maryland they're the only huge idiots taking up lane space because they don't have a clue how to operate a motor vehicle correctly. I would swear a 12 year old is driving. Wait, no. It's a DC driver. The reason so many speed camera's catch MD drivers is because MD drivers DON'T LIVE IN DC (thank God I don't live in a crap hole), but we're much closer and integrated with DC than VA. Those speed camera's were made for people that don't know where they're located. Ever think of that?
oh yeah and for the dumbass that wrote "wow, in addition to being most responsible for moving violations, MD plates are also most reponsible for buying drugs in my 'hood." First of all thats not saying much for yourself or where u live, but we all knew DC was a drug infested piece of **** anyways, but also, you must live on the border of DC if thats true cause we all know most of the crack addicts and what not mostly live in DC. You sound like one yourself. And how would you know that if you weren't involved with drugs yourself...