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Good morning, Washington, and welcome back to what will be a rather short work week for most of us. While airports and train stations are sure to be jammed with holiday travelers this week, the city's roads and metro system should be a little less crowded than normal as folks head out of town early to celebrate Thanksgiving. Less congestion may not make much of a difference in road safety, however, if a new survey is correct. WTOP reports that according to the General Motors Acceptance Corporation 2007 national driver's test, D.C. drivers are among the least knowledgeable in the country about the rules of the road. Maybe that's why it seems like no one ever uses their turn signal in this city?
Murder Count On Pace to Rise: The number of killings in D.C. this year has now matched the homicide count for all of last year, meaning the overall body count for 2007 is sure to be higher than that of the previous year. It also means that this is the first year the murder rate will have risen in the District since 2002. Chief Lanier told the Washington Post she thinks the rise is the result of a number of factors which include an increase in violent gang activity, and that more powerful guns such as assault rifles have become more prevalent and popular among local criminals.
Metro Names New Rail Chief: Metro named Dave Kubicek as assistant general manager for rail on Friday. He will be in charge of daily operations for all of Metrorail, which includes 86 stations and more than 1,000 rail cars. Previous rail chief Steve Feil left D.C. for a job with New York's subway system.
Briefly Noted: Audit shows D.C. is mishandling its grants ... Residents in Northeast had no water on Sunday due to a water main break ... NPR close to picking a new headquarters location.
This Day in DCist: In 2004 we checked in on the perchlorate scare in our drinking water and got ready for the opening of the New York Ave. Metro station.
Photo by dc_cowgirl
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Considering DC's high transient population (the lifetime resident population is pretty low), I don't know if you can really blame DC itself for the lousy drivers. Didn't most of the drivers on DC's streets learn to drive elsewhere? Then again, DMV seems to give out licenses to anyone with at least one working limb and a head.
But yeah, it is always entertaining watching people TRY to drive in the rain; they either crawl 20 miles under the speed limit or clip along at 20 miles over, safe in the notion that their SUV's antilock brakes and airbags will protect them from the laws of physics. Oddly enough, the same is true when it's really bright out. Then there's the clowns who think that gunning your engine until your wheels spin crazily is the way to get out of a snowdrift.
And I beg to differ, but drivers in DC almost always use their turn signals. In fact, they leave on their left turn signal long after they've already made their illegal right turn across two lanes of traffic. That's no easy feat, considering they were talking on their cellphone, applying makeup, and eating a Dove bar.
California is very transient as well. But you aren't going to move into California and get a driver license without taking the road and written tests again. I found this a little appalling having previously had a driver license in Illinois, Tennessee and Virginia before moving to California, where you are expected to get a license and register your car if you are in the state for longer than 10 days. (Yes, that means that most students are getting in state tuition, and have California driver licenses.) I was a little taken aback by that and complained at the DMV -- and was reminded that "this is California!" and so it was. They do have good drivers out there, though. So perhaps it is all worth it.
"Then there's the clowns who think that gunning your engine until your wheels spin crazily is the way to get out of a snowdrift."
There seem to be a lot of young gentlemen who also think this is a fail-safe way to get laid by passing females.
There was a Raw Fisher blog post a few months back saying that the number of non-DC natives is on par with most of the country, despite what everyone thinks:
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2007/09/nobodys_from_here_right.html
So, maybe we can blame DC for having uninformed drivers.
Maybe I should learn HTML, that link didn't show up...
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2007/09/
nobodys_from_here_right.html
...and criminals are using assault rifles and other guns with more firepower.
Is there any evidence that this has anything to do with the upsurge in murders?
I moved here from San Diego where the drivers are relaxed and patient. I never touched my horn out there. I feel that folks in DC have no sense of urgency and no care for others. I rarely see turn signals and can't stand folks who double park during rush hour.
I also can't stand cabs that stop in the middle of the street. I was in Georgetown Saturday night and hailed a cab. The guy stops in the middle of the road. I asked him to pull over to get out of the road so we could get in and he just flipped me off. I couldn't believe it.
Anyway, I am fed up with driving in the district and will stick to running red lights and stop signs on my bicycle.
Lanier said she's studying the homicide spike in hopes of determining its cause. Killings steadily grew through the year, and the pace picked up in recent months.
"There's a whole lot of things that play into it," Lanier said.
Among her theories: Neighborhood gangs are having more violent flare-ups, and criminals are using assault rifles and other guns with more firepower.
How many murders have been committed with a Desert Eagle .50 or AK-47s? If more than one or two happened with heavy weapons, than I'd be worried.
Assistant Police Chief Winston Robinson, who oversees criminal investigations, pointed to more guns, drug battles and clashing neighborhood youths as causes for the increase.
"A lot of it is neighborhood crews. They go back and forth with each other," Robinson said. "There's turf issues, arguments over girls, arguments over something that may have happened that nobody can remember."
At least someone on Lanier's staff has some sense because it seems like she's reaching.
Don't forget that CA registrations is expensive!!! So they want the money. While learning to drive in L.A. I am constantly surprised on how lax drivers ed is around the country... it is appalling. They need to adopt the CA system: Class room, instructor behind the wheel mandatory, and a 30min driving test with a freeway portion.