Everyone knows that JFK once described the District as a city of Northern charm and Southern efficiency, but the same could be said about our winter weather contrasted with the complete incompetence of those who try to drive in its result or clear it from the roads. Beet juice or not, there's ice on the roads and sidewalks. Walk and drive with caution.

Torture Doesn't Work: Guess what? Punishing Virginians with large fees – between $750 and $3,000 – for reckless driving may not curb bad habits and is not delivering the payout the government had hoped, reports The Post.

Drivers, the study found, are often unable to (or simply don’t) pay the fines. The number of reckless driving citations have also gone down, likely because officers are sympathetic and dole out a lesser charge that won’t require as much from the driver.

Call us cynical, but we didn’t think such an unpopular measure (there’s an ongoing petition to repeal it) was going to work to start with.

After the jump – federal Purple line lovin' and people who think HOV lanes should be for (get this) carpoolers.

Photo by christyfrink

Give Me a 'P'!: Maryland transportation officials released new maps and data this week for the proposed Purple line, which would connect Bethesda, Silver Spring and New Carrollton – a project that could start as soon as next year if it gets federal funding, reports the Baltimore Business Journal.

Let’s say that again: if it gets federal funding.

The $1.8 billion project could ferry 47,000 people a day and be an about 46-minute ride end to end during peak travel times.

One more time, everyone together now: if it gets federal funding.

Go Forth and Carpool: The Virginia Department of Transportation wants to reclaim for carpoolers a lovely three mile stretch of HOV lanes at the southern end of 395 that has been opened to all drivers since it was constructed.

What, you ask, is the point of having HOV lanes if they are always open to all drivers?

We wonder the same thing. The answer, it seems, is there is none. The lanes have always been kept “all access” because closing them caused severe log jams as drivers approached the Springfield mixing bowl.

But newly completed construction there has made traffic patterns smoother and alleviated the potential for that gridlock, The Examiner reports.

VDOT is proposing that the lanes be made HOV-only starting mid January. A decision on the matter will be made at a Commonwealth Transportation Board meeting Dec. 13.

Metro Announcements, Weekend Track Work, Delays
Metro will stay open until 1 a.m. tonight to accommodate folks going to the Redskins game tonight.

On the Red line, track work will cause up to 20 minute delays between Friendship Heights and Medical Center between 9 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday and 9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday.

On the Orange line, those going between New Carrollton and Cheverly while have a 20 minute delay from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to make way for track work.

On both the Orange and Blue lines those going between Eastern Market and Stadium Armory should brace themselves for 20 minute delays as trains single track from midnight to closing Saturday and Sunday while Verizon workers do their thing with their cables.

And more car testing on the Green line – add up to 15 minutes when traveling between Greenbelt and College Park 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.