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