Mad drivers in Baltimore
by Lori Barrett | May 14, 2008 at 7:40 am
Posted in Baltimore, travel
Baltimore ranks #4 in the nation for road rage — something that’s surely not surprising to anyone who drives in our area. Nipping at our heels is Washington DC, who ranked #5 in the survey. The top three cities: Miami, Boston, and New York.
The District leads the country in the number of drivers who slam on their brakes at the last second. Eating or drinking — something that can trigger road rage — is seen by 57 percent of drivers in Baltimore each day. Other rage-inducing behaviors that are seen nationwide: talking on the cell phone (88 percent), speeding (59 percent), and tailgating (56 percent).
If anyone is trying to reduce their stress via relocation, the top-five cities with the most courteous drivers are: Pittsburgh, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Cleveland.
Although the road-rage ranking isn’t unexpected, I am surprised that we didn’t top the list for running red lights. That honor was shared by Miami and Tampa. It’s dangerous enough to be a pedestrian in Baltimore, so I can’t even imagine how carefully you have to step off a curb in those cities.
Cell phones, eating, tailgating — they’re pretty standard complaints. What induces your rage on the road?
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:21 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Running the lights seems to be a relatively new phenomenon in Baltimore. When I first moved down here (and it wasn't that long ago, really), people used to brake hard when they saw the YELLOW. Nowadays I wait an extra couple of seconds when the light turns green because you never know if you're going to get creamed by someone coming the other way. The intersection of Hamilton & Harford is especially bad. You can pretty much count on one or two extra cars coming off of Hamilton once the light changes.
The other big thing around here is the frequent jinking from lane to lane without signalling, or regard for whether someone might be getting cut off. These people are so anxious to get ahead that they behave dangerously, and they're oblivious to the fact that everyone they're weaving around simply catches up to them at the next red light.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:39 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
let's not forget the tendency of downtown pedestrians to walk in the way of a moving car without looking. that induces great feelings of security and happiness in myself when driving.
on the other hand, as a pedestrian i have found myself more than once almost run over at a crosswalk - invariably by some dumbass yuppie on a cellphone driving an SUV.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:45 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Ummm Claude, just what exactly is "jinking."
I agree with Johnny Dollar - living in the heart of downtown I encounter MANY a wayward pedestrian. I live about a block away from Power Plant Live (barf) so most of the time, I have to dodge drunken sorority girls and biffs that love them.
It all goes back to public transportation - if this city had a useful system, the roads would be less crowded, and people would opt not to drive...both measures would decrease road rage.
But of course, now I have to an asshole. Who to hell cares if we're number four or number one or number 105 in the highest road rage cities? What exactly does that mean? Absolutely nothing. People are going to behave like animals regardless of geography - because, well, we're programmed to do so. The only concerning part is that the study that rated "road rage cities" was probably federally funded.
!
May 14th, 2008 at 3:32 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
The pedestrian situation has been around for-ever. It's probably never going to change.
Currently what I see generating the most road rage within myself is the overwhelming sense of entitlement by folks driving their expensive SUVs or Beemers to get ahead of absolutely everyone else regardless of what's going on traffic wise. Coming off of 83 during heavy traffic, 99% of cars and SUVs driving on the shoulder to cut ahead of traffic - and eventually generate more of it - are douchey privileged a-holes. What's even more aggravating are the side lanes downtown where parking is specifically prohibited during rush hour, and there's just GOT to be one car parked completely halting the flow of traffic. Argh
May 15th, 2008 at 5:50 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Let us not forget the elderly. They may not be as prevalent during rush hour but goodness knows that they are around during the weekends and other times of day. why doesn't the MVA require periodic retesting after the age of 65? i have been cut off to the point of almost getting in an accident more times by some old lady who decides to move her car into my lane without even looking. "cut off" isn't even the right word-more like broadsiding with moving vehicle. then you get the grandpa's who just mosey along doing 5-10 below posted speed limit. Guess what pops: you may be retired and have all day to get wherever you have to go but some of us have jobs/school/family responsibilities with limited time in the day to accomplish them. Get off the road!!! this is part of my road rage. i don't believe in driving like a bat out of hell- i only do 10mls. over posted limit on roads (dont want a ticket)-but i do believe in keeping up with traffic. I agree with other posts about snobs in their pricey cars thinking they own the road. i would like to add women in minivans. call me mean, but it seems like the more kids/pets they have, the worst they drive. that's just my opinion.