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Well the US DOT is gonna recommend all manufacturers start installing tech that would prevent a driver from using their phone except in emergencies.
In MD, talking on your phone is only a secondary offense, so you have to be doing something else to get pulled over (e.g. speeding, reckless driving, busted tail lights, etc). Texting is a primary offense though. When I went on a police ride along we actually pulled over a guy for talking on his phone lol... he got a warning.
In many cases....Traffic is just as bad in MD & VA. What I am finding out is although it is against the law to talk on cell phones...people do it anyway. These folks tend to drive slower and of course are not paying attention. To be honest...after having my truck slammed into from the rear by a cell phone user, I wish the auto manufactuers would come upwith device that would block cell phone use until the vehicle comes to a complete stop. I sent this suggestion to several manufactors...hopefully someone will be interested.
That won't work because passengers won't be able to use their phones either. Also what about those with hands free devices?
DC's street grid is designed to make driving hard but thats only a partial problem. DC like any other large metro suffers from high traffic because thats what happens in big cities.
We have a disproportionate number of people working in offices. Industrial workers and low skilled laborers on avg have far shorter commutes wherever you go. Additionally, we have few highway miles for the population we have. Even left-wing cities like Boston and San Francisco have more bridge and highway capacity than we do, in addition to decent public transit.
This is so true. I was shocked by how narrow the freeways are up here compared to Atlanta. The roads in the DC area have not kept up with population growth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCforever
Auto bridges across the Potomac are the problem. Cut them and overnight the traffic becomes more manageable Those from VA who work in the District should be taking mass transit. Enabling their car addiction doesn't help anyone.
Oh that's just silly. No one should be forced to use public transportation. People should be strongly encouraged and the horrible traffic unfortunately or fortunately does just that. Maybe you want to live in the people's rebuplic but not me.
Also what about people who travel to different offices for their job? Anytime I've ever commuted into the District was for a meeting then it was either back to my house for a work from home day or back to my office in the burbs.
Also what about the weekends? Sure I could use the metro on the weekends to go partying but with all the track work they do a 25 minute drive takes over an hour via train. Don't just say stay home the District needs my money just as bad as I want to party. If anything more bridges need to be built.
This is so true. I was shocked by how narrow the freeways are up here compared to Atlanta. The roads in the DC area have not kept up with population growth.
Have you gone further up 95? For its size, NYC has by far the smallest roads of any city in the US apart from parts of the Turnpike and 78. In many ways, DC has large roads for its size (although it is one of the largest metro areas, it just feels small for some reason). 95 in Northern Virginia is easily comparable to most roads in Atlanta, as are segments of the Beltway and much of 270. You must have only used 66, which is narrow as a result of a compromise between the FHA and WMATA to build the Orange Line, which turned out to be incredibly successful.
You can really tell the difference here between DC residents and the suburbanites. To the suburbanites the solution to everything is more cars and more roads. Not going to happen.
You can really tell the difference here between DC residents and the suburbanites. To the suburbanites the solution to everything is more cars and more roads. Not going to happen.
I'm a suburbanite but I do not favor more roads. I personally favor a more equitable distribution of employment of all kinds so that everyone can choose to live closer to work removing those cars from most major thoroughfares since most won't have to cross jurisdictional lines.
This region wasn't plan well, from its roads to land use. The Beltway isn't as efficient in avoiding DC as planned largely because of the way this area is developed. Instead of trying to put I-95 and I-66 close to DC as possible, the opposite should of been done. Let the spur routes lead in the city where it doesn't cut through.
There always was a bridge between VA and DC before the existence of Metro Those highway from Virginia to DC were originally for the Pentagon in the 1940s.
As for Metro, all of the Metro parking lots reach capacity in the morning which leads to everyone else driving into work. People actually do use Metro so that's not the issue. The only way to reduce traffic is to develop more around current Metro stations. Metro can't solve all of the traffic problems on its own.
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