A Calm Storm

The blog of Sholeh Samadani Munion

Driving D.C.

I was in Washington, D.C. to attend a friend’s wedding last weekend. It was a beautiful, special time that I feel blessed to have participated in.

However. I have figured out why all of the politicians who are based in D.C. are so angry. It isn’t the divisive politics or the lobbying. It is the complete inability for anyone in that town or the surrounding area to drive.

I have never experienced anything like this before. Part of the problem, really, is that the city is laid out in such a way that there are stoplights on every block, no decent signage, and few left turn lanes. But whatever the issue, there is no excuse for the terrible decisions that I saw being made on a regular basis.

Now, Chicago can get a bit crazy sometimes. But it doesn’t hold a candle to D.C. These people seriously don’t know how to use turn signals, they cut across 3 lanes of traffic on a whim, and are just plain obnoxious. THEN add tourists and pedestrians on phones, and you’ve got a recipe for a nervous breakdown.

And by the way, it did not matter what state they were from. They’re ALL terrible and I literally shouted “I LOVE CHICAGO.” when I got behind the wheel of my car on Sunday night.

sholeh

4 thoughts on “Driving D.C.

  1. Hahahahah!

    I can echo that sentiment exactly! Having just left DC, Boston is a breeze, and I definitely look forward to being back in NC. I feel obliged to add to DC’s critique is that the driving isn’t helped at ALL by the laberynthine street system as you get closer to the Capitol Building. Nonetheless, nothing I’ve seen yet can rival Atlanta’s traffic problem!

  2. Craziest driver award I would give happens to come from an incident in DC: This guy was on a ramp exiting an interstate I wanted to enter. I see him on the ramp going faster than me and decide I have plenty of time to get into the lane after he passes me. So turn on my right blinker and coast. He slams on his brakes, crosses behind me four lanes and barely avoids hitting the median wall. I’m guessing he expected me to cut him off and decided to get into my lane only I was not moving over so he had to move over more to avoid hitting me.

    Maybe if it had not been 8am, then I would have waited for him to come up parallel to me before turning on the turn signal.

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