Worst. Drivers. Ever.
Allstate thinks Baltimore has the second-worst drivers of any metropolitan area in the country; they may be selling us short
In September of this year, Allstate ranked Baltimore as having the second-worst drivers of any large metropolitan area in the country. In part, Allstate claimed, “Baltimore’s drivers struggle more than nearly any other city in the nation.” I think that Allstate was too kind. I have lived in several large cities across the country and driven in 45 of the 50 states and several other countries. I have found that Baltimore drivers are surpassed in their impatience, negligence and disdain for the laws of the road only by the drivers in Rome, Italy. Maybe there are other cities that are just as bad, but I haven’t visited them (and I’ve traveled fairly extensively)!
In just the past four months, I have come face to face with no fewer than six cars traveling in the wrong lane. I don’t mean just a little over the line, but on the wrong side of the road (or in one case, the highway). I have been run off the road once by an SUV and once by a box truck. As for stop signs, stop lights and lane designations, these are merely suggestions for Baltimoreans. I watched a city bus speed up to run a red light while cars waited knowing full well who would win that argument. Driver cellphone use continues unabated — with the distracted driving that accompanies it. And it’s not just by teenagers but people of more “responsible” age.
Then there are the folks who insist upon parking in a no-parking zone. How many times has one come across a car parked in a tow-away zone because the driver was too lazy to take the parking spot just a few more steps away? And don’t get me started on the violations of the handicap parking slots. Clearly, one cannot always tell if someone has a handicap that necessitates the use of a reserved spot, but when someone pulls up and parks in a handicapped spot, jumps out with their tennis racket in hand and runs to the court, it begs the question: Really?
Bicycle riders are not exempt from disobeying traffic laws. All you have to do is watch one nice Saturday and count the number of bicyclists who run red lights or cut in between traffic. Motorcyclists are guilty too. As a motorcycle rider, I cringe when I see the antics of some motorcyclists as they weave through traffic. Oh well, I guess we need more organ donors.
Marylanders pride themselves on the socialist leaning of the state. This is the state that takes care of education and is concerned about the well-being of the poor and disenfranchised. Well, how about a little patience and concern for one another on the roads? After all, being No. 1 in all things is not necessarily good.
Steven J. Schaefer, Lutherville