things that rock: day 28

day 28: universal contempt for maryland drivers

im definitely curious to see where people fall on this one but as someone who now lives in the district and drives all over creation for their job, i have quite a few encounters with maryland drivers. i dont what the deal is specifically... but for some reason, they are always the ones going 20 mph in the merge lane of 395 south trying to some how merge with traffic going 65 mph or going the wrong way down one way street or simply stopped in the road because they are lost. my horn mine as well be mr. t's voice saying "maryland driver, get out of the way fool!"

however, this blog series isnt about what annoys me. this is about what rocks. the only positive aspect of these motorized liabilities puttering around our streets is the common frustration held by many with whom i have commiserated. i love when im driving, i get cut off by a maryland driver and the person in the car with me makes a comment before i do! in an instant, any differences held between us simply fade away as we unite against a common frustration. Random people I meet with day to day have surprised me with their similar observations of maryland drivers.

the best part is the brainstorming with these new friends that takes place when trying to come up with the reason for the curiously common driving style of the land of mary. it may just be perception. with such drastic differences between northern virginia drivers who are some of the most aggressive in the country and the stereotypical maryland driver who has maybe a little less urgency and also never mastered the turn signal. maybe its the process of people getting licenses. i got my license in virginia but apparently, there is no real road examination in maryland. no practice merging on and off a highway with an instructor. no experience with difficult road situations. apparently, as long as you know what each sign means, for the most part, you can drive! (please pick up my sarcasm) part of it may be the type of roads in maryland. maybe they are very different to dc and virginia roads in terms of design and organization. i do just fine in maryland but maybe i learned on more complicated roadways and alongside more aggressive and less forgiving drivers.

the moral of the story is that there is no easy answer. but whatever the case maybe, without fail my life becomes increasingly more difficult when im trying to get work done during the week because of cars with maryland plates. however, one thing i want to make sure that i make clear that this does affect how i feel about people from maryland. i love people from maryland. i tend to be closer on the political spectrum to marylanders. i love st. andrews(the place they shot wedding crashers. went there for a work retreat and it was awesome) and some of the fine maryland beaches. my redskins play football in maryland. heck, ive eaten several meals at the maryland house off of i-95 and it was glorious.

all that being said, friends from maryland, do my blood pressure a favor and just let me drive. in return, ill try to keep frustrated comments with your brethren to a minimum... i said try...