Welcome to "The Driving Force"

Let me begin by thanking my good friend, local Rabbi and quasi-celebrity Rabbi Steve Weisman, for allowing me to use a small corner of his empire in the blogosphere, hopefully to do some good.

Oh, and I guess I should introduce myself -- they call me Orange Vest Guy. I have been laying low for a little over 2 years now, my services as a volunteer traffic helper at two local public schools now a thing of the past.

But 5 years of standing in school driveways virtually every morning, and 10 years of driving the death traps that are the local roads of Bowie, MD didn't break me. Nor did they numb me to the harsh realities of the stupidities that pass for driving behavior in our little 'burg.

And now, as my own daughter approaches the time that she will be licensed by the state to have to defend herself against these selfish, unthinking psychopaths who call themselves drivers, I find myself moved to once again, try to become part of the problem.

I have spoken with the city manager, with local elected leaders on all levels. I have attempted to work with both the county and the state DOT -- and have been given a runaround every bit as frustrating and confusing as any of you have -- if you even bothered to try. This road is a state road -- we have no jurisdiction. This one is a county road -- they have jurisdiction. We don't have enough manpower to do traffic enforcement. I didn't want to give him a ticket, because then I'd have to be in court for a whole day. We were supposed to do that, but somehow it didn't happen. I have heard every excuse.

But I have also watched -- watched as the number of accidents and fataities on our roads has grown, even as the number of speed traps has shrunk over 10 years. Watched surveys done that tell us the average speed on North View BEFORE the school opened was 42 mph in a 30 zone -- and then seen NOTHING done about it. Watched speed cameras promised, then delayed for 6 months, then only ONE set up -- because of jurisdictional issues -- and that one only operative 12 hours a day on school days, set only to record those traveling more than 12 mph above the posted speed (what a coincidence -- THAT was the average speed on that road SEVEN years ago!) -- despite the already obvious behavioral changes in the first month of operations that tell me, even if no one else is watching, that the same selfish drivers WILL behave if they are afraid of being caught, and then return to not caring about anyone else on the road as soon as they clear the trap zone!

And I have watched -- as an off-duty County police officer committed vehicular homocide while traveling 50 mph in a 25 zone, and was given only a citation for excessive speed; as county school buses routinely violate speed and other traffic laws; as off duty officers continue to be able to use their official cars for personal business, and see no need to role model proper driving behavior when they do; as other official city and county vehicles do as they please; and as the average driver is endangered multiple times in the shortest of drives on our roads.

So I have decided -- I am tired and angry, and I am not going to take it any more! I have had friends injured severely -- and done nothing but complain. That time is now over!

With this blog, I will be monitoring the road conditions and driving behaviors I encounter on a daily basis driving in and around Bowie. The morons doing 60 mph and more on 197. The car parked sideways across 3 handicapped spots in the Target parking lot. The county CSI SUV speeding and running red lights, only to turn into his own driveway. And the myriad cell phone users, make-up appliers, lunch eaters, and others whose obviously distracted driving threatens us all.

And I will be sharing what I see -- including license plate numbers and other identifying markings. Because when I try to share this info with the police, if I can even get someone to take my report by the time I reach my destination, I am almost always told that there is little or nothing they can do.

Maybe when the volume of material compiled here becomes heavy enough to shift the foundation of the new police digs, and threaten to slide it into the nearby pond, someone will sit up and take action. But I am not holding my breath!

So I encourage my readers and friends to come along for the ride, and join the team. I will welcome additional reports from you, in the field -- just promise to be honest -- no need to exaggerate :(