“Commuter Crossroads”—Commuting by Car
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Commuting by bicycling and walking
Commuting by rapid transit and trolley
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Commuter Crossroads main page
“Commuter Crossroads”—Commuting by Car
Commuting by bus
Commuting by bicycling and walking
Commuting by rapid transit and trolley
Commuting by train
Driving Speaks Louder Than Bumper Stickers
Angels in the Fast Lane
Help Eliminate Auto Theft
Driving to Save Gas
Drive the Speed Limit Day
Be Careful Driving in the Dark
Driving with a Police Escort
Beware Aggressive Drivers
Put Kids First in School Zones
How We Encourage Teens to Speed
Are Virginia Drivers Becoming Like Their Northern Neighbors?
By Steve Dunham
This appeared in the Fredericksburg Free Lance–Star on
Somebody was tailgating me as I was driving in the right-hand lane on
“What does that fish sign on your car mean?” I asked him.
“Jesus,” he answered.
“Then why were you tailgating me when I was obeying the speed limit?” I asked. “What church taught you to do that?”
“I wasn’t tailgating you, [cussword],” he answered.
“Did you learn that in church too?” I asked, and he turned away.
Earlier I had seen a pickup truck weaving from lane to lane and tailgating other people on
Still others had license plates with a message like “By faith” or “Praise the Lord” or “Praise God” or “Give back” or “Guide me”—not always spelled that way, given the limitations of license plates, but the intended messages were clear. The way they were driving gave another message entirely.
If I weren’t a Christian already, I would surely be discouraged from believing after encountering these religious messages coupled with hostile driving. If you drive like hell, who is going to believe that you’re on your way to heaven?
And you want someone to guide you? OK. Stop for red lights. Respect people who obey traffic laws. Obey them yourself (it’s in the Bible: see
I know that there are plenty of Christians who do obey the traffic laws and treat other drivers (and pedestrians) with respect. There’s even a Sacred Heart Auto League of people who try to drive in a way that makes up for the wicked driving of some others.
Lots of the courteous drivers don’t have a message on their cars. But yielding to bicycles and pedestrians—even if you think you have the right of way—says something. So does stopping short of a red light so another vehicle can get out of a driveway, or being considerate of a slow driver who may be from out of town and looking for a certain side street.
My brother, who lives in Massachusetts, which is infamous for crazy drivers, once told me he doesn’t get angry with drivers who get confused and suddenly change their minds about where to turn, for example: “So what? He made a mistake. I make mistakes all the time.”
Patience and courtesy send a message.
So if you’re going to advertise your faith, you’d better make sure that your actions are saying the same thing as your bumper sticker, because your driving is speaking far louder than the words on your car.
I thought I would get a lot of hate mail over this column, but all I got were amens until one aggressive driver presented this column to a court as evidence that she needed protection from me.
By Steve Dunham
This appeared in the Fredericksburg Free Lance–Star on
I was driving to church one Sunday morning, going north on
The driver of the red pickup, however, was not using the extra lane thoughtfully provided by the government. He raced up behind me and got close enough to have his front end remodeled if I should have to make an emergency stop for, say, a child or animal running into the road, and he stayed there as I rolled down the exit ramp. I tried to slow down gradually as I approached the stop sign, to avoid having that driver’s headlights installed in my back seat.
As soon as we were once again on a four-lane road, he roared past me and presently turned into another church’s parking lot. Maybe he was late for the service. Maybe he had an urgent call of nature. Maybe he was a choir member stuck on allegro.
Or maybe he was an angel! Angels are, as far as I know, exempt from traffic laws such as speed limits. Now, the man’s (or angel’s) driving did not seem particularly heavenly. But if he was driving a spiritual pickup truck, then he probably wasn’t endangering anyone. You can go a hundred miles an hour in a spiritual pickup truck and drive into a brick wall, or even through a brick wall, and not feel a thing. (I think.)I wish I had stopped to watch in case that angel had done the brick wall thing. Anyway, I’m sure he must have been on an important mission from God to be in such a big hurry.
Now when I see vehicles roaring past me, particularly on the way to or from church, in that extra lane thoughtfully provided by the government, I realize that they might be driven by angels on important missions from God, although I’d hoped that angels wouldn’t use some of the gestures these drivers use. And I am thankful for the guardian angel who is riding with me.
When I see one of those drivers right behind me, however, I do try to slow down gradually for stop signs and red lights, just in case the pickup truck on my shoulder isn’t a spiritual one.
By Steve Dunham
This appeared in the Fredericksburg Free Lance–Star on
How can you keep your car from being stolen? Lock it. The Virginia State Police say that “half of all vehicles stolen are left unlocked.” Almost one in five stolen vehicles has the keys left in it. The State Police HEAT (Help Eliminate Auto Theft) program has more suggestions, but locking vehicles tops the list. Even if the vehicle itself doesn’t get stolen, leaving it unlocked makes it easier for a thief to steal valuables, such as a purse in plain sight or a GPS device.
Once you’ve taken care of the obvious (lock unattended vehicles, even if they’re unattended for only a minute), what else can you do?
Here are some other simple (and free) ways to protect a car from theft:
Permanently inscribe your car with its vehicle identification number (known as a VIN). Write it and your name and address with permanent marker under the hood or in the trunk. You can also get the VIN permanently etched into the windshield glass. Last year at Crime Prevention Day in Spotsylvania, the police offered this service free. (The windshield is one of the more expensive car parts to replace, so having your vehicle’s ID on the windshield creates a big expense—windshield replacement—for any would-be car thief.)
Hide business cards or address labels in the car to help prove your ownership if the vehicle is stolen. Business cards can be dropped down inside the doors next to the windows, and address labels can be attached under the floor mats or seats.
Never keep your title in the vehicle. It indicates proof of ownership. You don’t have to keep your registration in the glove compartment either (or even in the car); you just have to keep it with you while driving.
It may be worthwhile to invest in additional protection:
You could have an alarm installed. It attracts attention and buys time in an attempted car theft. “The longer it takes thieves to steal a vehicle, the more likely they are to be discouraged or caught,” says the HEAT fact sheet. But don’t get an alarm that’s overly sensitive. On several occasions I’ve been waiting at a train station and heard a car alarm go off every time a freight train went by and shook the ground. I wondered whether the car owner would have a dead battery by the end of the day.
You could get an anti-theft device installed to deter thieves. The police suggest using ignition cutoffs, fuel cutoffs, and steering wheel locks. Smart keys (which have a computer chip needed to start the vehicle) are expensive but efficient.
You could have a tracking system installed. If the vehicle is stolen, the signal from the device helps police find it.
Finally, the HEAT program has another way to stop car thieves: it offers rewards up to $25,000 for tips on auto theft, auto parts theft, chop-shop activity and carjacking. The HEAT hotline is
You can get more information on the HEAT program at www.heatreward.com or from the Virginia State Police,
By Steve Dunham
This column appeared in slightly different form in the Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance–Star on
How much gas can you save by careful driving? Up to 20%, according to “Fuel Economy Focus,” a MotorWeek article by John Davis reproduced on the
Using two identical cars but two driving styles, MotorWeek tested the cars on country roads, in stop-and go-traffic, and on freeways. The cars were wired to precisely measure “engine load, throttle position, and” revolutions per minute.
On a country road with hills, “there’s only so much you can do to maximize economy,” said Davis. The most important thing is “to maintain your momentum.” Speeding up only to slow down again wastes energy. Dennis Smith of the Department of Energy (MotorWeek’s careful driver) recommended driving smoothly, as if your mother were in the car. He used 4% less fuel on the country roads than the other driver, “Hurricane” Henry Kopacz.
Even though country roads offer few chances for economy, the open highways are “where most of us do our most inefficient driving,” said Davis. He pointed out that “traveling 10 or
In city driving, as on country roads, there is less opportunity to economize. “Avoid quick starts and hard stops, always combine short trips, and plan your route to avoid backtracking, congested areas and hills,” said Smith. Also, “slow down well in advance of red lights.”
Excess weight (such as junk in the trunk) and underinflated tires also waste gas.
Cutting gas consumption 20% with smart driving sounds good. How about improving mileage 100%? With hypermiling, some drivers claim to achieve just that. Hypermiling “techniques range from the straightforward—driving at a constant speed—to the more outlandish methods, such as pushing your vehicle,” wrote Lynle Donnely in the Johannesburg, South Africa, Mail & Guardian. Pushing your vehicle? Yes, at least to move it out of a garage to wash it, for example. In Europe, hypermiling is known as eco-driving, and its practitioners are “equally concerned with the decrease in emissions that can be achieved by greater fuel efficiency,” wrote Donnely.
Eco-driving uses “some basic principles of defensive driving,” such as “leaving a greater following distance between your car and any vehicle in front of you” and observing “things happening up to 15 to
“Hyper” indicates extremity, and some hypermilers do almost anything to save gas while driving, such as choosing a route that is sheltered from the wind and not parallel parking if an alternative is available.
But there’s another “sure-fire way to save fuel,” said MotorWeek’s Davis. “Commit to driving less often: Carpool to work or school, and consider walking or biking for short trips.”
Those are a lot easier than pushing your car.
You can find more, sensible tips for economizing on fuel online at www.fueleconomy.gov/.
By Steve Dunham
This column appeared in the Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance–Star on
“Keep your speed at
Speeding hurts the environment too, he wrote: “Speeding can cause a vehicle to operate for long periods putting out high degrees of smog.”
“Speeds above
To judge by the comments of Roadshow readers in San Jose, obeying the speed limit once a month isn’t very hard, and they find it worthwhile.
“Wow, ‘Drive The Speed Limit Day’ was surprisingly easy, with fewer people tailgating me than when I go
Maybe people are nicer in California. I’ve found that in the Fredericksburg area and almost everywhere north of here, if you obey the speed limit you will be hollered at, honked at, cursed at and crowded. I obey the speed limit anyway, and stop signs, red lights and school zones too. I’ve seen speeding havoc happen in front of my eyes, including a car spinning—yes, rotating—out of control and a car smashing through the gates of a railroad crossing. I’ve seen the results of crashes and heard many more stories from a buddy who has decades of experience with a rescue squad. I’ve also seen what speeders do to pedestrians and bicyclists, especially children: speeding robs them of safety and peace when not robbing them of life and limb. I’ve decided not to be part of that, and I’ve concluded that I don’t have a right to exempt myself from the law.
Drive the Speed Limit Day? For me and some other people, it’s every day. It saves gas, it promotes safety, it pollutes less, and it gives some respect to people who are walking or bicycling and really sparing the environment and consuming less gas.
The next Drive the Speed Limit Day in California is
“This isn’t just about gas,” wrote Silveira. “It’s about treating strangers with some consideration as you share the road.”
By Steve Dunham
This column appeared in slightly different form in the Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance–Star on
What you can’t see can still hurt you. As we approach the shortest days of the year, those of us who drive are spending more of our driving time in the dark. It’s easy to forget that you can’t see all the hazards you might encounter.
I heard one driver say that he ignores the same stop sign every morning because he can see whether there’s anything coming. (He said he finally got ticketed.) The fact is that in the dark, you cannot see everything you might have to stop for.
Number one on the list of things that might hurt you is other cars. In the last week of November I counted five cars traveling at night without headlights. I don’t usually count them, but when I’d seen three by Tuesday I realized I was encountering more than usual.
When you approach an intersection at night, if a car is coming the other way without headlights, you probably won’t be able to see it until you’ve stopped and looked both ways. I always look both ways because another thing I see often enough is vehicles going the wrong way on a one-way street or driving on the wrong side of a highway. Even if you have the right of way and the other driver has a stop sign or red light, don’t assume you can see all the cross traffic: a vehicle might be approaching without lights. Don’t assume it will stop, either. An awful lot of drivers in this area are in too big a hurry to obey stop signs or red lights.
The other hazard you can’t see is pedestrians. At this time of year, I not only do more driving in the dark, I do even more walking in the dark. I assure you that even at
Worse, sometimes we can’t see the traffic lights. Where Lafayette Boulevard crosses Princess Anne and Caroline Streets, the traffic lights point only in the direction of approaching traffic. Pedestrians walking the other direction never get a green light. In fact, the lights change only for motor vehicles. So we have a dilemma even walking in the same direction as the traffic: cross when there’s no traffic coming or only when there’s traffic present to trigger the traffic light. Give a thought to us as you approach.
And if you’re going to suddenly turn and cross the sidewalk to enter a driveway, we don’t know that unless you use your turn signal. Just because you don’t see us, don’t assume we’re not there.
On William Street at Sunken Road there’s a flashing yellow light at the pedestrian crossing. It’s next to the university, and even at
There are other places where pedestrians are an afterthought or not thought of at all, but people on foot still need to cross the road. Four-Mile Fork and the shopping center at College Avenue and Jefferson Davis Highway come to mind. Remember that pedestrians may get a walk sign lasting only a few seconds (if there’s a walk signal at all) and even then may have to share the intersection with turning traffic. I don’t deny that some pedestrians behave recklessly, but when driving, we have the greater responsibility for others’ safety, especially in the dark.
Remember, what you can’t see can hurt you—and can hurt somebody else too. As the December holidays approach, don’t just spread a little cheer. Spread a little safety.
By Steve Dunham
This column appeared in the Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance–Star on
Driving down the Interstate with a police escort made traveling a piece of cake—at least for a while. I was driving the second car in a funeral procession in New Jersey; there was a hearse up front, a police car in the rear, and five or six cars in between. We all had headlights and flashing lights turned on. From the church to the military cemetery was about a hundred miles.
At first, all the other drivers yielded to us, even though we crept up the main street while some cars were still bouncing over speed bumps in the church parking lot. We got onto the Interstate and stayed in the right lane, doing somewhat less than the speed limit as the hearse followed a dump truck in the right lane. I noticed a few cars and even a semi-trailer stop on entrance ramps to let the funeral procession go by.
Before long, though, we started to encounter drivers in a hurry who just cut into the procession. At one point, I remarked to my wife, “That’s the third one.” But soon there were too many to count, and there were so many cars and trucks blithely cutting through the procession that I couldn’t see the hearse up ahead, the police car to the rear, or any of the other cars in the procession. The police officers in the car bringing up the rear tried to help herd us back together, and when we fell behind, they made room for us and waved us around.
On the New Jersey Turnpike, we managed to regroup, and we headed down the highway at
Suddenly the procession shifted to the right lane and entered a rest area. I and another driver were separated from the rest by a big truck and couldn’t make the exit ramp.
Before the trip, I’d asked for directions to the cemetery in case some extreme circumstances such as a flat tire separated us from the procession, but by now I had learned that there are
With nowhere to go but the next exit, we two lost sheep headed toward the cemetery and arrived long before everyone else. When the police arrived, I thanked them for the escort.
“Any time,” said the sergeant.
Ever the smart aleck, I asked, “How about tomorrow on my way to work?”
I knew that it wouldn’t do much good anyway, seeing how much respect the funeral procession had gotten.
“We wanted to give you two cars,” the sergeant said, but he didn’t have two that were in condition for a
Wisecracks aside, I’m sure this lack of respect for funerals isn’t peculiar to New Jersey. All over the Fredericksburg area, I see drivers who won’t stop for red lights, stop signs, fire trucks, or ambulances. I can imagine how politely they yield to funerals.
If, while driving, you encounter a funeral procession, remember that the drivers in it may not be familiar with the way to their destination and may well be distracted by grief. Be courteous and compassionate and give them the right of way.
By Steve Dunham
This column appeared in the Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance–Star on
“Beware Aggressive Drivers,” read the black-and-yellow sign. We were heading north on
Route 15 changed to four lanes of honking, hustling, tailgating traffic racing from one red light to the next as cars entered and exited the restaurants, stores and motels on both sides of the highway. In fact, it was a lot like Fredericksburg except with warning signs.
Although I’ve seen a lot of Pennsylvania, these warning signs were new to me. I don’t know whether they help, but it was interesting to see aggressive driving formally acknowledged as a hazard. Near York, Pa., on
Curiously, I did see an instance where a traffic law was obeyed. (The fact that it seemed unusual says a lot about how chaotic the roads have become.) Where
Besides different warning signs, another thing I noticed on my interstate trip was that the roads in Maryland and Pennsylvania seemed much less congested except around Baltimore and Washington. In Virginia,
Not everything in Maryland and Pennsylvania was well maintained, however. On one stretch of
We don’t have signs warning about aggressive drivers, but I guess anybody who drives in this area will discover them pretty quickly.
By Steve Dunham
This column appeared in the Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance–Star on
I passed through three school zones while taking one of my daughters to the doctor earlier this month. Usually the driving portion of my commute doesn’t involve school zones or school buses. I’m halfway to Arlington before the school buses are on the road, and the pupils are doing their homework before I get home.
Those of us who obey speed limits may be in a small minority, but I’d hoped for more company in the school zones with the yellow lights flashing and school buses arriving at the schools. Yet as soon as I slowed to 25 miles per hour for the first school zone, a speed demon was tailgating me no more than ten feet behind my car. “Where is this guy going in such a hurry?” I wondered. The answer: to school. There were two children in the back seat of his car, and he turned into the school driveway. “What kind of person would hassle other people for obeying a speed limit outside the very school his own children attend?” I wondered next. I can only guess at his thoughts and motivation, but I would bet big money that caring about other people isn’t one of them.
When I got to the next school zone and once again slowed to 25, I instantly picked up another tailgater. I pointed to the yellow flashing lights, and she sped around me, waving. Her van had a “Kids First” license plate. Probably a misspelling—it should have said, “Kids Last.” Cheerfully speeding in a school zone turns “Kids First” into a sick joke.
In the third school zone, I wasn’t hassled for obeying the speed limit, but I seemed to be the only one going as slow as 25. At 25 miles per hour, it will take you
The school bus drivers turning in an out of the school driveway must deal with speeding traffic.
Any children trying to cross the road to school have less time to cross safely.
The environment around the schools is a little more lawless—hardly what kids need.
School children learn how little their lives are worth to you.
If their safety isn’t worth
I realize that the police and sheriffs are busy. The Fredericksburg area isn’t Mayberry. We have murders, drug deals and dogs mauling people. There may be more school zones than there are officers on duty at any given time. And maybe no child has been hurt or killed in a school zone lately.
Let’s not wait for that. The pain felt by the child’s family and friends won’t be over in
Let’s make sure our priorities are in order. Let’s really put kids first.
By Steve Dunham
This column appeared in the Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance–Star on
Why do some teenagers speed? Wrecks and deaths have torn at the social fabric of the Fredericksburg area in the past few years, and a lot of people have addressed the question with more questions and some answers: Don’t teens realize that speeding kills? Yes, but they think it won’t happen to them. Don’t they know to slow down and exercise caution when road conditions are poor? Yes, but they are inexperienced at handling motor vehicles under poor conditions.
I have another answer that partly accounts for speeding teens: they will be punished if they don’t speed. Anyone who obeys the speed limit can be counted on to be hassled for it on virtually every trip. The punishment for obeying the speed limit is vastly more certain than for disobeying.
Those of you who obey traffic laws know what I’m talking about. If you drive
To obey traffic laws in the face of this, you must be stubborn, serenely virtuous, or oblivious. I’m stubborn.
To disobey the traffic laws, all you have to do is go with the flow. It appears that you can travel at any speed you like for long periods—maybe months—and not be punished by anyone or reap the consequences of your behavior, until the night you straddle the yellow line on a curve and find a car coming the other way, or crest a hill and find stopped traffic on the other side, or find an animal or child entering the street when you don’t have time to stop.
One day years ago I was driving on a winding suburban road with a speed limit of 25, and I was hanging onto the speed limit. I came around a curve and found a dog lazily walking in the road. If I’d been going 26, the dog probably would have died—and it could have been a child I’d encountered, not a dog, though it would have been bad enough to kill someone’s pet to save a minute or two of traveling.
I learned a lot about driving from a friend who has been a rescue squad member for decades. His driving is almost always defensive, cautious and legal. He doesn’t risk his life or anyone else’s to save time. I decided that his was the kind of driving I wanted to imitate.
If we want teens to drive safely, then we need to teach them that we should obey the traffic laws even if they can be broken without punishment most of the time. We also need to show them that this is a choice not only about how fast we go or how cautious we want to be; it is about what kind of people we want to be. Do we want to be like the people who are rude and hostile to anyone who interferes with their speeding? Or do we want to be like my friend the ambulance driver who cares enough about other people’s lives and safety to put them first?
We need to teach these things by example. I would not like drivers—teenage or otherwise—to be oblivious, but serenely virtuous would be nice, and when it comes to doing the right thing, I will gladly settle for stubborn.
But we also need to change the driving environment so that teenagers are not punished for obeying the speed limit.
By Steve Dunham
This column originally appeared in the Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance–Star on
Are Virginia drivers getting as bad as their northern neighbors? A couple of road trips to New England in the past year gave me an opportunity for comparison. I drove a few thousand miles in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. A friend from Pennsylvania also took a road trip to New England and sent me some comments. Our impressions are anecdotal, not scientific, but I have lived in Virginia
First, a word about how driving has changed in Virginia since 1991: When I moved here, people seemed more patient, more accommodating. Tailgating, honking, and highbeam-flashing seemed less common, and nearly everyone seemed to let emergency vehicles go by. Also, drivers often yielded to pedestrians. Now, I don’t have to tell you how common aggressive driving is, and the hostility of some drivers extends to pedestrians. I’ve seen drivers actually yelling at pedestrians who were merely crossing the street with a green light, and the drivers who do yield sometimes get honked at by the driver behind them.
Have things really changed? Maybe there was just less traffic, and an awful lot of the new traffic consists of former Northerners, and a lot of those, it seems, are always in a hurry—they don’t have time to be patient and accommodating. Is Virginia’s road culture being overwhelmed by the North?
First, a Pennsylvanian’s perspective on the legendary drivers of Massachusetts. My friend Joe Giachero wrote to me:
In New Jersey, the word yield does not appear to be in the dictionary. Maryland and Delaware were not much of an improvement.
The surprise on my trips was New York, though I did not pass through New York City, which is another story. Driver behavior in New York state was not that bad.
A story in the Seattle Times, however, made me wonder whether a state-by-state comparison is moot. It included rules such as “Follow the car in front of you very closely if traffic is thick, and never let anyone into the space in front of you—this space is sacred” and “Anyone driving slower than you is obviously an idiot. Anyone driving faster than you is clearly insane. Anyone who passes you and then slows down is therefore an insane idiot.” Also, the writer felt that Seattle drivers were clearly superior to California drivers.
But is Virginia any better? My conclusion: maybe, a little. I don’t think that the Northern drivers are much worse. I just think that there are more of them crowded together, and I think that’s the nub of it: how do we drive when things get a little tough?
