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   Ok, this may not be the forum for this, but I'm at a loss as to what to do and need to get it off my chest.  There are certain parts of the city (and even on 95/395) that people cut off traffic WAY too much.  Be it driving up the shoulder to get ahead, or cutting in at the last minute to get through a traffic light.  Some of the worst places are:

	-Northbound 95 between Dale Blvd. and PW Parkway.  The exits to Dale Blvd. are often abused by people trying to cut past traffic and use the exit lanes to get ahead.  And MANY times causing traffic jams which prevent us HOVers from being able to get to the HOV ramp.

	-The traffic light at Canal Road and Whitehurst Freeway by the Exxon station (I think those are the street names).   When coming down Foxhall Rd. onto Canal Rd, anyone who has gone down that road a few times KNOWS that the left lane is for thru traffic ONLY.  Right lane is to turn right.  I can't count how many times I've watched cars speed up the right lane, and cut off cars to get through the light (I've almost been hit a dozen times at least).  And people let them in!  When I get up to that light, I refuse to let anyone over who tries that.  The wait at that light is long enough.  WAIT YOUR TURN LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!!!

	People that do stuff like this are probably the same people that cut in the lunch line at school.  Somehow they think they are more important than the rest of us and they have a right to be a total a$$ and cut everyone off.  Isn't this behavior illegal?  And why don't the police setup occasional traps to catch people that do that?  Is there anyone that we can complain to about these locations and the dozens of other places where this is common?  I really lose faith in the "goodness of people" everytime I see this.  Then usually when I arrive to pick up my slugs (Rosslyn in the evenings especially), I'm so angry that I can hardly contain myself.  There must be something that can be done to prevent stuff like this.  

	With the Canal Road light, all it would take is an extension of the curb to close that gap that cars try to squeeze through.  I can't imagine that taking much work (or money) to do, and it would prevent a lot of headaches for us trying to be courteous.

	"If tricycles came with guns, we'd all be safe."  Project 86 - "Little Green Men"

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jjmahoney Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 07 Mar 2003 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote jjmahoney Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Who to contact regarding... Posted: 29 Oct 2003 at 2:03pm
	Ok, this may not be the forum for this, but I'm at a loss as to what to do and need to get it off my chest. There are certain parts of the city (and even on 95/395) that people cut off traffic WAY too much. Be it driving up the shoulder to get ahead, or cutting in at the last minute to get through a traffic light. Some of the worst places are: -Northbound 95 between Dale Blvd. and PW Parkway. The exits to Dale Blvd. are often abused by people trying to cut past traffic and use the exit lanes to get ahead. And MANY times causing traffic jams which prevent us HOVers from being able to get to the HOV ramp. -The traffic light at Canal Road and Whitehurst Freeway by the Exxon station (I think those are the street names). When coming down Foxhall Rd. onto Canal Rd, anyone who has gone down that road a few times KNOWS that the left lane is for thru traffic ONLY. Right lane is to turn right. I can't count how many times I've watched cars speed up the right lane, and cut off cars to get through the light (I've almost been hit a dozen times at least). And people let them in! When I get up to that light, I refuse to let anyone over who tries that. The wait at that light is long enough. WAIT YOUR TURN LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!!! People that do stuff like this are probably the same people that cut in the lunch line at school. Somehow they think they are more important than the rest of us and they have a right to be a total a$$ and cut everyone off. Isn't this behavior illegal? And why don't the police setup occasional traps to catch people that do that? Is there anyone that we can complain to about these locations and the dozens of other places where this is common? I really lose faith in the "goodness of people" everytime I see this. Then usually when I arrive to pick up my slugs (Rosslyn in the evenings especially), I'm so angry that I can hardly contain myself. There must be something that can be done to prevent stuff like this. With the Canal Road light, all it would take is an extension of the curb to close that gap that cars try to squeeze through. I can't imagine that taking much work (or money) to do, and it would prevent a lot of headaches for us trying to be courteous. "If tricycles came with guns, we'd all be safe." Project 86 - "Little Green Men"

GeeseAreGood Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote GeeseAreGood Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Oct 2003 at 3:14pm
	Jim, I suggest you get some Geese for your backyeard. You know, just a small flock of Geese to feed and pet and keep around. The presence of Geese helps releave tension and anger. It will help calm you down. Geese Are Good!

mroyal Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote mroyal Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Oct 2003 at 4:41pm
	[ignoring the annoying geese] I agree with you completely. It also happens at the PW parkway exit. You cant even get off the interstate because idiots are "driving through" the exit. Same thing happens on the southbound side. I don't think it is illegal, but it should be. Hard to fix with existing ramps. Kindest Regards, mroyal

wdossel Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 02 Jan 2002 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote wdossel Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Oct 2003 at 7:33pm
	quote: Originally posted by mroyal [br][ignoring the annoying geese] I agree with you completely. It also happens at the PW parkway exit. You cant even get off the interstate because idiots are "driving through" the exit. Same thing happens on the southbound side. I don't think it is illegal, but it should be. Hard to fix with existing ramps. Kindest Regards, mroyal Concur as well -- have you thought about a note to Doc Gridlock at the Post? - Will

MDC Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 04 Dec 2002 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote MDC Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Oct 2003 at 9:39pm
	Another place is where route 1 merges onto 95. It seems that most of the time when there's the slightest backup, more cars cut into the onramp than are on it legitimately. This certainly aggrivates the situation.

mroyal Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote mroyal Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Oct 2003 at 11:03am
	quote: Originally posted by MDC [br]Another place is where route 1 merges onto 95. It seems that most of the time when there's the slightest backup, more cars cut into the onramp than are on it legitimately. This certainly aggrivates the situation. That one could be fixed with jersey barriers. Barriers would also push the merge till the end that so many promote. Kindest Regards, mroyal

jjmahoney Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 07 Mar 2003 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote jjmahoney Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Oct 2003 at 11:26am
	Well good, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I did notice the 95/PW Parkway problem this morning. And some people using the shoulder from Dale Blvd all the way up to PW Parkway, and still not getting off at the exit (trying to get ahead of the traffic). I think traffic would be mildly better at those points if people didn't do that. But I have seen cops sitting up on the shoulder by the PWP exit and ticketing people that use the shoulder to get ahead. They need to have a permanent trap there, or at least treat it like they do HOV with a cop there a few times a week. "If tricycles came with guns, we'd all be safe." Project 86 - "Little Green Men"

LB Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote LB Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Oct 2003 at 12:21pm
	I don't know if this helps, but we were having an everyday problem coming out of the Rt. 17 lot in the evening because people would pull into the intersection when the traffic was backed up and when the light turned green for us, we couldn't get out. It got really bad. Several of the slugs called the police to complain and I notice that periodically a police car will sit back off the road and then pull the offenders off. Although it still happens, it is not nearly as bad. I think the key though is that more than one person should call to complain. quote: Originally posted by jjmahoney [br]Well good, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I did notice the 95/PW Parkway problem this morning. And some people using the shoulder from Dale Blvd all the way up to PW Parkway, and still not getting off at the exit (trying to get ahead of the traffic). I think traffic would be mildly better at those points if people didn't do that. But I have seen cops sitting up on the shoulder by the PWP exit and ticketing people that use the shoulder to get ahead. They need to have a permanent trap there, or at least treat it like they do HOV with a cop there a few times a week. "If tricycles came with guns, we'd all be safe." Project 86 - "Little Green Men"

jjmahoney Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 07 Mar 2003 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote jjmahoney Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Oct 2003 at 1:51pm
	That sounds a lot like what happens in Rosslyn at the light intersecton of Wilson Blvd. right before the turn for the Metro. I've sat at that light MANY times and not moved because the cross traffic has people try and jump out to not get stuck in their red light, but then it screws us because we can't move. "If tricycles came with guns, we'd all be safe." Project 86 - "Little Green Men"

USA Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 06 Jun 2002 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote USA Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Oct 2003 at 1:59pm
	In the mornings, the regular (non-HOV) lanes on I-395 are notorious for all sorts of shenanigans like this. Problem 1 arises when the VA-27 traffic merges onto inbound I-395 in front of the shopping mall. Probably the majority of these drivers do not go down to the end of the merge area and take their turn--instead, they bomb into the thru lanes like kamikazes and cut off anyone and everyone in a mad dash across to the express lane ramp. (Easy solution: close the ramp to the express lanes.) Problem 2 comes with people in the thru lanes who don't want to wait their turn, so they change over to the right into the acceleration lanes for the merging traffic. Most then try to horn back in at the front of the line, or else they try to continue on the shoulder. I always block the shoulder if I see the latter; the former is sometimes harder to tell if they are jumping the queue or if they are legitimate mergers. I don't see any easy solution for this one. Problem 3 then comes directly underneath the US-1 overpass (the ramp heading into Crystal City). The "merge lane jumpers" routinely try to continue on the shoulder and then cut out into the lanes merging on from US-1. This is hugely dangerous--that on-ramp from US-1/Crystal City is a very high-speed ramp. My other pet peeves occur in the Ninth Street Tunnel: (1) The middle lane of the Ninth Street Tunnel is a THRU LANE to the Waterfront, not an EXIT LANE onto I-395 to Virginia. Of course some people like to bomb down the middle lane and then try to cut over at the last minute, even across the striped area. WHY DO PEOPLE LET THEM IN????? I simply cannot understand it. The DC government cannot really put up rubber pylons or a barrier here, because there has to be a way for people to get around if there is a collision, so people need to police this themselves. (2) I stopped going through the Ninth Street Tunnel in part because of frustration with the backups and in part because I could feel my blood pressure rise due to the people described above. I often take the on-ramp from D Street SW (L'Enfant Plaza) instead. When you come down this ramp, there are TWO lanes all the way up to the Maine Avenue split, and beyond that point the left lane is a wide merge point. WHY do some people insist on STOPPING their POXY cars halfway down the ramp in the right lane and INSISTING on merging before the merge point? [:(!][:(!][:(!] Thanks for starting this thread--it's a good chance to vent. As for Dr. Gridlock, I have more or less given up. I sent him a letter once disagreeing with a position he took and I've had NO luck getting anything into his columns again. It seems more and more that he is turning into a pansy who simply toes the line of whatever Post management want to say (speed cameras, etc.).