A couple of days ago, a Maryland woman driving her enormous Cadillac Escalade SUV on the shoulder of Route 15 during rush hour traffic at what one witness described as 100 mph hit another car, then swerved into oncoming traffic, smashing into a car driven by Virginian Scott Stegner and his teenage son, killing both of them.
The Maryland woman, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, died too.
So what, you say--it's tragic, but it happens all the time.
It shouldn't. The Maryland driver, age 27, had already managed to amass several drunken-driving and speeding arrests, had been cited for driving on a suspended license, and faced an upcoming trial for "first degree escape."
This is purely anecdotal, but our observation over the years has been that Maryland has some of the worst drivers on the East Coast. You see wildly reckless driving so frequently in Maryland that you wonder if they have any traffic enforcement at all. And, more often than not, when we see someone doing something really stupid in Northern Virginia--like driving 30 mph faster than anyone else or weaving in out like crazy--it's in a car with Maryland tags.
Bad driving exists everywhere--it's certainly not unique to Maryland. But Maryland seems to have developed a culture of really bad driving, combined with poor enforcement efforts, that have contributed to the kind of deadly scenario that occurred on Route 15. That the Maryland woman killed herself while driving like a maniac would be bad enough in and of itself, but for her to take two innocent lives in the process indicts a larger systemic failure.
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4 comments:
I hate Maryland drivers. If you're on I-95, and there's someone driving less than a foot from your tail, it's probably a Maryland driver trying to go 100 down the interstate. If I had to wager a guess as to why Maryland drivers have such a reckless disregard for safety, it might be because traffic offenses out of state don't show up on a Maryland license (or at least that's what I hear).
Drivers from all states are bad, but Maryland drivers on the Geo Washington Parkway are particularly dangerous. Where are the cops on that road anyway?
Quite a sad story...
You all must be from Virginia... enough said!
Just to let those pointing fingers at Maryland, on Tuesday 1/29/08, a Virginia Driver killed a Maryland woman on the same strech of road. The VIRGINIA DRIVER was charged with Negligent Driving and Failure to Control Speed at avoind and Accident. YOu have nothing to stand on accussing all Maryland cittizens of reckless driving, that would be like assuming all Virginians are ingnorant assholes like yourselves. Maybe you should be more concerned about road conditions than where drivers reside.
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