What’s Wrong With This Picture?… by Reese

Afront-pagestoryinourlocalpaperquotedaveryrecentstoryinthe

WashingtonPostnewspaperregardingajust-completedsurvey pertaining

totheWashingtonD.C. areainterstatehighwaysystem(includes

surroundingpartsofVirginia/Maryland).
ItindicatesWashington D.C presentlyhastheworsttraffic-jamsofany

majorcityinthiscountry.Thatright,D.C.hastrafficnightmaresthatat
presentexceedthelegendarytrafficwoesofNewYorkCity,Atlanta,

LosAngeles,andDenver.
WhilegivingduementiontotrafficproblemsonI-495 (the beltway around Washington),andacoupleofinterstatefeeder-highwaysinVirginia

andMaryland,thearticlezeroedinonI-95,fromitsintersectionwith

I-495,toapointsouthnearFredericksburg,Va.
Thestoryquotedmedianwait/losttimefortheaveragedriverusingthat

roadeachday-comingandgoingtowork.

Theyquotedthecostofwastedgasolineforthosestalledvehicles
andwhentotaledranintomillionsofdollars. While it’s hardtoputdollarfiguresonit,addupthetimethedriversarestuckin

trafficjams,forsay,10-15-20years.Youcouldbetalkingabouttwoyears

ofaperson’slifeLOST-sittingstuckinthatjam-lookingatthedirty

bumperofthecarinfrontofit-breathingairheavywithresiduefrom

autoexhausts,deniedtimewiththeirfamily,etc.
Let’slookintothecostfromanotherangle; thepsychologicalcostto

humans.
Inthe1980sintothe90s,IwastheClaimsDivisionManagerofamajor

insurancecompanyforany/allclaimsinMaryland,Delaware,

DistrictofColumbia,andsomeofNorthernVirginia.IamnotexaggeratingwhenIsaythatseldomaweekpassedthatwedidn’tgetmedpay
claimsfrompolicyholderswhowerepunched/assaultedbyiratemotorists

whofeltourpolicyholder(s)‘cutthemoff’or‘cutinfrontofthem’ina

lineoftraffic.

Thesephysicalattacksusuallyresultedininjuriesthatrequiredmedical

attention-andwe,theirautoinsurancecarrier,wouldberesponsiblefor

payingtheirmedicalbills.
Ohyes,billslikethatAREcoveredbyautomedpayinsurance.
Driversstuckinthedailytrafficjams-bothinthemorningsandevenings-fivedaysaweek-relegatedtoliterallyinchingalongtheroadto/fromwork-causesresentment,anger,andhostilitytobuildinthem.
Whensomeonecutsthemofforducksinfrontofthemdelayingtheirarrivalevenmore-itpushestheirangertothebreakingpoint.
Manytimes,the‘offended’drivergets outoftheircar-runstothenear-by
carofthe‘offender’,jerksopentheirdoor and punchesthemintheface-maybeeven dragsthemoutofthecarandbeatthem.

Ifthe‘offendingdriver’has theirdoorslocked-deniesthefuriousdriver

fromphysicallybeatingthem, then ‘angrydriver’willoftentakea

tireÂiron,ÂbaseballÂbat,ÂorÂanyÂotherÂhandyÂobjectÂandÂbeatÂtheÂdoors,Âfenders, hoodÂandÂroofÂofÂthe‘offendingÂdriver’sÂcarÂtoÂtheÂtuneÂofÂ$5000Â

inrepaircosts.

Conversely, theymayjustbreakoutthecarwindow-reachinsidethecar-andgivethe‘offendingdriver’apunchintheface-whilecallingthemevery

foulÂnameÂinÂtheÂbookÂ(andÂsomeÂnotÂin theÂbook).Â
IÂonceÂsawÂaÂclaimÂinvolvingÂaÂcityÂbusÂdriverÂinÂWashingtonÂD.C.ÂandÂoneÂof ourÂinsuredÂdrivers.ÂTheÂbusÂdriver-cutÂoff,ÂheÂclaimed-ÂgotÂoutÂofÂhisÂbus,Â

marcheduptoourinsured’scar,climbedonthehood andjumpedup

anddownuntilitwastotallydestroyed-andafterthatmarched

backtohisbus.
Theinsuredthengotoutofhiscar,walkedbacktogivethebusdrivera

beating.Thebusdrivershutthebusdoor,denyingourinsuredthe

satisfactionofgivinghima‘horsewhipping’.Our insuredthenusedhis

brutestrengthtopullapartthebusdoors(3-4inches),andthatcaused

thebus’brakestocomeon-andstayon.Nowthebuscouldn’tmove-the

passengerscouldn’tget off-andour insureddroveoff-leavingthebusdriver

tocallthebusgarageforemergencyroadservice-andanotherbustotake

thepassengerstotheirdestinations.
WashingtonD.Chastrafficsituationslikethisdayafterday,afterday.
Ittakesamentaltollonotherwisesane,civil,people.
NowturnthepageofthenewspaperandreadthestoryofAmazon.com’s

intentiontobuildabrand-neweastcoastdistributioncenter.

OneoftheirqualificationsforanyprospectivecitywishingtohaveAmazonbuildtheirstoreis theymustbeacityofatleast ONE MILLIONpeople.
Whatiswrongwiththispicture?
CitieswithpopulationsofonemillionpeoplelikeWashingtonD.C.,AtlantaandNewYorkalreadyhave:
(1)trafficproblems
(2)overcrowdedschools
(3)realestatepricessohighyouarelefttowonderifpeopletheremeasured

thecostofhomesnotincost-per-square-foot,butinper-square-inch(forevenmodesthomesonpostagestamplots).
WhatisAmazongoingtosaytotheemployeestheywanttomovetotheir

neweastcoastoperation?Huh?Howabout,“Hey-we’llraiseyoursalary-youcanputyourkidinaprivateschool;youcanliveinacondo-whowants tomowgrassanyway;don’tgetshakyaboutthetrafficproblems-usethesubway,carsareapain.”
Attheriskofsoundingfacetious,Ithinkitistimeforlegislationthatforbidscrowdedcitiestoaddevenoneadditionalsouluntilallunder-populatedtownshavereachedtheiroptimum level.