It’s annoying when drivers don’t pay attention to the road and their surroundings.

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Possibly Related Posts:

• April 4, 2007 -- I Hate Brake Lights: 9 Braking Offenses
• August 16, 2006 -- The Internet, The Ultimate Rubbernecking Tool

If you pick up the June issue of Northern Virginia Magazine you will find me. I’m on page 24 as the Commuter of the Month.

This came about because column writer Jan Linley found my blog post (I Hate Brake Lights: 9 Braking Offenses) and agreed with my rant about brake lights. I talked with her for a while about my commuting habits. At the time, I didn’t know that she would mention my videoblog at all. As a matter of fact, I released the specific video that she mentions, Tow-tally Screwed, after we had already talked earlier this year. When the photographer came out last month, I knew that my videos would be mentioned as I was told to bring my camera. There you have it.

I do wonder though if some of the scores of other photos taken were better than this one. At any rate, I guess I’ll just take my 10 seconds of regional fame.

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It wasn’t too long ago that I was complaining that filling up would cost $50. Now it’s almost $60. It was only a couple years ago that I was paying $45/month for gas. I did have a 12 gallon tank then though.
Mobile post sent by KenyaOA using Utterz. Replies.

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On Sunday, January 6, Metro raised fares on Metrorail and Metrobus service. In addition, rates at the Metro parking lots and garages throughout the system were raised.

Suburbanites, like me seem to be bearing the brunt of the fare increases. While the fares were increased by only a few cents for folks living and working in the District, my total fare is now more than $15 per day to park at the Vienna Metro Station and make a roundtrip to McPherson Square. Incidentally, it cost exactly $15 to get valet parking at my office building in downtown DC.

Here’s the breakdown:

There is a shuttle bus that runs pass where I live that goes to the Vienna Metro station. I could catch this bus but my work schedule is not predictable enough for that bus to work for me. If I leave work too late I will have missed this shuttle all together and have to take a taxi home from the Metro station. I did this twice last week while my car was out of commission.

If I have to get to work at a certain time, I can see why I would want to catch Metro as there is no other way to get downtown from the suburbs by 8 or 9 a.m. on a weekday. But if I don’t, I’m having a hard time justifying it. If I wait a little while, I can drive to work with a lot less traffic for relatively the same price. And I don’t have to endure the overcrowed Metro cars with weird people standing too close or trains that break down on the very instance that I absolutely have to be somewhere.

Of course, the price of gas is a factor that I have not addressed. It undoubtly came into play in Metro’s decision to raise prices. Even with that, however, it would seem that commuters would still look to ways to get to work other than using Metro. (Car pooling seems like a viable option. Maybe I-66 will get SLUG lines like I-95/395.)

At any rate, I’m looking for motivation to use Metro any more than I have to.

Tags: wmata metro raise fares public transportation

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• March 28, 2007 -- Metro Parking Squatters
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• February 12, 2008 -- Voted

I worked a lot later than I expected today. Since I didn’t drive to work or to the metro station, I called a cab. The cab driver repeatedly asked me to spell the name of my street. Watch the video and you can see why he couldn’t hear me. Looks like he was watching an Usher live in concert DVD.Mobile post sent by Kenya OA using Utterz. Replies.

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Click To Play

Rules: 60 seconds max. Fixed camera. No audio. No zoom. No edit. No effects.

Browse other Lumiere’s at videoblogging.info/lumiere

Tags: lumiere lumierevideo metro wmata

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• September 3, 2007 -- Lumiere 5: Potomac River
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Yesterday I had to go to traffic court in Prince William County. I had never been to Manassas, where the court is located, and thought it was a quaint little town. I had planned to post something on my court experience or on how cheap gas was in Manassas in comparison to where I live, but something superseded that. On the way back, I literally ran into some difficulties as you will see in this short video.

Click To Play

This whole ordeal occurred in more than an hour’s time. Obviously, I was too involved in the situation to capture the entire event. Crazy.

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The DC Council is putting together a commission do a feasibility study on charging a toll to enter the city. A lot of DC residents are for it saying that Maryland and Virginia residents get services (i.e. police, roads, etc.) from the DC government for free. They also claim that commuters ruin the roads and should pay for them. DC can’t charge a commuter tax on out-of-state workers, so they keep trying to come up with ways to get money from the commuters. Many say that they are currently doing this with speeding cameras, parking tickets, and the like.

I think a lot of people here are missing the concept of what a toll is. Toll booths would charge drivers entering the city. I doubt there would be any discrimination as to whether it was a MD or VA plate versus a DC plate. All drivers, including DC drivers, entering the city would be charged. To put this into perspective, how many DC residents drive to Tysons, Pentagon City or Bowie Town Center to shop? How many people go out to Target on Route 1 or the new Walmart that’s inside the beltway? What about restaurants in Maryland or Virginia? (Unfortunately DC is not self-contained meaning DC residents depend on MD and VA more than they are willing to admit.) On the way back from these trips, DC drivers would have to pay the toll as well. It would probably end up costing DC residents more in the long run.

Another thing, the tolls to enter “New York” as Marion Barry mentioned are to enter Manhattan not New York City as a whole. So whether you are driving in from New Jersey or from one of the other NYC boroughs you have to pay the toll. In addition, there is no toll exemption if you live in Manhattan. Furthermore, to liken this idea to that of Manhattan is ridiculous as Manhattan has an excellent public transportation system (in terms of getting to different parts of town and that fact that it’s 24 hours). We don’t have that here in DC.

New York also charges a “commuter tax.” I paid it for 2006 for working in NYC for only 8 weeks while being a VA resident. The reason DC can’t charge a tax on MD and VA residents is that they have a reciprocity agreement. If they really want revenue from commuters they should look into changing that. Changing that, though, would probably cause DC residents who work in MD or VA to have to pay commuter taxes there as well.

I would also like to add that I would largely not be affected by this in terms of commuting as I catch the Metro. Where I would be affected would be when I come into the city for entertainment and when I come in to volunteer. I’m not saying that I would cease these activities because of a toll but I’m sure a lot of people would.

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I Brake Lights: 9 Braking Offenses

Note: is a new emoticon that I’m trying out that means “hate” – well, not hate as hate is a strong word. It means “not love” as love is

This is a list of braking offenses that, if there was such a thing as a driving referee and I was one of them, would cause me to throw a flag on the field – err, on the road. This morning on my three-hour drive from Chesapeake, Virginia back to the Northern Virginia area I had plenty of opportunity to ponder this.

While driving on the interstate, any of the following actions constitutes a braking offense:

1. Braking for no particular reason. If you are driving along on the interstate at least 10 car lengths behind the car in front of you, there is no need to put your foot on the brake when the cars in front of you aren’t. You should stop doing whatever you are doing that is distracting you. Put the cell phone/cheeseburger/nachos/MP3 player down. You should have put the right CD in BEFORE you started driving.

2. Responding to tailgaters. If someone is tailgating you, DO NOT tap or slam the brake. Not only is this offensive but you could cause an accident. I realize that some states teach this but this is ridiculous. If you are in the fast lane you should simply move out of the way. That’s the law in Virginia and I think it makes sense. The same goes for someone coming up behind you fast. They see you and know exactly how fast you are going. There is no need to tap the brake. If you are not in the fast lane, it could be that they are trying to pass someone else that didn’t get out of the way and need to gather a bit of speed.

3. Slowing down. If you feel that you are going a few miles over the speed limit and need to slow down, that’s fine. If it isn’t urgent (i.e. cars braking in front of you) you can simply lift your foot from the accelerator and magically your car will slow down.

4. When you see the police. You are going the speed limit or slower and you see a police car on the side of the road, either with someone pulled over or without and you hit the brake. Why? This alone has to cause a great deal of accidents. See number 3 if you feel that you should slow down. Before doing this, however, check your speedometer and see if the slowing down is warranted.

5. Switching lanes. Never never never do this. You’re going to cause an accident. If you’re missing your exit, take the next one.

6. You are tailgating. If you are driving so close behind someone that you need to brake every few seconds, consider going around that person. I know the person should move but there’s no reason for you to cause an accident by tailgating.

7. Stopping. Okay, you’re driving and cars about 15 car lengths in front of you are slowing down or even stopping. Yes, use the brake, but there is no need to slam on it and stop right there. You have room to slow down and stop gracefully. Stopping at speeds of 55 to 65 mph (or higher) could cause a very nasty multi-car collision. Don’t do this.

8. In the acceleration lane. It’s called an acceleration lane. I don’t think that needs any explanation. Maybe it does. When you are entering an interstate or other highway via a ramp, there will most likely be an acceleration lane. It is meant for you to increase speed so you can merge into traffic. Your job on the ramp is to speed up, not to come to a complete stop and hold up all the traffic trying to enter the highway. Some slack is given to Wisconsinites because many roads in America’s Dairyland don’t have acceleration lanes and you actually do have to stop if cars are coming.

Last but not least,

9. When you get to the crest of a hill. I have this theory that I’ve had for more than 10 years. From my observations, it appears that when a driver gets to the crest of a hill on the road and sees all the cars in front of him/her, he/she will brake whether or not the cars ahead are braking. This holds true especially at night or in the morning when taillights are on. I think the driver either mistakes the taillights for brake lights or that they assume that there is a backup because of how many cars they see ahead. I don’t have a suggestion for this other than “don’t do it.” Everyone behind you is scrambling to figure out what’s going on because of your errant braking. Alas there is nothing. I wonder how many millions of dollars would be spent investigating whether this theory has merit. It could be like that one, “poor people don’t eat healthy foods.” Duh.

I hope we can use these tips to make driving an enjoyable experience for everyone. It might also save some money on brake pads and other brake maintenance. It might even save lives.

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Today’s commute was quite amusing. Back in November, the temporary parking lot at Vienna Metro station was closed because condos are going to be built on that property. Parking has been scarce ever since especially on warm days. People have been making their own parking spots where spots don’t exist and some people have been parking in the reserved parking. Lately Metro police officers have been out ticketing those cars especially on Tuesdays. Yesterday they were there ticketing and of course there were no spaces where I could park until 10 when the reserved parking opened up. I couldn’t wait that long so I drove to work. Today when I got there it was about 8 minutes to ten so I parked and stayed in the car. There were lots of others sitting in or standing around their cars as well – all waiting for 10:00. I saw a few people get out of their car and start walking toward the station but they went back to their cars. I’m guessing maybe they saw some officers out there writing tickets but I’m not sure. At 10:00, however, people came from all directions toward the metro station. All these people were essentially “squatting” in spots until the time restriction was over. The flow of people reminded me of the herds of people arriving at an amusement park and walking toward the entrance.

We obviously need more parking at this Metro station. The temporary parking lot that was closed had 680 spaces which were typically filled. Every day Metro is losing parking fees for these 680 spaces. If these people have found another way to work they are losing the fares as well. Perhaps the tickets are a way to make up some of that lost revenue. I don’t know how many with reserved passes park on a given day but it seems mostly empty in the North Garage where the entire third floor is reserved. I imagine that this no parking situation will be a common occurrence for me as I tried to get a reserved pass but wound up pretty far down on the waiting list.

Metro has proposed a new parking garage that would be completed two years from now. In the meantime, we need some alternatives. I haven’t heard of any alternatives but I have suggestions. One idea is to shorten the reserved parking time – open them up at 9:30. Another is to set up temporary parking off-site with shuttle buses. Anything would be a relief.

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