Today’s column is about behavior that either pleases or annoys travelers. I’m afraid there’s a lot more of the latter. Some of the behavior — both positive and negative — is a mystery to me, and I invite you to write in with your own explanations.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
This irritates me, and I want a reality check. At least once or twice a week I am behind a car at the Metro Kiss and Ride, dropping off my wife. The driver of the car in front of me gets out and walks to the station while the passenger gets out, walks around the car, gets back in and drives away. Please give me a reasonable explanation!
Bill Evans
Manassas
DG: It does seem inefficient. My gripes from the Kiss and Ride corral: A long goodbye in the lane of the Kiss and Ride, rather than in one of the parking spots, and a driver who idles for 10 minutes or more, awaiting the arrival of a Metro rider on the way home. Readers’ top gripe: Metro employees using the spaces for long-term parking.
I haven’t seen the interesting handoff that Evans describes and can only speculate that the Metro rider doesn’t like the other person’s driving. But if I’m right about that, the control freak from the car is about to board a train operated by a complete stranger.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
During a recent week spent in California, I noticed a definite difference in how drivers and pedestrians behave, compared with their actions in the District, so I spent the rest of the week paying closer attention to their behavior.
Overall, California drivers and pedestrians are more courteous to each other. Pedestrians are much less likely to enter a crosswalk just as the light is changing, impeding cars, or cross against the light when cars are approaching. Drivers are better at stopping for pedestrians entering a crosswalk, even when the pedestrian is standing on the curb.
Drivers also seem to be more courteous in facilitating merging traffic from on-ramps, or drivers changing lanes, even if they have to slow down a bit to do so. In contrast, D.C. drivers seem to be more concerned about not having one more car in front of them.
Might this difference simply reflect the contrast between laid- back California and hyper-competitive Washington?
Most interesting of all, I noticed a scarcity of “no right turn on red” signs. So I spent the balance of my week, with lots of driving through the city streets of Santa Barbara (including the pedestrian-heavy downtown) and surrounding area, looking for one. I failed to find one. Drivers are simply expected to look out for other cars and pedestrians, and it works. There are also many fewer four-way stop signs! It all leads to more efficient travel, saving both time and gas.
Donald E. Polk
The District
DG: I often invite readers to send along their reviews of other transportation systems. Many have returned with wondrous reports about a land of enchantment for travelers on the far coast. On trips to Northern California, I also have been unnerved by the civility of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. The drivers there frequently defy my sense of the car culture of California by yielding not only to other drivers but also to other types of travelers seeking to use the streets.
It has reinforced my belief in reinforcement: If travelers see other travelers behaving a certain way, they start thinking it might be the right thing to do.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
Every morning on the Orange Line from Vienna to downtown Washington, I see scores of commuters getting on the Metro with cups of beverages. I’ve also seen many people — especially at night – - get on the train with a bag of fries and a burger and just start eating. No effort is ever made to conceal the food or beverages.
Clearly, riders have discovered there’s no penalty for breaking the law that states “No eating or drinking” on Metro.
On at least three occasions, I’ve asked Metro police who were on the platform or train why they weren’t giving out tickets for these food or beverage infractions, and the responses I got ranged from “I’m too busy” (he was riding a train) to “I’m watching for terrorists.”
Now I know some people think our Metro police should be “watching for terrorists,” but I’m not sure that should exclude them from issuing tickets to riders breaking the law.
When I’ve very politely told riders they shouldn’t be bringing their beverages on the train, I get everything from a blank stare to “Mind your own business.”
Well, it is my business when these beverages spill and trash the Metro cars. Or French fries get ground into the carpet. It costs Metro money to clean the cars, and I’d rather see that money going to buy more rail cars or run eight-car trains.
I’m old enough to remember when Fawn Hall, Lt. Col. Oliver North’s secretary, got a ticket for eating a banana on the Metro platform. It made national news. [She got a $10 ticket in 1987.] So why have Metro police abandoned enforcing the rules against eating or drinking in the trains?
Metro could have a two-week crackdown, and riders would get the message.
Carol L. Burnett
Arlington County
DG: Riders often protest the misbehavior of their fellow passengers. The same day I received Burnett’s letter, I got a note from a Blue Line rider complaining about two people leisurely drinking their morning coffees and members of a family downing their breakfast.
I had occasion to ask Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn about police policy. He said officers issue citations to violators, but their first choice is to remind the rider about the rules and get the person to stop consuming.
