Robert Halter, 61, a software security engineer who commutes 40 minutes from Severn to Falls Church, claimed that a vehicle's license plate offers clues as to what kind of misbehavior to expect from its driver.
"If you see an 'MD' on the plate, you know that person is 'Mentally Deficient.' If you see a D.C. plate, you know that person has "Diminished Capacity,' " Halter said. And with vehicles with VA,' "you know you're dealing with a driver that is a 'Vacuous . . .' -- I'll let you guess the rest."
Support for Metro
The subway rates high with residents in terms of comfort, reliability and value, although frequent riders are somewhat less enthusiastic. Despite Metro's charms, only 1 in 10 commuters said they usually take the subway to work.
Metro remains a fallback option, at best, for most commuters, who complain that it is inconvenient to their home or workplace. Nearly half of all non-riders acknowledge that they prefer to drive to work, one of the biggest reasons only 1 in 4 area commuters rides any form of public transportation or carpools to work.
Instead, they have found other ways to deal with their commutes. Nearly everyone listens to the radio, tapes or CDs. Fully half of all area commuters -- 52 percent -- acknowledge talking on the phone while driving in stop-and-go traffic, compared with 40 percent of all drivers nationally. Nearly half acknowledge that they eat while driving.
John Miller, the federal intelligence agency recruiter who travels between Springfield and Reston each day, found his blood pressure rising every time he traveled on the Fairfax County Parkway. Then his wife gave him satellite radio. So he listens to sports shows on his daily commute and cheerfully ignores the speeders, lane-cutters and road-ragers.
"Now it's their problem," Miller said with a laugh. "I turn on XM radio, listen to my shows and pay no attention to what that guy in front of me is doing."
Assistant Polling Director Claudia Deane contributed to this report.
