Dear Dr. Gridlock:
I live on Capitol Hill, work downtown and drive to Lewes, Del., most weekends. Therefore, I am a regular driver on Interstate 395-D.C. 295, and Route 50 in the District and Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties.
I routinely observe reckless motorcycle riders on those highways. I never observe that anywhere else in the region. (I regularly drive in Northern Virginia, Delaware and Montgomery County and have not once seen that driving behavior there.)
Almost every weekend I encounter groups of anywhere from two to 10 motorcyclists driving wildly down the highway (usually on Route 50 between the D.C. line and Annapolis), weaving in and out of traffic, usually at speeds well in excess of 100 mph.
I live two blocks north of the Southeast-Southwest Freeway on Sixth Street SE, and I see and hear these maniacs screaming up and down the freeway day and night. It amazes me that more accidents are not caused by these out-of-control drivers.
Has anyone else reported this situation to you? I can't be the only one who has seen this. Of course I never see the police stopping these motorcyclists (they, literally, probably could not catch them).
It would be a service to the driving public if you would publish this letter and request that the police in the District and Maryland make an attempt to target these drivers in their traffic enforcement efforts.
Patrick G. Startt
Washington
Yes, I have received such complaints. The next time you see these kamikaze motorcyclists, dial #77 on your cell phone and report them to the police. Send me the particulars (time, date, direction of travel), and I'll ask law enforcement officers for their thoughts.
Children of the Streets
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
It seems as though schoolchildren do not know what one is supposed to do with a sidewalk. I have noticed for some time that the kids are most likely to be walking in the middle of the street.
I live in New Carrollton and am close to two schools. This morning, when taking my dog to the vet, I encountered as many as 10 kids at a time walking halfway out in the street. I came around a curve and there they were. Had I been traveling at a higher speed, I may have hit one of them.
They look at you as though it is their right to be in the middle of the street, and they just stroll slowly out of the way of the car. As soon as you pass, they spread back into the street. I think it is the responsibility of parents to teach kids safety and not to always blame the motorist.
The police should try patrolling the neighborhoods as kids go to school and give them tickets for walking in the street.
Zona Blizzard
New Carrollton
Tips on Tailgaters
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
