Today I almost yelled at a man. He was driving a late model VW; black, clean, and with Maryland tags. There was a lone bicycle attached to the top and room for one more on the rack. He was alone in the car and looked like he knew where he was going.Problem was he was screaming down this little side street. I guess he had just emerged from the Park and was cutting through the hood. Or perhaps he lives here, I have no idea. Had to be traveling, 35, 40 mph. Doesn't sound too bad, but it looks a lot faster and feels more dangerous up close. Plus he stopped right in the middle of the crosswalk as I was making my way across. I try, I really do. I try to not let these sort of small things bother me, but today I just got a little annoyed at (allegedly) another Marylander who uses our neighborhood as a quick cut through and doesn't look out for pedestrians. That's not to say that drivers from the neighborhood don't speed through the side streets, they do on occasion. But the idea of someone from MD doing it seems worse...? Work with me here people.
I didn't yell, but I secretly wished that we were in Virginia AND there was a law enforcement member about AND the driver was traveling at least 20mph over the limit. At least then there would have been a chance for the guy to get one of the new 1050$ traffic tickets that the Old Dominion has started issuing. That's right, over ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. My parents told me about the new "system" a month ago, but I've just started to see the media reports. The NY Times does a good job at explaining the nonsense so I won't go over it all. Suffice to say that if you are ticketed for driving at least 20 mph over the posted speed limit, you'll pay ONE THOUSAND AND FIFTY DOLLARS as a penalty. There are numerous other traffic offenses that will land you in debtor's prison as well. Or just in debt. Oh yeah, and the penalties only apply to Virginians! Alas, the Marylander would have been exempt from the high price of speeding had we been in the Ole' D. I guess that's a good thing. Would have ruined the poor fellow's day. And I would have felt double-bad for yelling.
