One more thing science now tells us we have no control over: road rage.
The National Institutes of Mental Health says that 16 million Americans suffer from a disorder called intermittent explosive disorder and that there isn’t much we can do about it. The most visible display of this disorder is on the roads, and it seems like all 16 million of those afflicted are either going north on Interstate 95 or south on 270 every morning. The study of almost 10,000 adults was published this month the in Archives of General Psychiatry, a good beach read with a killer centerfold. The authors say that the disorder first appears at around age 14 and that individuals experience an average of 43 episodes during their lifetime, which results in almost $1,400 worth of property damage.
So what does this mean to the rest of us who have never had an uncontrollable urge to throw our cell phones at passing motorists or run somebody into a guardrail? I guess it means we should feel sorry for them.
After all, like so many other things in society today, these poor souls just cannot help themselves. When that guy flips you the bird and slams on his brakes after darting in front of you at highway speed, just smile and wave and feel sorry for the poor guy. After all, his disorder now has a name. Given this new evidence, maybe the next time we dial #77 to report this threatening behavior to the state police, the call will be directed to the nearest mental health clinic instead. Anybody want to start a pool on how long it takes some lawyer to use “intermittent explosive disorder” as an excuse in traffic court? The over/under is one week.
Sign is becoming more clear — sort of
I’ve been complaining for years about the unclear signs from the 14th Street Bridge to the ramps for the George Washington Parkway, and I’m glad to see that something has finally been done about it — almost. You see, the signs only ever said where the exits were and never gave the name of the road. Instead of “Northbound GW Parkway” from the northbound side of I-395, the sign only said “Memorial Bridge.” You had to be a local to know where you were going. The signs from the outbound side of the bridge were even more vague and unhelpful.
A little while ago, somebody in Virginia got the idea to add brown signs on top of those green signs which actually name of the parkway and the direction. It makes it so much easier to give people directions. The only problem now is that the sign from the outbound bridge to the northbound GW Parkway still only refers to Arlington Cemetery and not to the parkway or even to Rosslyn, which is a much morelikely destination.
While I’m at it, does the bridge off I-295 in the District that heads to the Southeast/Southwest Freeway I-395 have a name? Most of us call it the 11th Street Bridge, but for no good reason. There are no signs that indicate the name and 11th Street is the least likely destination of most drivers who use it.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
