The Herald ran an article today reporting that according to a study by the insurance agency GMAC (which is totally going to be Bostonist's new rap name), Massachusetts drivers rank second worst among the contiguous 48 states and D.C. in knowledge of traffic laws, while Oregon's are at the top (Rhode Island is at the bottom). However, Mass. has the lowest rate of fatal traffic accidents. The Herald, citing an unnamed state highway official, says the low death rate is a result of good emergency services and signage, but Bostonist has another idea: Following traffic laws too closely, to the exclusion of common sense, can be hazardous to your health.
As it happens, (this) Bostonist lived in Portland, Oregon, for four long years, and we can confirm that people in the Beaver State are punctilious in following the rules of the road. Drivers stop for yellow lights, pedestrians wait at the kerb for a walk sign even when no car is in sight, and good manners and patience generally prevail. All of which is almost too annoying for words. Traffic is a dynamic situation requiring quick wits and an intuitive understanding of what rules are worth upholding strictly. It is to the credit of Mass. drivers that when there is an obstruction in half of one lane, they know to swing slightly around it and trust that cars in neighboring lanes will swing to one side as well. Oregon drivers would line up behind the blockage and wait wait wait, signals blinking, while people in the neighboring lane cruised by obliviously. On the highways, Oregonians assume that since the speed limit is the fastest that anyone would ever go, it's OK to be in the left lane while driving the limit. Must we explain how wrong that is? And the pedestrians - dear god! Grown people waiting patiently on the corner for a light to tell them it's safe to cross an empty street, a painful sight. They were so dependent on Don't Walk signs that when one wasn't working, they were practically paralyzed with fear at the prospect of jaywalking. Not that they should have been - the drivers would routinely come to a screeching halt upon seeing a pedestrian set a single foot onto the street in anticipation of crossing.
Maybe the secret to the way we Mass. drivers cheat death is that our indifference to the law has made us more adaptable, able to recognize a cliff before we drive over it, while Oregonians simply see a green light and go, lemming-like, to whatever horrible fate the road holds. Also, while we're cracking on Oregon and talking about driving, they're not even allowed to pump their own gas.
Photo: The most boring game ever.
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