Dangerous Road

An article in yesterday's Baltimore Sun discusses a portion of MD Rt. 99 less than a half-mile from my house, a stretch of road I travel several times a day, every day. Twenty-two crashes have occurred along this quarter-mile stretch during the last 4 years. As you drive it, you don't perceive it as a dangerous spot. It's a simple 2-lane country highway passing through a residential area. The speed limit is just 40 mph. An s-turn puts your driving ability to some minimal test.

The 20-year-old mentioned in the article who died in the head-on crash a few weeks ago was a friend of my older son, Andrew. Andrew also knew the other driver.

Before Andrew took driver's education, we attended a PTA briefing for new drivers. Presenting were a Howard County traffic cop, the head of a driver's education school, and a representative from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Someone asked them to name the most dangerous driving situation young drivers were most likely to encounter. I figured the answer would be interstate highways or busy intersections. I was wrong. The 3 presenters were unanimous and emphatic in their response. The most dangerous driving situation faced by central Maryland drivers?

Two-lane country highways.
K-