Boston driving is so spellbindingly terrible, so inconceivable hostile and inhumane, so…so…so inexcusable, that eventually we are struck by the realization that it cannot be satisfactorily explained on the basis of sheer idiocy alone. There must be something more at work here. A syndrome? A unique regional phenotype? Sunspot activity? Masons?
I made that critical leap driving to work one morning when I began a tally of the driving infractions, violations, discourtesies, and the like I witnessed during the course of a ten minute commute. By the time I pulled into the parking lot I was up to 14…not counting my own transgressions (3), most relative minor although, theoretically, ticketable had a policeman been so inclined which, as we know, they seldom seem to be.
That day was an epiphany that helped transform the frustration of my daily commute into a quest for answers, for understanding, for insight into this phenomenon, rather than ten minutes of muttering, honking, and flipping the bird out the window at egregious driving behavior. Well, maybe not entirely: honking and flipping can still have a palliative affect when used, as they say, in a “conscientiously applied program.”
Drivinglikeass.com is my vehicle for sharing the data, observations, and analysis of this research with others for whom honking and flipping the bird no longer provide the modicum of satisfaction they once did.
I have had two careers in my life: a kindergarten teacher for 5 years and, for the next 25, a technology market researcher and analyst (25 years). DLA is shaped by the two impulses that made me moderately successful in both careers. First, the need to turn everything into a lesson; hence, I try to give every driving topic some historical perspective. Second, the need to find some sort of explanation for everything; my research is accompanied by statistical and/or scientific bases for Boston’s truly appalling driving.
The discipline is uncharted and, not surprisingly, the academic literature is decidedly sketchy. Still, our efforts are blessed by a numbing surfeit of ass-like driving behavior on which to build the science. And the potential for professional contributions to this growing body of knowledge is vast since, when it comes to driving like ass, everyone has a story…and everyone is an expert.