WHAT'S YOUR BEEF???
Let this be a place where your local mmiworld webmaster vents his frustrations for the whole world to see.  Believe it or not, the whole world does read this page.  I received an email from a fellow in Addis Ababa, (that's in Ethiopia) who said that traffic there was 20 times worse than in Seattle.  OK, so I don't have it that bad.  Well, here's my beef anyway...

Seattle Traffic!

You've heard the song, 'from Altantic to Pacific, gee the traffic is terrific'.   Unfortunately, the traffic is not terrific.  Especially not in Seattle, Washington.  Understanding the intended sarcasm of that song, no city has worse drivers than those in Seattle.  Before you disagree, listen to these facts. 

THE SEATTLE DRIVING DISEASE--There seems to be a sort of dRiViNg dIsEaSe that happens to folks living in the Pacific Northwest.  They just drive awful.  The worst stretch being on interstate 5 from the downtown area north to Everett.  Never will one experience the joys of 6 lanes of traffic all moving at the same speed as one will in Seattle, Washington.  You'll get behind 6 stupid drivers who have no clue as to why the traffic problems exist.  They are thinking to themselves, "gosh there are alot of cars on this freeway, I better get in a lane and keep at least 100 yards of open space in front of me".  They continue mindlessly, "why does this guy behind me follow so closely?  Why is he flashing his lights and honking at me?  I'm all the way over here in this far left lane not bothering anyone.  What could be the problem"?  And then they wonder why it takes them so long to get home.  At this point, many of you are thinking, yeah so what?  That's because YOU ARE A SEATTLE DRIVER!  You have no idea that in every other corner of this nation, signs read "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT"!  You don't realize that you would get home much quicker and safer if you keep right except to pass.  Yes, safer.  It is much safer for cars to pass you on the left than on the right.  GET OUT OF THE FAST LANE!  Since you don't or won't, you, me and the entire city must travel at the speed of the 6 slowest drivers in the city at any given moment on any specific stretch of road. 

THE NATION'S BEST DRIVERS--There are cities who have the best drivers and they are in order, #1 HOUSTON, TEXAS!  These guys know how to drive.   The city stretches countless miles of flat territory with typical commutes averaging 45 miles or 40 minutes.  Yes, they can drive 45 miles in 40 minutes.   Why?  Slower traffic keeps right except to pass!  In fact, Houston drivers will come up behind another driver, they will turn on their left blinker, move into the left lane, speed up to the flow of the traffic in that lane, then return back to their lane once they have overcome the other driver.  It is a simple, working solution to ridiculous traffic conditions in Seattle.  Second to Houston is LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA and the third place award goes to ATLANTA, GEORGIA for the same reasons as Houston.

YOUR FEEDBACK ON THIS MONTH'S BEEF--In conclusion, we will be posting your opinion to this article.  We especially would like to get an opinion from a Washington State Police officer or King County Or Seattle Police officer if you know what is being done, if anything, to improve the driving habits of this city's bad drivers.  Of course, all other expert and non-expert opinions are welcome.  We also will take your beefs as well if you would like to suggest a beef for next month.   Simply EMAIL your response with the subject "Seattle Traffic" and we will post your response.

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