As anyone who has driven Maryland roads can attest, there is no more common driving mistake than the failure to slow down in response to the weather. Try driving down Interstate 95 at the speed limit in a cold rain with temperatures around freezing. Notice how many drivers of cars and trucks breeze by you at 75 or 80 mph.
It could take months before the state police investigation of the Myersville crash is complete, but the early indication is that the chain of events began with the driver of a brown minivan losing control of the vehicle on the snow-covered interstate. As of last week, police were still looking for that motorist, who left the scene. Chances are, speed had more than a little to do with that loss of control.
Then there's that matter of the 46 vehicles that got caught up in the chain reaction. How many of those were themselves traveling too fast, tailgating or text-messaging when an emergency arose ahead of them?
Especially disturbing is the involvement of six tractor-trailers. These drivers are supposed to be professionals. But hardly a snowfall goes by here without a report of a "jackknifed tractor-trailer." Maybe I'm naive, but I doubt that safely driven rigs jackknife very often.
What can we do? First, stop blaming weather for crashes and keep an eye out for the real culprit: us. Second, when snow and ice are in the picture, consider getting off the interstates and onto parallel highways where speeds are lower and trucks less numerous. Third, when roads are slick, drive terrified.
Shrink your E-ZPass bill
The Maryland Transportation Authority's $1.50-a-month fee on E-ZPass accounts is now a done deal. So is its $21 charge for new or replacement transponders. It was a sad but necessary step, the agency said. But for many account holders, there may be a way to minimize the impact.
First, the charge is per account, not per transponder. If you now have multiple transponders in the family with separate accounts, you can and should consolidate them in a single account (up to four transponders per nonbusiness account). If you do, keep the account with the newest transponder and turn in the older ones. Replacements are free until the change takes effect July 1, and it makes sense to turn in your five- or six-year-old device now. Transponders have an estimated life span of seven years.
I went to the E-ZPass office the day the fee was adopted and had no problem combining my account with my wife's and getting rid of a transponder that probably would have died in a few months anyway. Savings: $39 in Year One, $108 over the next six.
