Drivers

The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration failed to monitor drivers convicted of drunken-driving offenses and often allowed them to resume driving before they were supposed to, according to a state audit that found numerous other failings in the agency. The audit by the Department of Legislative Services also found that the MVA issued licenses to drivers who submitted Social Security numbers of dead people; that it waited an average of 115 days to suspend the registrations of vehicles found to be uninsured, suspensions that, by law, must be immediate; and that it failed to pull the driving privileges of some parents found to be late in paying child support, as state law dictates.

A Carroll County woman and a Florida man died yesterday when their cars collided about noon on Route 97 just north of Route 32 in the Westminster area, state police said. The 77-year-old Westminster woman, Maizie Delancey of Rainbow Drive, was southbound in a 1999 Honda Accord when she crossed the center line, striking a northbound 2006 Ford Mustang driven by Ernest Scheuer, 64, of Kissimmee, Fla., according to state police from the Westminster barracks. Both drivers, who were alone in their vehicles, died at the scene, police said.

Chalk up another two lives to Driving While Angry. Last week's fatal accident on Interstate 270, in which two occupants of a Chrysler Sebring convertible were forced into and over a guardrail after exchanging obscene gestures with the driver of a pickup truck, was a particularly grisly example of the consequences of road rage. And a ridiculous reason to die. The crash left Christian M. Luciano, 28, and Lindsay L. Bender, 25, mangled and lifeless on the side of a highway in Frederick County.

Some 20,000 longshoremen, contractors and other people who work at the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore will finally be subjected to more thorough background checks starting in late November under a new, long-delayed federal security program. But procedures won't change at the port overnight. It will be months before the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, or TWIC, cards are issued and required for access to secure areas of port terminals. At least 1 million workers could eventually be required to get and use the ID cards, as the Transportation Security Administration phases in enrollment at the nation's 361 ports through September 2008.

FRESH FEAR is sweeping through the mother 'hood, and the evidence is sitting behind the wheel of the family car.The next generation is getting its driver's licenses, and women who have lived the communal life of the car pool are confusing their offspring by now forbidding them from having anyone else in the car.Everywhere, teens are driving alone.One mother read somewhere (OK, it was me) that the likelihood of a serious auto accident increases exponentially with each additional teen-ager in the car. She told her friends and they told their friends, and the result is a bunch of new drivers who are not permitted to carry passengers.

WHEN listing obvious threats to life and civilization, one may include pit bulls, television, fast-food coffee -- and drivers who run red lights.In the first three instances, remedies are at hand: One can buy a Chesapeake Bay retriever, unplug the TV or stock up on Lavazza.But what of red-light runners? It's out of our hands -- unless we, too, have a tendency to push through yellow toward early shades of red.It is a blessing, then, that surveillance cameras are busting those who believe racing to beat the light is a right and privilege.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Darrell Waltrip is here with a new team and, once more, struggling to find speed. But yesterday, he said he thought NASCAR should do away with the "Champions' provisional" starting spot.It was a strange thing to hear from the three-time Winston Cup champion who used it 20 times in 33 races last season."Well, it became a real source of aggravation to me," he said, shortly after his latest practice in his new Ford. "Quite frankly, I don't know why they don't just start the fastest 43 cars and be done with it."

Forget Y2K anxiety. Marylanders get a drill in community paralysis every time ice or snow hit and drivers skid, stall, crash or drift to a standstill.But motorists who heed safe-driving tips can reduce their chances of an accident, said Maryland State Police Lt. Al Liebno, administrator of the driver training center that state police operate in Sykesville.Consider the dilemma of whether to try to drive uphill on an icy road. It can be done, Liebno said Tuesday during a demonstration of winter driving skills.

THEY SAY A LITTLE knowledge is a dangerous thing, but what they forgot to mention was how annoying it is in the hands of teen-agers who are learning to drive.The carpool has taken on a new atmosphere now that the boys I am hauling around are sporting learner's permits like they were Get Out of Jail Free cards.And I thought they were obnoxious when they ate.All the boys have taken two weeks of driver's education, and what a parade of knowledge I am witness to! If only I could get this much information when I ask, "What did you learn in school today?"

Taxicab riders in Howard County will be paying more for transportation soon if the county government approves a request for a rate increase.Frank Osei-Bonsu, owner of Columbia Cab, the largest operator in the county, is asking for a fare that would match the rates in Montgomery County, which are the highest in the Baltimore-Washington region.Under the requested rates, an average five-mile ride for one person with luggage would cost $2 more than the current $7.60 fare, the cheapest in the region.

Affordable senior complex planned in Randallstown Enterprise Housing Corp. is set to develop 9 acres in Randallstown into a $15.7 million affordable senior housing complex called the Greens at Liberty Road. Construction is expected to begin this month on the site in the 9700 block of Liberty Road, and to be completed in June 2011. The complex will include 105 rental units reserved for qualified residents 62 and older. The state is providing a $2 million tax credit. Baltimore County has agreed to a property tax reduction that amounts to about $150 per unit, and also has promised a $500,000 loan.

To address the seemingly intractable problem of fatalities related to drunken or impaired driving in Maryland, the General Assembly convened a task force to review what some advocates had long complained were inadequate laws. Their 18-month review resulted in more than 40 recommendations addressing public education, law enforcement, treatment initiatives and the law. The legislative proposals were incorporated into Gov. Martin O'Malley's agenda this year, and many were enacted. But advocates such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program say more must be done, and they complain that some key bills this year were watered down.

The city's first speed enforcement cameras have been snapping photos of vehicles going through a busy Northeast Baltimore intersection near City College since Oct. 1, and initial results are in: 50 warnings were mailed out in the first seven days for drivers exceeding the 30-mph limit by 12 mph or more. Police are reviewing an additional 323 photos and videos that could also turn into violations, the fastest being a car clocked at 70 mph on Oct. 6 headed south on the Alameda at 33rd Street "That's pretty fast," said Baltimore Police Sgt. Stanton W. Clark, a 35-year veteran who is reviewing the photos and decides who deserves citations.

Rusty Walters doesn't get bored on his commute between Owings Mills and Towson - he has his iPhone for entertainment. With his left hand guiding the wheel, Walters types with his right. His eyes flicker between the road and the phone as he updates his Facebook status, scans Twitter and exchanges text messages. "As soon as I drive out of the garage, I have to check my phone," said Walters, a 24-year-old who works in marketing. "I realize it's not the best idea in the world. There have definitely been many close calls when I'll put my phone down and not use it for the rest of the car ride."

Jennifer Williams, a young mother of two, lives in an East Baltimore neighborhood where corner stores and carry-outs are the only places to shop. Yet Williams and other carless residents of inner-city "food deserts" are not as stranded as they might seem. They regularly shop at full-sized supermarkets miles from home by catching rides in hack cabs. "I go all the time - twice a week," she said. Illegal and notoriously dangerous, unlicensed cabs are an unlikely ally in the search for affordable and healthful food.

The death of John R. Yates this week is a reminder of the dangers bicyclists face not only on the streets of Baltimore but along most every thoroughfare and intersection where they must share the road with cars. The 67-year-old died after running into the rear wheels of a truck turning right from Maryland Avenue to Lafayette Avenue. It's not entirely clear who was at fault in the incident. (Running into a slow, right-turning vehicle is one of the more common bike collisions). The truck driver may not even have been aware of his presence, according to a city police spokesman.

It's not hard to find motorists who despise the Towson traffic circle. On an average day, 55,000 vehicles are squeezed together in a perpetual left-handed turn in the shadow of Towson Town Center. Puzzled drivers hesitate while others bully ahead; pedestrians find they often must scurry; and the rush-hour backups on York, Dulaney Valley and Joppa roads are legendary. But if Towson's roundabout is the most problematic of its kind to be installed anywhere in the state (and experts admit it probably has been)

Gov. Martin O'Malley signed an executive order Thursday that will impose a ban on the use of hand-held cell phones by Maryland executive branch employees while driving state-owned vehicles. O'Malley said he was taking the action as part of a new driver safety program. Cell phone use has been identified in numerous studies as one of the leading distractions drivers face on the roads. The governor's action follows another legislative session in which the General Assembly rejected curbing cell phone use while driving.

Texting ban invites abuse by police Those 90-day wonders, our beloved state representatives, have really put their foot into a mess this time while trying to look good and appease voters annoyed by people sending text messages ("Ban on texting passes House," April 2). While I agree that any distraction from driving is a danger, most of them cannot be legislated away. And we already have laws on the books about negligent driving. Many of our legislators tried to ban cell phone use while driving and failed so now are trying to ban texting.

Md. Senate to debate operating budget The Maryland Senate plans this week to debate its version of the state's operating budget that takes back excess profits from Medicaid contractors and trims education funding for local school boards. Both moves put the chamber at odds with the House of Delegates, which approved its version of the budget last week. A conference committee must reconcile the two approaches to balancing the budget in the face of huge shortfalls. Other points of contention likely will be the funding of various programs and local aid. Under the budget forwarded late last week by the Budget and Taxation Committee, senators cut $50 million from a K-12 education formula that provides additional money to school systems where the cost of education is highest.