Steering Wheel

"Road hog!" I roared as a Porsche 911 cut me off in a short straightaway on the streets of Monte Carlo. I slammed the accelerator of my 944 and felt the steering wheel tremble from the extra power. I never saw the fence till I smashed into it, when the wheel rocked me into the realization that I was in big trouble. Soon the rattling was replaced by an eerie stillness as I barrel-rolled through the air in my own version of the "Dukes of Hazzard." Crashing to earth took the joy out of my racing day - the impact nearly jolted my hands off the wheel.

The GMAC Insurance National Driver Test continues to rate Maryland a bottom-10 state for "Licensed Drivers Knowledge of Basic Road Rules. " And like Maryland, numerous Northern states, such as Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, were part of the bottom 10. Nearby Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia scored higher, and are not part of the bottom 10. To me, Maryland's problem is a culture of political stubbornness in not weeding out thousands...

POLICE LOG* Long Reach: 8800 block of Flowerstock Row: Someone tried to steal a 1987 Toyota Corolla by sawing through a steering wheel to avoid a lock Tuesday, police said.

Harford County Sheriff's deputies discovered the body of a 21-year-old man Thursday morning in a car parked in an Edgewood neighborhood. Christopher Curtis Alves appeared to have died from multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body, police said. He was found shortly before 9 a.m., seated at the steering wheel of a Dodge Magnum, registered to him, police said. The vehicle was parked in the 1300 block of Harford Square Drive, O Court, south of Route 40. Alves has lived at several addresses in the community and officers said they were unsure which was the most recent.

Good thing I had both hands on the steering wheel when I was listening to 105.7 FM yesterday. Anita Marks was praising some of the Orioles' moves since Andy MacPhail's arrival and ranked the Miguel Tejada trade among the majors' all-time best. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/mediumwell)

DETROIT -- With her 6-year-old daughter, Ashleye, in the back seat, Deborah Kemp wasn't going to let the man steal her car without a fight.Ms. Kemp, 34, was dragged on her knees for a quarter-mile while she clung to her open car door and the steering wheel."

Man found shot to death in Nissan Pathfinder An unidentified man in his 20s was found shot to death Tuesday night inside a tan 1992 Nissan Pathfinder parked on a street in the Arlington neighborhood of West Baltimore, police said. The man was discovered about 9:30 p.m. slumped over the steering wheel of the car, which was parked in the 3400 block of Dolfield Ave. Police said he had been shot several times in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators had not identified a motive for the killing and had no suspects.

The Japanese don't have to like or admire us. They just have to buy the cars we build with the steering wheel on the wrong side whether they want to or not.The legislators have a compromise tax-and-spending plan in which only half the libraries close.Cheer up. The Venezuelan coup failed.The law of racial preference in scholarships is perfectly clear: It is either forbidden or mandatory, never discretionary.How 'bout playing the Loyola-Towson basketball games in the Arena from now on, so we can all see?

For most of us, the twin-span William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge is just a 4.3-mile shortcut over the Chesapeake Bay. And while contemporary travelers may take the trip between Sandy Point and Kent Island for granted, the structures - most people refer to them singly as "the Bay Bridge" - are a magnificent example of how a utilitarian amalgam of steel and concrete can produce art on a grand scale. Need proof? Just look at the black-and-white photographs of the first span taken in the early 1950s by A. Aubrey Bodine and Marion E. Warren.

THE COUNT People murdered since Jan. 1: 157 THE VICTIMS Paul Cornish, 28, address unknown, died at Johns Hopkins Hospital at 10:30 p.m. Saturday after he was shot at 9 p.m. in the 1000 block of Granby St. in East Baltimore. An unidentified man was fatally shot at 2:30 a.m. yesterday as he stood with a group of people in the 800 block of N. Patterson Park Ave. in East Baltimore. The body of an unidentified man was found slouched over the steering wheel of an idling car at 7:20 a.m. yesterday in the 4800 block of Herring Run Drive in Northeast Baltimore.

A man whose car killed two people in 2009 on a section of highway known for drag racing was found guilty Friday of two counts of manslaughter. Donneil Raeburn, 27, who was injured in the crash of his Chevrolet Impala in the early hours of June 21, 2009, when it rammed into the two pedestrians and another car as it raced west on Interstate 70, could receive a maximum of 20 years in prison at sentencing. Baltimore County Circuit Judge Patrick Cavanaugh, who presided over Raeburn's bench trial, did not schedule a sentencing date pending arrangements for a pre-sentence investigation of the defendant, who remains in custody with no bail set. The judge also found Raeburn guilty of several lesser charges, including reckless driving, failure to control his speed and driving under the influence of alcohol.

We thought we'd gotten so much tougher about winter, didn't we? No more panicked runs to the supermarket for bread, milk and toilet paper at the first hint of snow. No more jittery conversations around the office about when the storm would hit and when we could make a break for home without drawing too much attention. No longer would we shoot anxious looks at the sky and fixate on weather updates from Bob Turk and the great Tom Tasselmyer. Or spend hours nervously watching news footage of salt trucks hitting the streets or Rob Roblin gleefully jabbing a yardstick into a snowbank to give us accumulation totals.

A 34-year-old woman was charged with fatally beating her aunt Friday in West Baltimore, after telling 911 dispatchers that she had "hurt my aunt and I don't know why. " When police arrived at the scene, they found D'Lana Simmons with her hands, face and clothes covered in the blood of her aunt, Cecelia Mitchell, 66. The murder weapon was believed to be "The Club," the device used to lock the steering wheel of a vehicle, police said. Police and medic units responded to the 1500 block of N. Stricker St. on Friday at about 7:50 p.m. for a report of an injured person.

As the all-knowing, all-powerful Maryland legislature prepares to once again take away more freedom from its subjects (citizens), it amazes me how easily that citizenry will relinquish those freedoms time and time again. This time it's the handheld cell phone ban ("Ending crash calls," March 29). We don't need more laws. If you can't effectively drive while talking on the phone, then don't do it. You and you alone are responsible for knowing your individual limitations and acting accordingly.

A 13-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department died early Monday after he apparently suffered a heart attack while driving from his home in Baltimore County to a court appearance, according to city officials. Officer Robert W. Peregoy, 47, had been assigned to the Violent Crime Impact Division, He is survived by his wife of 27 years and three sons. He was born in Gettysburg, Pa., and graduated from Francis Scott Key High School in 1980. He earned 18 credits from Central Texas College and served in the Army until 1995, when he was honorably discharged as a military police officer stationed in Germany.

When Sandy Summers picks up her children - ages 6 and 10 - at elementary school, they're greeted with squirts of hand sanitizer. "When they get in the car, I put a glob on their hands," said the nurse, who lives in Homeland. "If they're going to eat a snack in the car, I make them use some. ... If I go to the grocery store, when I get in the car, the first thing I do is use the sanitizer. If I forget to use it before I touch the steering wheel, I put a whole bunch on my hands and just wipe it all over the steering wheel.

* Long Reach:: 6300 block of Loring Drive: Someone broke a vent window on a 1989 Ford truck between 8 p.m. last Wednesday and 8 a.m. Thursday and stole a $375 electric nailer, a $400 electric nailer, a $10 saw and a $100 drill.8900 block of Sidelong Place: Someone stole four tires valued at $480 and four 15-inch chrome rims from a 1986 Toyota truck between 9 p.m. Sunday and 7 a.m. Monday.8800 block of Spiral Cut Lane: Someone forced open a door between 7:30 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Friday, and stole electronic equipment and clothes.

The first man was shot in East Baltimore and died shortly after his friends brought him to the hospital. A second man was shot several times while standing with a group of people. And a third was found dead, slumped over the steering wheel of a car in Northeast Baltimore. Within a 24-hour period, three men were slain, elevating the city's homicide total to 157 since Jan. 1. Police, who are still investigating the shootings, do not believe the homicides are related. Police responded to the first shooting at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Good thing I had both hands on the steering wheel when I was listening to 105.7 FM yesterday. Anita Marks was praising some of the Orioles' moves since Andy MacPhail's arrival and ranked the Miguel Tejada trade among the majors' all-time best. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/mediumwell)

Josephine Montesion has been driving her 1995 Chevy Lumina for years. But it was just this week that the 83-year-old Ellicott City resident learned where the horn is and how to adjust the steering wheel. "I've never had to blow the horn," she said. Montesion and several other older drivers gained automobile insight by taking their vehicles to Centennial Park in Ellicott City for "Car Fit," a program sponsored by the county police Wednesday. Several police officers joined a group of occupational therapists and spent the day helping seniors learn tips on operating their vehicles - including things they might have forgotten or never known.