Faster, better…

I’ve lived in Maryland for seven years. This last week I went back to California for a few reunions with friends and relatives. Much to my amazement driving in California was still safer and easier than driving in Maryland. There was an increase in the number of careless lunatics, but over all California is still safer. I found the most careless drivers in and around the San Francisco – Oakland areas. The unsafe drivers seem to prefer the BMW.  While I hate to profile anyone it was a common denominator that was hard to escape. What was really great to see was that California’s law enforcement officers in public safety vehicles still obey the traffic laws unlike those on the East coast. I hate to point that out having worked in public safety for twelve years but it is true from my experience – another very public observation that is hard to deny if you really open your eyes and look.

The roads in the SF Bay Area are much worse than they were seven years ago. The Sacramento area and the gold country seem to be in reasonable good shape. Highways like 680, 101, 80, and 4 are in terrible shape.  Driving the small rental car was like driving a bumper car at an amusement park, particularly on the levy roads of Highway 4 between Stockton and Antioch. Something I’ll never do again unless I have a larger car.

One thing that is very disconcerting about the 680 corridor between Oakland and the Carquinez Bridge is the amount of graffiti.  The vandalism on this corridor is extreme compared to 2001. It was hugely disappointing not to see  Contra Costa County Sheriff, Concord PD, and Pleasant Hill PD at the NoGraffiti Conference hosted by Santa Rosa Police and the NoGraf Network.  The NoGraf Network got it’s start in Pleasant Hill and once-upon-a-time Pleasant Hill was doing something about graffiti. <sigh>

Related DougWeb posts:

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3. Are YOU a Graffiti Victim? What has changed in the thirteen years since DougWeb got...
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6. Am I Driving Too Slowly? The question comes up occasionally. Am I, or is another...
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8. Doug Smith Invited to the Graffiti Trade Show in California To: Doug Smith RE: Attendance at the 2008 Graffiti Trade...
9. SOMD: SHERIFF EVANS: Speeding by Deputies is UNSAT (SOMD.COM Prince Frederick 01210) SOMD published a response by Sheriff...
10. NoGraffiti.com – The NoGraf Conference See you in Santa Rosa, CA at the NoGraf Conference...

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