Aggressive Driving vs. Driver Courtesy

You'd think I've lived around here long enough to know that there are certain times of the day/month/year when it's not a good idea to get on the interstate.

Case in point: driving in any direction past the ballpark on game day. Plan on congestion and general driver foolishness. What makes it particularly irksome is when the ballgame starts (or lets out) around evening rush hour. (Note to self: get a game calendar, keep it in the car. Plan alternate routes.)

Now, I know there are plenty of people who go to the ball game after work, so don't you think this would be an excellent opportunity for the ballpark and local transit to figure out a decent solution? How about free or reduced parking if you (1) have a game day ticket, and (2) park your car early in the day, i.e., on your way in to work? Then run shuttle buses to and from downtown. (They could even work out some kind of deal for carpoolers.)

I think they dropped the ball *BIG TIME* when they redid the freeway. For all the redesign of ramps and traffic flow, congestion seems to have gotten worse, not better. Did it not occur to anyone that we might benefit from inbound/outbound express lanes (like Chicago)? Especially for rush hour/games/festivals?

One of my biggest pet peeves has to be the right lanes that end right after you get on the freeway. It never fails that X-many yahoos pay absolutely no attention to the "lane ends" sign, which means hotshots gunning it up the right side, and swooping in front of whoever is kind enough to let them in (or more likely, bullying their way over).

"Lane ends" means move over -- preferably now, not later!

Sadly, I've also seen drivers get upset when a car moves over when a law enforcement vehicle is pulled over on the right with its lights flashing. Hello, it's a law in this state!

Do we have to drive aggressively? Or would it kill us to take a moment to actually be nice to another driver?

Isn't the whole idea that everyone gets from Point A to Point B safely?