Local News
Gridlock Guy: Here’s my Christmas wish list for metro traffic
Columnist Mark Arum compiles his Christmas wish list.
Gridlock updatesMark Arum’s column appears Mondays. Listen to his traffic reports daily on News 95.5 and AM750 WSB, and see him each morning on Channel 2 Action News. Connect with Mark on Twitter: @markarum.
Christmas is less than three weeks away and all across metro Atlanta children are climbing on Santa’s lap telling him their Christmas wish lists. As someone who has never sat on Santa’s lap and told him what I wanted for Christmas, I decided to come up with my Christmas wish list for Atlanta traffic.
- I wish that people would stop texting and driving. Seriously, stop it. People are dying.
- I wish people, especially during the holiday season, would make plans before they go out drinking. In this age of Uber and Lyft, there is no excuse to drink and drive. There are plenty of options available.
- I wish people would get in the habit of using their turn signals all the time.
- I wish that the small percentage of the population that still refuses to wear their seat belts would finally come to their senses and learn to buckle up.
- I wish more people would consider using mass transit. To and from work. To events downtown. To the airport. There are plenty of opportunities to leave your car at home.
- I wish more bosses were open to the idea of telecommuting and flex hours. A happy employee is a productive employee. Workers that, even occasionally are allowed to work from home, or flex their hours are happy and productive. Take away the stress of a daily bumper-to-bumper commute even just once in a while is a huge benefit not only to workers but to Atlanta traffic as a whole.
- I wish all cars had seat warmers. They are so wonderful.
- I wish everyone was more polite on the roads. Let that person turn in front of you. Let that person merge. Road rage is on the rise and it is something that we can all do our part to stop.
- I wish it never rained during rush hour. This might be more a request for Mother Nature and not Santa Claus, but it would make a world of difference during our commutes. Let it rain during the midday and the overnight hours.
- I wish there would be a technological advance that would prevent people from leaving children unattended in hot cars. Enough is enough.
- I wish every super speeder and every dangerous aggressive driver was caught and had their drivers license taken away. Speed kills as does stupid, aggressive driving. These scofflaws need to be off of our roads.
- I wish slow drivers would forever, GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE. These drivers are dangerous, add to our traffic jams and are a primary cause of road rage.
- I wish people would take better care of their cars. Routine oil changes, full fluids, properly inflated tires and working windshield wipers could prevent a lot of breakdowns and crashes.
- I wish people would check traffic conditions before they get behind the wheel. An informed driver is a driver that is much more likely to avoid traffic jams and less likely to add to them. Check traffic before you start driving. You'll thank me later.
- I wish there was no need for my job. I yearn for a traffic-free world and me sleeping in until noon everyday.
