doodledee

The freeway ramp meters got turned back on a few months back. Ramp meters govern the number of cars that are allowed onto the freeway during peak travel times. They're basically stoplights on on-ramps. When traffic backs up, two lines form behind the meters, up the ramp. The meters then let the cars go in a managed fashion, one at time and evenly spaced. Historically, meters pissed a lot of people off and made other people happy. Then, the meters were turned off for a while, which pissed different people off but made different people happy. After a huge study, they're back on, though not to the degree they were pre-study. At this point, I'm not sure who's pissed and who's happy.

Its been amusing watching people re-learn how to use the meters. Back in the day, when meters were on all the time (and on nearly every ramp), the skilled metro driver could determine which side of the line to get in from approximately 2 miles away. Now, however, people are paralyzed at the wheel, unable to figure out the L-R-L pattern of the blinking lights. Today, for example, somebody in the right lane at the front of the line 'screwed-up' (oops!) and went when it wasn't their turn. Instead of just laughing at other driver's loss of karma, the doof in the left lane decides that it's ok to go on the right lane's green light -- after all, a green light is a terrible thing to waste. So now the whole line is working opposite of the meters. And it goes on like this for like 20 cars! Huh? By the time I get closer, it's total gridlock (and near roadrage) on a frickin' on-ramp.

I almost wonder if the lights are tuned incorrectly, and that maybe they hypnotize the driver, or worse yet, induce seizures.