LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Delaware drivers really aren't that bad

When I saw the recent article in the Delaware State News that reported Delaware drivers are the fifth-worst in the nation [“We’re No. 5 – States with the worst drivers,” Opinion page, Aug. 1], I shrugged and mused, “It goes to figure.” Statistics can be misleading and manipulated, but generally, they don’t totally lie. Then, the day before I took a little trip to Virginia, my neighbor complained to me that what the analysts are not taking into account are the drug runners on the I-95 corridor and the bureaucratic beachgoers out of D.C. I had to kind of agree with her regarding the transient alien presence, when one considers the day-tripping New York shoppers flocking to the home of tax-free shopping, bringing their slipshod skills with them. Nevertheless, I had to reconsider the drug runners because they tend to observe traffic laws since they do not want to attract undue attention to themselves unless they are nouveau gangster showoffs. Even so, you have to wonder about the people of a state that allows a person with seven DUI convictions to be walking the streets even before the ink is dry on his latest recorded offense. Ah-h-h, but the bleeding-heart liberals and millennials who have yet to “live so long” insist the poor fellow has a disease and needs treatment. Not on my dime, man; toss his carcass in jail after the third time and let him rot for 10 to 15 for attempted murder. For some reason, the state of Delaware has a problem incarcerating DUI offenders. Possibly it has something to do with the inclinations of our legislature, do you think? My neighbor and I could agree on one thing: it’s a disgusting situation. Anyway, I got in my car and took off for Falls Church, Virginia, to visit my sister’s new digs, traveling straight through the heart of D.C. because my GPS indicated a left-hand turn-off when the ramp was actually on the right-hand side, and I had no room to make a legal correction. I ended up over at the Pentagon, where I seriously considered stopping in to look at their fabulous art collection again. If ever given a chance to take a tour of the Pentagon, it’s right up there in respect to interesting things to see. I’ve driven through Manhattan at 11 p.m. doing 70 mph (moving with traffic) with less than a car length between those around me. I’ve navigated through three feet of snow in an MG Midget in Alaska (it’s powdery). I’ve been a witness to an accident that looked like something out of “The French Connection.” When I was young and dumb, I even launched my Trans Am just like they did to the cars on the “Dukes of Hazzard.” None of that prepared me for the white-knuckle, cold-sweat-inducing experience of sharing the road with a bunch of Marylanders heading either into or out of our nation’s capital. Mind you, I was not in the usual bumper-to-bumper queue moving at a snail’s pace during rush hour. This was open road, I was doing 65, and there were hopped-up Maserati wannabes interspersed with urban tanks and shady-looking limos that were going so fast, they made me look like I was standing still. All this is to say that Marylanders should be considered the fifth-worst drivers in the country, inasmuch as they are quick to give you the finger when you are doing the speed limit on their turf, but they expect Delawareans to be nice to them when they cross two lanes without signaling, causing us to short stop, risking being hit by a New Yorker riding our rear ends. As it turns out, I must say, my sister lives in a lovely, albeit high-density, area, and she’s quite content, but she’s been in that area for over three years, and she still uses her GPS whenever she leaves the neighborhood where her condo is located. Naturally, she shops in Delaware.

Carol Hotte Felton