Connecticut Avenue Pedestrian Safety Forum on February 1

On Tuesday, February 1, find out what’s new on Connecticut Avenue, NW. The Cleveland Park, Chevy Chase, Forest Hills, and Woodley Park Citizens Associations are jointly hosting a forum on current traffic and pedestrian safety initiatives concerning Connecticut Avenue from Calvert Street to the Chevy Chase Circle.

The Forum will be held in the Kogod Chapel at the Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec Street, NW (near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Porter Street, NW) at 7:00pm. Adas Israel is easily accessible from the Cleveland Park metro. Additionally, free parking is available in the Adas parking lot located on Quebec Street.

Have you noticed the red, yellow and blue marks on the sidewalks and in the road of Connecticut Avenue in Cleveland Park? Come find out what they're for and more.

At the forum, panelists will describe the intent and status of their respective initiatives.  The panelists are Marlene Berlin, Connecticut Avenue Pedestrian Action, Karina Ricks, the Rock Creek West 2 Livability Study, George Branyan, Cleveland Park Streetscape and Pedestrian Safety Project (DC Department of Transportation), and Andrea Limauro (DC Office of Planning). The panelists will also discuss the relationship and among these initiatives.

In addition, special guests Second District Commander Michael Reese and MPD Traffic Enforcement Manager Lisa Sutter will discuss the ongoing role of enforcement in ensuring the safety of pedestrians and drivers along Connecticut Avenue.

All are welcome. Those attending will have the opportunity to submit written questions for the panelists and special guests. Questions can also be submitted ahead of time to president @ chevychasecitizens.org . For more information visit Connecticut Avenue Pedestrian Action. 

Texting While Driving: Admission of Guilt

I've heard a lot of excuses for why people text while driving. But today I heard something I never thought I'd hear: Somebody who jokes about his texting while driving.

Lives lost, bodies injured: That's what texting while driving does. It's hardly a joke. And I sincerely hope that this tag line that was appended to a message posted on a neighborhood listserv was in fact just an attempt at humor, and not a reflection of the way this person drives:

Please forgive any punctuation or spelling errors. This message was typed on a blackberry, while driving I'm sure. Thank you in advance. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

If this email tag line is grounded in reality, then that person deserves to have his driver's license revoked. 

This British public service video about the dangers of texting while driving has been viewed over a million times and for good reason. If you haven't seen it yet, then it's worth a view. 

Bad Drivers: Now You Can Do Something About Them

Jerk cut you off? Is somebody texting while driving? Did that &%$!# run a red light and almost hit you?

Do you wish you could do something about those drivers who care more about their own convenience than everyone else's safety? While you can't ticket them, you can report then, thanks to apps designed just for that purpose.

You even have your choice among several apps. (The ones I'm mentioning here are for the iPhone; Windows, Android and Blackberry users may have different apps.)

Fail Driver lets you report bad driving, including tailgating. You can also search Fail Diver's database to see if that car has been reported before. You can include a photo with your report.

DriveMeCrazy is similar to Fail Driver; DriveMeCrazy also lets you look up your own car to see if other drivers think you've been driving badly.  DriveMeCrazy lets you flag good drivers, too. DriveMeCrazy can push your reports to Twitter and Facebook.

Bad Driver and UGotFlagged are two other apps for reporting bad drivers.

Oh, and it goes without saying: Don't use these apps while you're driving...or you'll be reported. (Or get a real ticket.)