Too Many People

I am going to jump back again to the storm from last weekend that left many without power.  Despite the fact that many towns looked like ghost towns and trees were down everywhere, I noticed another side effect of the storm, an increase in the amount of people out and about during the day.  On a daily basis, we deal with rush hour traffic, those periods of the day where people are rushing to and from work, usually between 630 and 900 in the morning and 430 and 630 at night.  What was different about this influx of traffic was that it seemed constant throughout the day.  If you went out at 11 in the morning, it would take you twice as long to get somewhere as it normally would because of all the extra people on the road.  Simply put, it made me realize how many usually stay at home for most of the day and don't venture out into the world.  It seemed like it was rush hour all day long.  Even worse, it seemed like Christmas shopping traffic around the holidays.  There is obviously nothing one can do about it, but to see how many people live in an area based on the influx in traffic is amazing.  There are many people who curse rush hour traffic. There are many who despise sitting for hours waiting to get home because some idiot wasn't paying attention and crashed his car into another car or some object.  Maybe we should take a look at how many people are not on the roads and be happy that rush hour isn't worse. 

Imagine if all the people who ventured out during the storm to stay warm, buy gas, or run errands were out and about every single day.  It would be absolute pandemonium out there.  I honestly don't think that people would be able to handle the influx in traffic let alone the roads themselves handle the increased volume that is traveling over them.  What would happen if there needed to be a mass evacuation of our area due to some natural disaster or other calamity?  Would our infrastructure be able to handle all the increased volume or would traffic get so backed up as to cause other issues.  Many roads and highways in our state were designed to handle the kind of traffic that one might experience in the 1960's, not our current day and age.  The population has continued to grow, yet nothing as been done to address that main arteries that afford us the ability to travel where we need to.  Additionally, when there is construction done on any roads, it seems there is no foresight as to what might be needed in 10-20 years.  Roads are expanded only to handle the current volume, nothing more.  These large expansion projects take years and normally by the time they are done, they are already outdated and get inundated with traffic right from the start.  Granted, expanding it to meet the needs of the future adds a good sum of money to the overall project, but wouldn't it be worth it to spend more now to save in the future?  Maybe its just that common sense eludes many of the individuals making these decisions. 

So maybe its not that we have too many people.  It seems instead that our infrastructure can't handle the amount of people who currently live in our state.  I am sure its not every area of the state, but there are many that just can't handle their own populations.  It seems to be a good thing that there are many people who stay at home during the day, not because they shouldn't go out, but because the roads and regular drivers can't handle them.  What also struck me last week with the influx of traffic was the amount of people who looked as if they hadn't driven in years.  That perhaps is worse than the traffic.  I can handle normal rush hour traffic.  You get the occasional idiot who feels the need to zip in and out of cars and drive erratically, but last week topped the charts.  There was one day when in the space of 2 hours, I was almost hit three times.  Its not like I drive a small car that is hard to notice, I drive a big white cargo van that reflects the sun and should be able to be seen readily.  One of those instances required me slamming on the brakes while doing 65 on the highway because someone felt the need to get in front of me from an on ramp.  But in end, I had no accidents and this week, traffic is back to normal.  I think next time there is a disaster that leaves us without power for days on end I will simply retreat into my basement and wait it out.  Perhaps I should be the one to stay off the roads and let the maniacs have at it.  Or perhaps they could widen the roads some, add that extra lane, and save thousands of people daily headaches.  Life goes on, and the people who were out last week are back inside hibernating.