I Used To Like Driving

Notes to DC drivers inspired by a single ten-minute journey from 18th St & NY Ave NW to Columbia Heights:

If you’re in the wrong lane when crossing an intersection, it’s better to stay behind the car in the lane you want to be in than it is to suddenly push yourself halfway ahead of them and start forcing your car into their lane.
That goes double (at least) if the car you’re driving is a Zipcar, since taking it out of service affects more people than just you.
Also, a bit of sheepish acknowledgement that maybe you might not have done that the best way goes a long way.
If you’ve been parked at the last spot before an intersection and you get in your vehicle to drive away, you should use your turn signal to make your intent obvious to more people than the attentive guy in the del Sol who happens to be right next to you when you let off the brake, causing your vehicle to move forward slightly.
If you’re in the car behind the del Sol with the attentive driver and you run into him after the light changes because he lets that previously-parked vehicle go, at a minimum you should make eye contact with him so he can wave it off. To stare straight ahead with grim determination is rude and shows a lack of breeding.
That goes triple if you’re driving a Mercedes. Bitch.

Thank you for your attention to these matters.