{"id":1405,"date":"2018-12-22T07:00:29","date_gmt":"2018-12-22T12:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=1405"},"modified":"2018-12-21T13:38:35","modified_gmt":"2018-12-21T18:38:35","slug":"a-reader-asks-do-people-drive-a-lot-worse-in-the-rain-in-boston-ma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/22\/a-reader-asks-do-people-drive-a-lot-worse-in-the-rain-in-boston-ma\/","title":{"rendered":"A reader* asks: &#8220;Do people drive a lot worse in the rain in Boston, MA?&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Yes, of course. Accident rates in Boston go up in the rain \u2014 just as they do in every other location on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m not sure what else you\u2019d expect when roads get slippery and visibility goes down!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m guessing that what you&#8217;re really getting at is the poor reputation of Boston drivers; and its narrow, winding streets, laid out in colonial times when foot, horseback, and animal carts were the principal means of local transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But oddly, that &#8220;Bad Boston Driver&#8221; reputation is fading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Massachusetts doesn&#8217;t even appear on <a aria-label=\"Massachusetts doesn't even appear on this list of the &quot;10 states with the worste drtivers.:&quot; (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carinsurancecomparison.com\/which-states-have-the-worst-drivers\/\" target=\"_blank\">this list<\/a> of the &#8220;10 states with the worst drivers.&#8221; Likewise, <a aria-label=\"Massachusetts doesn't even appear on this list of the &quot;10 states with the worst drivers.&quot; Likewise, a different &quot;worst 10&quot; compilation here doesn't mention Massachusetts.\u00a0 Another site says Seattle, WA; Philadelphia, PA Oakland, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Detroit, MI are all worse than Boston to drive in. (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/which-state-has-the-worst-drivers-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\">a different &#8220;worst 10&#8221; compilation<\/a> doesn&#8217;t even mention Massachusetts.\u00a0 <a aria-label=\"Massachusetts doesn't even appear on this list of the &quot;10 states with the worst drivers.&quot; Another site says Seattle, WA; Philadelphia, PA Oakland, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Detroit, MI are all wors than Boston to drive in. (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/wallethub.com\/edu\/best-worst-cities-to-drive-in\/13964\/\" target=\"_blank\">Another site<\/a> says Seattle, WA; Philadelphia, PA <msreadoutspan class=\"msreadout-line-highlight msreadout-inactive-highlight\"><msreadoutspan class=\"msreadout-word-highlight\">Oakland, CA<\/msreadoutspan>; San Francisco, CA; and Detroit, MI are all worse than Boston to<\/msreadoutspan> drive in. Etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are bad drivers in Boston, no doubt. But there are bad drivers everywhere, and Boston&#8217;s specific variant might not be as bad as you <msreadoutspan class=\"msreadout-line-highlight msreadout-inactive-highlight\">think &#8212; regardless of the <msreadoutspan class=\"msreadout-word-highlight\">weather<\/msreadoutspan>!<\/msreadoutspan><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><strong><small>Permalink: <a href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=1405\">https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=1405<\/a><\/small><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>* Want to ask Fred a question? Have a comment? Click <a href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Want free notification of new content like this? Click <a href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/09\/get-free-automatic-notification-of-new-content\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, of course. Accident rates in Boston go up in the rain \u2014 just as they do in every other location on the planet. I&#8217;m not sure what else you\u2019d expect when roads get slippery and visibility goes down! I&#8217;m guessing that what you&#8217;re really getting at is the poor reputation of Boston drivers; and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,17,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-reader-asks","category-around-boston","category-misc"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-mF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":945,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/04\/a-reader-asks-why-does-boston-have-so-many-universities-compared-to-other-cities\/","url_meta":{"origin":1405,"position":0},"title":"A reader asks: Why does Boston have so many universities compared to other cities?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-11-04","format":false,"excerpt":"A reader asks: \"Why does Boston have so many universities compared to other cities?\" Boston benefits from almost 400 years of continual investment in education. For example, Harvard University was founded in 1636, just six years after Boston itself. That wasn\u2019t an accident: From its founding, up to the American\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":451,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/29\/a-boston-reader-asks-where-in-boston-can-you-meditate-away-from-car-noise-but-not-have-to-pay-for-this-quiet-space\/","url_meta":{"origin":1405,"position":1},"title":"A reader asks: Where in Boston can you meditate away from car noise but not have to pay for this quiet space?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-09-29","format":false,"excerpt":"Q. Where in Boston can you meditate away from car noise but not have to pay for this quiet space? (via Quora) A: Try the Boston Museum of Fine Arts\u2019 free Japanese Garden, \"Tenshin-en.\" Tenshin-en, or the \u201cGarden of the Heart of Heaven,\u201d is a contemplative Japanese garden designed so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mfas3.s3.amazonaws.com\/styles\/banner_grid-6_retina\/s3\/SC24483_4x3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mfas3.s3.amazonaws.com\/styles\/banner_grid-6_retina\/s3\/SC24483_4x3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mfas3.s3.amazonaws.com\/styles\/banner_grid-6_retina\/s3\/SC24483_4x3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mfas3.s3.amazonaws.com\/styles\/banner_grid-6_retina\/s3\/SC24483_4x3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mfas3.s3.amazonaws.com\/styles\/banner_grid-6_retina\/s3\/SC24483_4x3.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":656,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/13\/a-reader-asks-is-boston-ma-a-terrible-place-to-live\/","url_meta":{"origin":1405,"position":2},"title":"A reader asks: &#8216;Is Boston, MA a terrible place to live?&#8217;","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-10-13","format":false,"excerpt":"Q: A reader asks: 'Is Boston, MA a terrible place to live?' (via Quora) A: Questions like this, with a built-in bias, presuppose the answer, sort of like \u201cHave you stopped beating your wife?\u201d But the answer is clearly no. Here's proof: People don\u2019t choose to move to a place\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":374,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/14\/a-reader-asks-who-is-responsible-for-the-boston-gas-blasts\/","url_meta":{"origin":1405,"position":3},"title":"Around Boston: Who is responsible for the  Boston gas blasts?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-09-14","format":false,"excerpt":"Q. Who is responsible for the Boston gas blasts? (Mikhail Tuzikov, via Quora) A. As of early today, 2018-09-14, the mostly likely explanation is human error. Some old gas pipes were being replaced in that area, and workers may have incorrectly connected a medium-pressure distribution line (60psi\/4.1bar) to a low-pressure\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1748,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/02\/a-reader-asks-why-is-the-weather-so-unpredictable-in-boston-ma\/","url_meta":{"origin":1405,"position":4},"title":"A reader asks: &#8220;Why is the weather SO unpredictable in Boston, MA?&#8221;","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-02-02","format":false,"excerpt":"Regional forecasts are actually pretty accurate. (See: How Reliable Are Weather Forecasts?) But very local, small scale forecasts have additional variables. For example, Boston is a waterfront city and so is subject to various effects that apply only to the immediate coast. A distance of a few miles\/KM can make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1366,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/15\/a-reader-asks-have-you-heard-about-the-boston-molassacre\/","url_meta":{"origin":1405,"position":5},"title":"A reader* asks: &#8220;Have you heard about the Boston Molassacre?&#8221;","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-12-15","format":false,"excerpt":"I believe that's a phrase used jokingly by tour guides to refer to the very real \"Great Molasses Flood\" of 1919. On an unusually warm January day, a poorly-constructed industrial tank containing\u00a0 2,300,000 US gallons (8,706,447 liters) of hot, fermenting molasses burst, sending a wave of heavy liquid, initially 25ft\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/BostonMolassesDisaster.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/BostonMolassesDisaster.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/BostonMolassesDisaster.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/BostonMolassesDisaster.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/BostonMolassesDisaster.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/BostonMolassesDisaster.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1405"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1466,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405\/revisions\/1466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}