On One Rail

New Years on the Monorail

2007-01-03T13:48:00.000-08:00

We were in the news again, and again it was bad. We had some down time during the day on New Years Eve, a little over 2 hours. While that sounds bad, it is really only a fraction of our 20 hour schedule. We ran the rest of the day without incident, and with 8 trains in the system. Fun was had by all, as is the norm in Vegas.

Maintenance facility

2006-12-29T08:52:00.001-08:00

Here is a look at our maintenance facility, you can see the beam that the vehicles ride on and the Vegas.com vehicle in the background. We perform all of our heavy and light maintenance on the vehicles from these beams (there are 4). Keep in mind that this is the third story of the facility.

Las Vegas has a Monorail?

2006-12-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

It is not common knowledge that Las Vegas has a Monorail. It travels from MGM to the Sahara Hotels with 5 stops in between and can get you within walking distance of most of the hotels on the strip.

The best time to ride the monorail? During conventions and on New Years Eve (or anytime there is an event at MGM). If you are just going to look around and see where it goes you should ride it during the day when you can see the sights. At night everyone wants to see the lights of Vegas and if that is what you want you should take a ride on the Deuce that goes right down the strip.

How much does it cost? You can check out the official monorail site at http://www.lvmonorail.com for the prices. We will tell you this, travel in groups. The more rides you purchase at one time the lower the price overall, kind of like a warehouse store buy in bulk.

Is the monorail open 24 hours? No. Currently the monorail is open on weekdays from 7:00 am to 2:00 am and on weekends from 7:00 am to 3:00 am. Tip: If you get on the platform before the gates close you will get to where you want to go the last run starts at closing time.

How safe is the monorail? Safety is always a concern when travelling. The most serious injury that we have heard of was from someone wearing flip-flops mashing their toe on the escalator. The monorail owners take safety very seriously.

How secure is travelling on the monorail? The monorail owners have been very diligent at keeping the system secure for the passengers. They have personnel at every station, and some roaming the system at all times and visibility is a big factor. They also have some plain-clothes personnel that roam the system for added security.

How long can I ride the system? Once you enter the system through the fare gates, you can ride until they close. The trick is that there are no restroom facilities on the system, you would have to exit for a break.

Can I take food and drinks with me? Currently the policy is that you can take either. Since it is a privately owned system that can change at any time. If you do take food or drinks with you, please be courteous and do not make a big mess they try very hard to keep the trains tidy for a pleasant experience.

Can I get a map of the system? Sure! You can get one on-line at www.lvmonorail.com or you can get one at any station (its in the front of the monorail magazine they are free).

If you want to walk the strip, feel free. Keep in mind though that it is 4 miles from the MGM to the Sahara and the walk back is a killer.

10 Tips for riding the Monorail during CES

2006-12-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

Ride the Monorail? Yup, ride the monorail. It's convenient, and it gets you to the convention center before the buses and taxis. Here are 10 tips for getting around easily on the monorail.

1. Get your ticket(s) the night before. Trying to get your ticket(s) the day of the convention is bad news. Everyone else is doing that too, and there are a limited number of vending machines.

2. Keep on the lookout for the Free ride passes. It's not always going to happen, but when it does take advantage of it.

3. Try going the opposite direction. If there are too many people going in the direction you want to go, try going the other direction. Since the monorail is a loop, you will get to your destination (most likely with a seat) and in most cases get there sooner than waiting in line.

4. Leave a little early. There is a big crush of people 45 minutes before the convention opens. Leave a little sooner and get a seat for the ride.

5. Have your ticket ready. Before you get to the gate, have your ticket out and ready. (Tip: Blue side up and White arrow forward.) This will get you through the gates faster and let you get down to the platform for that train that is just pulling in.

6. Listen for the announcements. There is an announcement for just about everything. The trains tell you what station you are pulling into, and the next stop. The stations tell you how long the time is between trains and when a train is arriving at the platform.

7. Pretend that you are a sardine. These poor fish get a bad rap, they don't mind being in a space in close proximity to one another. If you want to get there is a short amount of time, sometime you have to squeeze in.

8. This brings us to doors. Stay away from the doors. The station doors need some space, people are going to get off of the train when it pulls in, they need somewhere to go. So leave some space for them to get out. The train doors will not close if you are in their way. So, if you want the train to depart, stay out from between the doors and do not lean against them.

9. Courtesy is contagious. Be courteous to the other passengers, you feel good about it later. Give up on sitting down if you do not absolutely have to. Keep in mind that there are tourists that are also riding the system and they want to actually see the sites. Everyone paid to be on the train, remember that.

10. Don't forget your stuff. Everyday someone leaves something on the train or platform. Just keep track of your stuff, especially your cell phone and room key we get a lot of those.

Overall, you can have a good experience on the monorail if you follow these simple tips. One last tip for free: Smile! Everyone will have a better ride.

2007 CES and Sprint Part 2

2006-12-21T09:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I posted that Sprint and Linksys will be demonstrating the new wireless router from Linksys that will accept a Sprint Edge wireless modem as its broadband network connection.

Yes, it is really true. Sprint and Linksys will be placing a wireless router on each train that is running during CES (up to 8 Trains) and on 6 of the 7 stations (the Convention Center Station already has Wi-Fi hosted by Sprint). What does this mean for you? You can use a wireless device with a broadband connection while moving from your hotel all the way to the convention. You could also ride the trains around all day while using your device (and it would only cost you the price of one ride). This may not seem exciting to you, but I find it fascinating. Why? This opens many doors to sites that have power but cannot get the network connections required. Plug it in, turn it on, and start surfing.

The larger convention spaces already have these types of connections, but it requires pre-planning. Now for the impromptu meeting or gathering, one or more of these wireless routers with an edge card can be set up in short order and everyone could connect. On-line gamers can take this unit and, as long as they have power, can games on-line anywhere there is Edge coverage.

I was involved with a project years ago that was ahead of its time. 7 years later the industry is starting to catch up. Now, I will let the public in on the secret. This type of networking will allow for connections from your car. Stuck in traffic? Hold a video conference from the car! Dare to dream.

Growing up

2006-12-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

First, I just wanted to vent steam. Then I found that I really wanted people to know about this system and how it can help them while they are here in Las Vegas. So, I am growing up. I will not be bashing or berating anymore, unless the situation really calls for it. Thanks for putting up with the crap.

I will be posting more than once today, but since the subjects are diverse I am putting them in different posts.

2007 CES and Sprint

2006-12-20T18:16:00.000-08:00

Here is some inside information for you.

During the 2007 CES , Sprint and Linksys will be offering FREE Wi-Fi!

Big deal? Yes, since the FREE Wi-Fi will be on the Monorail trains and stations.

Sprint and Linksys are debuting their new Wi-Fi router that accepts the Sprint Edge Broadband wireless card. Now you can take your high speed wireless network anywhere, and have your broadband internet connection too. This will be a boon for the on-line gamers, who will be able to set up a wireless network to connect the game consoles and then game on-line with the other gamers.

There are other applications, but heh it's a start.

Passengers, what are those?

2006-12-20T12:18:00.000-08:00

It is no secret that our system has never carried as many passengers as it could (or even close). We did relatively well with ridership even though the numbers were low. So, what do you do to increase ridership? Increase prices!

As the operations company, we do not have to worry about how many people ride the system. Heck, the fewer the better (fewer problems from passengers). We do care about the system going out of business. We were shocked, and dismayed when we found out that the owners were increasing the fare. Their reasoning was that with the number of passengers that were riding the system, they could almost break even. This may have been true, if there was only a slight change to the fare structure not the $2 (per single ride) that they implemented. The end result was a serious drop in ridership for the system, slightly under half the passengers. The owners are now making about the same amount of money as before.

Now they are conducting a study to see why the people do not want to ride the system. After being out on the system and listening to countless people complain, I can definitively exclaim "It's the price!".

My three Techs

2006-12-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

I really do not have three Techs, but it sounded good. We have over 30 Techs here on site and while some (read few) are top notch, most are just average or below average. We have a very technically challenging system, it is fully automated and could run most of the time without human intervention (if properly maintained). We need Techs to keep the system running when things go wrong and for preventive maintenance. Most of the work is pretty mundane and simple, but we do have moments where a deep understanding of the system is required.

Our vehicles are automated in the fullest sense of the word. We have no drivers, doors open and close, and the vehicles keep track of where they are on the system. Our Control gives the vehicle a route and the systems does the rest. Even in alternate service (deviating from regular service patterns) the system will manage vehicles and make announcements. So our Techs out on the system spend a lot of time waiting for something to happen (or answering questions). Unfortunately, the time is not used in a constructive manner learning more about the system but in skylarking or flirting with customers. Skylarking? Basically it means to stand around looking at the sky, or not doing anything. This brings us to our 'Training' program.

When we first started, we had a 'Training Overseer' that scheduled and managed any training on site. It worked well for the time, but was never fully realized. Now we have a 'Training Co-ordinator'. It seems to be a title that means: "A person who spends many hours typing on the computer, looses paperwork, and is never at work." sort of like our 'Safety' guy. This person was supposed to be a trainer is a past life, but should no signs of actually being able to train or learn for that matter. They spend their hours (when they are at work) bent over the keyboard feverishly vapor documents and printing volumes that leave thousands of baby trees missing their parents. The same person schedules you to train a class and never tells you until you don't show to teach or better, asks you when is a good time for a class then schedules it for the time you say is bad. The best training class I have ever attended here, was set up and scheduled without the knowledge of the 'Training' guy. Funny the 'Training' guy "works" for the 'Safety' guy. Is there a connection here???

Our site has many opportunities for learning and advancement, the Techs pay the price for our current training program. Overall, our customer gets lack-luster service. It really is a pity, we had such potential.

You dropped what?

2006-12-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

What do you think would happen when you drop a cell phone? Not much right? Well not here. One of the Techs out on the system dropped their cell phone and caused a five minute delay. Sounds strange doesn't it? I thought so also, and had to go look at the log book to find out what really happened.

Well the log book was not very helpful, neither was the delay report. What happened was that the Tech dropped their phone onto the system guideway, and Control in their infinite wisdom shut the system down for five minutes while two Techs looked for this phone. I have some problems with this; one we run on a raised guideway that unless you are a precision dropper the item will fall to the ground. Two, we wouldn't stop the system for a customers phone, why is this one so special. Adding insult to injury, the phone was not found on the guideway.

So here we are with five minutes of downtime and nothing to show for it. I hope the Tech had insurance on the phone, it could have cost us $5K.

Stupid is as stupid does.

-- Forest Gump's Mother

Somehow I think she was smarter than some of the people we have around here, and she was fictional.

Screaming Alpha

2006-12-13T11:43:00.000-08:00

There are different classes of fires. You have seen the markings on the fire extinguisher A B C, they all stand for a different type of fire. Well when a person is on fire, it is a class A fire. Using the phonetic alphabet, you get an Alpha for that class. Not to many just stand there and burn, they run, they scream, and they flail about. Hence, Screaming Alpha. When I was in the military, I served on a fire team on board ship. I have seen screaming alphas, and it is not pretty or a joke. When we would get a call for a screaming alpha, we would move just that much faster to assist. We never took that type of call lightly.

Why would I possibly bring this up? It has happened here. Much to our dismay. Hind sight is always 20/20, and in this case we would have all liked it if the person in question had stopped to tell someone that they did not know what they were doing. The result was a screaming alpha. How did it happen? Electricity. We have a current potential at this site that is rivalled only by the power company. Granted there are places that have a large current potential, but they are not out in the open, like the power company or our site.

When you disregard safety and the electrical potential, you have a good chance of becoming a crispy critter. Having a current potential that we have, you can vaporize metal in a second. Vaporize metal? Yes, metal can vaporize if exposed to enough heat in a very short period of time. Just think plasma cutter, but on a bigger scale. How big? Basically, take a 1 inch box end wrench and make it disappear in a cloud of blue flame (the whole thing).

This is what happened to our careless person. Not only did the metal vaporize, but their clothes caught on fire, as did the cabinet the metal was in. It resulted in 3rd degree burns over a large portion of their body.

They came back to work (I don't understand why the company wanted them back). You would think that after a traumatizing incident that they would be more careful, but they are not. This person has been involved is several other incidents (not of the same type) since being back, and is now the head of the safety committee. Now isn't that strange!

I'll huff and I'll puff

2006-12-12T09:28:00.000-08:00

Since our vehicles don't run on the ground, our maintenance facility is also above ground. This causes a fall 'hazard' near the vehicle bay doors. Personally I would think that if you stay away from the open door, you won't have a problem. Our 'Safety Guy' had a different idea. So 'safety gates' were put up by the bay doors for when a vehicle is in the bay and the bay door is open.

I have to admit that I thought it was a really dumb idea, and I was not alone. The few of us that think about things, knew that at some point the whole idea would go wrong. We were not dis-appointed. We were all told that these gates were going in, and that we would all have to be diligent to keep from damaging the vehicles with these gates. A few weeks went by, then we had our first example of what the gates could do to a vehicle. One tech did not seem to understand that the gates really did need to be opened BEFORE the vehicle is moved out of the bay. For the techs troubles the vehicle sustained $22k in damages, and that does not include labor.

So, meetings were held to tell everyone that this was serious. The question on everyone's mind, did the tech get disciplined for their actions, nope. The company was not really serious about this being a problem. Several weeks later, the same tech did it again. This time not only did the vehicle suffer $46k in damages but the gates were broken beyond repair. Once again there was training and meetings, still no disciplinary action, they obviously were not as serious as they were claiming.

The bottom line. The gates were removed, due to the damage to the vehicles, and netting was put up under the bay doors, just in case someone falls. My problem with it? There is no way to test it without dropping someone on it and they haven't done that so far.

On a side note, no one here has ever come close to falling out the bay doors.

Sins of the past

2006-12-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

Open a door and you would expect that there is somewhere to go. That is a bad assumption that was played out here. What could that possibly mean? Read on to find out.

You would think that a system that is based on 'cutting edge' or 'unique' technology would have technicians that are up on technology or at least good at what they do. I have definative proof that it is not always the case.

Case in point, your system breaks down and you need to move the vehicle to get the passengers off the system. So you have a technician driver the vehicle manually and stop at the next platform. Now here is the tricky part, on one side is the platform with doors, on the other side is a 25ft. drop. Now if you are looking at the manual controls on the vehicle, there is no mistaking which button to push to open the doors on the platform side. Unless you work here. If you work here you cannot tell your left from your right, even worse you cannot tell which side of the vehicle the platform is on. Hmm... I look over here and there is nothing, I look over there and I see the platform. Which button do I push? It must be the one where there is nothing, right?

Indeed, the tech pushed the button to open the doors on the side where there was nothing but a 25ft drop. If the vehicle had been empty, no harm no foul (not really, but thats another story), but this vehicle had passengers on it two of which had just been leaning on the doors until the vehicle came to a stop. I have saw the video and it wasn't good. The passengers stepped away from the doors toward the platform side, just before the doors opened escaping a drop to the ground.

So, we helped that tech find other employment right. Nope, that tech continued to work here until they left of their own accord (they found another job). Confidence is riding high! Especially on this system.

All the lights

2006-12-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

This time of year people get all misty over all of the lights. Here where I am, the lights are on all the time, so its hard to get wound up about it. Working where the lights are always lit (including during the day) does something to you. It makes you wonder why their power bills aren't higher and why we find it so alluring. Of course we don't get the snow that makes the lights sparkle, and yes I really do know what it looks like, I used to have to shovel the white stuff. Anyway, considering the season I thought it was an interesting way to start the entry to the blog.

If you read my previous blogs you know that I rant about my work and the stupid things that go on there. I will continue with that, but I wanted to say that I do purposely leave out the names. Liablous writings are not what I am about. I do not make this stuff up. The events that I post here are true an as accurate as I can make them, and I will make notes where I add or embellish the facts. People and companies do stupid things and cause problems for others, hopefully they can entertain and inform others. Have I ever done something stupid? You bet!

Out IT guys are always doing something that doesn't seem just right. I should know, I spent 20 years in IT as a consultant and network engineer. Let me tell you that these guys make the three stooges look like a finely tuned instrument. Most companies back up their data in some form or another, and we are no different well sort of.
Lets go back a while to when I was first asked to look at our local network after a problem. Our previous DBA actually had some rights to administer the servers and the backups, and was having a problem. He had heard that I has some experience with servers and asked me to take a look at it. So after a few minutes of poking around I let him know that the backups were not being done correctly, and that we had no current anti-virus protection. He was surprised at this revelation (he was not a network or server administration guy), so he asked me what could be done about it. I had to tell him that there was nothing we could do without the proper rights to the server. We do not have any local support as I have posted before, they do everything remotely if possible, and administration of the servers is no different. One day the person that was administering the servers left themselves logged in. So, in an effort to help our situation, I was asked if I could give the proper rights to a few local users. I did what was needed, and from that point on we had no real need for outside help. We made changes to the backup schema, and started updating the virus protection.
Shortly there after we got the notice that we were going to be 'transformed'. We had heard from other sites that is never went well, and was a source of problems for every site that had been done already. Our site was to be done, but unlike the other sites we were different. How? The only computing equipment that belonged to the IT group was the servers, the rest of the equipment belonged to the client. This was not going to be good.

Come back and see how this goes wrong.

High Quality

2006-12-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

Our IT is outsourced to a company who has a reputation for really bad service on their contracts. It is so bad that Sears dropped them, and actually saved money in the process. Anyway, we have had nothing but problems with them. For example, the closest technician that they have to 'service' our contract is over 4 hours away, in another state. While they do have an office locally, they say that they 'do not have anyone there assigned to our contract.' I find that very odd. How hard is it to tell a technician to bill their hours to another contract? As a consultant I did it every day, billing time to each client or contract individually as I worked.
Say you wanted to add a new hire to the users accounts, how long do you think that would take? As a network admin I can tell you that it should take no longer than 10 - 15 minutes. It takes this company over 2 weeks to add a new user. Say you forget your password to your email account or network login. You call the 'Help Desk', and after they tell you that they cannot reset your password, and give you a ticket number they hang up. Then a few weeks later, you get a phone call that they reset your password and closed the ticket. You tell them that you never received the new password and ask them to tell you it on the phone. "Oh we can't tell it to you over the phone. We emailed it to you." to which you respond "What? I do not have access to my email because I do not have the password!" and if they speak english the reply "We will have to get back to you on that."
We were 'transformed' by this company. Being 'transformed' was their word for, we take your brand new computers and give you 3 year old computers in its place. We took 5 steps backwards in being able to do our day to day work. I still have one of our 'old' workstations, because they cannot seem to get all of the programs to work on the 'new' workstations. So, I work on 2 different workstations for different programs.
I made the mistake of going on vacation for a week. When I got back I found that one of my network accounts was locked. So I went to a co-worker that has access to the same network and asked if he could unlock my account for me, his reply "Only if you can unlock mine first!" So, it took no less that 8 phone calls to different people at this IT company, none of them spoke anything but broken english, to get some one to understand my problem. I was told "We locked all of the accounts on the domain, because every one on that domain has been transformed." I had to explain to them that since they had not been able to 'transform' the database servers that we use to store all of our data on-site, that I needed access to that domain (with admin rights) to manage those servers. They told me that it was not possible. I then explained the they would have to explain to the President of my company why he could not collect money from our clients because we defaulted on our contract because our outsourced IT would not give us access to the data for the client. Shortly after that I got the admin rights to the domain.
I have more stories about these guys, but I will tell those another time.

When IT goes wrong... its never good.

Multimedia message

2006-12-06T22:44:00.001-08:00

while I like to ride this is nice but to fancy to ride

The Human Factor

2006-12-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of a 'Human Factors' program?

Most people have not. What the program is for is to determine if a person was the reason for a problem, or if it was the procedure that failed. The basis for this program comes from a VERY large airplane builder. While the program is sound, it is the implementation and follow through that causes problems.

Human Factors in a nutshell: An incident happens. An investigation is started. The person(s) involved have the opportunity to step forward and help identify what went wrong, with no disciplinary action to them. A group meets to discuss the incident, and identify a solution. The solution is put into practise.

Now here is one of the problems with it; while getting people to admit their mistakes is good, disciplining them for breaking the rules must be done or it will happen again. Nip it in the bud, as the saying goes.

Problem number two. Management must support the program at all levels. This includes the HR people that are so good at limiting managements ability to discipline. No support, no program.

Problem number three. The workers must buy into the program also. If this program was not in place when they started, they will resist it at every turn. They also have the past experiences of incidents that went wrong. They will be very skepticle of anything that management says is for their benefit. The flip side to that, they will take advantage of the Human Factors shield so they don't get into trouble. "I came forward, you can't punish me!" they will say.

Want to side-step these problems? Do not give HR the power to over-rule management. HR is there to support management, not hinder them. Also, have a Safety person that knows their stuff. Any Safety person that can gain the trust of the workers will make or break this type of program. Finally, follow through with the program. Many programs are hyped up when they are new, then fall flat over time. Make sure that your program is supported by everyone, if someone in your organization does not support it, they should find new employment.

How safe is safety

2006-12-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

Safety, it is a two edged word (yes, word not sword). One side is a state of being safe, the other is the group or person who is to keep you practising safe work procedures.
Lets take an average day in the life of the 'Safety Guy'. We will look at the journal written by this person, and get the feel of how it is to be 'REALLY' safe.

I got up today, the floor was cold, something must be wrong with the furnace, I will check it later. I has to eat raw eggs, for some reason the stove would not start, it just clicks and clicks and clicks and clicks. I will have to check that later also. Hmmm... my clothes are not dry. I ran them extra in the dryer, but still they are damp. Maybe I should have it checked, later. Wow it really stinks outside, like rotten eggs. Someone should call the trash people and get the rotten trash out of here. Well the drive to work wasn't that bad, I am sure glad I wasn't part of that bad accident that happened behind me, I would have been late. I should take a stroll around the site to see what's going on. Ooo... that puddle of oil on the floor should be cleaned up, I wonder who will do that. Hey, that trash can is blocking the fire extinguisher, someone should move it. No one want to use those safety chains to block off that area, I should have them removed. I wonder if the rail is powered up, one light is on the other is off. I should let someone else know about it. Hey, what are those two guys doing? That is not the proper procedure for doing that! I will really have to tell their supervisor about it. Wow, I am so great! I have emailed the supervisors about all of the hazardous conditions and practices I saw, and it only took me all day to write it. I can go home now with a clean concious.

While this may seem a little extreame, all of these events (with the exception of the gas problem, you got that one right?) happened. Our 'Safety Guy' like to stick his nose into areas that it doesn't belong, but refuses to act safely or ensure that other do also. We have had very serious incidents on our site, and yes OSHA was involved, and still he has a job! I was a lucky one that escaped a potentially deadly situation that he caused by not following procedures. The guy after me was not so lucky, even though he followed the same procedure set by the 'Safety Guy'.

Am I bitter, YOU BET! No one should be this unsafe and still have a job where safety is vital.

Visit the past

2006-12-05T12:50:00.000-08:00

Scott Adams the creator of Dilbert (R), hit a cord in the corporate community. Strange thing is that for all of the revealing of corporate culture over the years, nothing about how corporations do things has changed. Now I am talking about large corporations, the big monsters that can't see their own shoes. I work for one such corporation, on a project that has not gone as smooth as anyone would like.
The project is a mass transit system. Yeah, I know that mass transit never goes the way it should, but I think that this project has taken the prize for things gone wrong. In the time that I have been here, which is considerable, I have seen things that would stupify the average person. Common sense is a luxury item here, with the exception of a few hard working smart people our vehichles are more intelligent.
Now don't get me wrong, a few of the people here are top notch and hard working. The rest are the type of people you find with their hands out for a free ride in life. How did we get here? That question has been answered, but never addressed.
The dreaded Human Resources. HR in most companies is a lubering oaf at best. They cause problems with employees or management and then leave it in a lump to fester for a while. Our HR is no different. Being a large corp with many divisions, we have HR that is spead out over the company. Problem is that you have to work your way around the problem children to get anything done.
One day it was revealed that some of the guys were not getting their shift differential. Sounds like no big deal right? Well, it took our HR 8 months to figure out how much to give them. This is at least 3 years worth, at 10% thats a lot of money. They finally gave the money up, but took to much out in taxes.
HR should be the ones not being racest. Our HR person is far from it (a minority person themselves) they pick unqualified minorities to fill positions that put peoples lives at stake. Its not pretty.
There is more, but another time will tell.

Mad Driver Disease

2006-12-05T12:28:00.000-08:00

Mad drivers, they are everywhere and anyone. While this is true, why are they so mad? The DMV, try as they might, 'limits' who gets a drivers license (or do they). Written tests, driving tests, and eye tests are administered and passed. Why do they not test for selfishness or self-centered-ness (is that a word)? People get mad on the roads because drivers do not care what happens to the other guy. They are only concerned with what happens to themselves, and getting to where they are going as fast as possible.
'Back in the old days', drivers had a thing called courtesey for other drivers. They could merge, change lanes, and even stop at a stop light (or sign). Now most drivers think nothing of cutting you off, driving down the emergency lane, and running stop lights.
Do yourself a favor, leave early and take the back roads less traveled. If someone cuts you off, just smile and wave (just long enough for them to hit the car in front of them).