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As Forest Gump might have said, "I'm not a smart man, but I know what 'stupid' is". Ok, so that's not quite the way the line goes, but it is the first thing that came to my mind as I made a twelve-hour drive on Friday. I'd like to know who is in charge of the calender at VDOT. I'd like to shake their hand as the dumbest person alive. It was a Friday before Memorial Day and highway construction projects were all over Virginia. The two that gave me the most heartburn were on I-64 just west of Charlottesville and at the southbound lane of I-81 at the Ironto exit.
The I-64 issue seems to be bridge repair where the left lane is completely closed, forcing motorists to merge into the right lane. Seems easy enough until you realize there are hundreds of cars flying down the left lane to cut you off when they jump into the right lane. The idiots do not seem to realize, nor do they care, that they are the ones stopping traffic. The Virginia State Police were out everywhere on Friday with their "Click It or Ticket It" campaign, but seemed to be missing in action when traffic was backed up because of these reckless drivers. I-81's issues are even worse because traffic is already congested on this stretch of the Interstate. Yet, VDOT has constructed a dangerous lane "split" that is not marked accurately prior to the split. They do have 45mph speed limits posted, but has anyone ever seen a 18-wheeler slow down for anything on I-81? As I found my way through the maze at 11:00pm at night, there was an 18-wheeler no more than 10 feet from my bumper attempting to intimidate me to drive faster as my 8-year-old daughter was sleeping in the back and rain pouring down. And where were the Virginia State Police? Busy handing out seat belt violations I suppose. The road construction on I-81 between Christiansburg and Roanoke only adds more problems for motorists driving that stretch of highway. Officials have attempted to lower the speed limit, yet, serious accidents continue to occur on that stretch of road quite often. And many times, those accidents are horrendous and involve 18-wheelers. The fact is that 18-wheelers, for the most part, do not observe the speed limit in this area and many race through trying intimidating any motorist not driving as fast as they are. And where is the Virginia State Police? Seriously, when was the last time you saw an 18-wheeler pulled over on this stretch of I-81? Yet, we see them speeding and intimidating every day. Give me a gun, badge and blue light and I will raise enough money, handing out speeding tickets on this one stretch of road, to build a new school in every county in the Commonwealth. I exaggerate I know, but it is a bad situation. Slowing down the speed limit is not working. Doubling fines is not working, especially if there is little patrol activity. Going to 6 lanes is a distant proposition that will not eliminate the problems. In my opinion, only two things will lead to some real change in the way drivers are barreling through the area between Christiansburg and Roanoke. First, there must have constant patrols. Every day, every hour. If the State Police are stretched too thin for this, then Salem and Roanoke Police should be used to supplement the law enforcement presence. Second, the laws must be strengthened. I had one truck driver recently tell me that he had no huge reason not to tailgate and intimidate. It's basically a "following too closely" fine with not much meat in it. And that is only when law enforcement takes any action. How about changing the law to a "threat with a dangerous weapon" charge when these large trucks tailgate? If someone points a gun at someone, they go to jail right? Well, what's the difference? These truckers are pointing a dangerous weapon at other motorists. Toss a few of these men and women in jail for awhile and make them answer some bigger charges. Maybe even call it "attempted murder". One thing is for certain, something has to give or there will be more and more deaths on Virginia roads as the result of these large trucks running unchecked, especially on I-81. The "Click It or Ticket It" campaign is a very good campaign for the Commonwealth. But, wearing a seat belt is not going to help someone who gets hit in the rear by some truck flying at them at over 70 mph. I say we ask our government to spend some time cracking down on driver intimidation - and spend as much or more money on that as they do with "Click It or Ticket It".
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Just My Opinion 
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As far as construction, yes it's needed and more patrols during that time. It is a confusing area and a tight spot to be in, no room for error at all, not even a blink!
My thanks for all the troopers out there now. They're risking their lives for us. God Bless!