Tattling

 

Some folks just love to tattle. They may have a good reason, they may not. But they are just downright driven to tell on people who are transgressing the rules that they feel must be followed. 

Think of our anonymous tattler providing HCPSS forms to Libs of TikTok, for instance. Or the folks who tagged the former Governor on Twitter when County Executive Calvin Ball did things they didn’t like during the height of the pandemic. I sometimes wonder if some people operate under the mindset that “It is not enough for me to be good. Others must be punished.”

In Columbia each Village has very specific guidelines for the exterior appearance of their residences. (If you know, you know.) Normally one comes up against this only when wanting to make changes or requesting a letter of compliance before selling. However…

This system is what is euphemistically called a  “complaint-driven system.” In other words, if someone objects to your house they can report you to the Village Association who will then be obliged to follow up. I’m not philosophically opposed to having and maintaining architectural guidelines but I’ve never been too comfortable with an entrenched system of what amounts to neighbors tattling on neighbors.

This is why I had to stop and read the title of this piece more than once.

Howard County just made it easier to report the roads drivers take too fast, Lillian Reed, Baltimore Banner

Residents and neighborhoods beginning this week can go online to report dangerously busy county roads and request traffic calming measures that prevent speeding. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball released a new policy this week that overhauls the way the jurisdiction collects such applications — and the way officials decide which county-owned and maintained roads will eventually get speed bumps, roundabouts or rumble strips.

Oh. Well, that’s refreshing. They’re encouraging you to tattle on the roads, not the drivers. I wonder if anyone out there will take this as an invitation to send in photos of cars and license plates anyway. I have observed social media complaints about excessive speed on Great Star Drive in River Hill for years which range from polite reminders to borderline threats. Maybe it’s time somebody reported the road, instead.

Closer to where I live, the road where everyone seemed to feel the need for speed had long been Oakland Mills Road from Pete’s Snowballs to Snowden River Parkway. I used to feel anxious that someone might report me for driving the actual speed limit. Since the County has made changes to the road as a part of the Complete Streets program, the general speed of traffic has been substantially “calmed.” 

I love it. Others? Possibly not so much.

But even I, generally a cautious driver and all around Goody Two Shoes, had experienced those moments on Oakland Mills Road where I just went on autopilot and stopped looking at my speedometer.  There are just some roads like that. Experts in the field could probably explain to you exactly what the factors are that cause that to happen. By the same token, there are a variety of mitigations available to make those roads safer.

And that’s what this is all about.

So, if you feel the urge to tattle, you have an opportunity to get it out of your system by reporting one of those pesky roads where people are always speeding. You won’t run the risk of hurting anyone’s feelings but you just might make the community a safer place.

Village Green/Town² Comments