Tag Archives: Interstate 95

Again?

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On Sunday, The Epoch Times posted an article about a recent bus accident on Interstate 95 in Virginia.

The article reports:

A crash in Virginia that killed five people last week involved a non-English-speaking driver of a bus who obtained a commercial license in New York state, U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy said on Sunday.

Among those killed were a 13-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, officials said, adding that the driver of the bus slammed into stopped traffic on Interstate 95 in Virginia. The driver, Jing S. Dong of Staten Island, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and additional charges are likely, Virginia State Police said.

The prosecutor’s office in Stafford County, Virginia, said Dong was arrested and would be in custody while he is treated for his injuries at a hospital.

Police officials confirmed that the driver of the bus, a man originally from China who became a U.S. citizen, “doesn’t speak English,” said Duffy in a May 29 post on X.

“He received his commercial drivers license from New York State in 2024. Unacceptable. This is exactly why we are holding states’ accountable, enforcing the rules of the road, and cracking down on drivers who can’t speak English,” Duffy wrote. “If you can’t be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus.”

The article notes:

Federal law requires the drivers of commercial vehicles to be able to speak and read English well enough to perform their job safely, according to the White House.

The article concludes:

Earlier this month, Duffy signed an order announcing new guidelines that truck drivers must meet the federal requirements to understand English well enough to understand road signs and be able to communicate with law enforcement officials.

A number of states have allowed drivers to take their license tests in other languages even though they are required to demonstrate English proficiency. California offered tests in 20 other languages.

American road signs are in English. If someone cannot speak or read English, they should not have a driver’s license–commercial or otherwise.

Beware Fake News

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Northern Virginia had a weather problem this week which resulted in people being stuck in traffic in the snow for many hours on Interstate 95. It does seem as if the problem was not dealt with as quickly as it should have been, but it’s Virginia and it’s snow. The south doesn’t really do snow very well, and southerners would do well to stay home at the sign of the first flake. However, there was some interesting commentary on this event on social media.

On Tuesday, Red State reported:

Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have been chock full of posts over the last 24 hours or so from understandably angry folks in the Virginia/D.C. area who have either been stuck for hours on I-95 in the middle of freezing temperatures and snow on the roads or who have family members and friends who are.

The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore, someone who you never want to see in your state because when he’s there that usually means trouble is ahead, tweeted out a map image this morning showing how long the logjam is. He noted that “some people” had been stuck in their vehicles “for over eight hours”:

Some of the social  media was confused as to who was in charge:

As the frustrations mount and the insane clips and photos of what things look like continue to roll in, some have taken to the Twitter machine to blame Republican Glenn Youngkin, who I should point out is the Gov.-Elect and won’t be sworn in until January 15th. The blame was so predominant that as I write this, “Youngkin” is trending on Twitter.

For instance, Jonah Goldberg, who we have been reliably told is a truuuue conservative or something, said on Twitter that “If I was Glenn Youngkin I’d be flooding the zone to get this I-95 crap fixed. DC suburbs are vengeful about this kind of thing.”

The article includes the screenshot below:

I guess you only blame the Governor for horrible traffic problems if he is a Republican.

I Hate This, But It Makes Sense

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Interstate 95 entering Virginia from North Car...

Image via Wikipedia

One of the things that President Obama continues to repeat is that the infrastructure of America–our roads and bridges–is falling apart and we need to spend large amounts of government money to fix them.  I agree that many of our roads are in need of repair, I just question how effective the government will be in repairing them in a timely manner for a reasonable price.

Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia has a different idea. He applied to the Department of Transportation for permission to place a toll on Interstate 95 in southern Virginia.

The article reports:

Because the toll will essentially raise money from I-95 users to pay for I-95 improvements — including out-of-state travelers — there’s no concern people will view this as an unnecessary tax, Caldwell (McDonnell spokesman Jeff Caldwell) said.

I hate the idea of a toll road, but I can see the wisdom of the plan. If the money raised by the tolls is used exclusively to fund improvements and maintenance on that specific highway, the tolls make sense–those who use the road will pay for its upkeep.
The article further reports:

Federal highway authorities approved placing tolls on Interstate 81 in 2003 under the Interstate Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program, but that plan stalled. State Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton lobbied Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez in April 2010 to shift the tolls to I-95, a more heavily traveled highway that runs the length of the East Coast.

As I said, I hate the idea of tolls, but this actually makes sense.

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