I might have been wrong about Mitt. He may be presidential caliber, after all:
Governor Mitt Romney has overstated the disparity between the number of automobile insurers in Massachusetts and other states in making his case for legislation that would overhaul the auto insurance system here.
The governor and his aides have insisted that the Massachusetts auto insurance system is in crisis because so few companies operate here, particularly when compared to other states. But, in pushing for sweeping changes in the state’s auto insurance system including the ability of companies to set their own rates, Romney and his allies in the industry have made the paucity of companies here seem much worse than it actually is.
i’m from MA. the reason why insurance rates are so high here is that the chance of having an accident or having your car stolen are higher here than elsewhere. we have signage with tiny lettering that is impossible to read (not to mention that there isn’t ENOUGH signage and it is often obscured by weeds and tree branches) to guide drivers through the snarling clusterfuck roads inside the towns and cities.
boston is a civil engineering nightmare and i always tell people who don’t know it or the surrounding area to NOT drive here. no one will be able to give you directions because you won’t be able to understand them due to the complexity of navigating this city. streets change names unexpectedly (often without a sign informing you of this). they often become one-way unexpectedly, so you can almost never go back the way you came.
the highways are horrible because traffic is heavy and subject to unexpected delays as people line up trying to get on or off. that causes a *lot* of accidents because people don’t expect to run into stopped traffic on limited access interstate highways. in other words — badly designed street systems + bad signage + too damned many cars = riskier driving experience.
now, let’s talk about the driving behavior of people in MA. i used to regularly drive to oak ridge, tn from boston. i’ve spent a lot of time driving around new york state and new york city. to put it bluntly, MA drivers suck. even the cab drivers in new york city are better. there isn’t a traffic law or common sense driving rule that these idiots won’t break. near my apartment, there is a huge sign on a major street that reminds people to stop at red lights.
don’t get me wrong. mitt romney is one of my least favorite people living in this state. but, he would be stupid to get up and tell MA residents that the reason they pay more for car insurance is that they are horrible drivers. given the stunning success of the Big Dig, he’s not going to get much support for a major public works project to improve the road system such that one is less likely to have an accident. in fact, a project of that size would cost more than the Big Dig. the last option is to tell people to suck it up and use public transportation, and there is no politician in this country who is going to tell american voters to give up their cars.