changing lanes

A temporary resident of L.A. comments on the rash of recent freeway shootings in The New York Times:

If nothing else, these good driving manners express the centrality of the freeway system in the consciousness of Southern California. I've begun to think of those lanes as a giant public square spreading all across the city, a square where most people try to contribute their mite of civility in hopes of keeping the overall experience as tolerable as possible. But there's another way to look at it. The civility on display may reflect nothing more than the profound hostility lying just below the surface.

What strikes me as most foreboding about the freeway shootings is the way law enforcement tries to reassure us by pointing out that we're actually behind schedule:

Even as they announced the stepped-up enforcement efforts, officials released figures showing that despite media coverage in recent weeks, there have actually been two fewer freeway shootings this year than in the same period last year.

"We don't want the public to think there's an onslaught" of shootings, Assistant Chief Art Acevedo said Monday. "We are actually on pace to have fewer shootings this year, and remember, these shootings are taking place in three counties that are heavily traveled with high populations."

According to data released by authorities, there were 36 freeway shootings, with one person killed, in 2004. In 2003, there were 46 incidents and four fatalities.