Wellesley Wait 

Boston area drivers are known for acting as if they are the only ones on the road, but there is a phenomenon in Wellesley (a very affluent suburb) which I have dubbed the "Wellesley Wait."

Drivers from other parts of Massachusetts and especially from out-of-state should pay heed to the example if they have the chance to drive through this beautiful town.

You are driving along one of Wellesley's major streets, notably Route 135 (Great Plain Ave) and Route 16 (Washington St). A driver (sorry to say, it is almost always a female) of an expensive SUV or European Station Wagon comes to a complete stop at the end of a side street or long driveway (many of Wellesley's "driveways" are longer than actual streets) and common sense/consensus would indicate this means the driver will wait for you to pass and then pull on to the state highway.

But nooooooo. You are driving along at 30-40 mph; there is nobody behind you nor in front of you. Just as you approach the intersection/driveway, the Wellesley driver will obliviously pull out right in front of you and proceed at a cement mixer's pace.

I don't condone jack rabbit starts, but if you are going to cut somebody off in your "Limited edition" Jeep, Lexus, Mercedes, or BMW SUV, inevitably equipped with the optional V8 engine, or turbocharged Volvo or Audi station wagon, please try to get up to at least 25 mph within 30 seconds after causing a driver minding his/her own business to nearly rear-end your yuppiemobile due to a mixture of selfishness and sense of oblivion.

The offending "Wellesley Wait" driver is almost always yacking away on her cell phone, impervious to the world around her.

The worst intersection for this infraction is where Benvenue Street intersects with Route 135/Great Plain Ave.

If you come to this intersection and one of these drivers abruptly cuts you off at the last minute, don't waste your energy honking your horn or otherwise getting angry. Just be prepared to poke behind that BMW X5 or Volvo Cross Country at 20 mph until you reach Olin College; most of the time, the driver will FINALLY reach speeds of 35-40 mph.

Wellesley Wait by DFJD April 11, 2008