According to Alison Bristol, who captured the incident in this photograph, the Mercedes driver somehow missed the ongoing construction:

"Apparently, the driver didn't realize the construction crew just finished pouring cement on the road," Bristol said, adding that the car drove into a work area clearly marked by signs and cones. The driver had to be helped out of the car because the vehicle was completely surrounded by wet pavement.

Impressively, the Benz-owner never once got off their cell phone for the entire ordeal. Thanks for the tip maureyrd!

Photo Credit: Alison Bristol via KHOU

The good news is 2008 saw a major decrease in traffic, with drivers in the 100 largest metropolitan areas dealing with a 29% decrease in congestion on average. The bad news is we're seeing it because of an increase in gas prices, which led to less driving and more carpooling, and a decrease in jobs, which led to more people sitting on the couch hoping their unemployment doesn't run out so they can afford to keep their benefits. It's a vicious circle. Much like the pain we're seeing in these community-by-community breakdowns of the most congested intersections in these 20 most congested metro areas.

1. Los Angeles	2. New York	3. Chicago	4. Dallas Fort Worth
5. Washington, D.C.	6. Houston	7. San Francisco	8. Boston
9. Seattle	10. Minneapolis-St. Paul	11. Philadelphia	12. Atlanta
13. Phoenix	14. Miami	15. San Diego	16. Denver
17. Baltimore	18. San Jose	19. Detroit	20. Riverside-San Bernardino

Though traffic does correlate to population rank, with the top four metropolitan areas also in the four worst cities for traffic, there are some anomalies. The Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria area is only the eighth most populous region in the country but is the fifth worst when it comes to traffic due to its high capacity of employment in the area and the lack of good housing stock for middle class families within "The Beltway" area.

Detroit is 11th largest in terms of population but only has the 19th worst traffic situation, primarily because of a 47% decrease in traffic year-over-year due to the economy and dramatic job loss. The collapse of the housing market hit Riverside-San Bernardino, a.k.a. the Inland Empire, hardest of all. The area saw a drop of 57% in traffic congestion, which is almost the same as the 55% drop in median home prices. While there's probably not a 1:1 ratio between the change in home values and congestion, they're likely connected.

Areas less affected by the housing market still experienced decreases in traffic, but at a lower level. For instance, home prices in Dallas remained stable and traffic congestion only decreased by 13% year-over-year, causing Dallas to move up to the fourth most congested city.

Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago are, as expected, still the worst cities for traffic in America. Los Angeles is so bad that peak hour congestion in Los Angeles is twice what it is in Chicago. The combination of a large population and low density makes L.A. even worse than the more populous New York. Compared to the Big Apple, Los Angeles also has fewer mass transit options.

Click on any of the cities above to see their current rank, population, congestion change and worst time of day for traffic. You can also view a gallery of the 100 worst intersections that fall within each city. A look at the hotspots reveal a few similar trends: intersecting highways, two-lane sections with onramps and merging lanes.

If you're reading this post it means you've actually made it home or made it to work. Congrats. There's probably someone still stuck in traffic.

[via Forbes, Google Earth]

"The high-end vehicles that are allowed are plush with amenities and covers on the back. It doesn't look like a pickup. It's fancier."

They even allow the Lincoln Mark LT, which is just an F-150 with a nicer grille and chrome.

This may not be a big deal in Greenwich, Glencoe or Grosse Pointe, but this is the reason why Texas has concealed handgun laws. We sympathize with Mr. Greenwood's frustration

"If we had a big Hummer, that could be in the driveway. If we had a Lincoln Mark LT, that could be in the driveway. But a Ford F-150 can't. That doesn't make sense."

We'll follow up on the story when someone gets shot. [Dallas Morning News]

It turns out that the tire separated from the truck and then made contact with this very thrashed Camaro Z28, which acted as the perfect ramp with which to launch the tire into the dealership. That's what's happening just as the video begins. As far as we know, this is the extent of the damage from one seriously wicked (possibly possessed) tire.

Thankfully, no one was hurt and the security camera was in place to catch the incident, the aftermath and the owner of the dealership using all seven words you can't say on TV (yes, we're sad we lost George Carlin, too). And thanks to TexasAreHot for sharing this incredible video. [Source: YouTube]

Hands-free devices like Bluetooth headsets will still be permitted, as will emergency calls. The fine for violators will be $200, but with school zones generally just a few blocks long, what is the Chatty Cathy to do during a lengthy conversation? Put the phone down for the two blocks? Also, what are the chances a police officer will be in the school zone to actually do the enforcing? Perhaps what's needed are crossing guards with photo radar. And kevlar vests. [Dallasnews]