Most cyclist do not believe that, when they are riding on the road, they are legally expected to follow traffic laws. These laws include stopping at stop signs, obeying traffic lights, going the right way on a one-way street, passing slow moving (or turning) vehicles on the left, etc. Disobeying any of the above, when you are on two small tires attached by some metal sticks while everyone else is inside a metal exoskeleton, is like facing off with an elephant: sounds like fun but, you will inevitably die a squishy death.
Not to stray any further, today, we will discuss passing cars on the left. The breaking of the first three rules I mentioned earlier, is a conscious disobedience; breaking the last rule is mostly just ignorance of the law. To clarify: when a car is making a right turn at an intersection, the cyclist is not legally allowed to squeeze in between the car and the curb to pass. Even when the car has to block a bike lane to make the turn, it is still illegal for the cyclist to try to continue on in their lane. In that situation the cyclist, like any other vehicle, is expected to 1) wait until the car turns or 2) do a lane change to the left and pass. Law aside, it is also very dangerous to perform the act of 'squeezing in', as the car is already watching for traffic coming from other directions and any pedestrians crossing the road; checking for illegally passing bikes is at the end of the list. Even if you are not a fan of obeying laws in general, take a minute to think about the following formula: CAR > bike; therefore, CAR will win.
Most cyclists, who do not know the proper sequence of events, become extremely hostile when a car does blocks their path while turning, and so, as a hateful act of revenge, they try to squeeze in between the car and the curb to show the car who is boss. Yet, still CAR > bike. Hence, these acts frequently lead to someone getting hurt, and it is usually is not the person protected by a metal exoskeleton.
In conclusion: learn the laws, because apparently ignorance is not always bliss. In some situations, ignorance is the cause of the end of your genetic lineage.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Rage Block: I Think They Call It Happiness
I have not posted in a few days.
Most of my blog entries are driven by some sort of rage induced event, and rage has been coming in very small doses lately. At first I did not even notice; flags were not raised until I looked at my last post date, and so I began exploring why. After several long minutes of deep thought I have come to the conclusion that lately people have not pissed me off...as much.
I blame it on the weather; it has been really cooling down lately. Maybe cool weather makes people less stupid. Or maybe cool weather tames the ever burning hateful fire within me.
Either way, hopefully this down time will not last too long. I would rather not have to change my name to Driven Insane by Happy! That might slightly affect the entire mood of this blog.
Most of my blog entries are driven by some sort of rage induced event, and rage has been coming in very small doses lately. At first I did not even notice; flags were not raised until I looked at my last post date, and so I began exploring why. After several long minutes of deep thought I have come to the conclusion that lately people have not pissed me off...as much.
I blame it on the weather; it has been really cooling down lately. Maybe cool weather makes people less stupid. Or maybe cool weather tames the ever burning hateful fire within me.
Either way, hopefully this down time will not last too long. I would rather not have to change my name to Driven Insane by Happy! That might slightly affect the entire mood of this blog.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Emo Lexus
The other day, while driving between lessons, I was feeling exceptionally nice and, against my better judgment, made room for a Lexus to move into my lane. We were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, and his lane was blocked, so I let him in.
About 13 seconds after the Lexus settled into my lane, a van drove up beside it and indicated that he too would like to get into our lane, preferably, in front of the Lexus. Immediately, I realized that this person must be new to downtown driving and is obviously unfamiliar with expensive-car drivers. Lexus drivers, like their Mercedes and BMW cousins, do not "let people in"; it goes against their principles.
The van inched toward the front of the Lexus, the Lexus did not budge. The van inched closer, the Lexus held its position. The van came in closer still, the Lexus moved away by an inch and started honking in a manner that suggested: "How dare you? Do you not know who I am?" The van seemed confused, the Lexus continued on blocking him for several more feet; we were moving at a snails pace so "feet" seemed like eternity.
Eventually, the obstruction in front of the van cleared. The van, although still confused, went on its merry way; the Lexus, it turned out, needed to get back into the now free lane. Unfortunately for him, all of the affordable-car drivers that were stuck behind the van, observing, now felt the need to block the Lexus for being an asshole. The Lexus had to wait until the whoooooole lane cleared before he could go. He even started inching toward the affordable cars to show them that he was in dear need of getting into their lane; this, however, only made them move closer together to make sure the Lexus had absolutely no room to get in.
I was stuck behind the Lexus, but, seeing the revenge unfold in front of my eyes, made the whole experience well worth it.
About 13 seconds after the Lexus settled into my lane, a van drove up beside it and indicated that he too would like to get into our lane, preferably, in front of the Lexus. Immediately, I realized that this person must be new to downtown driving and is obviously unfamiliar with expensive-car drivers. Lexus drivers, like their Mercedes and BMW cousins, do not "let people in"; it goes against their principles.
The van inched toward the front of the Lexus, the Lexus did not budge. The van inched closer, the Lexus held its position. The van came in closer still, the Lexus moved away by an inch and started honking in a manner that suggested: "How dare you? Do you not know who I am?" The van seemed confused, the Lexus continued on blocking him for several more feet; we were moving at a snails pace so "feet" seemed like eternity.
Eventually, the obstruction in front of the van cleared. The van, although still confused, went on its merry way; the Lexus, it turned out, needed to get back into the now free lane. Unfortunately for him, all of the affordable-car drivers that were stuck behind the van, observing, now felt the need to block the Lexus for being an asshole. The Lexus had to wait until the whoooooole lane cleared before he could go. He even started inching toward the affordable cars to show them that he was in dear need of getting into their lane; this, however, only made them move closer together to make sure the Lexus had absolutely no room to get in.
I was stuck behind the Lexus, but, seeing the revenge unfold in front of my eyes, made the whole experience well worth it.
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