Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Scofflaw motorists

Everybody's doin' it.

You know those motorists who complain that cyclists never obey traffic laws? You should read their whiny comments about "speed traps" and "quotas," along with the requisite links to sites to help you break the law. Por ejample:

"They are indiscriminate in who they stop and stop people for the most trivial of reasons just for practice."

"CHP cruiser that sits on 19Th Ave and East Cliff at the four-way stop waiting for someone to fail to come to a complete stop, at an intersection where there has never been a serious accident. Or the CHP Officer that sits in the driveway of private property on the corner of Sims Rd and La Madrona at another non-dangerous three way stop. Or the one that sits at Paul Minnie and Rodriguez St yet another low priority three way stop." [ -- Personal note: I saw a really nasty injury collision at Sims & La Madrona just last weekend when somebody failed to stop at this "non-dangerous three way stop" which is actually a two way stop. ]

I don't understand why the American Automobile Association doesn't control these maniacs. They make all motorists look bad, especially since they stop at stop signs only 22% of the time. If they can't respect the rules of the road, I can't respect their right to be on the road.

See also: Warren's blockbuster movie Stop and the sequel Stop 2.

2 comments:

Ed W said...

There's a local push to re-route cyclists around a popular street for their 'safety.' I've asked for statistics supporting the argument that this street is dangerous, but I won't hold my breath. It seems that some business interests want to install angled parking for the convenience of motorists, and to allow for more vehicles in that space, so the pesky cyclists have to go away somewhere.

Michael A. Lewis said...

Who cares what motorists whine about? They're stuck in their spam cans ... serves em right.

What I care about is what bicyclists do, such as the oh-so-equipped young women on a tricked out road bike who ran through every stop sign between East Cliff and downtown, and rode the wrong way on One-Way Lake and Fifth streets.

Despite the fact that she was riding a many-speeded road bike, 60 year-old me was able to keep up with her on my 3-Speed Breezer, even while stopping at each stop sign and red light along the way. I rode through the harbor rather than against traffic on Lake, as well.

Scofflaw bicyclists are what give bicyclists a bad name!