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Scofflaws
This morning I was riding to meet a friend. I was going to be a little
late, which isn't unusual for me. I made a left turn from a highway on to another rural road that is also 100 km/h speed limit and quite busy too. Maybe 100m from the turn is a rail crossing. I noticed a car behind me as I approached the crossing. The driver wasn't going much faster than me at that stage. About 30m from the crossing the lights started flashing and bells were ringing. A train was approaching and there are no boom gates at this crossing. I applied the brakes and gently rolled to a stop. The driver in the car following me accelerated, past me, and drove illegally through the crossing. I wasn't bothered, but I did wonder why the rush considering the ease of stopping. -- JS |
Scofflaws
John B. wrote:
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 14:06:55 +1000, James wrote: This morning I was riding to meet a friend. I was going to be a little late, which isn't unusual for me. I made a left turn from a highway on to another rural road that is also 100 km/h speed limit and quite busy too. Maybe 100m from the turn is a rail crossing. I noticed a car behind me as I approached the crossing. The driver wasn't going much faster than me at that stage. About 30m from the crossing the lights started flashing and bells were ringing. A train was approaching and there are no boom gates at this crossing. I applied the brakes and gently rolled to a stop. The driver in the car following me accelerated, past me, and drove illegally through the crossing. I wasn't bothered, but I did wonder why the rush considering the ease of stopping. About how many seconds between him leaving the tracks and the train crossing? As a hat-protected roadie, and familiar with the crossing, you really should have taken on the challenge! ;-) There are a lot of people like that, "gotta pass, gotta pass", for no good reason that I can think of except that it might be the driver's way to assert himself, to prove that he's "the biggest dick on the block". Depending on how long the crossing was blocked, he might have been obliged to turn his motor off, ruining the oil temperature and leaving him defenseless either next to a "semi-human" cyclist or behind a powerful bicycle safety flasher ... or even worse, some eco-europhile standlight_!! As for getting there quicker... maybe. I've ridden with folks that constantly drive above the speed limit and their times on a , say 200 km trip, is only minutes quicker than mine, driving at the specified speed limit. Drivers at the speed limit? They might be inexperienced, inattentive, frail, foreigners, or even criminals trying not to get pulled over !! |
Scofflaws
On Monday, April 15, 2019 at 6:07:04 AM UTC+2, James wrote:
This morning I was riding to meet a friend. I was going to be a little late, which isn't unusual for me. I made a left turn from a highway on to another rural road that is also 100 km/h speed limit and quite busy too. Maybe 100m from the turn is a rail crossing. I noticed a car behind me as I approached the crossing. The driver wasn't going much faster than me at that stage. About 30m from the crossing the lights started flashing and bells were ringing. A train was approaching and there are no boom gates at this crossing. I applied the brakes and gently rolled to a stop. The driver in the car following me accelerated, past me, and drove illegally through the crossing. I wasn't bothered, but I did wonder why the rush considering the ease of stopping. -- JS One of my riding buddies is a train operator. After hearing some of his stories I never ever illegally cross a train crossing. Not by car, not by bike. Lou |
Scofflaws
On 4/15/2019 5:26 PM, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 14:06:55 +1000, James wrote: This morning I was riding to meet a friend. I was going to be a little late, which isn't unusual for me. I made a left turn from a highway on to another rural road that is also 100 km/h speed limit and quite busy too. Maybe 100m from the turn is a rail crossing. I noticed a car behind me as I approached the crossing. The driver wasn't going much faster than me at that stage. About 30m from the crossing the lights started flashing and bells were ringing. A train was approaching and there are no boom gates at this crossing. I applied the brakes and gently rolled to a stop. The driver in the car following me accelerated, past me, and drove illegally through the crossing. I wasn't bothered, but I did wonder why the rush considering the ease of stopping. There are a lot of people like that, "gotta pass, gotta pass", for no good reason that I can think of except that it might be the driver's way to assert himself, to prove that he's "the biggest dick on the block". In some other bike forum, a guy has come up with the concept of a "traffic eternity." I think it may be something like ten seconds. For example, upon coming upon a bicyclist avoiding the door zone: "That damned bicyclist was riding in the middle of the lane! I had to wait for two traffic eternities before I could pass him!" As for getting there quicker... maybe. I've ridden with folks that constantly drive above the speed limit and their times on a , say 200 km trip, is only minutes quicker than mine, driving at the specified speed limit. One very busy four+ lane road near me runs for miles through a major shopping district, with many intersections, driveways, traffic lights, turn lanes, etc. It's not uncommon to see people tailgating, cutting left and right, accelerating fiercely and speeding to get home to Oprah TV a bit sooner. But most of them never seem to look more than 100 yards ahead. When driving, I enjoy using my knowledge of the traffic patterns to out-run them, as it were, while driving sensibly. It's most fun when I get to toot my horn and wave goodbye when passing them. I did that last week with a woman who had blared her horn then cut me off so she could zoom past. She picked the wrong lane at a couple red lights, while I made better choices. -- - Frank Krygowski |
Scofflaws
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 14:06:55 +1000, James
wrote: This morning I was riding to meet a friend. I was going to be a little late, which isn't unusual for me. I made a left turn from a highway on to another rural road that is also 100 km/h speed limit and quite busy too. Maybe 100m from the turn is a rail crossing. I noticed a car behind me as I approached the crossing. The driver wasn't going much faster than me at that stage. About 30m from the crossing the lights started flashing and bells were ringing. A train was approaching and there are no boom gates at this crossing. I applied the brakes and gently rolled to a stop. The driver in the car following me accelerated, past me, and drove illegally through the crossing. I wasn't bothered, but I did wonder why the rush considering the ease of stopping. There are a lot of people like that, "gotta pass, gotta pass", for no good reason that I can think of except that it might be the driver's way to assert himself, to prove that he's "the biggest dick on the block". As for getting there quicker... maybe. I've ridden with folks that constantly drive above the speed limit and their times on a , say 200 km trip, is only minutes quicker than mine, driving at the specified speed limit. -- cheers, John B. |
Scofflaws
On Monday, April 15, 2019 at 6:59:52 PM UTC+1, wrote:
On Monday, April 15, 2019 at 6:07:04 AM UTC+2, James wrote: This morning I was riding to meet a friend. I was going to be a little late, which isn't unusual for me. I made a left turn from a highway on to another rural road that is also 100 km/h speed limit and quite busy too. Maybe 100m from the turn is a rail crossing. I noticed a car behind me as I approached the crossing. The driver wasn't going much faster than me at that stage. About 30m from the crossing the lights started flashing and bells were ringing. A train was approaching and there are no boom gates at this crossing. I applied the brakes and gently rolled to a stop. The driver in the car following me accelerated, past me, and drove illegally through the crossing. I wasn't bothered, but I did wonder why the rush considering the ease of stopping. -- JS One of my riding buddies is a train operator. After hearing some of his stories I never ever illegally cross a train crossing. Not by car, not by bike. Lou Never tangle with anyone bigger than you. A train is definitely bigger than a cyclist. AJ |
Scofflaws
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 14:06:55 +1000, James
wrote: This morning I was riding to meet a friend. I was going to be a little late, which isn't unusual for me. I made a left turn from a highway on to another rural road that is also 100 km/h speed limit and quite busy too. Maybe 100m from the turn is a rail crossing. I noticed a car behind me as I approached the crossing. The driver wasn't going much faster than me at that stage. About 30m from the crossing the lights started flashing and bells were ringing. A train was approaching and there are no boom gates at this crossing. I applied the brakes and gently rolled to a stop. The driver in the car following me accelerated, past me, and drove illegally through the crossing. I wasn't bothered, but I did wonder why the rush considering the ease of stopping. The psychology of driving. I can go fast (with virtually no actual effort on my part), therefore I am entitled to go fast and anything that prevents me from going fast is an annoyance. This is paired with the average driver's belief that they are an excellent, even exceptional, driver (even though they are at best average). Thus we drive fast and take chances. |
Scofflaws
On Monday, April 15, 2019 at 8:01:45 PM UTC-7, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 14:06:55 +1000, James wrote: This morning I was riding to meet a friend. I was going to be a little late, which isn't unusual for me. I made a left turn from a highway on to another rural road that is also 100 km/h speed limit and quite busy too. Maybe 100m from the turn is a rail crossing. I noticed a car behind me as I approached the crossing. The driver wasn't going much faster than me at that stage. About 30m from the crossing the lights started flashing and bells were ringing. A train was approaching and there are no boom gates at this crossing. I applied the brakes and gently rolled to a stop. The driver in the car following me accelerated, past me, and drove illegally through the crossing. I wasn't bothered, but I did wonder why the rush considering the ease of stopping. The psychology of driving. I can go fast (with virtually no actual effort on my part), therefore I am entitled to go fast and anything that prevents me from going fast is an annoyance. This is paired with the average driver's belief that they are an excellent, even exceptional, driver (even though they are at best average). Thus we drive fast and take chances. Having actually raced professionally (or semi-professionally as you like - I wasn't being paid - just given equipment) I know exactly how to corner and so am MUCH faster than most people. But I don't drive dangerously as most people do because I know the results of being stupid on anything that moves. I drove up to Clear Lake to see if I could develop an overnighter. This meant taking a backroad on a long climb. All of the motels in Clear Lake were gone. Though I understand that now that Trump's in office they are back in business. In any case I was returning on the highway and just as I entered the downhill stretch a Mercedes sports coupe passed me going 30 mph faster than me I knew what was ahead and gritted my teeth. Sure enough that SOB spun out at the first curve and almost went over the cliff. And then the stupid ass jumped on the gas in order to stay in front of me. But he had frightened himself and his passenger so much that he was slowing to 10 mph in the turns. With me on his rear bumper he finally pulled over and I drove by at a reasonable speed and he couldn't even begin to keep up. My tires weren't making a sound so I know I wasn't pushing the pace to show him up. So my 1999 Ford Taurus outran a Mercedes without even trying. Most Corvette owners know better than to push the pace because the car is far faster than 99% of the drivers. I parked the car out in front of my house and an SUV came around the corner so fast it hit the left rear quarter so hard that it actually bent the frame so badly that the tire was 5" above the ground. I think that the driver was going to run but the impact had set off the air bags and she only made it a half block before the engine shut off automatically. Nice quiet residential street. To do that she had to have come around that corner at least at 40 mph and been accelerating. It literally threw my car out into the middle of the street. As of this posting, good drivers are so rare that they are a protected species. Women in particular drive so badly that if there was any actual traffic law enforcement most of them wouldn't have a license very shortly. Around the Fruitvale district in Oakland the punks put on a "sideshow" last night that ended with stores being broken into and fires set and guns being fired at one another. Sure is nice to have sanctuary cities isn't it? |
Scofflaws
On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 8:17:54 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Monday, April 15, 2019 at 8:01:45 PM UTC-7, Tim McNamara wrote: On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 14:06:55 +1000, James wrote: This morning I was riding to meet a friend. I was going to be a little late, which isn't unusual for me. I made a left turn from a highway on to another rural road that is also 100 km/h speed limit and quite busy too. Maybe 100m from the turn is a rail crossing. I noticed a car behind me as I approached the crossing. The driver wasn't going much faster than me at that stage. About 30m from the crossing the lights started flashing and bells were ringing. A train was approaching and there are no boom gates at this crossing. I applied the brakes and gently rolled to a stop. The driver in the car following me accelerated, past me, and drove illegally through the crossing. I wasn't bothered, but I did wonder why the rush considering the ease of stopping. The psychology of driving. I can go fast (with virtually no actual effort on my part), therefore I am entitled to go fast and anything that prevents me from going fast is an annoyance. This is paired with the average driver's belief that they are an excellent, even exceptional, driver (even though they are at best average). Thus we drive fast and take chances. Having actually raced professionally (or semi-professionally as you like - I wasn't being paid - just given equipment) I know exactly how to corner and so am MUCH faster than most people. But I don't drive dangerously as most people do because I know the results of being stupid on anything that moves. I drove up to Clear Lake to see if I could develop an overnighter. This meant taking a backroad on a long climb. All of the motels in Clear Lake were gone. Though I understand that now that Trump's in office they are back in business. In any case I was returning on the highway and just as I entered the downhill stretch a Mercedes sports coupe passed me going 30 mph faster than me I knew what was ahead and gritted my teeth. Sure enough that SOB spun out at the first curve and almost went over the cliff. And then the stupid ass jumped on the gas in order to stay in front of me.. But he had frightened himself and his passenger so much that he was slowing to 10 mph in the turns. With me on his rear bumper he finally pulled over and I drove by at a reasonable speed and he couldn't even begin to keep up. My tires weren't making a sound so I know I wasn't pushing the pace to show him up. So my 1999 Ford Taurus outran a Mercedes without even trying. Most Corvette owners know better than to push the pace because the car is far faster than 99% of the drivers. I parked the car out in front of my house and an SUV came around the corner so fast it hit the left rear quarter so hard that it actually bent the frame so badly that the tire was 5" above the ground. I think that the driver was going to run but the impact had set off the air bags and she only made it a half block before the engine shut off automatically. Nice quiet residential street. To do that she had to have come around that corner at least at 40 mph and been accelerating. It literally threw my car out into the middle of the street. As of this posting, good drivers are so rare that they are a protected species. Women in particular drive so badly that if there was any actual traffic law enforcement most of them wouldn't have a license very shortly. Around the Fruitvale district in Oakland the punks put on a "sideshow" last night that ended with stores being broken into and fires set and guns being fired at one another. Sure is nice to have sanctuary cities isn't it? I remember when Oakland was peaceful and nobody shot at each other. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_...nd,_California Now that Trump is president, these hip-hop sideshows are out of control! Burning buses, looting trucks -- does the President condone this sort of lawlessness? Is he FOR violence? -- Jay Beattie. |
Scofflaws
On 4/16/2019 12:02 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 8:17:54 AM UTC-7, wrote: On Monday, April 15, 2019 at 8:01:45 PM UTC-7, Tim McNamara wrote: On Mon, 15 Apr 2019 14:06:55 +1000, James wrote: This morning I was riding to meet a friend. I was going to be a little late, which isn't unusual for me. I made a left turn from a highway on to another rural road that is also 100 km/h speed limit and quite busy too. Maybe 100m from the turn is a rail crossing. I noticed a car behind me as I approached the crossing. The driver wasn't going much faster than me at that stage. About 30m from the crossing the lights started flashing and bells were ringing. A train was approaching and there are no boom gates at this crossing. I applied the brakes and gently rolled to a stop. The driver in the car following me accelerated, past me, and drove illegally through the crossing. I wasn't bothered, but I did wonder why the rush considering the ease of stopping. The psychology of driving. I can go fast (with virtually no actual effort on my part), therefore I am entitled to go fast and anything that prevents me from going fast is an annoyance. This is paired with the average driver's belief that they are an excellent, even exceptional, driver (even though they are at best average). Thus we drive fast and take chances. Having actually raced professionally (or semi-professionally as you like - I wasn't being paid - just given equipment) I know exactly how to corner and so am MUCH faster than most people. But I don't drive dangerously as most people do because I know the results of being stupid on anything that moves. I drove up to Clear Lake to see if I could develop an overnighter. This meant taking a backroad on a long climb. All of the motels in Clear Lake were gone. Though I understand that now that Trump's in office they are back in business. In any case I was returning on the highway and just as I entered the downhill stretch a Mercedes sports coupe passed me going 30 mph faster than me I knew what was ahead and gritted my teeth. Sure enough that SOB spun out at the first curve and almost went over the cliff. And then the stupid ass jumped on the gas in order to stay in front of me. But he had frightened himself and his passenger so much that he was slowing to 10 mph in the turns. With me on his rear bumper he finally pulled over and I drove by at a reasonable speed and he couldn't even begin to keep up. My tires weren't making a sound so I know I wasn't pushing the pace to show him up. So my 1999 Ford Taurus outran a Mercedes without even trying. Most Corvette owners know better than to push the pace because the car is far faster than 99% of the drivers. I parked the car out in front of my house and an SUV came around the corner so fast it hit the left rear quarter so hard that it actually bent the frame so badly that the tire was 5" above the ground. I think that the driver was going to run but the impact had set off the air bags and she only made it a half block before the engine shut off automatically. Nice quiet residential street. To do that she had to have come around that corner at least at 40 mph and been accelerating. It literally threw my car out into the middle of the street. As of this posting, good drivers are so rare that they are a protected species. Women in particular drive so badly that if there was any actual traffic law enforcement most of them wouldn't have a license very shortly. Around the Fruitvale district in Oakland the punks put on a "sideshow" last night that ended with stores being broken into and fires set and guns being fired at one another. Sure is nice to have sanctuary cities isn't it? I remember when Oakland was peaceful and nobody shot at each other. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_...nd,_California Now that Trump is president, these hip-hop sideshows are out of control! Burning buses, looting trucks -- does the President condone this sort of lawlessness? Is he FOR violence? -- Jay Beattie. Oakland? Sonny Barger's Oakland?? -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org/ Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
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