Close call with a semi

I was commuting back from work today and crossing a circular
intersection, one of the few places
here where you could actually turn right on red legally. Anyhow, i'm
going straight across and am nearly over
as i realize that the semi right of me on the quarter circle section
has no intention of giving me the right of way,
Emergency braking later i realized that i could've been smothered into
asphalt should I have merrily continued
insisting on my right of way.

I guess this incident is a good illustration why commercial drivers in
the States have fewer points cap
before their license is pulled.

On this side of the pond in my part of the bundocs the road police
pretty much does not seem to ca
heck, car and suv drivers drive in winter on slippery sidewalks to the
tune of 40mph.

Basically writing this for those for you in the states to appreciate
the safety of your
pedestrian and bicycling modes viciously enforced by the long arm of
the law.
In norcal anyway

Commercial drivers sure, sadly the same isn't true for ordinary
MV operators. Consider the case here in Ohio of Jimmie Picklesimer
(no, I'm not making that up). This past Sunday he ran down and
killed a mother of three and her dog while they were walking.
He fled the scene, then a false report that he'd been carjacked.

That story unraveled and he admitted to hitting the woman and
her dog, and to having downed 6 beers just before doing so.

Here's where it gets worse: Mr. Picklesimer is 24 years old.
This means he's been licensed for less than 9 years, yet
he's had his license suspended *9* times! And he was in
possession of a valid license at the time of the hit and
run!

Ok, so that was last Sunday. He was released on bond and
guess what? He was arrested again this morning for OVI
and possession of drugs.

As I wrote on my blog,
"Honest to God, how many times does a person have to demonstrate that
they aren’t capable of safely operating a motor vehicle before the
“justice” system takes that privilege away from them, for good?"

I blogged about it he
http://www.gsevans.com/blog/2010/08/drivers-with-10-15-license-suspensions-%E2%80%98not-unusual%E2%80%99.html

and here's a news story about his latest arrest:
http://www.whiotv.com/news/24522914/detail.html

Makes my blood boil,
Greg

On Aug 5, 3:06*pm, Anton Success wrote:
I was commuting back from work today and crossing a circular
intersection, one of the few places
here where you could actually turn right on red legally. Anyhow, i'm
going straight across and am nearly over
as i realize that the semi right of me on the quarter circle section
has no intention of giving me the right of way,
Emergency braking later i realized that i could've been smothered into
asphalt should I have merrily continued
insisting on my right of way.

I guess this incident is a good illustration why commercial drivers in
the States have fewer points cap
before their license is pulled.

On this side of the pond in my part of the bundocs the road police
pretty much does not seem to ca
heck, car and suv drivers drive in winter on slippery sidewalks to the
tune of 40mph.

Basically writing this for those for you in the states to appreciate
the safety of your
pedestrian and bicycling modes viciously enforced by the long arm of
the law.
In norcal anyway

in an odd yet scary synchronicity, I had a gravel truck change lanes
into me yesterday on the way home from work. watched him weaving in
and out of traffic and tailgating several drivers until I finally lost
sight of him. Used to be that heavy truck drivers seemed to be calmer
and more professional than most, sadly that is not true anymore. Glad
you didn't become a road pizza.

nate

N8N wrote:
On Aug 5, 3:06 pm, Anton Success wrote:
I was commuting back from work today and crossing a circular
intersection, one of the few places
here where you could actually turn right on red legally. Anyhow, i'm
going straight across and am nearly over
as i realize that the semi right of me on the quarter circle section
has no intention of giving me the right of way,
Emergency braking later i realized that i could've been smothered into
asphalt should I have merrily continued
insisting on my right of way.

I guess this incident is a good illustration why commercial drivers in
the States have fewer points cap
before their license is pulled.

On this side of the pond in my part of the bundocs the road police
pretty much does not seem to ca
heck, car and suv drivers drive in winter on slippery sidewalks to the
tune of 40mph.

Basically writing this for those for you in the states to appreciate
the safety of your
pedestrian and bicycling modes viciously enforced by the long arm of
the law.
In norcal anyway

in an odd yet scary synchronicity, I had a gravel truck change lanes
into me yesterday on the way home from work. watched him weaving in
and out of traffic and tailgating several drivers until I finally lost
sight of him. Used to be that heavy truck drivers seemed to be calmer
and more professional than most, sadly that is not true anymore. Glad
you didn't become a road pizza.

nate

I've always thought local construction haulers were about the worst.
They're typically making short runs to and from a construction site and
always seem to be speeding when they're empty, particularly bad since
they usually drop stones as they bounce along in the fast lane.

Per Anton Success:

Basically writing this for those for you in the states to appreciate
the safety of your
pedestrian and bicycling modes viciously enforced by the long arm of
the law.

My German relatives, motor heads all (the old man owned a truck
repair shop), have the same reaction when they come to visit us
in the USA: "Gee, it's really relaxing to drive here."....

--
PeteCresswell

Per Peter Cole:

I've always thought local construction haulers were about the worst.
They're typically making short runs to and from a construction site and
always seem to be speeding when they're empty, particularly bad since
they usually drop stones as they bounce along in the fast lane.

Rightly or wrongly, my impression has always been that they were
getting paid by the trip/load.
--
PeteCresswell

On 08/05/2010 05:29 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Anton Success:

Basically writing this for those for you in the states to appreciate
the safety of your
pedestrian and bicycling modes viciously enforced by the long arm of
the law.

My German relatives, motor heads all (the old man owned a truck
repair shop), have the same reaction when they come to visit us
in the USA: "Gee, it's really relaxing to drive here."....


Where the heck was he driving? I found *Tokyo* drivers more predictable
than most places I've been in the US.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On 8/5/2010 6:37 PM, Phil W Lee wrote:

I would think there would be strong grounds for the family of the
killed woman to take action against the state for negligence, in
allowing him to drive despite his proven incompetence.

I hope they do, because it would set one hell of a good precedent.

Indeed. I'll definitely be following the case.

Oh and just to clarify, it turns out he wasn't out on bond,
he was released pending charges.

Greg

In article 3a1b4acc-2fad-4631-97f9-
,
says...


I was commuting back from work today and crossing a circular
intersection, one of the few places
here where you could actually turn right on red legally. Anyhow, i'm
going straight across and am nearly over
as i realize that the semi right of me on the quarter circle section
has no intention of giving me the right of way,
Emergency braking later i realized that i could've been smothered
into
asphalt should I have merrily continued
insisting on my right of way.

I guess this incident is a good illustration why commercial drivers in
the States have fewer points cap
before their license is pulled.

On this side of the pond in my part of the bundocs the road police
pretty much does not seem to ca
heck, car and suv drivers drive in winter on slippery sidewalks to
the
tune of 40mph.

Basically writing this for those for you in the states to appreciate
the safety of your
pedestrian and bicycling modes viciously enforced by the long arm
of
the law.
In norcal anyway
If I can't get on my bike and keep the following in mind at all times,
then I don't get on the bike:
"They can't see me but they are trying to kill me anyway."

On Aug 6, 12:17*am, Ronko wrote:


If I can't get on my bike and keep the following in mind at all times,
then I don't get on the bike:
"They can't see me but they are trying to kill me anyway."

That's a cute saying, but it's false and useless. If you believed it,
you'd hide behind roadside objects unless no cars were in sight. It's
even worse than the simpler and similarly worthless advice to "ride
like you're invisible."

- Frank Krygowski