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Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsible idiot parents refuse to pay)
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Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsible idiot parents refuse to pay)
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Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsible idiot parents refuse to pay)
On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 15:20:58 -0800, Zoot Katz
wrote: , Rick Onanian Zoot, it sounds to me like you dislike the culture and the legal system, as well as the masses, in your country. That's a lot to dislike and still stay. What's so compelling about it that you stay despite those major issues? It's the only English speaking city in the top three worldwide. And it's a nicer climate than other possible contenders in the top ten. Is that how you choose your location? By what's most popular or rated best? Okay, well, whatever works for you is great for you. Vancouver is developing a transportation infrastructure that, by officially adopted policy, prioritised pedestrian and bicycle amenities, public transit, and the movement of goods ahead of private automobiles. The regional district and outlying towns are adopting plans limiting sprawl. There's constantly work to be done toward that end and it's the citizens' responsibility to create the reality. Sounds like it fits you a lot better than you've previously implied. Maybe instead of arguing that every place should be exactly the same, you could say "Hey Kevan and Chalo, the water's fine, come on in!". They might like it there in your enlightened city. The city will undoubtedly become a shining example of how it can be done, and others will follow. How's the weather there? Here in Rhode Island, winter has begun; it is 22 degrees f in the morning (-5.5 c). www.weather.com says you had a _low_ of 45 degrees yesterday...sounds nice. So what if we're also known as 'la-la-land'. I've never heard of that; if somebody asked me where 'la-la-land' was, I'd guess Southern California. -- Rick Onanian |
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Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsible idiot parents refuse to pay)
On Tue, 11 Nov 2003 00:43:50 -0500, "frkrygowHALTSPAM"
wrote: I understand that everybody who buys a pickup just knows they'll need to haul two tons of stuff weekly. I don't know about everybody else, but I did need to haul at least 1200 pounds of materials yesterday. But in _real_ life, a light duty trailer is a perfectly workable solution to almost all hauling needs. It's just It's a perfectly dangerous solution (from a cyclist's point of view, anyway) to ask the masses to drag trailers. They can barely deal with the difference in handling between a truck and a compact car; they certainly can't safely pilot three axles and a pivot point. We have (gasp!) kids almost getting hurt when they jump their bike onto somebody's hood (bonnet for those of you across the pond), that's how dangerous these car drivers are without trailers; I can only imagine how dangerous they are with trailers. Of course, that doesn't matter to you; everybody should do everything exactly the way you do it. -- Rick Onanian |
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Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsible idiot parents refuse to pay)
On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 23:54:13 -0600, Kevan Smith
wrote: Aw, geez, Smith, now you're gonna get an "equal rights for animals" thread started... Nah, animals will never be treated as equals. Not as long as they're made of meat, anyway. -- Rick Onanian |
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Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsible idiot parents refuse to pay)
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Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsible idiot parents refuse to pay)
On Tue, 11 Nov 2003 00:42:32 -0800, Zoot Katz
wrote: Cars often can't take you directly to your destination because you can't find parking. As for picking up strangers, drivers won't often even share their cars with people they do know. Maybe so in cities. Where I come from, there's ample parking almost anywhere you go. Sometimes, gasp, you have to walk a hundred meters in to Wal Mart from the parking lot because all the spaces up front have been taken. It's still a whole lot closer than the train gets. Figure out a way to change all that and maybe then public transportation will become the preferred choice instead of what it currently is for most people, either a joyless necessity or a last resort. I believe that when public transportation becomes more convenient than cars, it will be a better system to use. This is partly achieved by No ****, sherlock. That's why cars are so popular. That's like saying "I believe that when healthy food tastes better and is more convenient, it will become more popular than insert meat, junk food, or fast food here". Yes, we might all find some benefit from eating organic vegan health food diets and riding bicycles and buses everywhere, but that doesn't make it right for everybody. There are several successful cities with well developed and historically well used transit systems. Sounds like the perfect place for people who like to be in a city and carless. An societal attitude adjustment, that we'll never get from television, is required before one can accept the benefits inherent in a safe, clean, and convenient public transit system. Okay...so you're saying it's effectively impossible. Agreed. -- Rick Onanian |
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Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsible idiot parents refuse to pay)
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Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsible idiot parents refuse to pay)
On Tue, 11 Nov 2003 11:22:07 -0500, David Kerber
wrote: It's a perfectly dangerous solution (from a cyclist's point of view, anyway) to ask the masses to drag trailers. They can barely deal with the difference in handling between a truck and a compact car; they certainly can't safely pilot three axles and a pivot point. We have (gasp!) kids almost getting hurt when they jump their bike onto somebody's hood (bonnet for those of you across the pond), that's how dangerous these car drivers are without trailers; I can only imagine how dangerous they are with trailers. Having driven all of them at various times, the difference in handling between a full-size truck (F-150 equivalent) and a compact car is much bigger than between the car without a trailer and the car with a trailer, especially when it comes to judging clearances and turning radii. The acceleration and braking are worse for the small car with a trailer, but that isn't as big of a safety issue for bikes as the clearance and turning problems. I, too, have driven both. I regularly drive a full size truck, and I went on vacation with a Pontiac Grand Am towing a 12' freshwater boat. That was a great vacation. I went to the middle of nowhere in Maine in september a few years back. It was quiet and the small town folk were so pleasant. The fishing was good, too -- I actually _caught_ fish! You may be right for short trailers and long trucks. However, a utility trailer which actually has any utility, vs. a standard-length full-size truck (regular cab + 8' bed or extended cab + short bed), is not as maneuverable as the truck. However, that's not the issue for bikes either. The issue is the inattentive drivers. It's easy to forget that you've got a trailer, unless it's terribly overloading your car. In this thread, it has been proposed that drivers who hurt somebody, regardless of fault, and without due process, should lose their license forever, because they are typically careless and inattentive. What do you think happens with the trailer? Driving with a trailer requires additional skills and habits, and extra attention. Driving a pickup truck requires modification of existing skills and habits. I would not feel safe out on a bicycle if every pickup on the road were replaced by compact cars with trailers. I just don't have the confidence in other drivers for that; they're bad enough with a trailerless compact car. -- Rick "Wants to go back to Stratton, Maine" Onanian |
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Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsibleidiot parents refuse to pay)
Rick Onanian wrote:
I would not feel safe out on a bicycle if every pickup on the road were replaced by compact cars with trailers. I just don't have the confidence in other drivers for that; they're bad enough with a trailerless compact car. You miss the main point. There would never be a need for every pickup to be replaced by a car with a trailer, precisely because the hauling capacity of most pickups is rarely used. At least, that's what I've seen whenever and wherever I've looked. Most pickups are empty. When they're not, their cargo would usually fit in the back of a small station wagon. The trailer would have to handle only the few times the load is truly large. For most people, it's silly to choose a truck over a car and a trailer. And, FWIW, I've long found pickup drivers to be more of a problem than compact car drivers. Perhaps it has something to do with the ads. You know - muscled construction workers, scowling cowboys, "When you see this truck in your mirror, you'd better pull over" and so on. Macho bull****. It sells to the Walter Mitty types, who then go out and play tough guy. -- Frank Krygowski |
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