Travel broadens the mind...as long as you`re not driving
I do try and keep my promises, so here is my take on traffic in general.
It has always been my belief that society in general is suppose to evolve into something a bit better than it presently is. We are supposed to become more technologically advanced, more socially advanced, if nothing else, we should be getting at least a bit more intelligent than the day before (mind you, this could be my interest in Doctor Who and comics colouring my perceptions).
The thing that leads me to believe this is not the case is traffic on our roads. Now, up until about 7 or 8 years ago I had a car and I would like to think that I was conscientious when I drove although it is entirely possible I could have been fooling myself. Now that I am a pedestrian, I am able to be on the outside and observe those on the road.
First off, motorized vehicles. I do realize that a right turn on a red light but at some point aren`t you actually supposed to come to a stop as opposed to squealing to a turn. This is when an individual isn`t weaving in and out of traffic lanes on a 4 lane city street. It almost seems to have become a philosophy of driving now to say "I am the only one on the road. The rest of you are just figments of my imagination and therefore inconsequential." People, it's a city street, not a nascar track. This goes for larger metropolitan areas as well as smaller places.
Last winter I saw a perfect example of this. I was walking home and I arrive at a four way intersection. There is an ambulance coming from the west heading east with the lights flashing and the siren blaring. Meanwhile the light is just about to change to allow the ambulance the right of way but as always, there is one guy who has to make the dash so he almost rams the ambulance and then HONKS HIS HORN at the emergency vehicle as he goes on his merry way. I mean the nerve of the emergency vehicle. Doesn`t he realize that this could make the driver of the car late by, oh at least 2 minutes, for his dinner. What's one life in comparison to that? Seriously, unless you have someone about to launch a baby out of their pelvis or trying to hold in their spleen the additional 2 or 3 minutes will not cause your destination to disappear into limbo. IT WILL STILL BE THERE!!!
Then we have the more environmentally minded of us on bicycles. Now, if someone could explain to me why I can see children of about 10 years of age capable of riding a bicycle in the street but why teens on up are incapable of doing so. While I realize that dexterity decreases as you get older, I didn't realise that it started as such a young age. That could be why we have the guys that do the wheelie bounce but if they have to even think about going out in the street they rush right back onto the sidewalk like a scalded cat. Hey buddy, if you want to try something X-TREME, try hauling your sorry butt out into the traffic. It will probably impress more people by the uniqueness of the act. The way I look at it, if you've bought a bicycle, you've made your choice to own a vehicle. It's not as if I go out a buy a motorcycle and find the traffic too rough, I'm allowed to ride the sidewalk either. If it's too hard you have two choices: buy a car or walk. I realise that drivers don't make it easy for you, but damnit, take back what's yours. My hometown has about a population of I think 5,000. It's a small University town and as you may guess, on a Sunday, it's not expressway traffic. Still the sidewalk has cyclists weaving in and out around pedestrians.
So there you have it, my first rant. I hope it was as cathartic for you as it was for me ;)
It has always been my belief that society in general is suppose to evolve into something a bit better than it presently is. We are supposed to become more technologically advanced, more socially advanced, if nothing else, we should be getting at least a bit more intelligent than the day before (mind you, this could be my interest in Doctor Who and comics colouring my perceptions).
The thing that leads me to believe this is not the case is traffic on our roads. Now, up until about 7 or 8 years ago I had a car and I would like to think that I was conscientious when I drove although it is entirely possible I could have been fooling myself. Now that I am a pedestrian, I am able to be on the outside and observe those on the road.
First off, motorized vehicles. I do realize that a right turn on a red light but at some point aren`t you actually supposed to come to a stop as opposed to squealing to a turn. This is when an individual isn`t weaving in and out of traffic lanes on a 4 lane city street. It almost seems to have become a philosophy of driving now to say "I am the only one on the road. The rest of you are just figments of my imagination and therefore inconsequential." People, it's a city street, not a nascar track. This goes for larger metropolitan areas as well as smaller places.
Last winter I saw a perfect example of this. I was walking home and I arrive at a four way intersection. There is an ambulance coming from the west heading east with the lights flashing and the siren blaring. Meanwhile the light is just about to change to allow the ambulance the right of way but as always, there is one guy who has to make the dash so he almost rams the ambulance and then HONKS HIS HORN at the emergency vehicle as he goes on his merry way. I mean the nerve of the emergency vehicle. Doesn`t he realize that this could make the driver of the car late by, oh at least 2 minutes, for his dinner. What's one life in comparison to that? Seriously, unless you have someone about to launch a baby out of their pelvis or trying to hold in their spleen the additional 2 or 3 minutes will not cause your destination to disappear into limbo. IT WILL STILL BE THERE!!!
Then we have the more environmentally minded of us on bicycles. Now, if someone could explain to me why I can see children of about 10 years of age capable of riding a bicycle in the street but why teens on up are incapable of doing so. While I realize that dexterity decreases as you get older, I didn't realise that it started as such a young age. That could be why we have the guys that do the wheelie bounce but if they have to even think about going out in the street they rush right back onto the sidewalk like a scalded cat. Hey buddy, if you want to try something X-TREME, try hauling your sorry butt out into the traffic. It will probably impress more people by the uniqueness of the act. The way I look at it, if you've bought a bicycle, you've made your choice to own a vehicle. It's not as if I go out a buy a motorcycle and find the traffic too rough, I'm allowed to ride the sidewalk either. If it's too hard you have two choices: buy a car or walk. I realise that drivers don't make it easy for you, but damnit, take back what's yours. My hometown has about a population of I think 5,000. It's a small University town and as you may guess, on a Sunday, it's not expressway traffic. Still the sidewalk has cyclists weaving in and out around pedestrians.
So there you have it, my first rant. I hope it was as cathartic for you as it was for me ;)
posted by John @ 12:30 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home