Ten Annoying Things Drivers and Pedestrians Do to Tick Me Off

Driving can be pretty stressful because you have to think quick while driving.  For me, I'm pretty sharp at my driving skills and I have to quickly analyze a bunch of factors, such as: Road conditions, driving patterns of drivers around me, known dangers/risks, hazards on road, time of day, type of vehicles drivers are driving, etc.

But while I drive safe, my commute is only 20 minutes each way and every single day, I always see people do dumb things, and it's not just drivers, it's pedestrians too.

I felt the need to vent my frustration at these idiots.  Here's my list of assholes that needs to learn to be safe:

1. If I'm on a two lane road with vehicles in front of me waiting single file near a four-way stop, it's rude and disrespectful to pass me and the other cars by driving on the curbside that's designated for street parking.  On one evening on my way home, a SUV decided to jump the line by passing nearly a dozen cars waiting single file through a four-way stop.  I noticed, opened my right window and yelled at the driver: "YOU SON OF A BITCH BASTARD!"
2. If I'm driving the speed limit and you honk at me, flash your high beams, or tailgate me to drive faster, I won't.  Do that to me twice, here comes "the bird."
3. Don't cut me off, especially if you are too late to be in the wrong lane for an exit or designated turn lane.  Just take the exit/turn and go around.  I nearly got into an accident after a dump truck cut me off trying to pull a last second turn.
4. If you drive in rain or fog during the day, use your evening headlights.  It's not just the law, it's basic courtesy because it's hard to see your headlights and taillights in poor visibility.
5. If you feel you can't make a full u-turn without the need to stop and back-up, then go around the block.  You hold up traffic if you can't fully complete that u-turn in one shot.
6. There's a reason why the city installed countdown timers on crosswalk signals, if the countdown is happening and you haven't started crossing, JUST DON'T.  You don't have three damn seconds to cross four lanes of traffic.  There's a reason why there's a countdown, it gives drivers a chance to make a turn and gives pedestrians already crossing to pace themselves to make sure to complete the crossing before it hits zero.
7. If you drive your car on a bike lane, you just suck.
8. People who pass a stopped Muni metro vehicle or Cable Car that is discharging and boarding passengers.
9. Please press the pedestrian crossing button to cross.  In some intersections, the signals intentionally give extra time to cross the street if you press the button (e.g. Winston & Lake Merced).  If you don't press it, instead of getting 15 seconds to cross, you might get less than five.
10. Please don't risk your life trying to run for the bus by committing an illegal act like crossing against the red light/crosswalk signal or run in front of the moving bus to make it stop.  Another bus will come along shortly.

That's it for blowing some steam.  Sorry for not blogging for over a week, I had really bad seasonal allergies that ruined my week and weekend.

Many Drivers Don't Respect the Do Not Pass Laws at Muni Metro Stops

"Hey, what the f--- are you doing!?!?!?!"

That's the first words I blurted out loud when I just exited the metro yesterday morning before 9AM. To those I offended by saying the f-word in public, sorry.

Here's what happened:
I had to visit a local x-ray center to get my teeth scanned, so I took the M-Ocean View metro from my workplace at SF State to 14th and West Portal. When the train got to 14th Avenue, I exited the train, looked both ways to make sure it was okay to cross, and noticed a grey SUV approaching at about 300 feet towards the train in the right lane (the train was in the track lane on the left).

There was enough time to reach the curb with the assumption the SUV would stop as well (even if the SUV was approaching, I could walk fast enough to cross), so I hopped off the train and was about eight feet away from the sidewalk/curb.

Instead of the SUV stopping, it decided to keep driving through the stopped metro train with inches to spare from clipping me. To make matters worse, two other passengers stepped off the train (exited) and saw the SUV pass by IN FRONT OF THEM. That's when I yelled out, "HEY, WHAT THE F--- ARE YOU DOING?!?!"

Instead of the SUV driver admitting to a mistake and quickly coming to a stop, it decides to quickly stop at the intersection and speed off very quickly down West Portal.

As for me yelling out the f-word, I sure had a lot of people staring at me, but hopefully they knew why; that idiot driver could have mowed down up to three people, including myself.

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This brings me to the topic of the day: Why are people disrespecting the "Do Not Pass" laws when a light rail and cable car is stopped at a designated stop to discharge and accept passengers?

Every time I ride the metro or the California line cable car I see it every time, some prick driver deciding to speed through while the vehicle is stopped to discharge and accept passengers.

It seems to be worse on the California cable car line because tourists sometimes don't look both ways and you get a bunch of rude drivers who just doesn't obey the law; in one case, I was a driver, and stopped for a cable car discharging passengers. The taxicab behind me decides to blow his horn at me, so I give the driver the finger as more passengers discharge from the cable car.

Even Stanley Roberts of KRON took on this issue with this video report:

The law states that if a metro train or cable car is stopped to pickup/discharge passengers, a driver must stop behind the vehicle to allow the passengers to board and exit without fear of being hit. A driver can attempt to proceed/pass a railed vehicle on the right side only when the vehicle starts moving.

In some circumstances, the boarding island will have a sign saying it's OK to pass, but at a reduced speed. You find these on Ocean Avenue for the K-Ingleside line where you can pass on the right, but only at 10MPH when the light rail vehicle is stopped at the island. In other cases, you can pass at full speed because the island has barriers to separate pedestrians from vehicles (e.g. St. Francis Circle metro stop, see photo by clicking here).

In my case, 14th Avenue and West Portal didn't have a barrier, only a boarding island that only covers half of a one car train, therefore the "do not pass" law applies.

Drivers who violates the law: What's your damn hurry? Is it worth a $250 fine and a point on your driving record? Is it worth facing a judge in traffic court and possibly spending time at traffic school? It is worth raising your insurance rates? And is it worth possibly hitting a pedestrian, paying their medical bills/funeral costs, getting arrested, prosecuted, and spending time in jail? Hell no.

So do me a favor drivers, when a metro train or cable car is stopped and passengers must exit by crossing a traffic lane, just stop behind it. All I need is more x-ray radiation to check for a broken arm, leg, and other stuff.

Riding a Bike at Night: Use Some Common Sense

I know I'm going to get some more hate mail. My previous post about bikes on escalators got me a heck of a lot of comments, so if you are interesting in debating this particular issue, please do leave a comment.

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Since the time change and the sun is setting around 5PM, my commute from SF State to my home in the Outer Richmond district is dark, and especially kinda creepy along the roads in Golden Gate Park due to the lack of lighting and raccoons jumping in front of your car. I'm not a fan of driving in the evening, but it's what you have to do if you want to get home (or start work extra early and leave earlier).

Almost on a daily basis during the evening commute, I notice bicyclists riding in Golden Gate Park without a headlight and/or a taillight. Even worse is finding a bicyclist with no lights, no reflectors, and no reflective clothing. With the lack of normal street lighting in Golden Gate Park, it's difficult to find a bike rider when they are not using the most basic equipment to make themselves obvious and stand out for their own safety.

Yes, there is a state law: Vehicle Code Section 21201 states the following requirements for riding at night:

1. A white lamp on the front end of the bike that illuminates the road ahead and can be seen by an approaching vehicle/person from 300 feet, OR a white lamp seen at the same distance but attached on the front of the bicycle operator (e.g. front of a helmet).
2. A red reflector on the rear that can be reflected from lawful vehicle headlights 500 feet away.
3. Yellow or white pedal reflectors seen 200 feet.
4. White or yellow reflectors on the both the front and rear tire spokes, or reflectors on both tires.

It isn't rocket science people, it's common sense.

Why we have laws when common sense should prevail is up for debate, but let's get to the facts, people who do bicycle at night should take additional precautions versus riding during the day. The law makes it clear, but people should be doing more in the name of being safe. Here's some additional suggestions:

• Put a rear tail light, especially one that rapidly flashes a LED lamp.
• Wear reflective clothing. You might look like the construction worker in the Village People, but at least people can see you better. If you don't want to wear "Caltrans Orange," why not wear a white jacket? Just please, don't wear dark clothing.
• Wear a helmet, day and night. If you get hit or fall over, would you like your skull to hit the pavement or have a cushion to lessen the blow? I saw a bicyclist cross over the cable car tracks and slipped and fell to the pavement. Not a pretty scene.
  

At minimum, having at least a front and rear tail lamp helps a lot in locating you when you operate a bicycle at night. I think a lot of drivers would agree, the more obvious you can be, the better it is for everyone. I fear hitting a bicyclist with my car, but if you stick out like a thorn on the streets, I can start planning earlier to steer clear and let you have the lane.

While I'm at it, pedestrians should at least wear some reflective clothing. Why people jog at night through Golden Gate Park is a mystery, but please just DON'T WEAR BLACK!

Reckless Driving at Ocean Beach Parking Lot

When I have to drive my car to work, I normally drive downhill going past the historic Cliff House and along Great Highway (southbound), and always pass by the large parking lots for the people wanting to enjoy the beach. The segment I am talking about today is the Ocean Beach/Great Highway parking lot nearest to Balboa & Great Highway.

One of the issues I regularly see is when drivers decide to skip the stop sign at Balboa by taking the turn-off before Balboa to enter the parking lot, drive straight through at full speed (speed limit on Great Highway is 35) and take the parking lot exit that continues along southbound Great Highway (basically, taking an illegal shortcut).

If you remember your driver's education, driving in a parking lot is limited to 10 MPH (please correct me if I'm wrong) and that's because of many people walking around the lot loading and unloading their cars, and the risk of vehicles slowly backing out of their space.

By speeding in a parking lot, and using it as a shortcut to avoid skipping the stop sign at Balboa, it could be considered reckless driving as defined by the California Vehicle code, section 23103(b):

"(b) A person who drives a vehicle in an offstreet parking facility, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 12500, in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving."

Something needs to be done to stop people from taking this shortcut, and the possible risk of a person getting hit and killed or getting into a car wreck. Since the lot seriously needs new parking stall stripes, can they also install some speed bumps?

To make it visually understanding of what I'm talking about, I've used Google's street view to help me out:

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This is the entrance to the parking lot if a driver is going southbound and just recently passed the Cliff House. I see drivers decide to cut through the parking lot at this point to avoid the stop sign at Balboa (below).


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This is the stop sign location at Balboa & Great Highway. Since there is nothing ordering drivers to stop if they drive in the parking lot, they just go full speed just to save themselves a few seconds.


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The blue car in the middle is yielding to approaching traffic. Many who decide to shortcut just bolts right through if there's light traffic and gets away with it.