Tucson: America's Most Courteous City

In article >, The Real Bev wrote:
> I was riding my bike as fast as I could in order to make a sharp left
> turn across the 50-foot-wide median strip and continue on. There is a
> 20-foot difference in elevation between the lanes so the hill between is
> pretty steep. If I can't get up full speed I have to shift down into my
> granny to make it. This happens most frequently when cars coming from
> the other direction make left turns down their side of the cross-median
> road and just sit there waiting for me to pass, making me slow down and
> shift in order to pass in front of them and THEN make the turn. Since I
> am zipping diagonally across the three travel lanes heading to the
> cross-median lanes, only the very stupid could have any doubt about my
> intentions.

The "consideration" idiots really aggrivate me when I am riding a
bicycle. I know how to ride in traffic and have things timed so I don't
have to scrub off speed, etc and so forth. Instead of driving normally as
I expect, they start to do strange things in the name of being
"considerate". Usually this forces me to slow/stop/evaluate what they are
doing, then sometimes needing to wave them on their way because their
"consideration" is making it dangerous for me proceed. Makes things worse
for me and everybody else on the road.

In article >, newsgroup says:

>Yesterday, some "good samaritan" in an SUV was stopped at a 4-way stop
>on the University of Arizona campus. Instead of proceeding when his
>turn came, he remained stopped and waved on not one but TWO
>pedalcyclists, one coming from the left and one from the right. BOTH
>were riding on the sidewalk, and BOTH had stop signs, but Mr. Nice Guy
>waved them on through. Meanwhile, I and several other vehicles were
>stacked up behind.

I grew up in the Midwest and the East Coast, where "ped be damned" is the
order of the day. Because of this, peds have a healthy respect for cars,
and although cars won't stop for us and we cross willy-nilly whereever
we want to in the streets, we've still got a lower ped death rate than
here in Cali, where people will lock 'em up if they even think you're
going to cross the street.

But what bugs the **** outta me is how I'll try and do what I can to
avoid slowing traffic just so's I can cross the street (hey, I'm a
driver first and a ped last!), and have gotten into what I can only
call "waving matches" with these silly Cali drivers where I wave 'em
on, they wave me forward, etc. "****er, *go*!". It's gotten to the
point where on busy intersections I'll just turn around 'till I know
it's OK to cross w/o holding up traffic.

I'll say it 'till I'm blue in the face- Cali's traffic problems are
entirely the fault of the calibre of drivers here.

-Kenny

--
Kenneth R. Crudup Sr. SW Engineer, Scott County Consulting, Los Angeles
H: 3630 S. Sepulveda Blvd. #138, L.A., CA 90034-6809 (310) 391-1898

In article >, newsgroup says:

>Yesterday, some "good samaritan" in an SUV was stopped at a 4-way stop
>on the University of Arizona campus. Instead of proceeding when his
>turn came, he remained stopped and waved on not one but TWO
>pedalcyclists, one coming from the left and one from the right. BOTH
>were riding on the sidewalk, and BOTH had stop signs, but Mr. Nice Guy
>waved them on through. Meanwhile, I and several other vehicles were
>stacked up behind.

I grew up in the Midwest and the East Coast, where "ped be damned" is the
order of the day. Because of this, peds have a healthy respect for cars,
and although cars won't stop for us and we cross willy-nilly whereever
we want to in the streets, we've still got a lower ped death rate than
here in Cali, where people will lock 'em up if they even think you're
going to cross the street.

But what bugs the **** outta me is how I'll try and do what I can to
avoid slowing traffic just so's I can cross the street (hey, I'm a
driver first and a ped last!), and have gotten into what I can only
call "waving matches" with these silly Cali drivers where I wave 'em
on, they wave me forward, etc. "****er, *go*!". It's gotten to the
point where on busy intersections I'll just turn around 'till I know
it's OK to cross w/o holding up traffic.

I'll say it 'till I'm blue in the face- Cali's traffic problems are
entirely the fault of the calibre of drivers here.

-Kenny

--
Kenneth R. Crudup Sr. SW Engineer, Scott County Consulting, Los Angeles
H: 3630 S. Sepulveda Blvd. #138, L.A., CA 90034-6809 (310) 391-1898