Re: There's sometimes a cop around when you need one

On 2008-08-06, Paul Hovnanian P.E. <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Brent P wrote:

On 2008-08-04, Paul Hovnanian P.E. <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Do you drive along the shoulder of the road cowering and defering to
everyone because if you actually take a spot on the road that 'might'
piss someone off who will then take his anger out on a third person?

Put another way: Yes. When I'm on my bicycle, I make an effort to allow
room for cars to pass me. When I'm driving my POS old truck I do the
same.

No, not another way, the way you're asking me to operate, to yield to
anyone and everyone regardless of the rules of right way and regardless
to your own safety.

No. You ride legally and you expect to be passed occasionally. If some
moron does so unsafely, that's a problem for the cops to solve.

What has your warped mind come up with now? If someone decides to pass
me unsafely so they can get to a red signal 2 seconds sooner, they'll
probably hear some commentary from me about their brain dead move. Cops
are not interested, they work for government and a passenger in the last
car to pull this *** move of brush passing and then slamming on the
brakes for a stop was a cop. All I did was sound the horn. The cop was
like you, someone who thought bicyclists always had to yield and
bullying was justified. Trouble was I was doing 25mph in a 25mph zone
which meant I violated no part of the traffic code and his driver racked
up three (maybe four) violations. (speeding, passing a bicyclist within
3 feet, passing less than 100 feet from a stop sign on a two lane road,
passing in a marked no-passing zone)

You don't 'curb pass' them. If you think 'curb passing' is something
that bad drivers deserve as a sort of punishment, you're not very smart.

How many times must I repeat myself, I don't gutter pass.

You might be provoking an unstable and very dangerous driver.

That's why I don't gutter pass.

What you are doing to me is getting me to show up at the next city
council meeting (perhaps with my MFFY-cam) and lobby against efforts to
encourage bicycle riding.

Good. bike lanes and glorified sidewalks called bike paths should be
opposed. they suck. They are dangerous bicycle ghettos.

That'll keep you off the road.

Nothing short of making the road unpassable will do that.

Unfortunately,
it will also harm people who want to ride without a chip on their
shoulder.

You mean, anyone who won't cower in the gutter and say, 'yes, sir may I
have some more' after you (or another driver) brush pass them and slam
on the brakes to be in front of them in the queue at the red signal.
(which is the driver behavior I objected to in this thread)

.