Fake Ticket

[shacker]

My post Live Larger, Drive Smaller from a few days ago has drawn some very thoughtful responses. An anonymous interlocutor charges me with inexcusable vandalism for advocating the bumper sticker idea, and I answer flippantly that SUV ownership is a far more destructive form of vandalism; the stickers are easily justified. However, s/he has a point

Comments

Yup

[jamieorc]

Just today I was crossing JFK street at the bridge in Cambridge/Boston on my bike and nearly got run over. I always wait for the green there, had the green and this lady who had a red light and was behind the line just started to go--nearly right into me! I gave her an earful and she just waved her hand like it was nothing. Just 3000 pounds of metal! My girlfriend actually got hit in the exact same situation last Winter--the guy had stopped and took a right on red without looking right. Part of the problem is motorists aren't educated to bikes. Part of it is just really bad driving habits that seem to have been on a downgrade for a decade or so.

Unfortunately, I also see many bicyclists do stupid things almost every day. Zoom through red lights and stop signs (as a pedestrian I nearly got plowed into yesterday and I had the light!), weave through traffic, and so on.

Maybe it's just Boston--we're all nuts here! ;-)

I looked at those fake tickets for SUVs and thought it was a great idea until I thought about how I'd react if it was on my car: I'd probably get pissed and just throw it out.

Good book to read: The Eternal Frontier. It's all about evolution in North America, but gets into the human political and social elements as well and makes really interesting assertions about the American psyche, our consumerism and so on.

Re: Yup

[shacker]

You're def. right about cyclists not obeying the same rules, and it's a big problem. I know I have to make a really conscious effort to stop for a stop sign on a bike, even though I would never roll through it in a car. I think part of the problem is that it takes more physical effort to build up your momentum on a bike after coming to a stop - slowing/stopping on a bike is a hassle in a way it isn't for a car, and this leads to problems.

As for getting pissed about a fake ticket, well, too bad - at least an effort to communicate has been made, and facts have been communicated.

Re: Yup

[jamieorc]

That's true about the fake ticket. It does convey the facts, at least.

Also about biking... I find that when I bike I don't like to lose momentum, it's true! The problem isn't bikers who slow down for a stop, look and then proceed, it's the ones who zoom through at full speed without even looking. Again today, I had to stop my girlfriend from walking into a bike that did just that when we were crossing a street.