From: casseres@apple.com (David Casseres)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.soc
Subject: Re: Ticketing illegal cycling
Date: 11 Oct 92 00:43:02 GMT
Followup-To: rec.bicycles.soc
Distribution: na
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.

In article <1992Oct9.161713.4778@u.washington.edu>,
wolffie@u.washington.edu wrote:
> 
> In article <casseres-011092095534@missmolly.apple.com> casseres@apple.com  
> (David Casseres) writes:
> 
> [deletion]
> 
> > I ride sanely, and I obey the REAL rules of the road, i.e. the ones
> > motorists obey.  This means that at stop signs, if I can clearly see that
> > there is no conflicting traffic, I proceed without stopping.
> 
> Like the guy who killed my best friends' 8 year old sister (right in front  
> of her mother).  There was no "conflicting traffic," so he didn't stop.

No, not like that guy at all.  When I say no conflicting traffic, I mean
pedestrians too.  You owe me an apology.

> >The same applies to red lights when I am turning right.  I signal turns and  
> >lane changes when it seems necessary (which is not usual)
> 
> This is my greatest single complaint about CAR drivers - they only signal  
> when they think they have to, forgetting that it isn't the person they SEE,  
> but the one they DON'T SEE, who most needs to know what they're going to do.

I repeat: I signal when it seems necessary, which means I make damn sure I
know who is around me in all directions.
   
> My prediction, Dave, is that someday you're gonna be surprised by the car  
> that kills you (or the pedestrian or biker you kill) because you didn't  
> signal because you didn't think you had to because you didn't see them.

Don't call me Dave, John, it ain't my name and you don't know me.  You're
making a lot of unwarranted assumptions about how I ride.

> >I also obey the REAL speed rule, which is "go as fast as you can without  
> >getting scared."
> 
> Wrong again, pal; the REAL speed rule is: "go as fast as you can without  
> being unable to deal with the unexpected."  Like the stoned idiot who ran  
> the light in front of me the other day and would've killed me if I'd been  
> driving by your rules, Dave.

I'm not your pal.  By my rules I would have seen the stoned idiot, because
I look for traffic regardless of whether the light is red or green.  You
don't know what my rules are, because you're too goddamn dumb to read and
understand what I wrote -- so you're just making up "my rules" so you'll
have something to bloviate about.

> I trust my life twice a day to the safety consciousness of car drivers, and  
> I'm sick of bikers who do things like run lights and stop signs; I don't  
> want some driver to kill ME because he's pissed off at THEM.

Give me a break.  If some driver kills you it'll be his fault, or maybe
yours, but it damn well won't be the fault of cyclists that he's pissed off
at.

> Two things I try to keep in mind:
> 
> 1.  Don't behave in a way that reflects poorly on bicyclists.  Don't do  
> ANYTHING to piss off drivers.

Being on the road on a bicycle is the main thing that pisses off drivers. 
Can't do anything about that except try to ride in the safest possible
manner, which is what I do.  I find that sometimes that pisses off drivers
even more.

> 2.  A Highway Patrol study of the causes of non-alcohol-related accidents  
> concluded that the major cause of accidents among drivers over 25 years old 
> was LACK OF COURTESY.

So?  What does that have to do with what I have written?  Have you actually
read any of it?

> So have a thought for the poor scmuck stuck in his stupid ugly car who's  
> trying to get around you so he can get to work on time.

I do, for chrissakes.  Where did I say I don't?  I try to be as nice as
possible to the drivers on the road, *consistent with safety.*

> Try to imagine what  
> you look like to him as he peers into the twilight with headlight-blinded  
> eyes through his rain-streaked windshield.  Anytime you do something that  
> visibly shows that you're thinking about the drivers you're sharing the road  
> with, it redounds to the benefit of all cyclists.

Yup.  I do it all the time.  You owe me a large apology for assuming I
don't.  I've been riding for 5 years and have never had a crash, collision,
or ticket while riding my bike.  I've been driving for 35 years and have
had one serious accident, where I was tail-ended by a drunk, and one
fender-bender where I was backed into by a driver who couldn't see to the
rear but backed up anyway.  I've had maybe half a dozen tickets, the last
one at least 4 years ago.  How's your record, O Perfect One?

--

David Casseres
Exclaimer: Wow!
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.soc