My understanding is that due to lackj of equipment, the M will NOT be POP after
4/3/99
> Driver Behavior
boils down to selfishness and disregard for the rules and rights of others.
Unfortunately, in California, driving is seen as more of a right than a
privilege. Perhaps a citizen ticket program...you call in the violation and
license #, and after a certain allowance, a real ticket is issued. I don't see
any likelihood of improvement without license suspensions and asset forfeiture
becoming common.
> I also noted that the city is claiming that one-third (I think) of the
> pedestrians were run over because of "inattention" on the pedestrian's
> part. This is absurd. No one can be one-hundred percent attentive all
> the time, but, as the ones doing the dangerous activity, drivers hold
> the greater responsibility to remain attentive: i.e., "If you can't /
> didn't see that pedestrian, you are going too fast, full stop. Slow
> down." We cannot let drivers re-define walkers as the ones who are
> creating a danger!
You don't have to be 100% attentive...I would guess that 10% would keep you
from ambling off the curb against the light into 4 lanes of live traffic (2 of
those today), 5% would keep you from casually backing off the curb during group
conversation (1 today), 2% probably would do to keep you from stepping off the
curb and into a stopped vehicle (truck...painted green and red) (last week). It
shouldn't take any attention at all to not step off the sidewalk to go around
an obstacle...a casual look (?<10%) would suffice to inform you of a truck
travelling at a safe speed in the curb lane.
Personally, I could do without doing ALL the thinking for those who neglect to
pay ANY attention to their surroundings. If you are aware of your
surroundings, you can avoid many situations (gosh that fool is going way too
fast, maybe I don't need to cross the street right now, even though I have the
right of way), adjust to the situation to prevent contact or injury (can you
say bullfighter?, once I saw a red light runner in time, so I was able to jump
and roll over the top of the car, rather than getting clipped at the knees), or
even decide to avoid hazards (I could save 30 seconds if I use that dangerous
(but legal) crossing, NOT).
This attitude that `Nothing is MY Fault' is one of the most dangerous and
pervasive problems in our society. As long a people refuse to take
responsibility for their own actions, none of the major problems in our City or
Country are going to improve. Sure the other person/situation was at fault, but
what did YOU to to contribute to the situation. I'm not saying that there
aren't situations where fault is 100% assignable, but very often, `It takes two
to tango!'. Most vividly illustrated recently when a neighborhood drug dealer
ran heedlessly (and diagonally) across a busy intersection and got run over by
a red light runner.
I've gotten pretty good at adjusting to peoples inattention, so it is sad when
you are shocked by someone actually doing the correct thing, like yesterday
when a bicyclist actually stopped at a 4 way stop and waited his turn to go, I
was expecting him to run the stop sign, so he had to wave me through when he
stopped.
Every now and then I fantasize what it would be like to drive if most people
actually did the right thing. On a good day, the 41-Union comes pretty
close...it is a sweet way to end the week, with pleasant, reasonable people who
have their fare ready and recognize you for the job you do. Today the only fly
in the ointment was a person who ran around the front of the bus after I pulled
away from the curb and didn't understand why I shook my head when he wanted to
board (by that time I was blocking three lanes of a 4 lane street, with live
cars on both sides, and a wall of cars about to get a green light behind me), I
liked the passenger comment `YerrrrrOUT'
> Drivers have to make a cross-traffic
> left turn to get from Mission to Beale, and they always rush that to get
> through before the light changes. Today, an older man was hit hard
> enough to cause extensive physical damage to the car; Almost without
> question,
> this was the driver's fault since the pedestrian was in the cross walk.
No doubt, but on the other hand, I wonder what the gentleman could have done to
avoid the accident, after all it is his life and body, the law and courts can
only give you money, they can't give back your health. One thing that comes to
mind is that there is a pedestrian bridge at this location with escalators,
personally, I take the bridge.
A thought on the 3rd St bus lane...to get real improvement for the buses, a
lane must be taken away from either parking or driving. Either SF is Transit
First or it isn't. If we don't have a private lane by the time pacbell park
opens, you can forget teh 15, 30, 45 on game times. If people want to drive in
the bus lane, the $250 ticket can help pay for additional Muni service.