hrdtduck
All it takes is one to kill you .and yes I think of the majority that do pass safely & politely thank God for them because it takes a long time to get over just one once in a while offense I suppose it is the nature of the offense that makes it stick so hard the threat to ones life well for me anyway is pretty hard to just forgive & forget .Wont keep me from riding but it take a lot of the joy out of a ride when every time you hear a vehicle approach (or dont which is the worst) and they pass within a hairs breath, in my mind deliberately violating your RIGHT to be on the road. You have that passing thought often as not, do I die here today? And what right do they have to frighten me in that manner .I just do not understand the unreasoned anger that is directed a cyclists way how can it be so hard to let off that long pedal a little or twitch the steering wheel to the left a little and I have family members who think that way, unreasoned anger towards cyclists .there is no dealing with them on a rational basis, and the only thing drivers (I call them automorons) understand it tit for tat and by 16lb bike is no match for even the lightest car on the road .I have modified the way I ride and where I ride, I stop at stop signs & lights (seems to be the biggest offense automorons accuse of offending , and they are right!) .but for the vast, vast majority of occurrences, the other lane was clear when that vehicle went by just too damn close, or when that beer bottle came flying out the window, or when the pickup rolls up and parks his fender under your elbow ..We need to fight back every time, however we can make it a habit to memorize license numbers and make a complaint, talk to your local Sherriffs department. (wont do much good but we have to try) .Stay vigilant, ride in a group if you can (more witnesses) .what else can we do???
From: chood1@comcast.net [mailto:chood1@comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 12:38 PM
To: hrdtduck
Cc: Steve' 'Long; Jeff Edes; obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Another near miss? Or mis-judgement?
Have you ever counted, or taken thought, of all the drivers that pass you by without incident? Have you counted the ones that pass you while moving over into the other lane, or honk their horn nicely to let you know they are there? Have you ever counted all the cars/drivers that simply notice you and let you be? Have you counted the number of days without incident? I bet you would get tired of counting and lose track within the first 10 minutes of your early city commute.
Thing is, you can go months, years without incident but it takes just one person to screw that all up. Don't give up hope because of a few knuckleheads out there. Remember that the number of decent people on the road far exceeds the number of troublemakers.
I still have hope and I agree that one must be persistent in getting the offenders corrected through the proper channels.
Good Luck
----- Original Message -----
From: "hrdtduck"
To: "Steve' 'Long" , "Jeff Edes" , obra@list.obra.org
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 12:28:03 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Another near miss? Or mis-judgement?
Yea I get it and I'd hope to see some improvement over the last 25+
years...but I have ridden in a lot of states and it is all the same...you
take your life in your hands and trust to the decency of others when you
ride the road....Not trying to be a downer, ...I had high hope for the last
"gas crisis", that more people would get on a bike to save money, thus get
to experience what we road regulars have to endure daily.....but it was
pretty short lived, and desperate hope.
-----Original Message-----
From: Long, Steve [mailto:Steve.Long@clark.wa.gov]
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 12:20 PM
To: hrdtduck; Jeff Edes; obra@list.obra.org
Subject: RE: [OBRA Chat] Another near miss? Or mis-judgement?
Remind's me of a story I once heard of a young boy walking along the
beach picking up star fish and tossing them back into the water. An old
man happened by and said to the boy, young man, why are you tossing the
star fish back into the water, it can't possibly make a different
considering the magnitude of them that wash ashore? The young boy look
down at the star fish in his hand and exclaimed, it makes a difference
to this one.
Moral of story, one-at-a-time.
-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of hrdtduck
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 12:14 PM
To: 'Jeff Edes'; obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Another near miss? Or mis-judgement?
Short of shooting them in the head...how can we make them change...I've
tried nearly everything else...polite discourse does not work....beating
them up feels really good...but most are darn hard to catch...I am not
sure there is anything that can be done...the main reason I started
riding mountain bikes back in the early 80s
-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Jeff Edes
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 10:21 AM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Another near miss? Or mis-judgement?
These drivers need to realize that they have no right to deliberately
endanger law abiding citizens. We are getting hurt and killed on our own
roads, by people that have somehow convinced themselves that we have no
right to be there. Prosecute this person to the full extent of the law.
Keep us posted... if you have legal fees to deal with I will be the
first to help out. Every cyclist on the road needs to take a stand
against this behavior.
Jeff Edes
_______________________________________________
OBRA mailing list
obra@list.obra.org
http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org
_______________________________________________
OBRA mailing list
obra@list.obra.org
http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org
_______________________________________________
OBRA mailing list
obra@list.obra.org
http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org