Motorcycle Madness

The madness being a rant, at a motorist in a small sedan (circa '80s?) on my way home from work yesterday. While riding along Hwy160 at 50mph in the center lane (the left lane was soon to disappear at an exit to Del Paso Blvd.), the driver in the adjacent lane to the right begins to merge into my lane... while I was alongside the back third of her car!

I hit the horn button, holding it down when I saw that she was not about to retreat. I slowed so that I would not end up sharing the exact same space and at the exact same time as a vehicle six times heavier than mine. Something about the law of physics in spatial displacement I think, where yours truly would certainly lose out. If I were in a car, there would definitely have been contact.

My GS is by no means a tiny motorcycle. The headlights were on high beam for daytime conspicuity. I wear a bright yellow and black jacket. The horn is not the greatest, but no different than most found on all the current vehicles on the road (I really should think about getting those freight train horns installed!). I chalk it up to being another inattentive, oblivious and idiotic driver that could have contributed to me being another motorcycle accident statistic.

I let the birds fly upon exiting the highway about a mile later... none sooner, since the law of physics still applied... but I'd bet she didn't even notice through that thick cloud of oblivion. Would have been nice if I had a set of blue and red flashers and a siren!

Cellphone Law

I still see it all around me. It has been almost a year since CA began enforcing a law restricting handheld cellular phone usage while driving. The "texting" loophole was later closed. So how the hell is a cop to enforce this law? My guess is that they don't. Just today I witnessed a young gal glancing down at her lap repeatedly while at a stoplight. Another, older woman, was blatantly yakking away with the phone up against her left ear, the one facing out the window for the world to see (but perhaps invisible to law enforcement). I had to pass a vehicle yesterday that was going questionably slow, only to find a woman carrying on an animated conversation on her phone. Sure, people will hedge their bets against getting caught... no different than breaking other traffic laws I suppose, but this one's harder to detect and probably why they do it.

I am no fan of phones, which leaves me with a feeling of being left out on (figuratively) giving a finger to the Man. I now make up for that by proceeding through red lights when clear, perform rolling stops, speeding, and sex when I can get it.

Easing the Deficit

Here's one idea to help toward getting some cash back into the state's coffers: raise the traffic fine to $351 for the recently enacted law prohibiting cellphone use while driving (unless it's hands-free). I see plenty enough drivers out there who continue to yak away. Let's say each officer can cite 20 drivers daily. Have 1,000 officers do this and that's 20,000 citations. This will amount to over $7M per day, $35M per week... you get the picture.

Texting and Driving

Enforcement of the hands-free cellphone (while driving) law in California took effect this past July. Yay. However, the folks who pushed through this bill a year-and-a-half earlier left a loophole wide open which did not place restrictions on text messaging while driving. I have heard that this was intentionally done to ensure that the bill would pass... that it did, and now our governor has signed a bill to close said loophole. I mean, texting while maneuvering a 3,500 pound mass of rolling steel (glass, rubber, plastic and other bits) at speed, in the middle of traffic?

I have said this before about the cellphone law, and I'll say it again about the texting law: how effectively will this be enforced? I've witnessed many who still blatantly have their cellphones pressed to their ears, and no doubt texting will also continue (after January 1, 2009 when the law takes effect). The side effect to introducing new laws is that it increases the number of scofflaws.

I suppose I'm picking my battles here (living in a glass house), but as a motorcyclist who has to share the road with larger vehicles, I would like that those drivers focus their attentions on driving and not these petty distractions.

Parking Ticket

I fought the law and I won!

That's actually the title of a song by an old punk rock group, the Dead Kennedys. I just received a letter in the mail informing me that a parking ticket I had incurred about two months ago had been dismissed. It wasn't my first challenge to a traffic citation.

Years ago I had a court date challenging a CHP officer's claim that I was driving my car while wearing headphones (in CA, headphones can only cover one ear, not both). It was 11:00p at night, the convertible top of my Alfa Romeo was up, meaning the 8-yr old plastic rear windshield was not the clearest thing to look through, and black 'phones on black hair did not provide much detail. The case was dismissed, the clincher being my cross-examination of the officer asking whether he was able to see both my ears. As it was, in a brightly lit courtroom, noone was able to see either ear since they were draped by my long hair. He admitted the conditions did not allow him to accurately discern any detail to conclude that either ear was covered.

Two years later, a Sacramento Police officer cited me likewise, but the case was dismissed when the officer failed to appear, notifying in advance that he was unable to recall much of the details of the incident.

And now this $35 parking citation. This is a motorcycle parking area delineated by corner brackets painted in the asphalt and fits around 4 to 6 bikes. There is a 2-1/2 section of curb on one end that had once been painted red and quite faded by age; it was within the corner bracket marked in the road. Ambiguous to say the least.

Well, I'm glad the verdict came in and I can now rest easy. It wasn't the $35, but just a matter of principle.

Text, Not Voice

A law passed in January 2006 will take effect on July 1, 2008, prohibiting people from talking on handheld cellular phones while driving in California. The solution is to use the cellphone's speakerphone feature (if available), or a hands-free headset (wired or wireless). Oh yes, another option being to abstain from using the phone altogether.

However, the law does not preclude anyone from using the cellphone to send and receive text messages. Hmm. The lawmakers want to make sure your lips and ears are not preoccupied, but will allow your eyes to be diverted from the road? Thumbs too? Last I checked, the thumbs were part of the hand, as in "hands-free". Yeah, makes a lot of sense.

Look Ma, No Hands!

It still irks me to sit in traffic and witness the large number of drivers who have cellphones pressed against their heads. It leaves only one hand free for controlling the vehicle. "So what?" you say? "Same can be said when holding that burger, or applying the mascara, or lipstick, or while shaving". But you see, those activities are no-brainers and not distracting like engaging in a telephone conversation.

What about distractions by conversing with passengers in the car then? Well, you got me there. At least the front seat passenger can potentially aid in traffic awareness; just find some way to audibly suppress and segregate the back seats. Or ride solo, like I usually do.

Introducing law that requires hands-free cellphones is a step in the right direction (effective in July here in Cali), but I've said this before and I'll say it again: how the hell are the authorities going to widely enforce this law?

Ineffectively, is my guess.

O Lord...

...won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?

I was ready to get on board my motorcycle at a local hardware store when I heard the big crunch yesterday. Looks like a fancy M-B hit a passing Honda Accord while maneuvering around the parking lot. Since I did not witness the collision as it happened, I would not have been able to offer much help.

I could offer my opinion however. The M-B appeared to have pulled out of its parking spot by moving forward between two concrete blocks (angled parking, in opposing directions). Since other cars were parked in adjacent spots, one has to proceed cautiously due to limited visibility. Actually, the proper way to exit the parking spot is to pull out in reverse, all the while making sure it is clear behind you (but I too am guilty of pulling forward across the parking spots). The Honda clearly had the right of way and could not have seen the M-B dashing out between parked cars.

What was the M-B driver thinking? What's the excuse, "I didn't see the Honda"?

That was the excuse used by a 24-yr old woman over a week ago when she pulled out of a driveway onto a large 4-laned street (posted 40mph). The newspaper article wasn't clear whether a 30-yr old motorcyclist on his way to work either hit her, or was hit by her. Either way, he's dead. Moreover, she killed him while behind the wheel with a suspended license, and as far as one friend is concerned, that should be considered premeditation.

My observation is that the drivers do not bother to look, and is why they "didn't see" the other vehicle. There's also preoccupation with things other than driving (eating, cellphone conversation, others in the vehicle, etc.). I would really like to know if the M-B driver was busy yakking on the cellphone... I'd almost bet money on it.

For all the money people (who can) spend on fine German wheels, the M-B did not fare well in the collision. About two-thirds of the front grill on the left side was crushed in by at least a foot. The Honda's right front corner ate it, but I think it won out in the mishap. I'm guessing that the M-B driver has deep pockets, since it couldn't be cheap to put everything back all nice and pretty.

At least noone died in this one.

Jam Session

I've been reading much lately about cellphone jammers, and that prices are beginning to become affordable for the consumer market. Previously, only larger enterprises were able to afford these devices which disrupt cellphone signals, purportedly used by restaurants and movie theaters where cellphone conversations are a nuisance. Emergency telephones are available away from other patrons.

Problem is, these devices are also considered illegal. Cellphone transmissions ride a segment of the airwaves that are governed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and in effect it'd be a federal crime to disrupt or inhibit the calls. Cracking down on the little guys will be a lot more difficult than going after the big boys.

Oh wouldn't it be nice to have one of these thingamajiggers! That, and of course the one that changes traffic signals.

Traffic Enforcement

I do not consider myself a chronic speeder (when it comes to the roadways); there is a time and place where you can open up the throttle. I did not necessarily say legally, but there is a huge difference between rush hour metropolitan congestion and an endless desert. Believe me, being tagged for 65mph on a southern Utah desert stretch of new asphalt posted at 55mph made very little sense to me.

But around Sacramento, I have seen drivers going about 50% over some speed limits.

There are other infractions as well: tailgating, weaving, red light running, cutting off others, wandering (most likely due to cellphone usage, primping and preening, squeals on wheels, child chiding, reading, daydreaming, pigging out or a blow job). Sometimes I wonder "where's a cop when you really need one?".

I hear the budget is primarily to blame, although I attribute it in part to cellphones and drive-thru service. Waiting at home for a phone call or enjoying a sit-down meal are no longer reasons to keep one from sliding behind the wheel. But I (am starting to) digress. Maybe the budget can be better spent on strategically placing empty patrol cars at various, problematic traffic locations. These cars' high profile will act as a deterrent, and isn't traffic safety the goal, as opposed to ticket quotas? Or, make the patrol cars' appearance more discreet and that will keep everyone guessing.

I can just hear law enforcement unions and the ACLU beginning to stir.