Lap Dogs and Driving

[[email protected]]

The latest trend in distracted driving - a dog on the lap!

Two incidents in the last week during my commute have starred Fido in
the driver's lap.

Incident 1 - left work around 5:00 pm to ride an extended loop home.
Was on a busy boulevard in the bike lane. Wanted to cross to left turn
lane at next intersection. I was about 1/2 mile from the intersection
and started looking for my opening. There was only one more car that
needed to pass so I could get across. However, the car pulled behind me
in the bike lane and started tailgating - presumably, she was going to
make a right turn - but was 1/2 mile before the corner! I stuck my hand
out to indicate she should stop. Then, I flagged her to go around me -
out of the bike lane. As she passed, I noticed it was a petite woman
with a huge, white sheep dog in her lap - probably obstructing her view
about 95% of the way.

Incident 2 - yesterday was nearing home around 7:00 pm. Again, a driver
approaching from behind - driving a bit erratically. He ended up nearly
right-hooking me - even though I had signalled a right turn at the same
corner, but he just had to squeeze between me and the pedestrians in
the crosswalk. As he passed, I noticed he was holding a small and very
active dog in his lap that kept trying to wriggle away. He continued
slowly and erratically driving down the street I was on, but I just
stayed behind him with enough room to maneuver away if necessary.

What will they think of next?

-Sarah

 

[bryanska]

I've seen people reading the newspaper while driving.

Unbelievable.

Worse than an iPod while biking.

 

[Paul Hobson]

bryanska wrote:
> I've seen people reading the newspaper while driving.
>
> Unbelievable.
>
> Worse than an iPod while biking.
>

don't get me started on that...or iPods in general!

--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
..:change the words numbers
if you want to reply to me:.

 

[Roger Zoul]

bryanska wrote:
:: I've seen people reading the newspaper while driving.
::
:: Unbelievable.
::
:: Worse than an iPod while biking.

What? I use my iPod Shuffle while cycling...no biggie...

 

[bryanska]

Personal bias, may not apply for everyone, I guess.

Stems from experiences around the U of M near my house. Three close
calls with headphone cyclists in the past two years, fewer with those
to whom I can speak: "comin up slow on your left", "bike behind", or
"ding ding".

 

[Andy Gee]

[email protected] wrote in news:1124821789.096194.218810
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:


>
> What will they think of next?
>
> -Sarah
>

Full course breakfast? A guy in a truck behind me had coffe, juice, bacon,
eggs, toast, and a donut. He was thinking about passing me, but he
couldn't put down enough stuff or risk spilling the hot coffee in his lap,
I guess.

Then there's GPS. It's not supposed to let you fool with it while you're
driving, but there's ways around that. Visitors to New York are in for a
rude shock before they realize they can't lock more than two satellites at
a time in most of Manhattan.

 

[Zoot Katz]

23 Aug 2005 11:29:49 -0700,
<[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote, of dog-distracted scud jockeys:

>What will they think of next?

Cockatiels.

Several years ago, by an intuitive guess, I narrowly missed being
slammed by a woman in a convertible who was more interested in the
bird on her shoulder than minor details like stop signs.

I called her a "bird brained bimbo". She flipped me the bird.
--
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you become"
- Miller (Repo Man, 1984)

 

[Blair P. Houghton]

bryanska <[email protected]> wrote:
>I've seen people reading the newspaper while driving.
>
>Unbelievable.
>
>Worse than an iPod while biking.

The only thing wrong with taking an iPod biking is having
a cord long enough to download tunes.

--Blair
"Cuz ain't no music new enough, yo!"

 

[Roger Zoul]

bryanska wrote:
:: Personal bias, may not apply for everyone, I guess.
::
:: Stems from experiences around the U of M near my house. Three close
:: calls with headphone cyclists in the past two years, fewer with those
:: to whom I can speak: "comin up slow on your left", "bike behind", or
:: "ding ding".

I always keep my volume such that I can hear. Last weekend I would out for
my typical Sunday ride. A big truck was coming up behind me. I saw it in
my mirror (take-a-look) and heard it too. Also, a lady was running toward
me, on my side of the road. I could not get over until the truck passed me,
but as soon as it did, I swung wide so as not to force her onto the grass.
She said "thanks," and of course, I had no problem hearing her.

Many times while wearing the mp3 player, I can't hear the music. Either the
wind noise is too great or a vehicle is passing me. I most always can hear
it just fine while climbing a long hill when my speed has slowed greatly.
During those times, it helps me keep pace a bit better and also helps me
avoid becoming completely absorbed in my head. But mostly, it just keeps me
company as I ride alone. Sometimes, I find myself dancing to a
beat....while on my bike.

 

[jj]

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 08:55:10 -0400, "Roger Zoul" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>bryanska wrote:
>:: Personal bias, may not apply for everyone, I guess.
>::
>:: Stems from experiences around the U of M near my house. Three close
>:: calls with headphone cyclists in the past two years, fewer with those
>:: to whom I can speak: "comin up slow on your left", "bike behind", or
>:: "ding ding".
>
>I always keep my volume such that I can hear. Last weekend I would out for
>my typical Sunday ride. A big truck was coming up behind me. I saw it in
>my mirror (take-a-look) and heard it too. Also, a lady was running toward
>me, on my side of the road. I could not get over until the truck passed me,
>but as soon as it did, I swung wide so as not to force her onto the grass.
>She said "thanks," and of course, I had no problem hearing her.
>
>Many times while wearing the mp3 player, I can't hear the music. Either the
>wind noise is too great or a vehicle is passing me. I most always can hear
>it just fine while climbing a long hill when my speed has slowed greatly.
>During those times, it helps me keep pace a bit better and also helps me
>avoid becoming completely absorbed in my head. But mostly, it just keeps me
>company as I ride alone. Sometimes, I find myself dancing to a
>beat....while on my bike.

Interesting. I find I don't use an MP3 player, partly because I'm having a
lot of fun and am concentrating ok, and I want either stereophonic sound
and reasonably loud music (I used to use it on a treadmill and I use it on
my stationary bike), and partly because it's just one more piece of gear I
have to put on. Imagine, not just an HRM, and a watch, but running the MP3
player wires down through the jersey, making sure it's waterproofed. In
addition you have cycling shoes, and sunglasses and other specific gear.

I'm not proselytizing, just thinking aloud on this. I'm sure you've got it
worked out so it's not a big hassle. In fact when those new sunglasses
mounted MP3 players come out, since they're so small and no wires, it would
be cool to have those. I initially wore headphones for some rides on the
bike trail, but just got to be a bit of a hassle and I got out of the habit
and since then haven't had any urge to do so, which, imo, is a good thing
for me, lol. I want to be able to get ready to ride quickly and not have
any encumberances if possible.

What I'd like is to be able to turn on the player when I'm just about done
the ride and need some additional motivation to do the last 30-45 minutes,
when I may be flagging a little. But with the current type, it's hard to do
that without stopping and putting in the earpiece and I sure don't want to
be wearing the headphones for the first 30-45 minutes when I'm riding well.

In fact what would be cool is in the last 30 minutes of the ride I could
dump the helmet and all the gear in my jersey pockets and just ride as free
as possible.

jj

 

[Roger Zoul]

jj <[email protected]> wrote:
:> On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 08:55:10 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
:> <[email protected]> wrote:
:>
:>>bryanska wrote:
:>>:: Personal bias, may not apply for everyone, I guess.
:>>::
:>>:: Stems from experiences around the U of M near my house. Three
:>>:: close calls with headphone cyclists in the past two years, fewer
:>>:: with those
:>>:: to whom I can speak: "comin up slow on your left", "bike behind",
:>>:: or "ding ding".
:>>
:>>I always keep my volume such that I can hear. Last weekend I would
:>>out for my typical Sunday ride. A big truck was coming up behind
:>>me. I saw it in my mirror (take-a-look) and heard it too. Also, a
:>>lady was running toward me, on my side of the road. I could not get
:>>over until the truck passed me, but as soon as it did, I swung wide
:>>so as not to force her onto the grass. She said "thanks," and of
:>>course, I had no problem hearing her.
:>>
:>>Many times while wearing the mp3 player, I can't hear the music.
:>>Either the wind noise is too great or a vehicle is passing me. I
:>>most always can hear it just fine while climbing a long hill when my
:>>speed has slowed greatly. During those times, it helps me keep pace
:>>a bit better and also helps me avoid becoming completely absorbed in
:>>my head. But mostly, it just keeps me company as I ride alone.
:>>Sometimes, I find myself dancing to a beat....while on my bike.
:>
:> Interesting. I find I don't use an MP3 player, partly because I'm
:> having a lot of fun and am concentrating ok, and I want either
:> stereophonic sound and reasonably loud music (I used to use it on a
:> treadmill and I use it on my stationary bike), and partly because
:> it's just one more piece of gear I have to put on. Imagine, not just
:> an HRM, and a watch, but running the MP3 player wires down through
:> the jersey, making sure it's waterproofed. In addition you have
:> cycling shoes, and sunglasses and other specific gear.

I don't worry about the water proofing too much. If that got to be a
problem, I'd just stop and put the mp3 player in a ziplock bags I keep in my
top tube bag. So far, I haven't had to do that yet. And putting the player
under my jersey and running the cords up to my ears ain't a problem, either.

:>
:> I'm not proselytizing, just thinking aloud on this. I'm sure you've
:> got it worked out so it's not a big hassle. In fact when those new
:> sunglasses mounted MP3 players come out, since they're so small and
:> no wires, it would be cool to have those. I initially wore
:> headphones for some rides on the bike trail, but just got to be a
:> bit of a hassle and I got out of the habit and since then haven't
:> had any urge to do so, which, imo, is a good thing for me, lol. I
:> want to be able to get ready to ride quickly and not have any
:> encumberances if possible.
:>

Well, riding has become quite complicated for me, actually. We can devote
an entire thread to that topic!

:> What I'd like is to be able to turn on the player when I'm just
:> about done the ride and need some additional motivation to do the
:> last 30-45 minutes, when I may be flagging a little. But with the
:> current type, it's hard to do that without stopping and putting in
:> the earpiece and I sure don't want to be wearing the headphones for
:> the first 30-45 minutes when I'm riding well.

An iPod Shuttle is amazingly light in weight. You'd hardly notice it's
there and turning it on is a simple button press.

:>
:> In fact what would be cool is in the last 30 minutes of the ride I
:> could dump the helmet and all the gear in my jersey pockets and just
:> ride as free as possible.

 

[[email protected]]

Tom Keats writes:

> I don't think these forsaken batteries come from cyclists, because
> cyclists don't litter all over the landscape. Not intentionally
> anyways, although gusts and bumps can ****** or jolt stuff out of
> one's hand before it gets properly disposed of.

That is not my experience around the SF Bay Area, where bicyclist make
an effort to throw their banana peels onto the road and to leave their
never-patched micro-tubes on the road so others can see that they can
afford to throw them away in the event of a puncture.

Jobst Brandt

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
Paul Hobson <[email protected]> writes:
> bryanska wrote:
>> I've seen people reading the newspaper while driving.
>>
>> Unbelievable.
>>
>> Worse than an iPod while biking.
>>
>
> don't get me started on that...or iPods in general!

I'm finding lots of AA cells lying around town. I figure
they're from people's iPods. I guess when the cells get
too weak to run their iPods, folks just jettison them.
But they still have plenty of charge for other applications,
including bike lights.

I don't think these forsaken batteries come from cyclists,
because cyclists don't litter all over the landscape.
Not intentionally anyways, although gusts and bumps can
****** or jolt stuff out of one's hand before it gets
properly disposed of.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

 

[Bill Sornson]

Tom Keats wrote:

> I'm finding lots of AA cells lying around town.

Boozing terrorists?

Bill "slow evening" S.

 

[Bob the Cow]

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The latest trend in distracted driving - a dog on the lap!
> ...
> What will they think of next?

Lap DANCES and driving?

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> Paul Hobson <[email protected]> writes:
> > bryanska wrote:
> >> I've seen people reading the newspaper while driving.
> >>
> >> Unbelievable.
> >>
> >> Worse than an iPod while biking.
> >>
> >
> > don't get me started on that...or iPods in general!
>
> I'm finding lots of AA cells lying around town. I figure
> they're from people's iPods. I guess when the cells get
> too weak to run their iPods, folks just jettison them.
> But they still have plenty of charge for other applications,
> including bike lights.

iPods (any version) don't use removable batteries of any sort.

More notably, most of the better MP3 players I am familiar with don't
use standard battery sizes, presumably because they're verging on too
small for that, and because they're using custom or semi-custom LiIon
battery packs for maximum performance.

> I don't think these forsaken batteries come from cyclists,
> because cyclists don't litter all over the landscape.
> Not intentionally anyways, although gusts and bumps can
> ****** or jolt stuff out of one's hand before it gets
> properly disposed of.

AAs are wildly common in all manner of electronics. I still see more
bolts and bits than anything else on my commute, but I'll keep an eye
out for batteries.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> writes:

>> > don't get me started on that...or iPods in general!
>>
>> I'm finding lots of AA cells lying around town. I figure
>> they're from people's iPods. I guess when the cells get
>> too weak to run their iPods, folks just jettison them.
>> But they still have plenty of charge for other applications,
>> including bike lights.
>
> iPods (any version) don't use removable batteries of any sort.

hmmm, I wonder where they're coming from then. Maybe
personal CD players?

> More notably, most of the better MP3 players I am familiar with don't
> use standard battery sizes, presumably because they're verging on too
> small for that, and because they're using custom or semi-custom LiIon
> battery packs for maximum performance.

....

> AAs are wildly common in all manner of electronics. I still see more
> bolts and bits than anything else on my commute, but I'll keep an eye
> out for batteries.

West Broadway seems to be rife with 'em, especially around Kitsilano.

Another thing I've been noticing lately is groups of two, three, four
people gathered around parking meters, apparently head-scratchingly
and lingeringly trying to figure out how (or how much?) to feed them.
I note the meters now have slots for debit or credit cards -- maybe
the meters ate their cards.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <xm9Pe.10497$p%[email protected]>,
[email protected] writes:

> That is not my experience around the SF Bay Area, where bicyclist make
> an effort to throw their banana peels onto the road and to leave their
> never-patched micro-tubes on the road so others can see that they can
> afford to throw them away in the event of a puncture.

While I originally wrote the above with a tongue-in-cheek, on
reflection I never see cyclists here around Vancouver BC
littering. Maybe it has to do with differences in local cultures.

Among the worst litterbugs around here are high school students,
as evidenced where fast food restaurants are near high schools.
I suspect their littering is part of adolescent rebelliousness,
which is eventually outgrown. High school students are perhaps
the least represented age group among our local bevy of cyclists,
which appears to be predominantly older than 21 years of age, and
who use words like "sustainability", "eco-friendliness",
"conservation", "recycling" and "organic".

That's not to say we don't have a litter problem here; we do.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

 

[Rick]

Bob the Cow wrote:
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > The latest trend in distracted driving - a dog on the lap!
> > ...
> > What will they think of next?
>
> Lap DANCES and driving?

Already conceived, at least in Hollywood. A scene from The Chase with
Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson, on the freeway in San Diego .....

- rick

 

[Paul Hobson]

Tom Keats wrote:

> I'm finding lots of AA cells lying around town. I figure
> they're from people's iPods. I guess when the cells get
> too weak to run their iPods, folks just jettison them.
> But they still have plenty of charge for other applications,
> including bike lights.
>
> I don't think these forsaken batteries come from cyclists,
> because cyclists don't litter all over the landscape.
> Not intentionally anyways, although gusts and bumps can
> ****** or jolt stuff out of one's hand before it gets
> properly disposed of.
>
>
> cheers,
> Tom
>

iPods have special batteries more akin to that of a cell phone and they
can't be replaced...well, they couldn't but after a big internet
whistle-blowing similar to the Krypto U-lock ordeal, they fixed it. I
can't think of where those batteries would be coming from.

\\paul
--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
..:change the words numbers
if you want to reply to me:.