Editorial: All I want for Christmas...

It seems almost cliche to write a wish list for this time of year, but given that this is the first Christmas I am spending in my newly adopted home town of Long Beach, I thought it appropriate to share a few things that I would like to see happen in coming months. Most of this is borne of experiences since moving here in February, much of it slightly harrowing to say the least. I certainly do not expect any of this to change on its own and am working to participate in the civic process to try to help improve things, but it takes more than one person, even one organization, to really effect the kinds of change necessary to make things better.

So, all I want for Christmas is:

Editorial: Just because we choose not to drive a car does not make us any less human

I had planned on running an editorial on a different topic, but reading some of the commentary on several recent incidents involving cars and two-wheeled vehicles along with nearly getting run over by cars while crossing the street last week has me more than a little upset at the callous attitude so many drivers exhibit. The most recent incident, shown in the video below, records one of the most unnervingly unsympathetic and completely sociopathic people I have ever seen. Shortly after swerving to cause a motorcycle carrying a passenger to crash, this driver has the gall to stand there and declare, "I don't care" when he is questioned about what he just did. Such disregard for human life is not just a little scary, it is downright run-for-the-hills alarming. Then, to make matters worse, the comments from other people start to pile on and, protected by the anonymity of the Internet, we get to really see what people think of those of us who choose not to get around everywhere surrounded by the metal crash structure of a car.

My own experience this past week has not been significantly better. On one occasion, while crossing at a signal controlled intersection, within the boundaries of the clearly marked crosswalk with a clearly visible walk signal, my dog and I were nearly run down by a livery driver who thought it was entirely appropriate to enter the crosswalk as soon as I had cleared the space he wanted to occupy, barely missing us by inches. Naturally, such a close encounter is going to startle a pedestrian and I immediately spun around to confront the driver of the large black SUV, who threw his hands in the air in exasperation as if he were confounded by why I was upset. Setting aside the fact that he was in clear violation of the law, which requires that drivers refrain from entering a crosswalk until pedestrians have cleared it completely, his lack of any semblance of guilt for the maneuver, compounded by his clear lack of giving a shit for my safety, sent me into a rage, causing an expletive laden diatribe to pour forth from my mouth. The SUV screeched off and I was left upon the side of the road seething in an adrenaline fueled state of anger.

Stories like this are all too common among the cycling community as well. There are countless stories of drivers intentionally making efforts to intimidate riders who are following their legal right to use entire traffic lanes. Some drivers go so far as to knock the rider over, force them off the road, or otherwise cause them bodily harm. When such incidents are reported in the media, the commentary that follows usually devolves into a cesspool of shameless victim blaming with many people voicing the sentiment that the cyclists "got what they deserved" for taking up the whole lane.

I believe this mentality towards anyone not ensconced in the confines of a car seems stem from a few key areas: ignorance, unfairness, and lack of education.

The ignorance comes in many flavors. It could be ignorance of the laws. It could be ignorance of the experience of others. It could just be plain and simple ignorance because of lack of exposure. Whatever, the cause, ignorance can be a tremendously dangerous fuel for dangerous and destructive behaviors. One of the greatest areas of ignorance for many Americans is simply an ignorance of perspective through the eyes of another road user. Most Americans will never ride a motorcycle during their lifetime and most stopped riding bicycles when they became old enough to drive. Since our culture is so dominated by driving, most Americans hardly spend time as pedestrians anymore, aside from the walk from the car door across the parking lot to enter the fast food join where their dinner awaits. Not understanding how the world view is different through the eyes of a pedestrian, cyclist, or motorcyclist leads to a lack of understanding of what is perceived as dangerous. Driving in a car, passing a pedestrian or cyclist with less than a foot of space may seem totally safe to a driver, but is a shockingly close call to someone without any kind of physical protection.

One of the most common arguments against the idea of letting motorcyclists lane split is that it is "unfair" for drivers to have to sit in traffic while motorcyclists get to zoom ahead. A common myth levied against cyclists using traffic lanes is how "unfair" it is that cyclists are allowed on the roads but do not have to pay registration and taxes to help pay for those roads. Both of these try to appeal to a sense of "fairness" that taps into the absurdly selfish belief that road use is somehow a zero sum game. If someone else is getting some kind of advantage, then it must be taking away from you in some way. We have turned road use into a kind of sick reality TV competition where the winner gets a crap prize accompanied by their 15 minutes of Internet fame. This attitude is also what leads to some of the more epic road rage incidents as one entitled person takes out their frustration on another in some misguided belief that this will somehow result in them being happier, but only ends up with them in jail.

As for the lack of education, it is a topic that I often revisit. Our driver education system is so pathetic as to be laughable. Not only do we fail to instill in drivers the rules of how to safely operate two ton weapons on the road, we fail to do any semblance of follow-up to make sure that they remain safe in their operation. Just as we license doctors and require them to re-qualify for their license every few years, drivers should be required to update their qualifications from time to time to ensure that they understand how rules have changed or evolved. On top of that, our driver education testing is atrociously inconsistent and lacking in interactions with other road users that it should be no surprise that most drivers simply have no idea what the laws are that pertain to motorcyclists, cyclists, or pedestrians. Testing criteria should be standardized and much more comprehensive and the standards much more stringent to ensure that the pilot of a two-ton box of metal is fully able to comprehend how serious the task of driving really is. Triggers for automatic failure should include reaching for a phone, hitting anything of any kind, and any moving violation that would normally result in a traffic citation. Of course, these standards are going to be the most difficult to change as legislation to alter driving requirements is often met with opposition that rivals the wrath of Zeus himself. There are certainly many advanced driver education options throughout the country and bless the hearts of those who invest the time and money to take those for their own, and everyone's, sake.

At the end of the day, regardless of how utterly ridiculous the current situation might be, what really needs to happen is that everyone needs to learn a bit of respect for everyone else. Just because someone has made the decision to not drive a car does not make them any less of a person. Do not judge them for their choice and instead, focus on your own.

Choose to be respectful of the rights of all road users.
Choose to educate yourself about the rules of the road and follow them as best as you can.
Choose to leave a little earlier so that you are not in a rush and cause chaos along the way.
Choose to allow a greater margin for error anytime you are behind the wheel.

Most importantly, choose to be aware of your surroundings and realize that your actions have an impact on your environment and take responsibility when you make a mistake. There is no faster way to diffuse a situation than to be genuinely apologetic, own your mistake, and communicate that to the other party.

As for the driver above, who exhibits such an abhorrent disregard for human life, I hope that he is punished to the fullest extent of the law for his actions. At a very minimum, I hope such a driver has his driving privileges revoked for the remainder of his life.

Halloween: Our Favorite Frights of 2013

Another year, another Halloween, the one day a year, when it becomes appropriate to dress all in black and creep out your neighbors. To honor this most frightening of days, we thought we would take a look back at some of the scary moments we have encountered behind the wheel or in the saddle during the course of this year. Some of these were genuinely scary moments where genuine unease washed over us, while others were merely close calls.

In August, East Brother shared with us his trip to several haunted sites in the city of Waltham, MA. Joining him in the saddle of the K1200S, we toured the creepy remnants of several mental institutions as well as the grounds of a school and residential facility that is still actively serving residents, but is the site of one of the most haunted places in the Boston area. Just the thought of trekking back to the Fernald School is a chilling prospect.

Our modern cars are also so filled with computers and electronic nannies that the modern automobile can now be easily hacked and taken over. Everything from opening car doors to forcing the car to drive anywhere but where the driver wants is entirely possible. Can you imagine driving along the road when suddenly your doors lock and the steering wheel seems to take on a mind of its own? It is like a ghost has taken over your car. Scary thought, is it not?

There were innumerable close calls, including run-ins with total lunatics perpetrating road rage like nobody's business, near misses with wildlife while biking (damn those squirrels are crafty), and, of course, the death of common sense behind the wheel. Getting on any form of two-wheeled transportation was sometimes frightening enough on its own, with drivers today seemingly completely oblivious to their surroundings and hell bent on doing anything behind the wheel except drive.

On a final note we just want to remind everyone to be safe, be courteous, and to never drink and drive.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Crazy of the Week #3: Playing too much GTA V?

Here at East-West Brothers Garage, we do highlight road rage quite a bit as it teaches us what kind of drivers not to be. The following video below though, takes road rage to a whole new level:

This man from Indiana, 51-year old Dr. Perrin Dobyns, decides to go GTA on the driver recording the video, and pulls a gun. Police reports have indicated that Dobyns did open fire on the driver recording the video. Luckily, the driver recording the video had slammed on the brakes just in time to avoid being shot. Why was the driver recording Dobyns? For driving recklessly. Local news reports that Dobyns was arrested in the Indiana correctional facility where he is employed and will be charged when he is extradited to Kentucky.

Read the original article here on Jalopnik.

I suppose we should all treat this incident as a cautionary tale. While there is nothing wrong with recording other drivers being reckless, as it does provide police with evidence if they ever need to arrest someone, just be aware that you never know when the person you are recording is armed.

Be careful and drive safe everyone!

Crazy of the Week: Post #1 - Losing it in Los Angeles

I enjoy my fair share of YouTube videos and the Autos category is a regular stop for me. Sometimes, one just comes across something that is just too crazy to pass up. So starting with this post on our nation's birthday, whenever we come across something so completely outrageous that we just cannot pass up sharing some thoughts about it, we will take the chance to share with everyone.

This week's video is one that takes place near downtown Los Angeles. An insane driver in an Infiniti I30 wearing plates from Illinois just loses it on another driver, swerving back and forth between lanes, brake checking, and generally driving like a complete idiot. Lucky for us, the poor victim of the lunatic was fortunate enough to have a dash cam running at the time, recording then entire encounter and posting it to Youtube.

What caps this entire thing off is that the driver of said Infiniti even goes so far to stop his vehicle during a busy weekend crush on an LA freeway and actually exits his vehicle to confront the victim of his tirade, banging on the glass and screaming at him. Clearly, this guy needs to cut back on his caffeine intake because this sort of behavior is uncalled for, even in the craziness of LA's legendary traffic. The number of lives this moron endangered with his erratic driving and hair-trigger temper likely numbered well into the dozens, all over what was apparently his own poor driving (check out the crumpled rear quarter panel on his car). The amount of patience exhibited by the victim is downright Zen-like.

I must admit, I am not sure I would have been quite so patient had I been caught in this situation. In fact, with a dash-cam running, I honestly would have been tempted to "forget" to brake and just crashed into his car. Of course, my first call would have been to the police to get them on scene so that I could show them the dash cam video and have the idiot arrested. Of course, given his mental state at the time, this might just send him off the deep end. Maybe the best thing to do would have been to just try to get off of the freeway altogether to avoid further confrontation or, at the very least, put a lot more distance between myself and the aggressor.

Watch the video after the break and tell us what you would have done if this had happened to you. Have a crazy story of your own, please feel free to share as well.

Hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Editorial: Florida to Introduce New "Road Rage" Law

In March, my brother posted an article about a woman who was ticketed for driving two miles per hour under the speed limit in the far left lane (read that post here). The problem was not the fact that the woman was driving two under, but that she was holding up traffic in the passing lane. Many accidents and bouts of road rage are caused by drivers who lack any sort of lane discipline. In an effort to hopefully curb road rage and decrease the number of accidents cause by slow drivers hogging the left lane, Florida state House and Senate have passed a bill that would fine drivers $60 for driving 10 miles per hour under the speed limit in the left lane on a highway with two or more lanes.