A few random thoughts and traffic observations from behind a coffee mug. The morning kibitzers are all talking about the recent Husky victory over USC (though a more recent loss to Stanford has squared things celestially) as they sit in the middle of the sidewalk on McGraw outside the Upper Crust, but this is what's happening out in the street.
Although you can see many of the same things as you look out at the four-way stop from the deck at Rudy's, another of my favorite traffic observation stations.
* Pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks, so STOP when you see a person anywhere in one. Also, your car coming to a stop for the pedestrian is a signal to other drivers to exert a little caution, because there's some reason for your car to be stopped. (You pedestrians, too: Just because you're in a crosswalk, don't expect the car to stop. Make eye contact with the driver and stare them to a stop. And don't dawdle along, either; hurry and get to the other side of the street.)
* Those octagonal red signs on the end of the red-and-white striped posts mean: STOP! They don't mean: Slow down and see if anybody is coming. They mean come to a full stop, you know, one in which the car's wheels stop going around.
* The large number of drivers who think that it is perfectly all right to make a U-turn in the middle of the Village never ceases to amaze me. They'll start out from a parking space at the curb and then suddenly just crank the steering wheel hard, as they apply the gas, until they're headed back the other way. I've seen more than a few drivers completely startle a fellow driver headed down the street when the parked driver suddenly cuts in front of them from the opposite side of the street.
A corollary of the U-turn experience of suddenly having cars coming at you from unexpected directions, are people who park in the first parking spot after a corner and then, when they leave, back around the corner against the flow of traffic and then proceed down that street.
* The way you parallel park an automobile is to always back into the parking space. As long as the front wheels do the steering, there is no way you can get an automobile's rear end in the proper distance from the curb, if you try to pull into a space going forward that is less then two or three spaces long.
If you've found an empty space, pull your car completely parallel to the front car. Put your car in reverse and immediately turn your steering wheel full right, back up to a 45-degree angle, stop and reverse the steering, i.e. turn full left, and finish backing into the space. Then pull forward until your bumpers are equidistant from the cars parked in front of and behind you.
* Drivers should also pay attention to the simplest of driving rules that they all know very well and wouldn't have any problem with on a driver's license examination. Things like: parking over a crosswalk; parking within 30 feet of a stop sign, (I know you can all read the "Do Not Park..." sign,) parking in front of a fire hydrant, etc.
Some people just seem to feel they're too important to mind simple traffic laws, yet they would be the first to scream if someone else ignored the laws and it inconvenienced them. Double parking in front of a business, while you go in to complete your commerce as you block not only the traffic on the street but also the person parked legally at the curb isn't very considerate either.
The excuse: "But I'm just going to be a minute," as they dash for a latte, doesn't cut it. They probably park illegally in "Disabled Only" parking spots, too.
Well, that's it, I've vented my wrath.
Just be considerate with your driving. You're being watched.[[In-content Ad]]
