I commuted to work via my bicycle yesterday. FYI my trip to and from work, like all Seattle people this time of the year, takes place in complete darkness. I am lit up like a Christmas tree to heighten the awareness of my presence for all the knucklehead drivers out there. I have a stunning front light, that strobes, I have two annoying red strobe lights from the rear and I have a safety light from the side that can only be described as a tow truck at a five car pile up. Short story - I think I am pretty easy to see.
When I ride home I ride up Avalon, a long semi difficult hill which now has a groovy bike lane (thank you Mayor McGinn), and then I cruise down 35th until I get to Spokane and slide down my hill, on a fricking ONE LANE road.
Last night on my peaceful way down Spokane (which takes two or three tight turns) I had just turned and was coming down hill number two when a SUV turned the corner at the bottom of the hill and, there is no other way to put it, gunned it to come up the hill. I stopped in the middle of this one lane road and hoped for the best. And my prayers were answered as the racing SUV came to a force full stop just in front of my bike. The distance of this hill is about 50 yards.
The lovely woman in the car rolled her window down and yelled "what are you doing in the middle of the road". My reply was simply "trying my best to be seen". And then I said "Why are you going so fast on a one lane road?" Her reply was that it wasn't a one lane road and that I was being ridiculous. Need I mention that she had a toddler and a baby in a car seat. I told her she was an asshole and needed to slow down and use more caution, and left her there to ponder my instructions.
This brought home a recurring thought that I have been pondering about the hypocrisy of the American Suburban Housewife (ASH). As a bike rider, these people have surpassed the stereotypical Asian drivers, pizza delivery hounds and teenagers as the horrors of the road. I have noticed that this category is more likely to be speeding, driving on side roads, and most apt to be on their cell phone. I once even saw a ASH driving, talking on a cell phone AND making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - TRUE STORY!
And here comes the big hypocrisy - should any poor, minority buss driver be seen talking on the cell phone while driving their precious children on a school bus they organize a brigade to make sure this bus driver never works again.
Orange Schools fire bus driver for cell phone use | cleveland.com
www.cleveland.com › Chagrin Solon Sun › News
Jul 28, 2011 – The Orange Board of Education terminated a school bus driver for making a personal cell phone call May 26 while the bus was in motion and ...
School board says bus driver used cell phone multiple times after ...
www.abcactionnews.com/.../school-board-says-bus-driver-used-cell-...
Aug 2, 2011 – A Pasco County school bus driver is out of a job for using her cell phone while driving students. School board members decided Monday night ...
The author of this blog (should he ever be called that) does not condone cell phone use while driving, but is simply pointing out that the fact that it seems EVERYONE does it, but that NO ONE can tolerate this behavior in OTHERS.
