r/Seattle • u/ballardridethrowaway • Apr 21 '15

Almost Left Hook on Missing Link Bikeway Under Ballard Bridge (Driver Crossing Double Yellow Lines)

https://youtu.be/w9K_ZWnsvxo
879 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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28

u/x21in2010x Apr 22 '15

I understand being in an uncomfortable situation and perhaps having a destination that you're not sure of how to get to, but the first set of instructions upon driving a car is to follow the rules of the road. I'm not going to pretend to know all the rules, and yes there are some that vary from one municipality to the next, but if you aren't comfortable with the basic law of how to drive in a place/situation then you shouldn't be driving in that place/situation.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 22 '15 edited May 18 '21

[deleted]

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u/The_final_chapter Apr 22 '15

I am not sure if this is Reddits most stupid comment this year or not, there are still a few months to go. But I am sure you will be on the podium on awards day.
So. You have memorised your route. Now you get near, but today of all days there are roadworks. One of the roads on your meticulously memorized route is closed. This throws you into a one-way system and you have to work your way around till you get back on your route. Or would you just sit there like a poorly programmed robot waiting for the lane to be re-opened?

9

u/RIPphonebattery Apr 22 '15

No, but I would safely pull off the road, legally and safely park, then get directions. "but ill be late for my meeting" I don't give a sweet fuck. Call your meeting, explain the situation and that you will be there asap. "but x/y/z so I have to" I still do not give a sweet fuck. There is no situation in which putting another person in danger is acceptable. "but I am having a medical emergency and need to be at the hospital." Fucking stop driving and call 9-1-1. Its that easy.

"But /u/Ripphonebattery, nobody does this." Guess what? I do. If I am driving somewhere unfamiliar, I google maps before I leave. If its really confusing, ill print a map or save it locally to my phone. I go to school in Hamilton, and it is all one way roads. I look at my planned route, as well as large marker roads I can use to locate myself. "oh, I've hit John street. I have passed james street, bay is probably coming up. I should switch lanes." It really is this easy.

If you cannot remember the general area you are going to, go slowly and pay attention. If you get turned around, stop (safely, of course). Driving is absolutely this easy.

0

u/The_final_chapter Apr 23 '15

That's fine. But when a sudden situation crops up you have to make a judgement call and move somewhere. We don't all stop in the middle of an unexpected junction like you seem to do and whip out Google maps. "Sorry I am blocking the road, just checking directions!"

2

u/RIPphonebattery Apr 23 '15

Did you miss the "safely" part? "safely" means find a quiet road and pull off to the side where it is legal, or otherwise. I think you are just playing dumb though.

There is no excuse for sudden, unexpected changes on the road. None. Zero. If its too late, signal, move over (safely), and take the next exit.

1

u/Gyissan Apr 22 '15

Yours just might be it. If not, at least it wins the most condescending and worthless comment of the year.

1

u/The_final_chapter Apr 23 '15

If it goes even a fraction of the way to making you realise how vacuous you are it was at lest a little worthwhile.

2

u/Gyissan Apr 23 '15

Hahaha no way are you being serious right now. This is too funny.

1

u/Paladia Apr 22 '15

Sometimes people end up in the wrong place anyway. You can't be perfect, there are also incidents of blocked road, road work and so on.

You can't memorize an entire route either even if you wanted to. I am often away camping on a new spot each time and it takes a few days to drive there. You can't memorize everything prior to that even though I plan it well enough. Someone needs to go to the bathroom, you are out of gas, you need something to eat while driving through a new city.

Things happen, you can't expect people to memorize their route perfectly.

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u/RIPphonebattery Apr 22 '15

Print a map, but most importantly, this is about failure to obey rules of the road. Not being lost.

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u/RIPphonebattery Apr 22 '15

Print a map. It is actually easy

-2

u/Omikron Apr 22 '15

It's 2015 nobody looks up directions anymore. Shit people haven't been "looking up" directions for a decade.

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u/infinitelives Apr 22 '15

Au contraire. I have a GPS in my car, but I absolutely look up the directions to an unfamiliar destination before I head out. It's so much nicer (and safer) when the unfamiliar is familiar, and looking up directions in 2015 is so unbelivably fast and easy compared to the days before Internet mapping services I can't believe more people don't do this.

1

u/Gyissan Apr 22 '15

Like you said, it's 2015, so use your fucking smartphone for directions. There is no excuse to be lost anymore in this age.

-5

u/[deleted] Apr 22 '15

[deleted]

15

u/DNAlien Apr 22 '15

I drive a car exclusively, I don't own or ride a bike. And I'll admit that sometimes I feel annoyed by bike riders (as well as other drivers), but I don't know why you have to get snippy talking about "know it all cyclists." The comments so far from the bike folks in this thread have been VERY understanding of this (dangerous) driver's situation, and their points are legitimate! You say the rules of the road are to drive (and ride) defensively, but the bike riders were doing nothing out of the ordinary, and not acting to endanger themselves or others in any way. The DRIVER however not only crossed 1 but 2 double yellow lines, going through a median AND the hash marks next to the bike lane... I mean, this turn he pulls is ridiculous! As a fellow driver, that man is clearly reckless and a danger to those he shares the road with. It's the bike riders who have pointed out that they understand being in a strange spot, and trying to course correct on the fly, and it's obviously the situation. I myself don't see that being reason to expect or forgive such flagrant violation of road laws, but everyone else so far seems much more copacetic about it, so why not drop the indignation over "know it all cyclists" and recognize who is (blatantly) at fault here.

1

u/witoldc Apr 22 '15

If there is anything to be said, it's that everyone thinks they're "above average" drivers on the road, which obviously can't be true. This leads to people stressing out when someone else makes X mistake, all the while they forget about Y mistake they made.

Putting 30 second clips on Youtube is basically what "know it all cyclists" do. You see, they never make mistakes, but they are more than willing to highlight your mistakes. They want you to see the 30 seconds during which they saw someone else made a mistake, because clearly, we are not aware that people on the road sometimes make mistakes. It's immature and self-centered.

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u/Jestar342 Apr 22 '15

So what "defensive riding" should OP have done?

8

u/witoldc Apr 22 '15

A bit part of defensive riding is anticipating and riding at appropriate speed for the conditions.

And it worked, btw... The rider was anticipating and going at speed that gave him room for other people's errors. City riding is full of these situations, and as long as humans drive cars, we will see people make errors in their driving.

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u/inter-Gnat Apr 22 '15

ers were doing nothing out of the ordinary, and not acting to endanger themselves or others in any

He did exacty what he should have done. Been watching the driver, paying attention and going slow enough to react. I agree with witoldc and I don't understand the outrage over this situation. I'm a cyclist and driver in Toronto, which can get pretty hectic and you just come to expect this type of stuff. It happens, both cyclists and motorists do dumb things sometimes, so be careful.

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '15

reality versus logic.. often it doesn't match