right hook

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 18:54:50 -0400,
,
wrote:

It gives a precedence to public transit which I agree with.

While I like public transit, I wouldn't impose a law that's counter to the
ways that merging bodys safely merge.

The bus signals, you yield. Period. That's the law here too.
We've simply codified the law of the jungle.
--
zk

Zoot Katz wrote:

The bus signals, you yield. Period. That's the law here too.
We've simply codified the law of the jungle.
--

And besides the legal issue there is also the law of survival. While I
understand folks get a bit agitated when some large, motorized vehicle
suddenly occupies their space I think that the complaint is secondary
to survival.
Regardless of who may be in the right I have no desire to have a
collision with a bus (or car) and so I assume primary and full
respoonsibility for my safety-- and that almost always means being
alert and yielding to the big guys.

On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 16:42:40 -0700, Zoot Katz
wrote:

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 18:54:50 -0400,
,
wrote:

It gives a precedence to public transit which I agree with.

While I like public transit, I wouldn't impose a law that's counter to the
ways that merging bodys safely merge.

The bus signals, you yield. Period. That's the law here too.
We've simply codified the law of the jungle.

Hehe. OK, I'll concede that. slaps forehead

Besides being courteous, how would a diver know if that law is on the
books? I don't know of anyone who has been ticked for 'failing to yield to
a city bus', but I'm apparenly a moron on this. ;-)

What if you're on the bike and you come screaming past him at 20mph in the
rightmost tire track, and he signals and begins to pull out simultaneously
into your lane. Do you slam on the brakes to let him out? Er...would one be
required to....I mean.

jj

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 19:54:38 -0400,
,
wrote:

Besides being courteous, how would a diver know if that law is on the
books? I don't know of anyone who has been ticked for 'failing to yield to
a city bus', but I'm apparenly a moron on this. ;-)

Big retro reflective sign on the left corner of the bus says in huge
letters "YIELD - It's the Law" and then in slightly smaller letters
"Thanks" or "Thank You", something like that.
--
zk

On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 17:02:09 -0700, Zoot Katz
wrote:

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 19:54:38 -0400,
,
wrote:

Besides being courteous, how would a diver know if that law is on the
books? I don't know of anyone who has been ticked for 'failing to yield to
a city bus', but I'm apparenly a moron on this. ;-)

Big retro reflective sign on the left corner of the bus says in huge
letters "YIELD - It's the Law" and then in slightly smaller letters
"Thanks" or "Thank You", something like that.

No signs like that on our city busses.

I have to ask then -

is it normal behavior for busses in your locale to block for each other
tying up two of three lanes?

to only pull partway into their cut-out thus blocking traffic with their
caboose end?

to suddenly cut over three lanes of traffic diagonally to get into the left
turn lane?

Our busses may be more aggressive b/e we don't have a yield law. I'm sure
it drives them bonkers trying to keep their schedule in some of this
traffic, leading to chance-taking. I can deal in the car. But riding a bike
up the hill past their transfer area (about the only way into the
University from my house) can be like dodging bumper-cars!

jj

Zoot Katz wrote in message ...

The bus signals, you yield. Period. That's the law here too.
We've simply codified the law of the jungle.

Actually, I'm just fine with that -- as long as the driver signals. It's
actually quite helpful to me riding through city traffic. I'm sharing the
right hand lane with the bus, maybe my progress is slow because I'm climbing
a hill. I look to the bus to see if it's signalling. If it has its right
signal on, I slow and let it ahead. If it has its flashers on, I know --
it's loading passengers, and I can go ahead and pass it. What's hard is when
it's just sitting there, and there's no signal at all. If the driver starts
to pull out it's unexpected. Legally, I'm supposed to yield, but it would
have been very nice if the driver would have given me a little warning. I
try to study the tires as I approach a bus just sitting at stop, to try to
anticipate what its actions are going to be, which isn't always successful.
That's why the signal is so helpful.


Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referr*al/Cpetersky

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 20:54:21 -0400,
,
wrote, in part:

is it normal behavior for busses in your locale to block for each other
tying up two of three lanes?

Sometimes, as there are both trolley and diesel busses so they do
occasionally cover for each other and one trolley can't pass another.

to only pull partway into their cut-out thus blocking traffic with their
caboose end?

Depends on if some bonehead has parked their scud in a bus stop.

to suddenly cut over three lanes of traffic diagonally to get into the left
turn lane?

They signal. You yield. They go. No problem.

Vancouver has a different philosophy about transportation planning
which keeps us consistently ranked among the most livable cities in
the world. (tied for #2 again this year, #1 in North America)

We've prioritised the movement of people on foot, bicycles and via
public transit, and the movement of goods over the movement of private
automobiles. We've fought hard since the sixties to keep freeways out
of the city and it's paid off.
--
zk

Zoot Katz wrote:
Big retro reflective sign on the left corner of the bus says in huge
letters "YIELD - It's the Law" and then in slightly smaller letters
"Thanks" or "Thank You", something like that.

In Toronto, where a similar law passed recently (01/01/2005, I
believe), they made the yield stickers larger and removed the "Please"
once they had the legal system on their side.

I realize this is OT from the original post, but I'd like to make some
comments on the "Yield to Merging Buses" part of the thread. It is very
rational to allow buses to enter the traffic stream without waiting for a
long line of traffic to clear. These are large and clumsy vehicles,
performing a public service, anfd required to keep to a reasonable schedule.
If bus drivers were not given a little extra help, the job would be
impossible. The nrext point is that the bus driver does NOT have the right
to barge into the traffic stream if it fails to yield. At least not where I
live. The California Vehicle Code makes it clear that rules require the
driver to *yield* the right of way, but it is also specified that the other
driver does not have the right of way until it is yielded.

In other words, a bus driver is required to observe the traffic from the
rear, and is permitted to pull out AFTER a gap is created for him by one of
the cars. I don't know what the law is here, but I have always tried to
give buses a break. along with anyone else who may be having a difficult
time entering the traffic flow.

I don't know about where you are, but some jurisdictions police will accept
a report, and issue the drive a warning. Meaningless? Not the one I heard
about. The local cops watched for infractions of any kind by a "warned
vehicle".

Report what she did. You never know.

Bruce

"Zoot Katz" wrote in message
...
Fri, 03 Jun 2005 15:40:56 -0400, ,
Joe Canuck wrote, in part:


Unfortunately, where I come from motorists also seem to think they can
try to beat the pedestrians waiting to cross at the light when they try
to turn after waiting for the light.

Monday I almost got wiped by a chrome and vanity plated Hummer while
crossing in a cross walk. They didn't feel like waiting for a guy on
crutches. Their left-turn was more important. I could have reached out
and touched her shiny black scud. She'd have creamed a car had there
been one approaching the intersection on the side street I was
crossing. She had to go into their lane to cut me off so you know that
I was fully occupying the x-walk before she started her turn.

BTW, The BC vanity plate read "MAGGIE".
--
zk