February 13, 2013

Triple Truck Ruckus

It's only a matter of time on the road before interactions with the crazies happens.  I'm really suprised it took 4 weeks for me to have any, but it must have been building up cause this morning I got three!

I don't know what it is about guys in their trucks.  Attitudes seem to be magnified proportional to the size of the truck...but maybe that's just my perspective.

1.  I'm at a major intersection of two arterial streets.  The street I'm on has two lanes in each direction.  I'm lined up in the right lane behind three vehicles that have their right-hand turn signal on.  One vehicle is in the left lane.  The light turned green and the vehicles in front of me began to move.  As the line slowly moved into their turning motion, I noted that the single truck in the left lane was NOT moving.  The vehicle in front of me turned, and as I entered the intersection the truck to the left finally began moving...and it became apparent to me why he had NOT been moving. 

He had waited for the queue of headlights to roll out before making his last-minute lane-switch-right-hand-turn.  BUT he had NOT seen MY headlight.  Thankfully this individual is so engrained in his last-minute behavior type that he DID see me at the last minute and paused long enough for me to clear his path before continuing his illegal maneuver.

2.  As I entered the Garland Business District which is posted as a 20 MPH zone I saw a nice truck ready to turn onto the street behind me.  I made a concerted effort to increase my pedaling effort which would bring me up to about 17 MPH on my single-speed commuter.  As soon as the truck was fully into the lane behind me I recognized the engine rev of an individual about to break the law.  Sure enough, the truck came rolling past on my left straddling the double yellow.  I snarkily gave him a huge thumbs up as he did so.  Then I refrained from looking at him 50 yards down the road where we both toed the line at the next red light.

3.  Truck number three came from behind as we approached a green signal with a single lane in our direction and a left-hand turn lane.  This time the diesel engine rev was unmistakably moving into the left-hand turn lane, and also unmistakably NOT slowing down.  I just shook my head as this guy rolled straight through the intersection.


Sometimes I wonder if it's my fault they break the law...wait, no I don't!  They are big enough to make their own stupid decisions.  Typically we don't get to hear what's going on in someones mind in the moment they make a decision, but two out of three times this morning I did hear just that. 

No comments:

Post a Comment