5.26.2005

More lane changing woes

Although I made someone beep at me in anger yesterday, today I had two reasons to beep at business vehicles which honestly cut me off.

The Neighbor Care van was in the left lane on Route 128, and moved right across the lanes, as if the markings weren't there, and in the process he almost sideswiped the tractor of an empty tractor trailer on Route 128S/Route 93N in Braintree because the truck was trying to move into the same lane at the same time. This didn't deter the driver of the Neighbor Care van. He just sped up and moved across three lanes on his way to Route 3 South.

Heading into the tunnel, a white box truck cut into my lane with barely enough room and barely any warning. What's more, it was the left lane, and I thought trucks were prohibited from the left lanes of the highways in this state except for passing. The driver wasn't passing. When the tunnel picked up a new left lane with the Albany Street downramp, I moved over and pulled alongside to read the lettering on the door. It said, Federal Metal Finishing. A check of Switchboard.com shows a company by that name at 18 Dorrance St. in Charlestown.

Oh well, more to come...

Sidebar: Boston Crazy Driving is going to a wedding this weekend, where we will be checking the driving habits of New Yorkers, and possibly to take in a Red Sox-Yankees game, if there are tickets, in Enemy Territory.

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5.25.2005

Why I didn't see you this morning

Sorry to the person I nearly hit while changing lanes on Route 128 in Needham this morning. I didn't see you, but not because I didn't look. I did. Actually, I looked twice, in two mirrors and over my shoulder. You know why I didn't see you? Because you didn't have your minivan's lights on.

Today's storm is the third, and most likely the worst, nor'easter of the month, I would think you would have learned by now to put your headlights on in the rain. It's not so you can see better, it's so I can see YOU better. Your lights are able to cut through the road spray and rain, unlike the glint from your faux-chrome grill. And it's not just a courtesy, it's for safety. Isn't safety one of the reasons you purchased that Griswold Family Truckster in the first place? It certainly wasn't for its sportiness.

Your angry beeping at me invading your driving space was justified, but only to the point that I almost hit you. Had we collided it would have been my fault, at least according to my insurance company. They wouldn't have even taken into account the fact that you did nothing to alert other driver's of your presence on the road. Shame on you. You are putting your children at risk of being hurt as you hurtle that land barge along the highway.

Don't worry, though, you weren't the only inconsiderate, self-righteous bastard on the road this morning. I was almost rear-ended by a New Hampshire Jeep Cherokee with front quarter panel damage that was speeding and cutting across three lanes of traffic in some apparent rush to get home to milk his cows, or something.

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Parking nazi nabbed, *sob*

According to this Boston Herald report, the so-called JP parking nazi was apparently caught by police when they videotaped him vandalizing and unmarked police van. First, let me say that I don't care for the use of nazi as an adjective. It was a funny bit on the show "Seinfeld" with the soup-nazi, and I have, on occasion used the term feminazi, but as it enters other parts of the lexicon, I'm worried it will become watered down and its significance will be lost the way the trademark distinction of aspirin did.

That said, I can't help but have sympathy for the guy police say did this. I don't condone his methods, such as keying or spray-painting cars, but I do believe people need to know that their selfishness while on the road, and while parked, affects other people. Parking, and driving, properly is as much a part of polite society as saying "excuse me." To that end, I suggest this Web site, where people can purchase bumper stickers. All I suggest is they affix them to a window so they can be easily removed, and to a part of a window that doesn't block the driver's view.

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5.23.2005

Now listed on Blogwise

As a favor to the kind folks at Blogwise for approving my site, I am drawing attention to their site, and a thanks to Carpundit, on whose site I first discovered the special listing service.

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Carpundit gets it right

Carpundit, who writes about various things on his mind, has noted a story which has been lingering around here, but has been a big deal in California: The idea of allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses. Boston Crazy Driving agrees with Carpundit that someone who came here illegally shouldn't be granted a driver's license.

Please allow this weblog to go political for a moment. (If politics disgusts you, please click the "next blog" button in the upper right.) Boston Crazy Driving is not opposed to immigration. Anyone who wishes to enter this country and become a productive member of the society is welcome. Those who subvert the law by coming as a tourist an overstaying his or her welcome, anyone who crosses a border without authority, or anyone who floats onto a deserted beach should be sent home.

Some have said to me recently, in context of the idea of allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state (resident) tuition at state colleges and universities, that they are productive members of society and they wish to improve themselves with an education. It's a valid argument, and I am happy they like it here so much. However, there's no getting by the fact that they came to this country illegally. Few countries are so forgiving as the U.S. of its illegal immigrants. My response to this argument, that they are trying to better themselves, is: Reform the immigration laws. Easy for me to say, yes, but if the Bush Administration put as much emphasis behind reforming immigration laws as it is with Social Security reform, there would be a meaningful change. And, this is a subject President Bush should know about since he was the governor of a border state.

OK, political spouting is over. Please read Carpundit's take, and follow his link to the story on the Cape Cod Times Web site.

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5.22.2005

There's a reason they call it Car-ma

Here's a great post from Craig's List's "Best of" section. It's from Boston, which is why it qualifies as a perfect example of the reason why this weblog is necessary.

Now I am not a huge fan of cell phone talking while driving, but I don't harass people. As I am merging to get off the highway and finishing my conversation with the office this ass decided to beep, scream, ride my ass, bascially being a real pain in his car. He is behind me for a while, continuing his screaming fit and making gestures in the rear view. Finally, he passes me while screaming and giving me the finger.

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5.16.2005

Nice move, Slick

Here's another case of a truck driver causing a major traffic hassle, courtesy of New England Cable News.

Channel 7 reported tonight that truck driver nearly crushed another driver, but instead doused her car with a bath of waste oil. That's not going to come off at the local self-service car wash.

This is just the latest in a string of truck accidents, which were chronicled earlier on this weblog.

The Woburn police chief was quoted on Channel 7 as saying it would be a real problem for the morning commute if it wasn't cleaned by then. My guess is it will be clean, but there will still be a traffic tie up. Glad I don't have to drive near Woburn on Tuesday.

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Rejection builds character, dear

My mom used to parrot those words to me, as said by her mother, whenever I had to deal with the news that I wasn't wanted or I wasn't good enough. I wasn't rejected often, but when I was, it hurt.
I was rejected today. It wasn't the kind of rejection a seventh-grader fears days before a school dance. It was the type one doesn't expect, and then does really care about either. My car failed its inspection, and I now have a "Rejected" inspection sticker in my front window.

This is a first for me in my 13 years of driving. I've never had my car fail an inspection. Once, before the enhanced test I had a jalopy that was on its way to failing the emissions test, which was the only part of the test that couldn't be fudged back then because the car was hooked up to the computer that ran the diagnostic. The mechanic, however, cranked up the RPMs with the throttle and my car passed toot sweet.

This time was different. I had two burnt out tail lights (more on that in a minute). Already 16 days expired, I was really running the risk of being stopped for an expired sticker. I lived in fear every time I passed a cop that he would pull me over and issue a ticket. In my mind, anyway, there's no excuse except laziness for driving a car with an expired sticker. If I were a cop, I'd stop every single car with a lapsed window sticker. I also have the added risk of using timed, public parking for work most days in an area now patrolled by a uniformed police officer whose job it is to look for expired stickers among other things.

At the inspection station, they offered to fix the lights. Right. No thanks. I'll buy them myself and save money. What does a light bulb cost? $2? I won't pay labor on replacing a light bulb. Reject it. It's cheaper.

Mrs. Boston Crazy Driving got nipped in that scam a couple years ago when she went to our friendly neighborhood inspection station and was told her wipers wouldn't pass. I showed up a week later because our inspections expired in the same month. I had bought new wiper blades before I went and put them in the trunk. I figured I was going to be told they didn't pass, especially since the rubber on one was broken and carried the blade as a little tail. To my surprise they passed it without question. Hmmmm. I thought, "Did they scam Mrs. Boston Crazy Driving because she's a woman?"

So, I found out I had two brake lights out. The driver's side and the cyclops. I fixed them five minutes later, but my car still bears a scarlet R, by coincidence, this year's stickers are red. I let all who can see my sticker that my car is a social outcast. I am among the group of drivers at whom I had snickered and mocked under my breath.

It's not the rejection, or the scarlet R, that bothers me. It's the fact that I was among a large group of drivers who really bother me: People whose tail lights are out. More and more lately, I've noticed the cyclops brake lights are burnt out on dozens of cars (and now I realize why they were required by law in the 1980s). What's more, as I have sat in my car in traffic backup after backup, I have quietly called the person in front of me a derogatory name for having burnt out lights, all while announcing to the person behind me that I am braking with one meek little brake light.

Sidebar: For good measure, I replaced all seven bulbs on the back end of my car. As I was doing this (in the parking lot of the auto parts store), there was a man who was trying to change the wipers on his silver VW. Suddenly, he blurts out, "F---ing Germans!" I guess the wiper replacement wasn't going so well. He also threw the wiper packages and the old blades on the ground in anger as he finished each step, until he saw me. Then he whistled some tune, as if it were Zippity-doo-dah Day. There was no Mr. Blue Bird on his shoulder. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as I was messing with the light bulbs in my trunk, and wonder if his pizza from Bertucci's is too burnt, does he say, "F---ing Italians!" Or if his Guinness is served too cold, does he say, "F---ing Irish!" You get the idea.

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5.12.2005

Tractor trailer madness

What is going on with tractor trailers these days? Two days in a row big rigs were involved in three different high-profile, traffic clogging accidents.

The most amazing part of the story was that the truck driver jumped off a bridge to the river 100 feet below Route 495 yesterday while the cab of his truck was engulfed in flames. Fox25 reported this morning that he was severely burned and is being treated at an area hospital. Boston Crazy Driving would like to wish him a speedy recovery. In case you missed it, read the story from the Herald. Universal Hub also points to a first-hand account of the scene by Domenico of the Bettnet.com weblog.

During the morning commute yesterday, a truck pulled down a bunch of utility wires on Route 9 in Natick.


According to this photo from the MetroWest Daily News, it appeared to have gotten caught on some low-hanging lines and ripped down the poles they were connected to. This meant that both directions of Route 9 had to be closed. Four western commuters, rush-hour backups on Route 9 are no anomaly, but this must have been really frustrating. After all, it was the second day in a row that the road was shut down because of a tractor trailer problem.



On Tuesday, Route 9 was shut where is crosses the Mass. Pike in Framingham because a jack-knifed truck caught fire on the Pike, right underneath the Route 9 overpass, as this photo from MetroWest editor Joe Dwinell's news weblog shows. Both roads were closed as a result.

What a mess!

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5.10.2005

Clog in the leaky tunnel

When the northbound 93 tunnel opened, I notice something missing: A breakdown lane. There are only a couple of places in the tunnel where a disabled car can actually pull aside and be out of the way of traffic. The first time I went through the tunnel, I thought, "Well, this place is going to be a real treat when someone overheats."

I was right. Last Thursday, in the heaviest southbound traffic I have seen since the tunnel opened, I watched the guy next to me react to a series of events which lead to his car overheating. First, he put his windows down, which is a big no-no for me. I even close my fresh-air vents when driving through because I don't want to be sucking exhaust. He put his windows down because he had to turn on the heat to cool down the engine, which has always been a weird paradox. It wasn't enough, though, because his car started spewing steam. He had to pull over by cutting through two lanes of traffic, and where he stopped meant anyone trying to use the Government Center/North End ramp would have to snake around him. I doubt this helped traffic.

Just today, another case of disabled vehicles caused a serious backup. Usually the morning gridlock breaks free at South Bay, where those of us going through the city have a clear, speed-limit shot to the tunnel and beyond. Instead we northbound commuters were stuck watching the Mass. Pike drivers cruise by (cruise indicates moving at 5 mph instead of 3 mph). The cause? Two cars in the right lane. It was hard to tell if they broke down or if they were in an accident, but there was only one tow truck. As soon as we all got a good look at it, you know, because anyone pulled over on the side of the road is a circus oddity, the traffic broke free. I admit to be looking, but I have a reason. I have to write about it in a weblog. OK, and I was victim to the same driver's voyeurism that plagues the rest of driving Boston.

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5.06.2005

'But I'm only going ONE way!'

This is a case of the wrong way being the only way.

There I was standing in front of the Malden Access TV station on Thursday afternoon and I never thought to borrow one of their cameras to film a great example of crazy driving and post it here. If nothing else, it made for great guerilla theater.

Thanks to a new building being built in Malden Square near the dead end of Pleasant Street which has fences blocking about half of all of the streets along the construction project's perimeter, parking is tighter than ever. Add to the trouble that Malden City Hall and Malden Police headquarters use the same limited number of parking spaces as merchants.

So, throughout my conversation, which lasted more than a half hour, there was a mini-SUV, of the Geo Tracker style (though not exactly that) double parked in front of one of the businesses. It's driver remained in the driver's seat while the passenger was inside on of the stores. This was benign, except that the small amount of traffic that did try to get by had to move slowly to be sure it threaded through without hitting anything.

Suddenly the driver laid on her horn. I thought it was because the person in the store was taking too long in her opinion. It wasn't. It was soon apparent the driver of the parked SUV was trying to alert the driver of a new, small Toyota that she was going the wrong way down the one way street. (Yes, Pleasant Street is a one-way dead-end street. Stephen Wright, eat your heart out.) The SUV driver kept beeping, and the Toyota driver stopped to see what the problem was. She should have just kept on going. The SUV driver launched into a angry rebuke (I don't think there is anything like a friendly rebuke, but you get it) of the Toyota driver, which included strict instructions to back up and use Abbott Street to exit out of the dead end rather than drive the wrong way for a block. The Toyota driver pleaded that she didn't know how to find her way out, but the SUV driver had no patience for the mistake and didn't explain very well that there was a way out closer to the City Hall. Flustered, the Toyota driver slowly made her way the wrong way towards Washington Street, where she slowly turned right and hopefully found her way out of the square.

There was a nice resolution to the story purely from a fiction writer's perspective. The SUV's passenger came out of the business to find out what the commotion was, and also got a loud rebuke from the driver because he was taking a long time.

I'm glad I was on foot, and walking away from that scene. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near that driver after that exchange.

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Still illegal

Another week has passed and I still haven't gotten my car inspected. There's nothing keeping me from doing it except for time. This week especially, I haven't had the time to drive over to the inspection station and do it. Shame on me.

Of course, now I have the difficult task of making my way home through Boston and to the Cape without being pulled over. My only hope is that I get a friendly reminder to have my car inspected rather than a ticket. But I don't know what's a better way to play it: Do I feign ignorance that it has expired? Or do I admit my error and promise to do it first thing on Saturday? I suppose both could work, but it's really a 50-50 shot.

Oh well, we'll see how I will do. I will report on Monday.

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5.03.2005

Running scared

OK, so I am illegal at the moment. Through nothing less than my own stupidity, my vehicle inspection has expired. Since I use this weblog to point out others faults, I feel I should point out my own out for public review.

My inspection expired on April 30, while I was doing some minor interior remodeling of a cottage on the Cape. It never crossed my mind until Monday morning that I had forgotten through the whole month of April to get my car inspected. With no time on Monday to get the job done, I put it off until this morning. I went to three places today, all with a line of hopeless looking people ahead of me. That meant I had to try to find a place without a line. I stopped at one garage and the attendant didn't even let me get out of the car when he instructed me to drive around the back and park there. From there, the conversation went like this:

"Are you open for vehicle inspections yet?" (Some places really limit their inspection hours, so this is a valid question.)
"Drive around back and park there."
Taking that to mean, yes, I asked, "Is there a line for inspection?"
"Drive around back and park there."
Taking that to mean, yes, I asked, "How many are ahead of me?"
"Drive around back and park there."
Taking that mean, yes, I rolled up my window (pushed the power window button, actually) and drove on the next station.

All of this trouble was triggered by a problem out of my control. The place I have had my car inspected for the past few years was demolished this spring without notification (not that they needed to send me a letter or anything). It was a great old Gulf that stood as a monument to the golden age of driving. It had a huge rotating Gulf sign on the roof, and it had FREE air for tires, talk about a throwback. Now it's gone and new gas station is going up in its place that will most likely be another roadside eyesore.

Still, I persevere.

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Check the back door

Boy, I wish I had my camera today. I got a chuckle this morning when I was behind a bus showing me its "candy." Well, OK, it wasn't like that, but it was funny to see the Boston Coach bus rolling north up Route 93 this morning with the door to its engine open to the world. It reminded me of those people who ride around with their hatchbacks open.

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5.02.2005

4-ways to a dumb maneuver


There's a terrible stop sign in Milton that should become a full traffic light. Alas, it the intersection involves at least one DCR (formerly MDC) road, so it will never happen. The intersection, which joins Unquity Road from the Blue Hills to Blue Hill Parkway at Canton Street, often fills with long lines of cars, especially during heavy commute times. It is also a really wide intersection because it appears the road was laid out to be a traffic circle. At some point, construction stopped, and they just turned it into a four-way stop.

Like most four-way stops, this one routinely has great examples of Boston's crazy drivers. Anyone standing on the corner for 30 minutes would witness no fewer than three major goofball maneuvers. Tonight was no exception. As is often the case, two cars lined up side-by-side coming from Unquity Road as if they were both going straight across. One vehicle went straight, but the other one stayed that the stop line. I thought, "Wow. That was a real exercise in restraint." It was now my turn to go. I was driving straight along Canton Street. As I was making my way through, that second vehicle, a van belonging to Envirotrac (which is a multi-state company with its Massachusetts office on Route 1 in Norwood), started to make a left without even looking! I used my horn in disgust but didn't slow down. The driver, who I could see in out my window had to let go of the wheel altogether to throw a hand up in anger because his other hand was on the phone!

Envirotrac, according to its Web site, is a "full service environmental consulting and contracting firm." It has a very detailed section on its safety practices, but there isn't anything about the driving habits of its employees. Perhaps they should add "safe driving" to their safety standards, and give their employees a copy of the Massachusetts Driver's Manual, conveniently linked from this site.

UPDATE, July 12, 2006: A note in comments from an unknown person from EnviroTrac points out that their drivers have all completed a specialized driver training course, though not directly because of this post. I'm grateful for the update from the company and that it does take road safety seriously. Please read the comment, because it appears the situation was isolated to this driver.

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Missing link


Um, I hope this isn't the brakes connection dragging along 93.

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5.01.2005

Boston crazy parking



Let's face it: Driving includes parking. How many spots near the door are unusable because some idiot is too close or even over the line? My favorites are the ones who don't even bother to put the car in the spot straight. They just roll in until they hit that little cement block, if there is one, or they just roll until the car stops. Then they jump out and leave the car cock-eyed in the spot, as if it's perfectly normal!

Now there's a solution. Just go here, and buy a package of "I Park Like an Idiot" bumper stickers.
The Web site advises not to stick it to other people's cars, but I say stick it to the glass and no harm, no foul. I think I would run out of a 20-pack at the mall.

I'm going to save my first one, though, for that who loves his Corvette or Dodge Ram (with a Hemi) so much that he parks crooked in the emptiest part of the lot so no one will dare park near it. I usually go over and breathe on them. I figure if the owners are so worried about dings, they'll be able to tell I breathed on it.

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Crazy signs

Sometimes Boston's crazy drivers can be forgiven for their maladroitness behind the wheel because the road signs themselves are confusing. Obvious example: In Canton and Randolph heading into the city, one can travel South on Route 128 and North on routes 1 and 93 all at the same time, and while actually heading east.

So when the signs give the wrong messages, what are Boston drivers to do? They can call 911, as one of the new electronic warning signs suggested on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Just read Jay Leavitt's response.

If he did indeed call 911 as he says, I say good job! When these signs first went up on various highways around the area, I was excited to see something useful dotting the road for a change (instead of those signs telling me which school is at the next exit or which watershed I'm driving through). But they were dark for so long. I read in the Boston Globe that they were intended to be used to give us motorists traffic warnings, such as a bad accident or construction. I thought this was a great amenity to the road of the Boston area. Since then, I have seen an Amber Alert, and mostly warnings telling me to Click it or Ticket, State Police seek aggressive drivers, or State Police advise motorists to call 911, as Jay noted. Never once have I seen these signs predict a traffic problem ahead, construction or accident. So it appears these are just another wasteful use of my gasoline tax and/or Pike tolls (depending on whether these are paid for as part of the Big Dig).

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