SUV Driver Hits Fire Engine
Idiocy Meter
Asshole Meter
First, though I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to notice, but L.A. Snark rated L.A. Can’t Drive #28 on a list of the top 50 L.A. blogs. losangeles.about.com ranked us #5 on a list of 12. Not too shabby, right? Maybe I should Google my site more often. Thanks again for the support everyone, and spread the word!
Anyway, this is a story from Tara from When Tara Met Blog who said I could relate this little adventure on her way to work. And yes folks, this stuff really happens–read on to see what I’m talking about:
“An SUV ran into a fire truck. Sounds crazy, but it happened this morning in West Hollywood [on Robertsen Blvd.] during my commute to work and put me a good 15 mins late.
Just the other week, I saw a car continue to plow through a light although we all had pulled our cars to the side of the road upon hearing the sirens in the distance. This car though kept right on going and almost got side smacked by a fire truck. Did she think we were all moving out of the way for her? How could she not hear the sirens? She had to eventually when the fire truck blared at her as it passed her passenger side. I would have screamed, it was like a beast zooming by at only a foot away from the passenger window.
I guess a similar dense person did the same thing today. When I passed by the accident, all the firefighters in their uniforms were taking photos of the SUV smashed into their truck. The driver must have tried to stop and swerve or something, since the damage wasn’t too bad considering (s)he hit a fire truck. I quickly snapped the following photo with my camera phone.”
There you go. Hard evidence that people in this town live in their own little bubble. Sure, this town has its fair share of egocentric, arrogant assholes, but vast numbers of this populace are literally unaware of anything that happens around them. Yet another example of the downfalls of our paradoxical isolated existence in this bustling town. Ironically enough, nearly the same thing happened to me today on my commute to work near the Miracle Mile, except it happened with a police car. For the last time, people, it doesn’t matter which direction the sound is coming from, by law you must pull over to the side of the road whenever you hear the sirens of emergency vehicles, even if they’re on the opposite side of the road. If you can’t safely pull over to your right, you must brake to a complete stop. Now really, is this too hard of a concept to follow?
Filed under: clueless, observation
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Not to defend the drivers here, but it’s entirely possible that one or both of them may have been deaf and thus unable to hear the sirens in the first place. That being the case, however, that doesn’t excuse them for not paying attention to what’s happening around them. I’m deaf myself and am constantly checking my mirrors and monitoring traffic around me. If people start pulling over I’ll check around me and see what’s going on. But with LA drivers being what they are it’s probably just a case of being oblivious and self-absorbed.
“For the last time, people, it doesn’t matter which direction the sound is coming from, by law you must pull over to the side of the road whenever you hear the sirens of emergency vehicles,”
Exactly! Glad you were able to retell my driving story. Knew I had to send it to you. Congrats on the LA Snark and About.com mentions, you’re in good company
Tara, thanks again for sharing and for the congrats. We definitely our in good company.
And Drew, you bring up a very good point. Hearing-impaired drivers have every right to share the streets if they can show that they can obey traffic laws, regulations, etc., just like every other citizen. I applaud you for being so attentive behind the wheel, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re a far better driver than the average Angeleno.