L.A. Can’t Drive

Idiocy Meter

Asshole Meter

California is the only state where lane-splitting is legal.  Though my friends who love riding their bikes in this state will kill me for saying this, I think lane-splitting/lane-sharing should be illegal because there are too many idiots and assholes who either don’t know how to split safely or flagrantly abuse this privilege.  Just because you can split lanes, it doesn’t mean you should at every possible occasion.  The California DMV Handbook specifically discourages lane-sharing; why don’t they just make it illegal like every other state?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Anyway, this jackass who was making a left onto Melrose from Martel in South Hollywood had the bright idea to split the double yellow centerline.  1) It’s illegal to do that.  2) Martel isn’t that wide.  Regardless, being responsible for the life of the passenger riding behind him didn’t deter him from flying down Martel at top speed, weaving both in and out of oncoming traffic, and making a left turn by cutting directly in front of the red sedan you see in the photo that was also making a left.  The driver of the red car had to slam on his/her brakes to avoid this arrogant dumbass.

Speaking of dumbasses, below is a submission I received that I’m posting at the urging of one of our readers.  Please note that we’re not making any accusations and nothing has been verified:

“Yesterday (9/21/08) around 5:00 pm, I was leaving my gym at LA Fitness on Golden Valley Rd. in Canyon.  I turned right to go South.  The light at Centre Point Dr. had just turned yellow, and as someone with a fresh yellow light would do, I stepped on the gas to make it through the intersection.

At the same time, this fat, lazy Volvo driver, license plate 5T***61, going North on Golden Valley Rd., was in such a hurry to get her fat ass over to WalMart to get her next super pack of Bon-Bons that she turned left right in front of me.  Thank god for traction control and anti-lock brakes.  I skidded to avoid her and almost hit a pickup truck that was over to the right waiting for his light.

That psycho bitch in the black Volvo kept on going.  I chased her down and called the local Sheriff (useless) to have them come out and test the obese bitch for sugar toxicity and her inability to drive!  Too busy to come out.  I sent you her license plate number with hopes that you will print as much of it as possible to warn other drivers about her.

A few weeks ago, a motorcyclist was killed in this area by someone turning left in front of him.  The errant driver never stopped and is still on the loose!

This intersection where this happened is a frequent spot for collisions, so I left a message with the City of Santa Clarita to actually find out how many accidents have occurred since that light was activated.  I also requested that they reevaluate the signal configuration.”

As a side note, Orlando and 3rd St., for some strange reason, is also an intersection that’s quite prone to accidents.  I know I’ve been in similar situations where the light has turned yellow just before I enter an intersection, and a car traveling in the opposite direction appears to be going straight but then makes a left directly in front of me without signaling.  Sure, some people are just blatantly aggressive, but many drivers just lack the appropriate observation and communication skills needed to drive safely on the road.

However, I think it’s also important to note that yellow lights are timed in such a way that if you’re traveling the posted speed limit, you should be able to pass through that intersection before it turns red at that constant speed.  If you get the feeling that you won’t make that light at a speed equivalent to the posted speed limit, then you should slow down to a stop.  In the end, it’s always better to err on the side of caution because I’ve been told that there are many traffic signals in this county that are not callibrated correctly.  Six months ago, it came out that six cities, including Union City, CA, were actually fined for shortening yellow light times to rack up profits.

Though these haven’t been verified by the DMV, a licensed traffic school instructor of 15+ years provided the following data regarding speed and yellow light duration.  I have no idea if they’re specific to L.A. or California:

• 25 MPH – 3.0 secs
• 30 MPH – 3.2 secs
• 35 MPH – 3.6 secs
• 40 MPH – 3.9 secs
• 45 MPH – 4.3 secs
• 50 MPH – 4.7 secs
• 55 MPH – 5.0 secs
• 60 MPH – 5.4 secs
• 65 MPH – 5.8 secs

So, if you ever get pulled over for running a red light, go back to that intersection at the time you were cited and time that yellow light.  Verify these figures with the proper authorities; if they pan out, then you might be able to argue your way out of a ticket and points on your license if the duration of the yellow light wasn’t up to par for the posted speed limit.

Filed under: aggressive, clueless, motorcycle, observation