How To Handle Getting Flipped Off On The Road

Who among us can honestly say his or her driving hasn't, at one time or other, elicited "the finger" from a fellow motorist?  We've ALL been "flipped off" from time to time.

My first incident happened when I was 21-years old, lean and dressed to the 9's in a tuxedo, heading to my parents house to pick them up for a wedding(not mine).  I was about to turn right on to Curtner Ave. from Meridian Ave. in San Jose, California, when this gorgeous girl changed lanes from behind me, pulled along side and swiftly flipped me "the bird"! 

  I was stunned. (I must have accidentally cut her off.)  All I could do was shrug my shoulders, as she flashed a quick smile and sped off.  I guess that wasn't so bad, however, what happened  two days ago...was even better!

Heading southbound on De La Cruz Blvd. in Santa Clara, California,  I eased down to the speed limit as is a daily habit between Martin and Reed Avenue, because Santa Clara traffic cops constantly patrol that corridor with radar.  In fact, I had just noticed a motorcycle unit about 100-yards up,  pointing his lidar-gun in my direction....when at the same moment,  this pick-up truck sped-up behind me from out of nowhere.

The driver laid on his horn, changed lanes and raced by while vigorously flipping me off, as he flew past. Unfortunately, whatever satisfaction he may have enjoyed was short-lived!  From my rear-view mirror, I saw the motorcycle cop pull out and blow by me to flag down the fast-fingered driver. 

Upon catching up, I noticed the stopped driver's right hand cupped over his forehead , displaying a much more civil gesture!  Unfortunately, flipping someone off or getting flipped off seldom ends with a ticket or a peaceful chuckle. Thousands of road rage incidents stem from this foul hand gesture, leading to violence, injury and death...among other things. 

Take what happened last year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  An Australian businessman living and working there got mad and flipped off a local driver, who then followed him home, beat him up, and called the police. The local driver happened to be an Arab-Emirates Government official. The Australian was immediately thrown in jail for a month, and then deported along with his working wife.

This past June, a 62-year old New Jersey man was killed after crazily chasing down a young woman who had flipped him off.  His front bumper clipped her from behind, sending his car flipping out of control, and ejecting him.

"The bird" can get you into trouble elsewhere, too.  At the Canadian Legislature in the province of New Brunswick recently, a Liberal Party official flipped-off a Progressive Conservative adversary during a debate, and was suspended for three days without pay!

Back on the road, the simplest rule is to never, never, flip anyone off! Ignore it, and AVOID danger. But, what about receiving the insulting gesture?  A woman in Foster City, California suffered extreme anxiety following her first episode, when a man tailgated and flipped her off repeatedly, before finally turning the corner in another direction. She couldn't stop wondering what she'd done wrong.  "Couldn't the man see I was helpless and alone, with a baby in the back seat?", she wondered.

After a week of poor sleep, the woman finally called a handful of girlfriends to see how they handled getting flipped off, and some of thier answers made sense.  One would slap the side of her head and whisper the words 'I'm sorry'...which got an "ok, no problem" reaction. 

Another woman met the bird by blowing back a kiss, while another, into Yoga yelled back  "Go to Yoga" to any naughty hand signals.  A final remedy was to pick up the cell phone and act as if you're calling the police! This usually did the trick, and these ideas finally gave the anxious woman some piece-of-mind.

As mentioned in a previous blog, the best way to deal with unkind, aggressive driving behavior is to steer clear of it,  by driving safely, ignoring horns, verbal insults or the infamous bird flip which can often inflame road rage incidents..

Should danger persist despite avoidance or apology, use your cell phone to call for help, and drive to either a police station or other populated area...but,  NEVER drive strait home....at least not until totally clear of of danger. This is all COMMON SENSE.  Use it!

Thanks, drive carefully, and stay out of harms way,

PeteCam4  

"Best Wishes"--PTCJr

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HAITI’S CHALLENGES

Image via Wikipedia

HAITI’S CHALLENGES


The country of Haiti has had serious challenges throughout it’s past and present. The years between 1791 through 1803 there was the Haitian Revolution, this was a violent time in Haiti’s history. In the 1900s, U.S.
Marines occupied Haiti from 1915 through 1934, another violent and bloody part of Haiti’s past. Haiti once was the richest colony in the New World, with the man made and natural disasters it is one of the poorest of the Caribbean. With this last earthquake on January 12, 2010 Port-au-Prince is in ruins, with the Hundreds of thousand of lives lost and millions of homeless is going to take years to rebuild Haiti. It’s going to take help from the international community, to help rebuild this poor country. We can all help by going www.redcross.org to find out what we can do to help this country to heal. If everyone donated 50 cents that would be a great start.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Revolution


http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jan/25/the-sad-history-of-how-poor-haiti-got-that-way/


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/01/2010125173052160977.html


http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.1a019a978f421296e81ec89e43181aa0/?vgnextoid=dd1c3004ae666210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD


LM

Holiday Checkpoint Season

It's holiday checkpoint season again, and time for local police and The California Highway Patrol to put up random sobriety roadblocks.  But, just how necessary are they, and what restrictions govern them regarding the rights of motorists?

 

The fourth amendment to the Constitution protects people from being stopped without a search warrant, or at least "probable cause" that they've committed a crime.  While the US Supreme Court did make an exemption regarding DUI checkpoints, eleven states have still outlawed them...following a landmark 1990 ruling in Michigan that granted  permission to uphold  outstanding state law. 

 

Here in California, the CHP maintains that checkpoints reduce the number of drunk drivers on the roads and highways, and diminishes  the amount of pain, suffering and death that result from drunk driving.  Still, 51-percent of all drivers in America fall victim to at least one alchohol-related accident, while one person dies every 22 minutes from a drunk driving accident.  The current annual death toll is at 11, 888.
    

No matter how grim the numbers, sobriety checkpoints must still follow strict protocol laid out by the California Supreme Court.  Checkpoint locations must be chosen by supervisory police officers, not field officers.  Advanced notice must also be given, while location of road blocks is not required.  Police must also us a a neutral mathematical formula when stopping drivers, such as....every car, or every 3rd car etc. 

 

Motorist safety must be a primary concern, with police providing proper lighting, warning signs and signals.  Checkpoints should be only open when traffic volume allows safe operation. In fact, checkpoints open during late evening hours on major holidays.  Here in San Jose, the next checkpoints are scheduled for December 31st between 8pm and 3am.

 

Officers are also not allowed to detain drivers longer than it takes to ask a few questions, while looking and smelling for obvious signs of intoxication.  If cleared,  the driver should be swiftly waived through, while those showing signs of  impairment are taken to a seperate area for a field sobriety test.  I recently discovered one other, unusual restriction during a personal road experience.

 

While driving north-bound on Bascom Avenue in San Jose this past Labor Day weekend,  I came upon a checkpoint  just past the stoplight at Stokes Avenue.  As I eased behind a slow line of cars heading for the blinking signs, I noticed a few cars making sudden U-turns in an obvious attempt to avoid the road block.  Even the driver in front of me darted left onto a double-yellow line and into a 7'11 parking lot.  Isn't that illegal, I thought?  Can't  the cops stop them for that?  None were around to see them!

 

According to the Supreme Court,  motorists may NOT be stopped while seeking to avoid a checkpoint.  However, if the ditching driver commits a vehicle code violation, or shows obvious signs of intoxication...police can pull them over.  Next evening the Bascom Avenue checkpoint was back up, but a half-mile closer to Valley Medical Center this time,and pointed North.

 

Curiously, I joined the checkpoint line again, but, this time a half-dozen  patrol cars were stationed BEHIND the line, partially hidden in dark parking lots. Up front and past the checkpoint to the right, was a very well lighted parking lot...filled with cars and their drivers performing drunk tests.

 

That scene reminds me of the age-old advice which always provides the best way around such a  scenerio. DON'T drink and drive!!

If you MUST drink....either stay home, take a cab or ride next to a designated driver.  That way you'll sail through all your checkpoints...without checking into jail or checking OUT for good! 

 

Stay safe and stay sober,

 

PeteCam4