Thursday, May 28, 2015

Vancouver Drivers and Motorcycles

Thank you Jesus for protecting Gilbert and I on our ride to work from Burnaby.  It's not a long ride but it's extremely harrowing and much more adventurous than many of the 'extreme sports' displayed on the You Tube.
I am so very thankful for all the BC drivers who make the trip possible. These are the drivers who do not have a murderous intent towards motorcycles. These are the drivers who follow the laws of the road and actually understand, because they have at some time in their lives been trained to drive a car or truck, what the turn signal is. I am so very thankful for those drivers who check to see if there is anyone in the lane they are changing in and especially those drivers who use their turn signals to indicate to those behind them that they are changing lanes. The very vast majority of Vancouver drivers know how to do this and likely do not soil themselves in public routinely either.
 The actual use of the turn signal in a vehicle is a standard IQ test and those who don't use it probably can't hold spit in their mouths either.
I would also like to thank all those drivers who stop with consideration and awareness that they are not the only ones on the road.  There are those occasional others who stop arbitrarily miles and sometimes lightyears ahead of any potential dangers. These people are likely having minor seizures and stroke like activities in their brain and their braking foot is not connected to any reality known on this planet. I hope that they will get medical attention before they cause an accident.  Of course some are looking for an insurance claim and are actually seeking to be hit from behind gently so that they can claim whiplash and abuse the insurance companies and their families and friends for the rest of their lives.  If this is the case then it's probably best that  they be hit by a Mac Truck rather than a motorcycle.
There are so many great drivers out there but there are also those who don't know that when a motorcycle is signalling to change lanes it is intelligent, respectful and considerate and evidence of good driving training to let the motorcyclist into the lane by slowing rather than speeding up. This seems to be a concern, as it was for me today, when a half dozen cars speeded up rather than let me change lanes to exit cross lanes so that I could exit from the freeway at the exit I needed to take to get to work.  I am sorry that there is Karma for these kinds of people.  I suspect I witnessed six individuals and their passengers who will have their genitalia infested by parasites and will have their entrails torn from them at some time in their life times.
I am sorry for the truck that was forced to slow when at the last possible minute in stop and start traffic I changed lanes gunning the engine and missing a near death experience.
That said I would like to thank the taxi driver who immediately slowed so that I could change lanes. Being a professional driver he was estimating the trajectories of our two vehicles and rather than hitting me from behind as I was crossing lanes or trying to swipe me from the side, took his foot pedal of the gas so that his acceleration was not an issue. I admit in the best of all possible worlds motorcyclists and indeed anyone changing lanes would not wish to cause the car in the lane to slow however that's the reason for signal and as I had my turning signal on for an inordinate amount of time a driver, not talking on their cellphone, would be able to see the flashing light and anticipate my move.  I have noticed a significant, albeit small fraction, of drivers who specifically see a flashing light and accelerate to pass the car swiftly rather than slowing as is the professional driving practice.  I accept that it is likely that these drivers are rank amateurs at the wheel and likely smoking massive amounts of BC bud as well as having murderous tendencies and likely beat their children.
I am thankful that the majority of drivers are adult and have functioning cars and brains and make the commute relatively enjoyable for the rest of us. 
Naturally, as a motorcyclist, I'd like to have the right to have a vigillante paint ball gun that would allow me to tag those really very very few drivers who by the laws of Darwin would be best eliminated from the race gene pool. Once I'd tagged them with a paintball shot to the side back or windshield of their car, police could remove them off the freeway and take them for much needed euthanasia. 
In lieu of that solution I hope that education of drivers will increase their awareness of the risks that others have driving around them and police cameras  on the highway will increasingly identify those repeat offenders.
In the meantime I am just thankful that I have arrived at work today alive. Thank you all those who drive reasonably and are aware and considerate of motorcyclists on the highway.  Thank you. 

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