My Least Favorite Excuse
Written by Boston Biker on Jan 11So here is a little something for everyone who drives a car to think about. Driving your car is not a right, George Washington didn’t suffer the indignity of wooden teeth so you can ply your SUV through the streets of Boston. God didn’t send Jebus down to die for your right to be uppity in your Prius. And It sure as hell doesn’t say anywhere in any of our founding documents that you get the right to life liberty and the pursuit of a Honda.
It’s a privilege, one you need to EARN. You have to pass a test, have to get a license, mostly because cars are big, heavy, and dangerous. It is pretty damn easy to hurt yourself or someone else with one. If at some point you fail to live up to the fairly simple set of rules set forth by the powers that be, you shouldn’t be allowed to continue to operate said vehicle.
So that is why, when the plain clothes Cambridge police officer, pulled across two lanes (and the bike lane) in Harvard square nearly hitting me and two of my friends, I was very disappointed to hear my least favorite excuse come out of his face when I confronted him about it.
“I didn’t see you.”
No shit d-bag, I mean I gave you enough credit to assume that you wouldn’t have tried to run three people over if you had seen me, that’s not the point. The point is ITS YOUR JOB TO SEE ME. If you can’t be bothered to look before changing TWO lanes (and a bike lane) perhaps you are not up to the task of driving. There could have been a puppy in that lane, or a bus load of nuns, or a child, or hell even another car. Your a cop for Pete’s sake, I expect more from you than the average person.
From this point forward, the phrase,
“I didn’t see you”
shall be replaced by
“I am a moron and I no longer deserve the right to operate my multi-toned vehicle, please punch me in the face, because I am an idiot.”
If you are not looking, you shouldn’t be driving. You are going to get yourself or someone else killed.
Add to Reddit. Tags: cambridge cop, didn't see you, idiot, rant, stupid
Posted in bostonbiker | 6 Comments »
6 Responses
to “My Least Favorite Excuse”
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.
By cdoolz on Jan 12, 2010 | Reply
Whoa – that is terrible! I’m glad that you and your friends are okay.
By h4ckw0r7h on Jan 12, 2010 | Reply
My stock response to that is “No, you didn’t LOOK.” That is a terrible excuse.
If you’re moving a 2000 pound hunk of metal around you should be aware of EVERYTHING surrounding it.
By 100psi on Jan 12, 2010 | Reply
yes, “i didn’t see you” is a poor excuse that most reading this blog have experienced. but i find that if i ride as if no motorists see me ever, even when we make eye contact, i have less near misses. this cloak of invisibility mindset has reduced my stress and aggravation. its not for everyone, but just something to consider.
By mtalinm on Jan 13, 2010 | Reply
agree with 100psi – I assume nobody sees me, and it makes me less upset at those who don’t.
plus, I almost bumped into a biker (in the bike lane!) a month ago, so it an happen to anyone even if you are really trying to pay attention.
I think the real problem is that many motorists really don’t think that bicycles are supposed to be on the road. that leads to the honking, the yelling, etc. they just don’t know. either that, or they are stupid dorks.
By Aaron Pikcilingis on Jan 13, 2010 | Reply
I really like the “That’s because you didn’t look hard enough” response. I’m going to have to remember it for next time.
I’m a web developer and I’m wondering if it would be worthwhile to create a website for “incident tracking” where bicyclists could note run-ins with cars, etc. The primary goal would be to see where the trouble-spots are and figure out either (a) solutions or (b) good alternate routes.
Thoughts?
By h4ckw0r7h on Jan 13, 2010 | Reply
How about a public Google map that we can all add tags to? Similar to the pothole map:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/specials/013009_pothole/