UnleashYourAnger.com

The motorcycles are a weird thing in America today. They seem to evade every conceivable road rules and laws out there.   For example, why aren't all the exhaust or noise regulated during inspections? (or are they?)  Why don't they need to wear seatbelts? Why can they drive around with their rims out all over the place?  These are rules for cars, but they don't seem to exist for motorcycles.  Weird!

I hear about all these vehicle recalls and families uprising against car manufacturers about emissions, noise and safety, but I don't see them doing that for motorcycles.  Come on!!  It's so strange that I can get a citation for not wearing a seatbelt, but a biker gets away with sittingon a seat that nees to be plopped at red lights.  Am I the only one who finds this funny?

Oh, my gosh, I can't believe what happened. This is a total outrage.  I park my car on the street, and I have been doing that even before I moved here, so I am well aware of street cleaning rules.  So, last week, I knew my car was on the side of the road about to be swept, so I made sure to go move my car at 8:00 in the morning.  The sign says 8~12 street cleaning.  I was planning to move it to another location, but when I showed up at 8:15, they were about to sweep my street! 

The reason I am mad is not because I was towed.  I successfully got to my car before the cleaning machine, so I moved it, and I went around the block.  When the street cleaners were done, I parked exactly where I was before.  Totally makes sense, right? 

Well, I went to work, and came back later, and I noticed a ticket on my car.  Time?  10:20AM.  WTF?  I know for a fact, and I saw with my very own eyes that the cleaning was done. How in the world did I get a ticket?  Is it because I was parked there from 8~12?  

I am not sure if this is universal or limited to Boston pedestrians, but, while I am driving, it bugs the marbles out of me to see people who walk up to a crosswalk, press the button to change the light, and just continue to walk straight into the road without waiting for a green.  What is this all about?  It's complete inefficiency of this modern world.

If they aren't going to wait at all, why do they press the button?  What goes on in their heads? Here are my attempts to answer this mystery:

- They are hoping the light would change instantly...but then, since it didn't change during the few seconds while they walked from the button to the side of the road, they gave up and proceeded to walk into the road.

- They like hearing the "cuck-oo, cuck-oo" sounds.

- They like pressing any buttons they see in the public.  (Which I can kind of relate.) 

- They are swinging their arms to swat a bee and accidentally press the button.

- They have no clue what the button is for but have always wondered what it would do.

- They pressed the button as a good samaritan for the gaggle of children following along. 

I feel like a grumpy old dude ranting about this but here goes.  I live on a semi-busy street.  My bedroom is on the street side (an oversight I regret now).  Why do guys have to drive by with their loud-ass harleys at 120 decibels?  And why, oh why, do they EVER do it at night?  I swear, sometimes I'm just falling asleep at around 12 or 1am when suddenly it's like there is a 747 driving through my bedroom. 

Look, when you drive by on your loud-ass bike, I don't see you.  I don't look your way, and even if I did, I wouldn't even take notice of what you look like or who you are.  So whether you think you are impressing someone or just trying to compensate for the size of your penis, no one actually notices you or cares that you have an expensive noisemaker.  I am sorry you didn't get enough attention when you were a kid and have to make up for it in this way.  But again, no one cares.

If you guys want to form some motorcycle community somewhere away from the rest of civilization, go right ahead and be as loud as you want.  The rest of us would appreciate it.

This is a real problem in Boston as we all know.  I don't bike all that often in the city because I prefer to have my limbs intact, but when I do, I think I'm pretty careful and considerate of others I'm sharing the road with. 

However when I'm behind the wheel I'm amazed at some of the things I see bikers doing.  So I thought I'd put together a list of greivances for a rant.

1)  If it's dark out, get a headlight and a tail light, for crying out loud.  I don't know how you expect anyone to see you when you are wearing black clothes and are going the wrong way down a one way street in the pitch dark.  And don't get all pissy with me when I almost hit you.  Yelling "watch where the f#$% you are going" isn't going to help you stay alive.  Look, I don't want to hit you.  But if I can't see you, I probably will. 

2) You ride around like you want to be taken seriously like a car.  Well, act like a car then.  Don't blow through red lights and stop signs and expect people to stop for you.  Yeah, no one's going to hit you on purpose.  But refer to #1 above.  If I can't see you, one of these days I am going to hit you.

3)  Unless you are going 25mph or more, please do what you can to allow cars to pass you.  I know it is difficult and the possiblity of being "doored" is not too enticing, but don't ride in the middle of the lane like you own the road.  When a gap between parked cars opens up, please scoot in and let me pass you.  "Share the road" goes both ways.  I'm sure you don't want to cause a head-on car collision any more than I want to hit you.

4) Respect.  It all comes down to respect.  I am sure 99% of the drivers out there don't want to hit you.  But when you ride with that "can't do wrong" attitude it just pisses people off.  Be considerate; Give way when you can; don't ride like an a-hole and drivers will do the same for you.