The #$@&#% cops got me for a major crime

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 2:25 pm

For not waiting long enough for some pedestrians to cross all the way before I turned right (we drive on the left in Australia).

There were about 6 pedestrians, slow as fucking cows, just talking and laughing as if they weren't on the road... must have been about 2 feet from the curb before I cautiously rolled my baby past them. I was well within my rights to do some major horn honkin'... you know, warn them of the unexpected dangers of the road (need to get my horn rewired anyway, though). The cops were standing on the other side of the street, to my left. So I make the mistake of parking on that street, and the maggots come over and immediately also give me other condescending crap about I could book you for that light and had I had any recent offences when he's got my license in his hand and is checking me out anyway. There was no talking to them, that much they made clear early on with body language in case I thought of it. After they wrote it out, I asked "how much might I get fined for this?" $350. No doubt the fine young officers in their streetgear complete with baseball caps have a quota to fill, gotta be serving the community... fucking arseholes.

mimimartini · Post by **mimimartini** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 3:19 pm

dude you need to move to NY where you can run people over and they won't even notice....

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 4:37 pm

New York is my kind of town then. When the cops there see celebrities, they just go, "Yo, Leonardo!" (or whoever...).

miss buenos aires · Post by **miss buenos aires** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 11:00 pm

As a lifelong pedestrian who is scared essless of cars after some a-hole ran a red light and put me out of commission for six months, I say, good! Maybe next time you will wait two seconds before you run down an innocent 14-year-old girl!

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 5:27 am

Ah but Miss BA the big difference is that I wouldn't do that. Nor give a so-called cop reason to believe I would, whether being watched or not. I'd just hate the feeling that I'd have to watch my ass all the time just because cops are idiots. I wanna drive free.

I'm always watching out for people. So sorry to hear about you being put out of commission for so long at that age. It was pretty traumatic? How did it happen? I'm not from New Jersey but a drive with me in my car and you'll feel better about cars. We'll go to the beach and watch the sun go down... Hope you got to read a few more books than you normally do and if so hopefully your memory of them would have lasted more than any scars... But I'm a good driver.

I was also out of action, at 16... swallowed a big fishbone. Tore my guts and the acid nearly killed me. Ended up with a big scar between my sixpack, always knowing when there'll be rain. I spent time playing my first records and writing letters to design houses. I dig cars and wouldn't run over anybody. At 5 I smashed a glass window of our patio at home slashing my arm, chasing a girl in a rage... a probably too costly lesson in self-control all up.

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 8:56 am

Ended up with a big scar between my sixpack

hey! I've got one of those! Fell off a houseboat ladder when I was 6.

crash8_durham · Post by **crash8_durham** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:33 am

If you swim with sharks you get eaten

If you hang out with sick people you get ill.

If you mindlessly walk in the road you get run over.

Someone should have thought of this stuff years ago.

mimimartini · Post by **mimimartini** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 12:11 pm

Ouch........

miss buenos aires · Post by **miss buenos aires** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:23 pm

crash8_durham wrote:If you mindlessly walk in the road you get run over.

Crash, this is true, but I hope you're not addressing to me. I was crossing with the light when some asshole came out of nowhere. He would have driven away, too, if my head hadn't smashed his windshield all to pieces. I was picking glass out of my hair for a week afterwards.

Compared to what could have happened, I got off easy with a badly broken leg.

selfmademug · Post by **selfmademug** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 9:40 pm

I'm with the pedestrians on this one. Here in Massachusetts where driving sensibly is considered cheating, a law was passed whereby drivers must stop for pedestrians in crosswalks (unless there is a stop sign or traffic light to otherwise direct). Radical, ain't it?

If they had that in NJ where my Dad lives, he wouldn't have had his left arm and right leg broken (think about that!!) stepping off a curb on the way to his retirement lunch. (That was 15 years ago, btw, he is fine.)

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:32 am

selfmademug wrote:I'm with the pedestrians on this one.

Which one?

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:40 am

Moved to Southern California almost 5 years ago from the east, and we still cannot get over the conventional wisdom here associated with pedestrians crossing the street. With the exception of major highways and thoroughfares, it seems it is ALWAYS the pedestrians right to blindly step off the curb and into the flow of traffic, fully expecting oncoming traffic to screech to a halt while the pedestrian, almost without failure, actually slows their gait while crossing. I know this sounds as if I am being remarkably intolerant, but you gotta see it to believe it. Those who were born and raised here are without a doubt the worst. When people stop at the curb to allow us to pass, we often roll down the window and ask where they are from, because they are either new, and equally incredulous, or they are just visiting and don't know what all the fuss is about.

People will leave a shop, restaurant, gas station, library, school, etc and NEVER EVEN LOOK UP as they enter the road, assured that the drivers will defer. I can't tell you how many people I have seen nearly squashed to smithereens by that occassional motorist who uses transit time to apply cosmetics or the other who is talking on the mobile whilst lighting a cigarette and scratching his ass. It is a wonder more people aren't killed here.

You really can't believe it until you live it. It still amazes us...almost every day. And if you see someone APPROACHING the edge of the street, and you have ample time to pass prior to thier entering the roadway without accelerating, half of the time you will get a nasty look and a comment for not stopping in sheer anticipation that they will continue across. Many do not even look up to consider the cross traffic...they just charge on and expect to inconvenience all of the motorists in the vicinity.

From Needle Time:
I'm trying not to despise you with a passion that is hard to extinguish
Or maybe I really love you
Although it's hard to distinguish

I wish I could be
A little more like a saint is
Forgiving those who trespass against us

Sometimes I feel just like committing a crime

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 7:18 am

mood swung wrote: Fell off a houseboat ladder when I was 6.

I'm with houseboat ladders on this one.

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 10:25 am

*controlling urge to abuse the quote key*

and houseboat ladders everywhere feel deeply empowered.

Poppet · Post by **Poppet** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 8:58 pm

mood swung wrote:*controlling urge to abuse the quote key*

but moody, the quote key is your friend!

and i of course, succumb. 'cause i always was like that.

go ahead, quote me.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:08 am

Poppet wrote:go ahead, quote me.

I'll do the honour.

I don't mean to trivialize tragedy but negligent driving is a separate issue. I would hope that I'm taken at my word when describing just how idiotically the pedestrians (who should realize that the road is primarily for vehicles) and especially the police acted in this case.

Mood, I fell off one of those extendable ladders... slipped on some paint but landed on thick grass thankfully. How did you cut your belly?