110513 The Dummies Come Fast and Furious

Yesterday was an interesting day for driving around the Antelope Valley. In the morning I observed a stop sign had been run down since the prior evening at 50th Street West and Ave M. This usually happens when someone decides to suddenly stop on the flow through right turn and the person trailing avoids by dodging left while applying hard brake.

The afternoon drive home led to the title of this video and post. As the light turned green at the corner of 30th Street West and Ave L I observed, and you can too, that a car in the left turn lane on Ave L (to the right of the video) decided to make a u-turn against the red. She headed straight to the McDonald's driveway, must have been really hungry.

Within moments a pickup truck drove past me and ended up in the right turn lane but forced his merge into the flow of traffic. That same clown just a few blocks later suddenly caused all traffic to quickly stop for a moment. I had plenty of lead room but over applied my brakes due to what I felt was noticing the stopping traffic a bit late.

Just past the high school a car from the opposing turn lane decided to cut between cars, not sure if the camera got that one or not.

At the corner of Sierra Hwy and Ave M the traffic lights were stuck. The west bound left turn light was stuck green while all others were red. With multiple lanes in each direction I had learned in high school (quite some time ago) that only one direction of traffic goes at a time and this is supposed to happen in a clockwise motion if I recall. Well watch the end of the video and you can see how a typical SoCal driver handles the situation.

New CHP grant to target speeding, aggressive driving

In an effort to curb motor vehicle deaths and injuries, the California Highway Patrol on Tuesday launched an enforcement and public education campaign targeting speeding and aggressive driving.

Read more at http://theavtimes.com/2013/11/05/new-chp-grant-to-target-speeding-aggressive-driving/

102413 Cell Phone Usage

Once again my camera failed to capture the event, it appears the chip was not seated correctly, oh well.

Just outside of Littlerock/Sun Village this morning going north on 90th Street East I was following a small pickup truck. The driver could not drive a straight line so I figured he must be on his phone. Just past the End of 45 MPH zone sign he started to drive with tires on the center line, then came back, then went over, then came back, then he drove completely into the other lane!

In all honesty I was sort of hoping he would smack into the bank on the side of the road, or clip a utility pole just to teach a lesson. But I noticed there was a car coming the opposite direction so I laid into my horns. Just then the other driver did too and the guy playing with his phone jerked back onto his side of the road. Me and the driver going the other way exchanged looks of disbelief as we passed, shaking our heads.

The driver of the truck continued to use his phone meandering all over the lane at least up to Ave N.

So many drivers have such lousy driving skills they really should never do anything than pay attention to the road in front of them. They should not have others in the car, they should not have a beverage or food in the car, a stereo is doubtful even, and definitely NO PHONES!

100813 What red light? I am in a hurry!

On the evening of October 8th, heading home from work, I pulled up to an intersection where an accident had happened minutes before. A big rig was involved in some sort of accident and had spilled several pallets of drywall mud buckets into the road. Watching the other drivers it was easy to see who was not paying attention as they swerve last second to avoid the officer, the truck driver, a helper, and the buckets and mess.

The woman in front of me at the stop light anticipated the light and went over the lines in her rush. That in itself was interesting to me since when I see an accident I am more cautious afterwards. She seemed to throw caution to the wind. What happened next floored me...

35YBH392 (If I read it correctly)

We went through the intersection and she took off fast. Ahead there a light just west of the courthouse. At this intersection there is a fire station to the left, a school bus yard down the side street, and a fair amount of traffic. They are so used to people running this light that they wait to make sure it is clear.

The light turned yellow well before she was near the intersection. Then I watched it turn red, again several car lengths before she reached the intersection. She just kept accelerating.

A few minutes later I caught up with her at the intersection of Sierra Hwy and Ave M. I have followed the law and not sped at all.

Lesson to learn is, pay attention, slow down, and STOP risking other people's lives.

Left Turns From The Incorrect Lane and Bike Lanes Are For Cars Right?

The last two days have been filled with dumb driving decisions by other drivers, and in part on my side once as well.

In the following video a driver yesterday morning decided to make a left hand turn from the normal traffic lane. I made my not too bright decision during this incident almost involving myself in a collision.

Watch the video full screen and you should be able to see that I saw the red lights turn green and my bad decision was anticipating the cars ahead of me would start moving. I was wrong, as some ass hat decided to make a left turn from this traffic lane rather than the turn lane.

In the next video look carefully just to the left of the windshield of the car in front of me. As the other cars make their left turns a van decides to join them from the normal traffic lane. Two drivers coming down that turn lane had already slowed as their light turned yellow.

Then as I go to make a left turn into the parking lot I watched a car approaching using the bike lane, I thought he was headed for the prior driveway, but nope he kept coming, then I thought the driver would turn into the same driveway as me, but nope, on he went using the bike lane as a traffic lane. As I pulled into the lot I looked left and noticed he had followed the bike lane all the way to the corner to make a right turn. This is not uncommon to see around Antelope Valley College, a lot of terrible drivers.

If you find yourself in the incorrect lane for the turn you want to make the proper action is to continue down the road until you can safely turn around and go back to make your turn.

Try to remember not to anticipate other drivers actions when approaching a red light turning green as there may be someone else out of view that will change the situation.

091813 High Speed Passing in Double Yellow Zone

This video is from two days ago. Driving home on Ave N between 60 to 65 MPH just as I was getting to the wash. This person came up behind me rather quickly, meaning he was speeding, but he could not pass due to traffic. Then the double yellow lines are on the road, his choice to pass not just me but the car in front of me as well.

There are various reasons why a road has double yellow no passing markings. Many think it is just due to line of sight, this is only one reason, others include upcoming intersections, too curvy to safely pass, and in this case the road surface having a very uneven surface.

This is a positive move

The last month or so has been slow for incidents my camera records. There have been lots of minor things and some big things that my camera did not catch (too far off or to the side or rearview).

Instead today I bring you something I feel is very positive. A man that was involved in a drunk driving incident publicly acknowledged he was in the wrong via YouTube. I am providing the link to the news article which has the video admission. USA Today - Driver says he killed a man in YouTube confession

There have been many hit and run accidents here in Southern California. In my area many go unreported do to only minor property damage and no witnesses. This is cowardly of the drivers. Stop, call the authority or if it is indeed minor leave a note and take responsibility.

070813 Littering and Illegal Passing

Littering, while not limited to driving, is often associated with driving. This evening I was behind two typical litter culprits. 
In vehicle #1 (A white mini van) one of the passengers in the rear driver side seat decided to toss out what looked like a candy wrapper. Seems 'innocent' enough, I mean what damage can that do, right? It could have become stuck momentarily to my windshield or that of a passing car. Sometimes the surprise alone can cause a driver to veer dangerously. It can also get lodged in the radiator grill. So what? Well in a desert like this if it is a large enough piece of trash it could cause overheating of the engine. Not fun. If there is a scent of food it can also attract an animal towards the road surface. Just a piece of trash from every car is ruin the look of an area, keep that in mind.

In vehicle #2, less than 2 miles down the road I watched a guy smoking a cigarette, window down. He would hand his cig out the window, which made it glow bright red, and of course burn down faster. When the first one was done he flipped it out the window. To my surprise he immediately lit up another and proceeded to also hang it out the window between puffs. guess where that butt ended up.... yup out the window, still glowing. Seven miles and three cigs later we parted paths, his leather gloved hand tossing the last butt. How cool.
We live in SoCal, it is dry here, fires start often from dumb asses like that throwing out cig butts. That is what the ass tray is for butt head! Or use a soda can to collect them them dump that in the trash at your next stop. If the person does not like the used cig smell, too bad, you stink like an ashtray anyways, use your brain, oh wait you tossed the butt thus proving you have few brain cells.

Driver #3 tonight is being awarded with the video upload (I would have uploaded the other two but this camera does not pick up small items flying). Driver 3 decided doing 55 was not good enough in a 55 zone, and chose to pass illegally in a double yellow zone. Any officer wanting to ticket him feel free. This same spot had a crash back in winter from someone illegal passing and causing another car to veer off the road to avoid, they flipped in that incident. This driver also pull in very close to the truck it was passing, not safe at all.

062013 Two In A Few Seconds

Pull in the driveway at work.
Of course there is someone parked going the wrong way in the traffic lane with a door open talking.

Instead turn right to go down next aisle, at the end a woman decides she will come into tthe aisle the wrong way swinging wide. After passing me she comes close to another driver behind me, then swings into the next aisle still going the wrong way and races to get to a spot before the driver going the proper direction. She had to make a few attempts to align her car before finally parking.

Ah yes, college, just because a person attends does not indicate they have higher intelligence, or driving skills.

061913 Road Hazard

Good driving skills include knowing what to do when encountering a road hazard. In this case I watched the person in front of me dodge something in the road, so I slowed, saw the ladder, applied hazard blinkers as I safely slowed to a stop so the delivery truck behind me had warning as well.

Obviously the other two drivers decided not to slow down, even with a pedestrian at edge of road watching traffic and eyeing his accidentally dropped ladder. The next driver back did stop.

Do not forget to properly secure your load in a vehicle. Open vehicle or not things move around. I once watched a mini-van crash, it barrel rolled off the road. When we stopped to help the driver leaned forward and there was a claw hammer right behind him in the seat. He was surprised as it had started in the open crate at the back of the mini-van.

Safe driving, and if you see hazard lights please remember to slow down or stop.

061713 Bad Bicyclist

This morning is more of a warning to drivers to always be on the look out.

The bicycle rider decided to race across after our light had already turned green.

I know the arguments about how cyclists can judge how fast they need to be, etc, etc. but around this area cars race out of nowhere and all too often are driving in the bike lanes. Be safe and cross when it is your turn, shaving those seconds/minutes off won't help you if you end going to the hospital or dead.

Also this morning, though the camera did not show it because the focal length is not that great, I watched a small maroonish colored 4x4 pickup illegally pass a van on that section of Ave N where the double yellows are. The van was going about 55 MPH, 5 MPH under the limit.

053013 Illegal Pass In School Zone

I almost forgot to post yesterdays fun event. I live just outside of a school zone. When I leave for work there are sometimes teens walking to school. The road is a little wide but still only one lane. Yesterday I looked East along Ave S and saw no vehicles coming down the entire length of the street. I started to pull out and looked in my rear view, still no cars coming. Within a few yards I enter the school zone for a grammar school.

As I am just leaving the school zone this little car zips past me on the right side, illegal passing and high speed through a school zone. Dumb ass!

The driver continued and just managed to pass the driver in front of me, using the right turn lane in order to do so. Double dumb ass!

If a driver finds the need to make up time due to leaving late, perhaps the driver should leave a bit earlier rather than endanger everyone else with their antics.

052013 Found On Side Of Road

Not everything is negative about Driving Decisions, yesterday I spotted a tiny little dogging on the side of the road. Since it was about the color of the road I decided to stop and check it out. After a couple of u-turns I came up slowly upon it and then passed it a little so that if I spooked it people coming up behind me would see the little dog before it ran under tires.

Here is a video of the little guy in my backyard.

051713 Two For One Day

This morning I drove up behind a woman which tossed a lit cigarette out her window in strong winds (note: there is currently a wild fire to the west of our valley in Gorman/Frazier Park), deeply cut her left hand turn and just plain was a sloppy driver the rest of the way to her stop.

This afternoon after leaving work.... well the video says it all

050413 Left Turn Red Light Runners

Today I captured a twofer between two different intersections on Ave K in Lancaster.

The first  at 10th Street West shows the light for my lanes turning green while cars continue to start their left hand turn instead of stopping for the now red arrow.

The second occurred two miles down the road at 30th Street West. The last vehicle is going so fast he cuts from the far right left hand turn lane, across the left lane running the light.

On average both of these lights take about 2 mins to cycle through completely on a Saturday morning. It would be wise of these drivers to slow down unless they want to be statistics.

050313 Rude Merger

On the way home a rude merger was spotted. The pickup truck was closer to the rear of the tractor trailer but rather than tap brakes to slow down and merge behind the driver stayed steady forcing the tractor trailer to merge left.

This is rude and unsafe of the pickup driver, the merging traffic has the duty to either be in front of or behind the traffic they are merging with. 

042213 Repeat Offender - Dangerous Left Hand Pullout

This time the person even sent a bit of trash out the window. I am thinking the DP plates must be for a mental handicap. Notice the person is making a shallow left which takes them down the opposing left hand turn lane. I have seen this person at least twice in the past pull out the same way.

Driving tips: Do not litter from your car, it is rude and can be a hazard. When making a left hand turn make sure you have adequate safe distance so that you may fully pull out into the correct lane without driving into the opposing turn lane for a distance.

041613 Motorcycle Wrong Side of Lines

On April 16th in the afternoon I was headed home. Making my left turn onto Ave M from 30th Street West I notice a motorcycle cruising down the incorrect side of the double yellow line. By the time I pass him he is enough out of the way there is not threat.

That rider should know better. Where there are turn lanes involved and opposing traffic it is never safe to cruise the wrong side of the lines. 

050313 Red Light Runner

I really need to get a higher definition setup.

This morning I was doing a touch over 60 MPH down this stretch of road and a person passed me speeding, again nothing abnormal for the area. However the light ahead turned yellow long before either of us approached the intersection. Instead of breaking the other driver accelerated to try and beat the light. Before his front bumper cleared the line the light had turned red.

The proper thing to do is slow down when a light turns yellow, not accelerate, yellow does not mean go faster.

050113 Illegal Passing of 5 vehicles

I left the house this morning without installing the chip in my dash cam. Turns out I needed it. The lady that drives the SUV with handicap plates passed 3 cars, myself and the county truck in front of me (which was going between 45 and 55) all in a double yellow zone. Obeying all of the traffic laws I caught up with her about 6 miles later. She recognized my vehicle, cut me off and sped off again.

Side to Side

This person just could not drive a straight line. During his right hand turn and left hand turn he ends up in wrong lane a bit. He would go from side to side of the lane the whole time I was behind him. 

Hope he got some needed sleep or caffeine soon after this.

What were you thinking?!

Very short clip, bit hard to see but a car exiting the freeway (directly after the box truck on left side)  swung all the way into westbound traffic while heading east.

High Speed, Illegal Passing

The AV has many surface streets posted with 60 MPH limits. This lady came out of nowhere behind me (as in the next nearest vehicle was about a half mile back) slamming on brakes just before the pick up went by. As you can see she decided to pass me during double yellows while I was doing a little over 60.

This is not uncommon behavior along this stretch of road.

Right On Through

In the following video the driver chose to ignore the red light and just roll on through. I was only doing 45 MPH (posted for the area) and had to apply brakes, which I admit I purposely delayed a second. The passenger looked over his shoulder at me and shot a look that I was in the wrong for honking at them (rare for me BTW). The driver eventually sped up and was exceeding the posted speed limit which is so normal I will not bother posting video of speeders unless it is grossly over the limit. Any bets how long it will be until I have that chance?

I forgot to mention that the driver upon freaking out swerved into the opposing lane!

I purchased a dash camera recently after too many close calls due to lousy drivers. The camera is inexpensive and turns on when I start the vehicle, and shuts off when the vehicle turns off. I need a larger chip  to record HD, which will be obtained soon.

In this first posting since I started using the camera I was driving along when I saw two cars driven by younger drivers swerving through traffic behind me. This section is posted as 55 MPH. Approaching the light I saw it turn yellow and was slowing as the first car went through it turned red. The guy in the cross traffic left turn wisely stayed in place as the next young driver shot through the red light.