Calgary drivers lose distinction of being worst on planet to White Rock, BC

[Markham]

Hey guys

This column is meant to be humorous.... :0)

http://www.calgarybeacon.com/2011/02/calgary-drivers-lose-distinction-of-being-worst-on-planet-to-white-rock-bc/

Markham

[VetteRacin]

they have clearly never been to fort mcmurray...

[benz_890]

In B4 TorqueDog


Before you gather the other villages and come knocking on my door with pitch forks at the ready and torches all ablaze, let me explain.

In the space of one short, 10-minute drive a few Saturdays ago my wife and I witnessed 10 significant traffic infractions. Yup, 10. One a minute. It was a driving spectacle the likes of which I have never seen before and hope never to see again.


Your intrepid columnist preparing for a trip to the Buy-Low
The most serious was a middle-aged fellow with a couple of seniors in the back seat who executed what I call the White Rock Rolling Stop. You know the maneuver I’m talking about: braking while approaching a stop sign, then before coming to a complete halt, bolting across the intersection. Rolling stops aren’t exclusive to our little beach community, but White Rock drivers put a special twist on the old standard – they execute it while other drivers are also arriving or sitting at the intersection.

In this case, the fellow was looking the other way while he proceeded through the stop sign. Readers, this is not a trick I recommend. The chief defect of not looking where you’re driving is that you can’t see other cars sharing the road with you. By the time our friend looked back he was fully into my lane and only a few feet in front of me. Fortunately, I suspected he was up to mischief and was already on the brakes. Someone’s grandmother owes her life to that bit of caution.

Oh, and he flipped me the bird for having the affrontery to honk. C’est la vie, I guess.

The White Rock Rolling Stop reminds me of a related topic, the perils of walking the streets of our fair berg.

At first, we couldn’t understand why high school students needed a crossing guard. Then we noticed how many drivers zip through pedestrian crossings while pedestrians are in them or about to enter. Suddenly, the old fella with the jaunty cap and the hand-held stop sign seems like a wise investment.

Which brings me to my next Saturday driving adventure. A few blocks before my encounter with the rude fellow and his active finger, I had come to the four-way stop at 154 St. and 18 Ave. Three or four vehicles arrived at roughly the same time. And an elderly couple were preparing to cross 18 Ave.

I can only surmise that the driver on my right was rushing home because his house was on fire. He bullied his way into the intersection, damn near ran over a couple on foot, who were just able to step back, fear etched upon their unsuspecting faces, before being turned into a mangled heap of broken limbs. Seriously, dude, you didn’t have the right of way. Never mind the cars that were there before you. How about a little respect for the pedestrians?

Those two incidents alone would have been more than enough adventure for one outing. But who can forget the intersection of Russel and Johnston?

We had pulled out of the Buy-Low parking lot and were heading south on Johnston. The left-turn arrows came on. A driver heading north simply decided the red light he was facing didn’t apply to him. Off he went, as casual as could be. Then the SUV in front of us decided he had been mistaken and what he really needed was to turn left, which he proceeded to do from our lane.

I won’t bore you with the other six incidents from Saturday. They were garden variety offences like running stops signs, cutting off drivers when changing lanes, that sort of thing. I see that kind of “driving” at least once every time I take ole Trixie out for a spin.

Oh, lest I forget, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention school and playground zones. These zones are pretty well marked, at least in my neighborhood. But by estimation half of the drivers don’t bother obeying the 30 kmh limit. Apparently, not even the horrific prospect of hitting a child can slow down some people.

I did have a chuckle in a school zone the other day, though. The RCMP were out with radar flagging drivers left and right. I drove by at the speed limit and smiled at the officer, my intention to thank him for his efforts. He glared at me as if he would have loved to pull me over and have a few minutes alone with me in the back of his patrol car.

A simple misunderstanding, officer, but keep that surly attitude. There are plenty of other White Rock drivers who could use a taste of it when you pull them over driving on the sidewalk or pronging pedestrians with their bumpers.

[chkolny541]

2/10

[FraserB]

Pretty clearly ripped off from someone else, unless you actually live in White Rock and have a car named Trixie.:facepalm:

[luxor]

Not that funny. :thumbsdow

[Sugarphreak]

...

[spikerS]

is it just me, or is everyone plagerizing everyone else in insulting Markham?

I swear it is just the same regurgitated stuff, over and over again.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[TorqueDog]

Originally posted by spikers
is it just me, or is everyone plagerizing everyone else in insulting Markham?

I swear it is just the same regurgitated stuff, over and over again.Now all we need are ads that pay per unique view and we could make a fortune off of plagarizing each other.