Hazardous Riding--Right of Way Violations

[Sven]

Last week, I had a series of challenging encounters on the road, which I'm sharing for your dining and dancing pleasure:
 
It started Wednesday evening, on my way down to Bikes on Beale.  I was passing by the historic Peabody Hotel, when a white SUV started pulling out into the street into my lane.  Fortunately, it stopped abruptly, so nothing came from it.  But I got a good look at the driver.  It was Elvis, in his studded white jumpsuit and shaded glasses, talking on a cell phone.  (Well, it was probably an Elvis impersonator, since he looked a lot younger than Elvis should be at this point.)
 
The next morning, on my way to work, this guy in a big black Nissan Murano decided to change lanes, into my lane.  He was driving with his left hand because his right hand was halfway down his throat, picking his teeth.  I was able to move to the far left lane, and then gave him a series of gestures that meant, "You just changed lanes into me!  Use your mirrors, idiot!"  He pulled up next to me and began yelling at me as we proceeded down the road.  In his view, it was all my fault because I was riding in his blind spot, and my motorcycle is "too damned small to be seen."  He then slowed down to ensure he was caught by a yellow light that I went through, so I was not able to educate him on several points.  I would have liked point out to him that there is no such thing as a blind spot if you have your mirrors adjusted correctly and make an effort to look before changing lanes.  I would have also suggested he consider using his lane-change indictor lights.   I don't know why it would have been hard for him to just give me a typical "sorry!" shrug.
 
Finally, on the same ride to work, a raccoon lumbered across the road in front of me.  Raccoons have big butts and they don't run, they just waddle.  This one was crossing in the middle of the block instead of using a crosswalk, and had I been able to catch up with it, I would have given it the lecture the Murano driver should have gotten.

[Red01]

Finally, on the same ride to work, a raccoon lumbered across the road in front of me.  Raccoons have big butts and they don't run, they just waddle.  This one was crossing in the middle of the block instead of using a crosswalk, and had I been able to catch up with it, I would have given it the lecture the Murano driver should have gotten.

For some reason when I read this part all I could think about was the Rocket III rider, when he encountered the man who dropped his badger in this video.  

[Sven]

Yeah, but the raccoon is still alive...I guess.  (As is Elvis!)

I did note in re-watching this vid that the "classic sitcom" the Rocket III "watches" is Black Adder Goes Forth...I have that in my DVD collection.

I also still cringe every time I see those "crotch-eye's view" of the bike coming up in the guy laying on the tarmac.

[longislandbandit99]

Morons drive Muranos.  That is one ugly car.

[Sven]

Morons drive Muranos.  That is one ugly car.

Not as bad as the Aztek was!

The Murano has a large "blind spot" (if you believe that is such a thing...I don't) in the rear, what they call the C-pillars.  I understand this makes visibility more challenging, but hey, you bought the effing thing, learn to drive it!

In the article below, they don't mention, but I've noted that even the redsign CRV has smaller rear side windows.

From CONSUMER REPORTS:

Blind eye to visibility, blame it on the Murano

I say it’s all the Nissan Murano’s fault. By “it” I mean the annoying design trend that makes car stylists feel the need to add large, visibility-challenging, upswept C-pillars and small side windows to everything from small cars like the Mazda 3 to SUVs like the Mitsubishi Outlander, Jeep Compass, Toyota RAV4, and others.

Of course, it could be argued that the 1970 AMC Gremlin is really to blame: It sported the look 35 years before it became fashionable. But the Gremlin can probably be let off the hook because other designers at the time wisely saw no need to pick up on the pillar or, for that matter, any other bits from AMC’s hacked-off small car. Once the Gremlin was put out to pasture, rear seat passengers and drivers who prefer to know what they’re merging into were given a reprieve--at least until Nissan trotted out their sporty, trend-setting SUV in 2003. It’s been downhill ever since, with a diminished view of the hill to boot.  And unfortunately, unlike the Gremlin, this time the look isn’t showing signs of going away.

In other visibility news, even while carmakers have been busily making windows smaller, more and more models are being offered with lane departure warning systems and rear view cameras. While Consumer Reports applauds these efforts, particularly rear view cameras, which can help prevent backover accidents, why not let us simply see out, too? Well-placed windows do wonders for visibility.  Who decided that visibility is passé?