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salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 2:13 am
by flyingzonker
Yesterday riding down a capillary lane I came to a busy arterial thoroughfare. I sat there 3 or 4 mins waiting for a break in traffic so I could bolt across the street and continue on my quiet little road. Just as an opening developed and I was ready to take off, a guy in a white coupe coming down the highway slowed, put on his left turn signal and looked toward the road I was getting ready to enter. I foolishly decided to start out into the street and fall in directly behind this guy as he turned. I was halfway through the first of four lanes when the guy hesitated in his turn and then gave it up altogether and continued forward. I jammed on my brakes, cursed (not loud but deep) and backed up out of the road just as a bunch of cars came whizzing past.
This incident reminds me of that line in the Leadbelly song "Rock Island Line" where the engineer, after he has snuck past the toll gate sings:" I fooled you, I fooled you...". Unfortunately in this case I wasn't the singer but the sung to.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 4:47 am
by you you
Despite the sheer volume of words I can't see what you are getting at
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 4:56 am
by gn2
I think it could be summarized thusly: Yesterday I had difficulty crossing a busy road.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 6:26 am
by kramnala58
gn2 wrote:I think it could be summarized thusly: Yesterday I had difficulty crossing a busy road ...
... and just about got wiped out because some fool decided at the last second that he would abandon his intention to turn.
One more reminder to never enter an intersection unless you know you can safely pass through it .... which can be very challenging at times.
Not sure what the title of the thread has to do with it ..... but, let's not get into religious talk .... that's a no-no!

Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 7:36 am
by honkerman
Last week I was heading into Lancaster City to visit one of the inmates at the county jail. I was riding along south on PA-72 when this numb nuts transporter in a silver mitzubishi Mirage comes flying down the road next to me then decides he needs to be in my lane. Once I remembered that the horn and turn signals are in the wrong places, I leaned on my horn to let him know I was there and he just did this dismissive wave after he finished running me onto the breakdown lane.
Funny thing, two guys in a mustang pulled up next to me after I'd gotten back in the lane and were encouraging me to beat the crap out of the transporter. I'm not that kind of rider, so I didn't take them up on the suggestion. I did follow the guy down Manheim Pike until he pulled into the Mitsubishi dealer, then after I got to the prison, I called the dealer and let them know that one of their transporters deliberately ran me off the road.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 9:35 am
by Mel46
Recently the county d.o.t. decided that there were too many accidents in front of the second entrance to our subdivision (which there are), so instead of adding more caution signs...which have been ignored by many and just plain run over by some...they just took all signs and cautions away. Now it has become a 3rd lane for travellers who want to drive wide open to the next light...and they now do just that. We use to know what the intentions were of those getting into that lane, most of the time. Now we can't even trust sticking the nose of our vehicle out so that we can see around the bushes. If we wanted to cross 3 lanes of fast moving traffic, we could attempt to come into our subdivision that way, but coming out of our subdivision that way now is impossible.
Luckily they haven't taken away the stop light at the other entrance, but when we try to get out that way the intersection is usually blocked by cars that are determined to get through no matter what color the light is. So, essentially, it is "take your chances" if you have a bike and want to get out of or go into our subdivision now.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 5:29 pm
by flyingzonker
kramnala58 wrote:gn2 wrote:I think it could be summarized thusly: Yesterday I had difficulty crossing a busy road ...
... and just about got wiped out because some fool decided at the last second that he would abandon his intention to turn.
One more reminder to never enter an intersection unless you know you can safely pass through it .... which can be very challenging at times.
Not sure what the title of the thread has to do with it ..... but, let's not get into religious talk .... that's a no-no!

The title alludes to the faith I put in a blinking turn signal--on the strength of what was essentially a promise to turn left and thus get out of my path--in this case to travel the path ahead of me--I fired up my bike and started into the intersection. When the guy defaulted on his promise I nearly t-boned him and got myself killed. So friends, contrary to what you may have learned at Sunday School, faith is not always your friend.
DON'T TRUST TURN-SIGNAL PROMISES. HAVE NO FAITH IN THEM.ALWAYS WAIT TIL THE PROMISER DELIVERS.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 5:36 pm
by gn2
As they say on the railway hereabouts, never assume, always confirm.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 8:07 pm
by flyingzonker
gn2 wrote:As they say on the railway hereabouts, never assume, always confirm.
This is golden. I will scratch it into my visor.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 9:55 pm
by relic
After 30 plus years of driving heavy commercial trucks for a living
defensive driving is a must- I don't want to squish anybody
still last month driving along a quiet residential street a black SUV blew a
stop sign and tried to take me out
I won but if I had been driving my scooter whole different story
you never know what issues that person in their metal box are dealing with
or what they are playing with
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 10:38 am
by Mel46
Around our area a turn signal really means nothing. Drivers leave them one while traveling 3 or 4 miles, or they will turn on the turn signal 3 blocks from where they intend to turn, or they just plain don't use the turn signal at all. We bike riders use them because we are courteous, thoughtful, and would like to NOT be run over by those who do not know what they are doing, let alone us. Unfortunately, there have been quite a few who have used the turn lane as their way of jumping ahead of the rest of the straight moving traffic. We can only hope that someone who has their turn signal on intends to turn.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 2:32 pm
by you you
honkerman wrote:Last week I was heading into Lancaster City to visit one of the inmates at the county jail. I was riding along south on PA-72 when this numb nuts transporter in a silver mitzubishi Mirage comes flying down the road next to me then decides he needs to be in my lane. Once I remembered that the horn and turn signals are in the wrong places, I leaned on my horn to let him know I was there and he just did this dismissive wave after he finished running me onto the breakdown lane.
Funny thing, two guys in a mustang pulled up next to me after I'd gotten back in the lane and were encouraging me to beat the crap out of the transporter. I'm not that kind of rider, so I didn't take them up on the suggestion. I did follow the guy down Manheim Pike until he pulled into the Mitsubishi dealer, then after I got to the prison, I called the dealer and let them know that one of their transporters deliberately ran me off the road.
Visiting an inmate?
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 3:14 pm
by honkerman
you you wrote:honkerman wrote:Last week I was heading into Lancaster City to visit one of the inmates at the county jail. I was riding along south on PA-72 when this numb nuts transporter in a silver mitzubishi Mirage comes flying down the road next to me then decides he needs to be in my lane. Once I remembered that the horn and turn signals are in the wrong places, I leaned on my horn to let him know I was there and he just did this dismissive wave after he finished running me onto the breakdown lane.
Funny thing, two guys in a mustang pulled up next to me after I'd gotten back in the lane and were encouraging me to beat the crap out of the transporter. I'm not that kind of rider, so I didn't take them up on the suggestion. I did follow the guy down Manheim Pike until he pulled into the Mitsubishi dealer, then after I got to the prison, I called the dealer and let them know that one of their transporters deliberately ran me off the road.
Visiting an inmate?
My ne'er-do-well son in fact. Obligations and all that. Plus, no one else will do it except his mother and me.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 11:45 pm
by you you
honkerman wrote:you you wrote:honkerman wrote:Last week I was heading into Lancaster City to visit one of the inmates at the county jail. I was riding along south on PA-72 when this numb nuts transporter in a silver mitzubishi Mirage comes flying down the road next to me then decides he needs to be in my lane. Once I remembered that the horn and turn signals are in the wrong places, I leaned on my horn to let him know I was there and he just did this dismissive wave after he finished running me onto the breakdown lane.
Funny thing, two guys in a mustang pulled up next to me after I'd gotten back in the lane and were encouraging me to beat the crap out of the transporter. I'm not that kind of rider, so I didn't take them up on the suggestion. I did follow the guy down Manheim Pike until he pulled into the Mitsubishi dealer, then after I got to the prison, I called the dealer and let them know that one of their transporters deliberately ran me off the road.
Visiting an inmate?
My ne'er-do-well son in fact. Obligations and all that. Plus, no one else will do it except his mother and me.
Oops, didn't mean to pry.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 10:13 am
by Mel46
I think there is a black sheep in every family, so don't worry about how it looks. Each person must make their own journey, and only they are responsible for their actions.
On to the subject at hand: We try to do the right thing by using our turn signals, but there are many different types of drivers out there, so we have to be the ones who are aware. If you went to a state such as Florida, where there are a lot of old drivers (some as old as dirt) you would probably find a lot of drivers who would leave their turn signal on for their entire journey, or they would turn on their signal 3 blocks from where they are turning. It then becomes OUR responsibility to determine what they intend to do.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 2:02 pm
by flyingzonker
Mel46 wrote:I think there is a black sheep in every family, so don't worry about how it looks. Each person must make their own journey, and only they are responsible for their actions.
On to the subject at hand: We try to do the right thing by using our turn signals, but there are many different types of drivers out there, so we have to be the ones who are aware. If you went to a state such as Florida, where there are a lot of old drivers (some as old as dirt) you would probably find a lot of drivers who would leave their turn signal on for their entire journey, or they would turn on their signal 3 blocks from where they are turning. It then becomes OUR responsibility to determine what they intend to do.
This reminds me of the old joke about the couple driving down to Naples. They flicked on their right turn signal at Valdosta and it stayed on til they got to Sarasota, When she heard the clicking stop the Wife said:"Are we there already?"
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 3:02 pm
by Mel46
That says it all!! :-)
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 9:44 pm
by honkerman
honkerman wrote:... we adopted him, so we hold to our obligation to at least visit him.
Cudos to you. May you know strength to sustain you in challenging times.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 2:26 am
by flyingzonker
honkerman wrote:honkerman wrote:... we adopted him, so we hold to our obligation to at least visit him.
Cudos to you. May you know strength to sustain you in challenging times.
It takes courage to adopt. I know a woman who adopted two, a boy and a girl. The girl grew up, married and has two boys. She treats her step mother like her blood mother (there is another term for this but it escapes me just now). With the boy they had a lot of trouble.
Re: salvation depends on (lack of) faith
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 6:57 am
by honkerman
I think the board screwed up and made it look like I congratulated myself...
Oh, I think I know what happened. Many apologies if my post was out of line.