Asleep at the Wheel

Recently I witnessed an auto accident. A motorist was traveling though an intersection with a green light at about 40mph- the posted speed. On the cross street, a motorist pulled out from behind a large, tall 4WD pickup to enter the street and make a right turn on red. Unfortunately, since the driver could not see past the truck, she ran right into the side of the car crossing the intersection. The elderly people who had the right-of-way were injured, and I expect their older model car was totaled.

I stopped to render assistance, and provide my name as a witness as something about the other driver and her car led me to believe there would be trouble. Soon, the police arrived, and I left after giving my contact info. I was contacted the next day, and told the teen driver of the vehicle at fault had no license or insurance, and I recall her older car had a dealer tag too.

I expect Medicare or Medicaid will be picking up the bill, as the older couple only had liability insurance. That means you and I pay for it through federal taxes.

Also, a good friends wife was recently hit in the rear in a school zone. She had stopped for kids in the crosswalk, when a pickup plowed into her at over 35mph. The driver of the pickup had state mandated $15,000 liability. My friend’s nearly new car was totaled, at a replacement cost of over $19,000. Their insurance has to pick up the difference, plus medical, rent car etc. since the $15,000 is not even close to paying for the car alone.

It also seems that only 50% to 60% of drivers in Texas have state mandated liability insurance, and most only carry the minimum of $15,000, which wont pay for much. That leaves those who have a few extra dollars and a fairly nice car to have to carry uninsured motorist and personal injury protection, often at a high cost.

So...

I had an idea once to add a few cents tax onto a gallon of gas here in Texas to cover "uninsured motorist" cost. The state could funnel the money to a few insurance companies to manage the insurance. Each driver without mandatory liability insurance would then have a minimum of $15,000 provided through the state fund for uninsured motorist.

If you or I wanted to have additional liability insurance, we could still get that through our insurance provider, and all our auto insurance would be a lower cost because there would be NO uninsured motorist in Texas.

Furthermore, in the event of an accident with an uninsured motorist, the party without insurance should have their vehicle auctioned to the highest bidder, with proceeds going to the "victim" first to cover their additional cost over $15,000 (if any) and the remainder going to the state to help fund the program.

This would help greatly with the illegal alien problem of no insurance, and the low income folks who simply let their $49 policies lapse after renewing their license or registration or inspection, and it also help Texans insurance rates as travelers through the state would be assisting with the cost of the fund when they buy gas.

So the recently appointed "chairwoman" of the board over at DART resigns due to forgery of District Attorney letterhead, as well as a forged letter with a forged signature of the DA on the same letterhead.  According to the news report, this was done by her to avoid paying a debt.  Story here.

I cant help but wonder what would happen to you or I if we had done this.  I suspect you or I would be sitting in the Dallas County jail right now, trying to find a way to raise the bail to get out. So far, no action has been taken as far as I can tell, with the exception of her attorney calling the whole thing ridiculous, and the chairwoman resigning from the DART board.  Hum, why resign if the charges are "ridiculous"?

Oh, and what about the $900 million shortfall just discovered in its expansion plan?

If this was a public corporation, it would have two choices- file bankruptcy, or clean house from top to bottom and start over.  Sadly, DART will just continue to borrow more money, adding to debt the average Joe (who will never use DART) has to pay with his hard earned paycheck.

Funny how New York can have as many airport as they want, but DFW cant seem to figure out how to have more than one International, one regional, and one freight airport.

Story Here.

I was watching DART police working the EB HOV on LBJ yesterday. They had about 5 or more officers stopping vehicles with fewer than two occupants who were in the HOV.

They were outside their vehicles, stopping all traffic IN the HOV while writing tickets during rush hour. Needless to say- it was no longer "rush hour" for the HOV lane occupants, and the lane was STOPPED while tickets were being written.

Not only that, but I cant help but wonder how these officers were convinced their lives were worth risking in rush hour traffic to write a ticket for folks who dont comply with the HOV laws. I think THAT is insane.

All this to impose a tax on the driving public who ALREADY PAID FOR THAT STRIP OF CONCRETE ROADWAY through taxes. They are being denied their right to drive on a public roadway because they don't fit some political agenda that requires two or more people in the vehicle- in that lane. What a joke. Mostly, the HOV sits EMPTY, or well below capacity while the city suffers under a snarly of traffic in the other "free" lanes.

Today I am driving up Central expressway when this DART Ford Expedition SUV with a cattle guard blows past me...  I am doing 65 in a 60, and nearly get my doors blown off by this beast.  As it passed, I was shocked first to see it was a DART vehicle, but then even more astonished to find it is a K9 unit!  What?????

 

Anyway, First I am wondering why DART needs a K9 unit? 

Are they not a public transportation system, in charge of building rail lines and running trains and buses? Why the dogs?

 Second, I am wondering why DART needs $40,000.00 SUV's... with cattle guards?

 Third,  why does DART have "officers"?  Are the local police departments not enough of a police force to police the public transport?  If not, why not have DART simply pass on some of that extra cash to the local police forces so they CAN hire REAL POLICE OFFICERS?

Why have an extra police force, and all that bureaucracy that goes with it? Are we not enought of a police state already? We currently have local city police (ex: DPD), Dallas County Sherrifs Department with all those sherrifs deputies, And add to that the Texas Department of Public Safety.  While we are at it, throw in the FBI, ICE, Homeland Security, NTSA- including air marshals, sheesh, my brain is cramping under the weight of all this "authority".

Dont get me wrong, I have nothing against our local police.  That is to say, the "real" police.  But these DART "officers" are an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer.  Looks more  like a jobs program to me.

 
Think about it. Say some person gets on the train without a ticket.  So what?  DART lost a dollar?  How many of these people would need to be caught by this one officer to justify the officers salary? 40,000?  Oh, but the tickets can pay the officers salary?  Is that a conflict of interest?  A hidden tax?

I dont know.  I think we should eliminate the DART Police.  Or maybe we should just...

F orget
A bout
R apid
T ransit

 

OK, it's not just Toyota, but also Honda, and now even Ford and Chevy...

Who could have imagined the "greens" would be so careless and... evil?

 

Blind People Say Hybrids Are Hazard

By BEN NUCKOLS, AP

Posted: 2007-10-03 10:09:55

 
BALTIMORE (Oct. 2) - Gas-electric hybrid vehicles, the status symbol for the environmentally conscientious, are coming under attack from a constituency that doesn't drive: the blind.

David Zalubowski, AP

The Toyota Prius is the most popular hybrid model. "We are studying the [noise] issue and trying to find that delicate balance," said a company spokesman.

Because hybrids make virtually no noise at slower speeds when they run solely on electric power, blind people say they pose a hazard to those who rely on their ears to determine whether it's safe to cross the street or walk through a parking lot.

Full story here.

What a terrific wast of taxpayers money! Each and every driver who buys gas and registers a car pays taxes to build the roads we drive on. We pay taxes in other ways too to build roads. Yet there are some roads that are "off limits" to us. These are called "HOV lanes".

I drive around Dallas at all hours. I can tell you from personal observation that the HOV lanes here are empty MOST OF THE TIME. Why? Because MOST of us CANNOT dive around with an extra person in our car. MOST OF US. Honestly. So why are MOST of us paying for building roads that only a minority of people can drive on?

I contend that HOV lanes need to be either:

1) made into toll lanes so the drivers who use them can pay for them

or

2) made into "Express Lanes" where ANYONE can use them, which will speed the flow of ALL traffic.

TXDOT... PLEASE stop with the social engineering. it hasn't worked in what.. 20+ years? Get smart. Express lanes for all. HOV in Dallas is just plain stupid.

...as stupid does.

This is a story about traffic at the post office.

This is what I see when I go to my PO box at the Richardson Post Office:

A large, "automated" postage machine right in the front window of the Post Office. There you use a touch screen to enter the package type, weight, point of origin, destination, etc... and it takes your money and prints a pressure sensitive postage label.

Because the post office usually only has two registers running, there is always long line at the counter, and usually a line at this machine too! People don't want to wait, for sure. They have lives to live, not waste at the post office.

But wait, theres more!

Next to the postage machine is a postal employee. I got in this line once, and noticed he was helping people use the machine. When it became my turn, I asked why he was there.

To paraphrase our conversation, it went kind of like this:

He said "to train people to use the machine".

I said: "is it not intuitive enough so people can use it without your help?"

"No" he said. "There are so many package types, postage types, etc... it can be confusing."

I see. So you are going to train everyone to use this machine?"

"Yes."

And what happens when they come back in six months, and want to send a different type of package, with a different type of postage, will you still be here to train them?"

"Yes"

"OK. Well, it sure seems like from the way this is going (very slow!) it would just be a lot quicker if you got on one of those registers and did all the work yourself, instead of trying to train the world how to use some really difficult automated postage teller."

To that he gave me a scowl, and I asked a few questions on how to use the stupid thing, entered the data and shipped my package.

And some want them to take over our health care, too?

This is a really great idea. I received it in my email today. Someone may have already posted it here, but I haven't been around in a while, so forgive me if it is redundant!

Next time you come home for the night and start to put your keys away, think of this: If your car has a keyless remote, consider it a home security alarm system that requires no installation.

Start keeping your car keys next to your bed on the night stand when you go to bed at night. If you think someone is trying to get into your house, or if you hear a suspicious noise, just press the panic alarm on your car key chain. Test it! It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage.

If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break in your house, odds are the intruder won't stick around. After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there; certainly the criminal won't want that.

Make sure it works before you rely on it. Just remember you must press the alarm button again to turn it off.

And remember to carry your keys in your hand while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there.

This is something that really should be shared with everyone. Maybe it could prevent a crime or even save someone's life.

I havent posted in "traffic" in a long while, so here is my re-entry into a most frustrating subject:

I am turning into my neighborhood from a 6 lane divided roadway- a boulevard if you will- which has a posted speed of 40 miles per hour.

The neighborhood is in Richardson, and in this area, the city likes to wall the neighborhood off with some sort of masonry walls along the main thoroughfares. I suspect this is to beautify the city- as it does look nicer than a bunch of mismatched fences, varying ages and colors, and maybe even that odd chain link as well.

Problem with these walls is you really cant see what is around the corner as you turn into some of these neighborhoods. This particular corner is compounded by the fact that is has this small median just at the entrance, with a couple of crepe myrtle trees planted there. This median is about two car lengths long- 30 to 40 feet I am guessing.

Now back to the main boulevard, with the posted 40mph speed limit- it is quite something to make this turn when there is any traffic at all, because invariably, the car behind does not heed my turn signal, and my brake light, and refuses to move over to the empty middle lane, or even show signs of slowing down to meet my speed, rather, they seem to take delight in seeing if they can literally PUSH me out of their way as I make that turn!

This day is no different. So, as is my habit, I try to oblige them, as to slow down to any sane speed is to invite them to take the corner of my vehicle with them,as they seem to want to do. I move smartly around the corner> I am able to do this easily, as I have had 20 years practice. But what happens next is totally unexpected.

As I make that blind turn, I nearly rear-end the backside of a Richardson Police Crown Victoria, which is parked on the curb, seemingly as if he had just written a ticket, and the offender had left the scene. There was no other car in sight.

Thankfully, I am driving an SUV, as I am able to run over the median to avoid rear ending him, and as I look at him in passing, I see he is writing something on a clipboard, and looking at me like > I < am the crazy one!

This just in...

INTERNATIONAL THINKING AT ITS BEST!

Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?

Answer: Princess Diana's death.

Question: How come?

Answer: An English princess

with an Egyptian boyfriend

crashes in a French tunnel,

driving a German car

with a Dutch engine,

driven by a Belgian who was drunk

on Scottish whisky, (check the bottle before you change the spelling)

followed closely by Italian Paparazzi,

on Japanese motorcycles;

treated by an American doctor,

using Brazilian medicines.

This is sent to you by an American,

using Bill Gate's technology,

and you're probably reading this on your computer,

that uses Taiwanese chips,

and a Korean monitor,

assembled by Bangladeshi workers

in a Singapore plant,

transported by Indian lorry-drivers,

hijacked by Indonesians,

unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen,

and trucked to you by Mexican illegal.....

That, my friends, is Globalization

Denton, Irving and Mesquite now have laws that require your vehicle to be towed and impounded if you cannot provide proof of insurance at an accident or during a traffic stop by the police.

Question: Why don't all our cities have this law- especially Dallas! (and my hometown- Richardson!)

Your comments encouraged, but please start off by answering with a simple yes or no as to whether you think this is a good law- so we can provide a "scientific" and "unbiased" poll to the media and our local governments.

As for me, a loud YES!!!!- should have been done a Long Time Ago!

A lot of folks can't understand
how we came to have an oil
shortage here in America.
~~~
Well, there's a very simple answer.
~~~
Nobody bothered to check the oil.
~~~
We just didn't know we were getting low
~~~
The reason for that is purely geographical.
~~~
Our OIL is located in
~~~
Alaska
~~~
California
~~~
Oklahoma
and
TEXAS
~~~
~~~
Our
DIPSTICKS
are located in
Washington DC

I saw the big to do at DFW on this mornings Fox4 news with all the senators, congressmen, mayors, and DFW airport officials. They were all glad handing each other, happy with the results of the Wright Amendment Adjustments.

First question that came to my mind was- why are they celebrating at DFW? Simple answer- this plan does more good than harm for DFW. It closes gates at Love, which will restrict the number of flights possible at that airport. It keeps Wright flight restrictions in place for EIGHT (8) more years. It will only allow "through ticketing" from Love, not direct flights, so each flight to BWI or LAX or ATL will require a stop at ABQ, TUL or LTI. I can only imagine that prices will not come down much at DFW, since there is no apples to apples comparison on flights.

Contrast this to Houston's Hobby airport. If you were a citizen of Houston, you could get direct flights to most major cities in the US on Southwest. Not only that, but here is the kind of fares you can expect from SWA with a 14 day advance purchase during their current sale (now- 9/24):

Houston (Hobby), TX
$89 one-way, to/from Albuquerque, NM
$89 one-way, to/from Baltimore/Washington Int'l, MD
$89 one-way, to/from Chicago (Midway), IL
$79 one-way, to/from Denver, CO
$89 one-way, to/from Ft. Lauderdale, FL*
$89 one-way, to/from Ft. Myers, FL*
$89 one-way, to/from Jacksonville, FL*
$89 one-way, to/from Las Vegas, NV
$99 one-way, to/from Los Angeles, CA
$99 one-way, to/from Oakland, CA
$89 one-way, to/from Orlando, FL*
$99 one-way, to/from Philadelphia, PA
$89 one-way, to/from Phoenix, AZ
$89 one-way, to/from Tampa Bay, FL*
$89 one-way, to/from Washington (Dulles), DC
$89 one-way, to/from West Palm Beach, FL*

I just booked a flight from DFW to BWI. It was a "sale" fare, and it cost $400.00 RT. If I lived in Houston with no Wright amendment, it would have been $178.00

I wonder how much more business travel I could afford to do without Wright or its remnant? How much more $$$ could I bring back to Dallas in terms of sales and income for my business, and the resulting trickle down from spending that money here, if I didn't have to deal with Wright or its remnant?

Looks like 7-11 didnt need much of a push to drop Citgo gas- the story is here on Fox4:

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/Business/Detail?con
tentId=1020977&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&p
ageId=4.1.1

Tell me if you will still buy Citgo fuel, and if so, why?