Roadguy had been saving this first comment for a rainy day, but we aren’t having too many of those this summer, so despite the eternal sunshine, here’s a thought from alert reader Andy:

Any chance there is a way to remind drivers of vehicles that have those daytime running lights that when it rains, they should still turn on their lights so their taillights will let those of us behind them [know] that they are actually in front of us?

I have seen a few vehicles that have sensors in them that will do that for them when the wipers are on, but after the last few rain showers, seems that there are plenty out there with no taillights showing. Makes for fun driving with all the water spray from their tires.

Andy makes a good point; and remember, it’s the law to turn on your lights when there’s precipitation.

Next up is alert reader Z, who has some thoughts on transit:
An issue that I cannot understand other people are not bringing up is the idea of an LRT station where the Ford Plant currently is. The infrastructure is already there with the train tracks!

Rather than spend billions digging up University Avenue doesn’t it make sense to spend a few million to convert the train tracks to LRT tracks, make the Ford site a big hub of LRT love, and somehow connect the hub of LRT love in Highland, St. Paul to the Hiawatha line? Perhaps a tunnel under the river might do the trick. The dam there could also partially power-up the LRT hub. It is almost an instant connection between Saint Paul and Minneapolis…

What am I missing? I heard from a source “on the inside” that this is a definite no anyway as particular politicians already have invested tons of their time & efforts into LRT down University Avenue.

Yeah, the Central Corridor light-rail project has, if you’ll pardon the phrase, left the station — the feds probably wouldn’t take too kindly to a major rerouting toward the Ford site in Highland Park. And the dam has been sold to a company from Quebec. Still, the idea of including a significant transit component on what essentially will be a blank slate is intriguing.

Our last item today is a recent e-mail from alert reader Botski:

I am an avid cyclist who has noticed a phenominon of psycho overpoliteness when it comes to cars stopping when there is no need to stop in order to let me cross. This happened to me again … when I was at stop sign wanting to take a left while the cross traffic had no stop sign. A vehicle approaching from my left decided to brake hard to let me get onto Fairview in St Paul. And of course, traffic to my right was approaching at 35-40 mph and did NOT stop.

My considerate friend was determined to let me onto Fairview. After a short period a line of cars has formed behind him and it’s very likely the drivers’ blood pressures are going up because of “another biker slowing down traffic.” I waved the car on, but the driver waved and gave me a “Go ahead, I am waiting for you!” look. All the while, cars are still whipping past me from right to left.

I finally got off my bike and stood there, and finally he as well as the entourage behind him went past me, giving me a clear view of Fairview’s traffic and a safe entry onto the street.

I am sure these drivers think they are being considerate to cyclists, but it stresses me out. And it seems to be happening more often.

Roadguy hates to say anything negative about drivers who are trying to be polite, but this kind of thing just happened to him yesterday. He was standing with his bike at a crosswalk and was digging through his backpack when the driver of a truck tried to wave him across, even though Roadguy clearly wasn’t ready to go anywhere at that moment. It led to a rather awkward “no, after you” exchange of waves.

Right now, at least, Roadguy is absolutely positive that it’s your turn to go, so share your thoughts on any of the above in the comments section below.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 at 6:10 am and is filed under Good to know, WUWT?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.