there are more bikes

there are more bikes...

there are more bikes and there are also more cars
more cars, more buses, more taxi cabs, and more pedestrians
in addition to the pedestrians on foot there are those quasi-pedestrians on wheel chairs, motorized wheel chairs, seagways... is a motorized seagway a motorized wheel chair for people who can walk? and other devices such as skateboards and scooters and motorized skateboards and motorized scooters
yes... there are motorized skateboards and motorized scooters on the sidewalks and the streets in downtown dc

it is pretty chaotic
everyone contributes to the madness
everyone needs to know what they contribute and how they contribute
everyone needs to know the dangers and their contributions to the dangers
what does each individual variable bring to this madness that is intermingling on the city streets
city streets-city sidewalks-urban crosswalks-urban alleyways-off street parking lots and on street parking spaces
there are great deal of variables
variables on top of variables
chaos

what variable are you and what does your variable contribute?
how do the actions of each human variable factor into the worst case scenario?
how can each individual work to avoid the worst case scenario?
what is the gain by not preventing the worst case scenario?

inappropriate driving behavior does not work to greatly decrease travel time
fast aggressive driving is unsafe, inconsiderate, and illogical
efficient sensible driving will get you there in the same amount of time with less hassle and less risk
the nasty competitiveness behind the wheel is an awful way to spend any part of any day
yet people still choose to drive like assholes even if it is for no greater gain
people still choose to drive like assholes even if the risk is the life of another

as foolish as a bicyclist may be for riding the wrong way on a one way street
or as risky as a person may be for jaywalking mid block with cars zipping by
in the end it is the licensed motorized vehicles that bring the greatest weight into creating the worst of the worst case scenarios

pedestrians may bump into each other and get their peanut butter in the other's person's chocolate
a bicycle to pedestrian collision may be a little better or a little worse depending upon how much you enjoy the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
the contribution of the man powered variables is no where near the potential contribution of those in the large motorized vehicles that require a license
the motorcycles, cars, trucks, and buses can really ruin someone's day
oddly it is the driver's of the motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses that yell out "you are gonna get killed!"

yes... you are going to kill me or someone else
someone is going to be killed the way you are driving

slow down... yield to pedestrians... make complete stops at stop signs at the stop line... no leading or stealing
put down the cell phone and ignore the blackberry... driving is not the place for texting... read that paper another time... just drive

know your contribution to the chaos
know your contribution to the worst case scenario

the collision between motorcycle, cars, trucks, or buses against a pedestrian
well... it is not pretty
car is best weapon
don't point that thing at me


sorry... a jaywalking pedestrian is less in the wrong than the speeding car
for the very reason that the severity of the outcome of the crime is far greater on the side of the speeding car
yet... the speeding car driver will lay on the horn and force pedestrians to scatter as they buzz on through exceeding the speed limit
putting those around them at risk

a pedestrian or a cyclist may contribute to causing the accident
it is the motorized vehicle that causes the fatality

it is the motorized vehicle that is the villain
yet there is some sort of entitlement
like some sort of notion that the person in the car has more right to where they are going as well as having more right to life

more right to where they are going?
more right to life?
just because they are in a car?

it blows my mind
is this really what they are thinking?
it sure seems like it