"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
11/21/2016 at 23:56 • Filed to: None
4
16|
"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
11/21/2016 at 23:56 • Filed to: None | 4
| 16 |
The difficulty of driving from San Francisco to Oakland can be quite palpable. There’s one bridge, a bunch of ways to get onto it, all of them suck, and many of the people involved are assholes. If you just take it easy, you’ll get there. I try to be as courteous as possible, which is a dodgy proposition as since I’m driving a BMW everyone already assumes I’m a prick, but rather than reinforce the stereotype I tend to be extra patient and forgiving as I aim to be the exception (I even signal).
I get cut off a lot by men driving beat up minivans where the little stickers of the wife and kids have been angrily scraped off during the divorce and I get it: I’d hate me too. Sorry pal. Brake check me too if it helps. I’m cool.
Anyway, I’m on the on ramp today which is crawling. (There was an accident on the bridge.) There was a large Lincoln Navigator behind me who is extra super close but I decided he was trying to help people not block the intersection and when he gently bumped my freshly washed and waxed bumper I took a deep breath and slowly exha..... bam he hits me again. Harder this time. The he rolls back and hits me again even harder.
Traffic lurched forward, I moved with it, and he pulls up super close again and bam — one more — seemingly wanting to see if he can get me to hit the truck in front of me.
Side note: crazy aggressive people near Oakland generally have guns, and people shooting at other cars is a thing here. It’s a factor in my decision tree.
Traffic moves up a bit and I’ve got my phone trying to get pictures but he’s so close I can’t really actually see anything.
Finally traffic squeezes in so tight a small blue Scion Xd ends up behind me with a young black woman driving it. I see that he is now ramming her. She looks rightfully terrified. I could only see part of his plate in my side mirror and with the adrenaline my ability to read half a plate backwards while merging and not getting into an accident was beyond me.
So now I’m on the phone with 911. I jockey around enough to get his plate (and her plate too as I assume she’ll be happy to report her adventure) and the dispatcher lets me know it’s a solid plate, local, matches the Lincoln’s description, and we agree that hopefully he’s just drunk.
They asked me to pull off at Treasure Island to meet a CHP officer for a report. Since they didn’t witness anything, they need a report to do anything. I’m more than delighted. After waiting a bit, I got a call that there was another accident and that the officer would be a while and would I mind stopping in their office in the morning to give a report?
Absofucking-lutely I’ll stop by in the morning.
The dispatcher seemd to think they’ll likely stop by to arrest him tonight and hold him in jail until they get my report. Who knows how that will work out, but when the dispatcher asked me to clarify, “Wait, you mean he’s hit you several times, on purpose, and now he’s hitting another car, on purpose, and then continuing to keep driving?” I could tell from the tone this wasn’t going to be dealt with halfheartedly. I suppose this is what you call “felony hit and run” when it’s done on purpose, multiple times, to multiple people who happen to simply be occupying the space in front of you.
Since the car was freshly washed it was easy to document where he hit me although it’ll all come off with a clay bar at most. Had he been an inch higher it would have been my tail lights.
So what do you think will happen? Aside from filling out the report and making sure he gets to spend quality time with other similarly unhappy folks, do I sue someone for this? Would you?
bob and john
> Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
11/22/2016 at 00:02 |
|
that is a legit charege that can get you throw in the can for a few nights, so i think something will happen. if it was a speeding charge probably not.
sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
11/22/2016 at 00:03 |
|
Aside from filling out the report and making sure he gets to spend quality time with other similarly unhappy folks, do I sue someone for this? Would you?
Even if there was no damage, yes. I would go after them whatever way I could as a matter of principal. The way to deal with being stuck in traffic is not, “bump every car that gets in front of you until they move.”
PatBateman
> Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
11/22/2016 at 00:04 |
|
Two questions:
1. Is this a common occurrence, people randomly bumping other people in traffic?
B. Are you a Raiders fan?
|
Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
> PatBateman
11/22/2016 at 00:13 |
|
1) Nosir.
2) Nosir.
gmctavish needs more space
> Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
11/22/2016 at 00:17 |
|
Holy shit, that’s messed up. The part of me that wants to be a good and forgiving person says that I’m sure the justice system will deal with him accordingly and you should let it be and not worry about lawsuits. The other part of me says fuck that guy, if you’re in a position to sue, fuck him up as much as you can.
rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S
> Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
11/22/2016 at 00:30 |
|
I was caught in getting-on-bridge traffic this evening coming home but I live at Harrison and 1st so I don’t actually get on the bridge. I deal with people waiting until the last minute to get into the correct bridge lane every time I drive, usually costing me at least 5-10 minutes extra in time to get home, while I can see the entrance to my building.
So yeah, I’d sue him. People need to learn they can’t just act like dicks to the general public because their own personal lives aren’t going that well.
smobgirl
> Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
11/22/2016 at 00:56 |
|
I’d sue if I had the means. And also please keep us updated on this! I think it would help my general view of the world lately to know that this guy got what he deserved.
Nick Has an Exocet
> rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S
11/22/2016 at 01:06 |
|
On one hand, that sucks that you get stuck in a place where you can see where you live but have to wait 5 minutes to get there. On the other, maybe learn to walk. Please don’t take offense to this, but there’s not a lot of love in my life for people living in that area. It’s the trifecta: expensive*, loud, and obnoxiously full of traffic. Very few people who live in the One Rincon area are what I would consider “general public”. The “general public” are the people who have to schlep their asses across that fucking bridge every day. Myself included. We can’t see where we live because there isn’t enough housing supply to make things reasonable and to make ends meet, we live with roomates in Richmond. Richmond. A 45-1hr drive each day from/to a place where a parked police car is something locals call “target practice”.
Also, apologies for the rant. I got a $25k raise today and the funny thing is - I still won’t have a fancy car, a retirement (my company won’t offer those), or savings because my rent just went up, my company decided to charge $275/mo for parking, and 7 years on, I still have college debt to pay back. For anyone that is thinking about moving to California: don’t. Even if it goes well, you’re still screwed.
*5-12k per month for a 2 bedroom.
|
Nick Has an Exocet
> Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
11/22/2016 at 01:11 |
|
That’s pretty messed up. I do this commute every day as well. I’ve seen people drive crazy (and I’ve driven a little wacky - but not dangerously so). Never seen anything like that. Which entrance ramp was this? It feels like each has it’s own personality. Down by 1st, things get super aggressive. 5th, fairly mellow. 8th, a mixture of chill with extra stupid sauce slathered on.
|
sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> Nick Has an Exocet
11/22/2016 at 01:30 |
|
Please tell me you didn’t just rant at a guy for being well off. As for walking, you don’t know if he was commuting from two blocks away or the other side of the state.
|
Nick Has an Exocet
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
11/22/2016 at 02:10 |
|
Nah, ranting at him for complaining about traffic in a place known for traffic. Water is wet. Financial district has traffic.
Also, ranting because California is a stupid place with stupid people.
CompactLuxuryFan
> Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
11/22/2016 at 02:43 |
|
Sooo glad I commute on the peninsula (280 most times) and not the Bay Bridge/East Bay.
|
Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
> Nick Has an Exocet
11/22/2016 at 11:13 |
|
This was 5th at 4:20. It was slow because of a breakdown on the bridge and was pretty chill except for the guy behind me who can’t figure out why life is so unfair to specifically him.
DynamicWeight
> Nick Has an Exocet
11/22/2016 at 11:45 |
|
He wasn’t really complaing and besides, FUCK BAY AREA TRAFFIC. And don’t tell me I can’t complain. I grew up here and it was always bad but it wasn’t THIS BAD. I remember it used to be around 7 everything finally cleared up and you could drive places. Not anymore. I remember having little to no stop and go on the weekends. Not anymore. I remember there used to be “local” ways to get around. Not anymore, fucking thanks waze.
And please don’t take my rant personally. You’re ranting, I’m ranting. It’s just cathartic to whine about it.
wiffleballtony
> Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
11/22/2016 at 13:04 |
|
Shooting other cars is a thing there? No wonder your gun laws are crap.
|
Nick Has an Exocet
> DynamicWeight
11/22/2016 at 14:23 |
|
Haha, not taken personally. I’m always surprised when I meet a local who hasn’t burnt down their home for the insurance money and went to Arizona by now.