Gooooood plan! Who doesn’t love using a germy disgusting payphone with the added bonus of either A. Talking in a small suffocating box, or B. Talking in front of tons of people! [banghead][:(!]
Not to mention the hassle of never seeming to have the right change! I’m all for cellphones. in fact, I’m all for most technology. Of course, for every new form of technology an idiot will misuse it and maybe end up dead because of that…
I am a frequent bike rider and I can say that this is entirely possible. Pedestrians/joggers tend to feel they have the right-of-way regardless where they are, be it a crossing or, say, a bike path. I cannot count the number of times that I’d be barelling down a path at 25mph and have to lay hard on the brakes, because some idiot can’t hear me yelling at the top of my lungs. Now, I’m not trying to say that I am as loud as a train horn, but when I am 5 feet behind someone yelling at the top of my lungs and they don’t react until they actually see the front of my bike passing them on the grass, then there is something wrong with the volume.
Sometimes, just sometimes, I wish that our moral structure included natural selection, instead of fighting it.
Having biked lots on trails that used to have rails, anytime I see someone with something in their ear I approach slowly. It keeps both of us safe and minimizes bent feelings. If I pass someone at 5 or 8 MPH instead of 17/20 MPH they aren’t jolted and thinking “That stupid biker!” I always call out something like “On your Left/Right” when passing.
Our city is considering some form of ordinance speaking to the volume of said devices when the user is biking, driving (Yea, it happens. Pay attention sometime and you’ll likely see one!), or walking on public streets/walks. We’ve had situations where kids on bikes blew a stop sign (1st oops) and pulled in front of an emergency vehicle that had lights/siren going (2nd oops) and forced the vehicle to stop, thus causing danger to themselves and delaying the response time which could cost lives. I think it’ll be a fight to get this past but it is needed to keep people safe from themselves. It’s sad to have to do that.
Where are the cops? Here in western Wisconsin, the cops LOVE to nail people who drive around the gates. First offense costs $387 to $1000 and 6 points. Second offense will cost you your drivers license.
I’ve learned there is no room for error around railroad tracks. I once saw three teenagers flock to a grade crossing in Windsor, Connecticut to place pennies on the tracks. They knew it was coming because the gates were down and there were bells going off like crazy. If one had tripped or fallen, they would have had only 10 seconds to move out of the way of the northbound Vermonter. The engineer saw them and blew the horn like crazy. Boy he was angry. People who do stuff like that are the reason railroad employees get so testy even with railfans. As for the jogger, I feel really bad for her, even if it was her fault.
Dont worry, there is a police station a block away. =)
Once in a while one gets hung up and killed for it. Our state is particularly dangerous because there are alot of smaller roads and regularly lose people who are caught on the crossing, gates or not. In fact, those with no gates are even worse.
And as a final defense, kinda hard to run a gate when 15 of your coworkers wait in line to make the turn to the same employment at 7 o clock in the morning. +)