Traffic Laws Have Changed

The first traffic law I was aware of that had changed over the years was U-TURNS. It used to be that you couldn't make a U-Turn unless it was posted that you could or you were in the middle of nowhere and no traffic was around. Now you just have to be careful.

I have talked earlier about the Speed Limit: the de facto speed limit is 10 miles above the posted limit.

If you were to follow at 1 car length per 10 miles of speed like you used to, or even at the 3-second rule, you will probably get honked out of existence. (I don't care, I still do.)

Apparently, the blind spot that used to exist is gone. This law of human anatomy has been repealed. That is what it seems like when you watch people in the lanes around you.

The RTD subcontractors have turned over a new leaf.

We had a meeting with the customer service people from Veiola and First Transit, and they have both started programs to ensure that customer concerns are really addressed. They have access to playbacks and other information to confirm the concerns of citizens. Let's hope that they can really get somewhere with this. Laidlaw was not at the meeting.

Thank you for the quieter motorcycles. If some motorcycle riders are "taking their money elsewhere" then maybe they need an ordinance there too.

What Ever Happened to the old Tramway Lines?

In the Rocky Mountain News lately they have been talking about the tracks of the old tramway cars still visible some places in Denver. Mention was made that they were actually the same gauge as the current light rail trains, but those old tracks would not support the modern cars. Those old lines were first replaced with tramway cars that hooked to an overhead line but did not run on tracks. As I had posted previously, I recall riding those vehicles in the 1950s, I specifically remember the Tramway North-Bound on Broadway at Colfax, in front of the State Capitol Building. Broadway was a 2-way street at that time.

The rest of the story: Henry Ford, and a group of other businessmen representing the Oil Companies, made trips to Denver and other cities around the country in the period after World War 2, 1940s and 1950s, to discourage cities from using rail cars. He felt that he could sell a lot more cars, and we would use a lot more gas by promoting this vision. He was right. We have become so dependant on oil that we go to war to protect the Oil Companies.

It is true that ATU is trying to change the law.

We would like to make it so that the RTD Board of Directors can decide for themselves how many of our routes are given out to subcontractors and how many routes we run. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Unfortunately, there are knee-jerk Republicans out there who are horrified at the thought of a Union actually doing something that would help the public.

I have written about the subcontractors before (see my old blog), and the truth is that a subcontracted route saves money only because the drivers are paid about 1/3 less than a unionised driver, and they receive no benefits like health insurance. On the other hand, their company makes a profit, which RTD does not, and their managers are probably paid more. Any actual savings that RTD makes depends on your accounting and who you talk to.

We have said for years that if the subcontractors and the divisions of RTD were on an equal footing, we could compete very well. If they really want to privatize us, why not convert the entire RTD fleet to private business. They could even sell off the divisions, that would leave the Dispatching and Customer Service and actual administration of RTD in the hands of the Board of Directors.

I do not know if it would be necessary to require all the subcontractors to pay decent wages and give health benefits. That is being done for many subcontracted entities in Denver, including the "prevailing wage" clause that Denver has always required of its subcontractors, and RTD has applied this to some of its subcontractors as well. Most of the subcontractors cannot come even close to hiring enough drivers, and any mechanics they hire soon leave for better jobs. This is the main reason they have always done so poorly in serving the public. They have more complaints, more lates, more missed runs.

Info Ride Bus

HANDICAPPED PARKING FINE IS $100.00

Yes, they got me! I did not know that you have to have an actual VAN when the sign says "Vans Only" (even if it is very tiny). If it says "Van Accessable" then you can park there with your handicapped sign. You can't park on the striped area no matter what or who you are. So what do you do if there are no parking spaces (look at the Broncos Stadium)? You drive around and around until you run out of gas. Any violation is one hundred dollars. You have to park and walk a long ways to go to the Parking Ticket Judge.

HANDICAPPED PARKING IRRITATES SOME PEOPLE.

I don't like parking in the handicapped spaces because it makes me feel... well... handicapped. I have a charcot foot, which is the result of Diabetic Neuropathy. I have been very lucky that it has healed very well, but that is because I baby the foot. I do not wear a special boot, but I have to wear expensive shoes that accomodate my deformed right foot. The charcot foot came about because I broke my foot, and because I had no feeling in the foot, I broke it over and over again. Blood rushes to the foot, it heals very rapidly, but it breaks again. You walk on a tiny rock, your foot twists, and because you don't compensate for the twisting like normal people do, your foot will break again. X-Rays showed that the bones in the middle part of the foot where chipped, shattered and collapsed. By then, yes, I did have pain, but not nearly as much pain as the "phantom" shooting pains that I'd had when the neuropathy began years before. The arch of the foot is gone, it looks like I have two left feet.

At the same time, I need to walk on my feet fairly often to keep the blood circulating. I can walk a couple hundred feet, and in fact walking is easier than standing on the bad foot. Climbing stairs or even a step is fairly difficult. The main potential for trouble other than breaking the foot again is that I can develop ulcers on the foot if too much pressure is put on it in any one place. I drive with my left foot, I can no longer drive with a clutch.

And so, I try to park in a normal parking space, as long as it isn't too far from the door. Of course, bad weather, when I can't see what I'm walking on, means I need a handicapped space. If you see me walking from my car and you cannot tell that I am handicapped, then thank you! That is what I have tried to achieve. It just looks like a slight limp, and the foot goes off at a slight angle. But, yes, I really do appreciate a handicapped space at times.

Electric Trolley from 1940. I recall riding one of these in the 1950s, going south on Broadway from Colfax: in front of the State Capitol Building.

Denver Tramway Corporation Bus, 1958. This one is still around today.

This Electric was converted to a horse-drawn trolley. About 1900.

DON'T USE YOUR BRAKES ON THE HIGHWAY.
When you have to use your brakes on the highway, you have done something wrong. If you follow at a safe distance, don't drive a lot faster (or slower) than the other traffic, and pay attention to what you are doing, then you should be able to safely slow down to turn or exit without ever using your brakes. Of course, sometimes it is some other idiot who does something wrong, and sometimes you need to use your brakes just to let the other traffic see that you are slowing down. I have driven the highway without brakes for years.

DON'T DRIVE FASTER THAN THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU.

Sounds strange, but think about it: when you are in heavy traffic and trying to change lanes, isn't it irritating to have that idiot zooming up at +20mph to fill the gap? And while we're at it, isn't it irritating to have the traffic on your right going +20mph when your lane is only going +5mph? Speed a little over the other guys, just not a lot.

DON'T DRIVE FASTER THAN THE CAR TO YOUR RIGHT.

I PITY THOSE POOR CAB DRIVERS.

Cab driving was the only job I ever REALLY had fun at. I did it for some 12 years, and then I worked in the phone room at Yellow for 6 years. (I was fired for Union Duties, but that is another story.)

The taxi drivers need to realize that they have to pay for insurance, dispatching services, gas, car upkeep, even accounting. With the new bill proposed they still will need all that, and even if they omit dispatching (and thus serve no public at all), add the $10,000 plus per year their company needs to pledge for serving the handicapped, they will still make no money to speak of. You need to take in about $30 per hour when driving. Hauling people (handicapped or not) and getting $8.10 for 15 minutes of work will not do it unless you can do 4 trips like that in an hour. It doesn't work! It takes you another 15 minutes to get another call, go and pick them up, etc. Maybe a Car Service like you see in New York City would work: pay a subscription fee and/or $20 minimum for a short trip.