Results tagged “driving”

Oh jeez. At the risk of sounding ageist, a 90-year-old man is responsible for this early AM scene in Glen Park. Why? Because he's a 90-YEAR-OLD MAN DRIVING A CAR.

California's First Lady is at it again, menacing the streets of the Golden State. And there's no stopping her. After being busted twice earlier this month for not using a hands-free device while driving, TMZ posted footage of Shriver parking illegally. It seems the rampant Kennedy-adjacent criminal parked her Cadillac Escalade in a red zone, which is an enormous no-no. She will not be stopped, this Shriver woman. You've been warned.

DNA Lounge owner and LiveJournaler jwz went riding the other day with his pal netik on Harrison Street. Things did not go well.

Trouble is stirring in San Francisco's adorable NOPA district. It seems some residents are none too thrilled with the "large electronic traffic information signs" planned for Oak and Fell Streets. The city wants to install these big electronic signs near Divisadero, directing drivers to parking garages ans such, and the neighborhood's residents don't like it because, obviously, they're ugly.

Sarah Phelan of the Bay Guardian captured some great footage of the newly opened Bay Bridge this morning. You can see the new, surprise curve that folks have been talking about today at around 40 seconds into the video (just after the 35 MPH sign). Phelan mentions that there will probably be quite a bit of rubber-necking at that point of the bridge for a while. So, remember to take it slow!

Highway patrols will be on the hunt for any and all drivers who are still using their mobile communication devices sans Bluetooth device while driving. It seems there's some sort of "zero-tolerance campaign" happening right now for anyone driving with a cell phone to their ear. Although the state's hands-free law went into effect on July 1, 2008, many of you still refuse to use your hands-free devices. Which is wrong. While driving, your hands are meant to be used for a cigarette and/or fast food items. So, be on the lookout for cops on the lookout while you're on the roads, folks.

Hundreds of pages of research on the risks of cellphone use while driving, conducted in 2003 as part of a long-term study that was never given the go-ahead by the government, have been released to the public thanks to the work of a consumer group. The documents include a draft letter, never sent, to then Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta regarding the ongoing risks of hands-free devices. As the New York Times reports: "That letter said that hands-free headsets did not eliminate the serious accident risk. The reason: a cellphone conversation itself, not just holding the phone, takes drivers' focus off the road, studies showed." So yeah... to paraphrase a certain bumper sticker: Get off the fucking Bluetooth and drive.

Somehow we missed this late last week, but Emily Anderson of Seattle arrived in San Francisco on Thursday after completing a cross-country trip from New York in a reconstructed 1909 Maxwell D.A. A similar trip was taken by first-wave feminist Alice Ramsay a hundred years ago, making her the first woman ever to drive across the country. The re-enactment required Anderson and her car buff father to assemble a Maxwell using antique parts found on eBay and elsewhere, as only one intact 1909 Maxwell still existed and the owner was not willing to sell.

Remember when former Senator Carole Migden went on a drunk driving spree on I-80, minus the alcohol? Well, the state of California will pay out $335,00 in settlement riches to a victim of her "erratic driving." If you recall, back in May 2007, "State Sen. Carole Migden bounced her state-issued SUV off the concrete median on Interstate 80 and nearly ran other motorists off the freeway before slamming into the back of another vehicle last week, the California Highway Patrol and witnesses said Tuesday." Paring this vehicular incident with her massive mound of blond hair, Migden has forever been cemented in our hearts as a crazy-ass, awesome dame.

Driving while drunk is a crime that should, arguably, in a perfect world, be punishable by public beheading. In addition to taking the life of an innocent driver and the lives of many, you ruin a perfectly good automobile and cause even more cumbersome gridlock. And that's not right. Take, for example, Edward Schaefer, a 43-year-old Novato man, who made headlines this week after striking and killing a 9-year-old girl on his motorcycle. After researching "decades' worth of public records," NBC Bay Area uncovered Schaefer's checkered driving record. Check it out: "1990, Marin County - DUI, 6 months in jail, 3 years probation, license suspended 4 years; 1990, Marin County - DUI, 44 days in jail, 3 years probation; 1991, Marin County - DUI, 26 days in jail; 1995, Marin County - DUI, 4 months in jail, 2 years probation, license suspended 3 years, $2,000 fine, ignition device 1 year; 1999, Sonoma County - Alcohol-related Reckless Driving, 30 days in jail. 2 years probation; and 2004, Nevada - DUI." What's more, NBC goes on to report that "Schaefer faced the same Marin County judge in his first four cases." And no one noticed a pattern?! Jesus. Anyway, Schaefer is due back in court on June 19.

Yeah, wearing a seatbelt and refraining from drinking/driving both seem like common sense, but California Highway Patrol officers arrested 1,450 drivers statewide for DUIs during Memorial Day weekend last year. Also, 38 people died on California's roads during the holiday last year, and 68 percent of those killed were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. So, this weekend will be a maximum enforcement period for the CHP, which will be looking for people driving under the influence or without a seatbelt. San Francisco will be conducting a DUI saturation patrol by its motorcycle units on Friday night, and a sobriety checkpoint will be held on Saturday night. So, Click It or Ticket!

Officers responded to a call at around 3:15 a.m. on Sunday morning on Susie Way in South San Francisco. Once they arrived, the officers found four victims of a brutal assault. According to CBS 5/BCN, "one of the victims had been struck in the back of the head with a beer bottle and had a serious head laceration." Apparently, this early a.m. brawl was over a parking space. That's right, a place to park a car. The suspects, who had initially ran from the scene of the crime, were arrested. Jose Gomez, 20, and Eric Vasquez, 18, taken into custody without incident, according to police.

Oh, sure, you've seen all the coverage of Jan Gehl's plan to turn Fisherman's Wharf into something tolerable. But wouldn't you like to know more? The excellent SPUR is holding a forum TODAY about the city's plan to alleviate pedestrian-congestion by updating the neighborhood's 1950s-style freeway-inspired urban design: widening sidewalks, installing benches, and adding bike lanes, injunction be damned. After all, be honest: when's the last time you went to Fisherman's Wharf? Probably when you had out-of-town guests.

Our neighbors to the south seem to be playing a hilarious practical joke on bicyclists here. Or is it like a guns-for-toys program, where you bring in timepieces and get a bicycle in return? Anyway, we lolled.

We had fantasized about joining City Car Share for years but could never front the $300 deposit. We had been intrigued by Zipcar but weren't motivated enough to sign up. Plus, they seemed expensive. So, when Flexcar (RIP) came about around the same time and were offering low rates and an insanely low membership fee of $36, we were onboard.

We're not sure if you've noticed, but as of yesterday, the new cell phone law has gone into effect. That's right: no more talky while driving, unless you've got a hands-free device for your phone. Yesterday, while we were out, law breakers were being pulled over left and right. It's a great way for the CHP to fill up those ticket quotas.

Remember, you can no longer prattle away on your phones while driving after the mandatory hands-free cell phone law goes into effect tomorrow. And while the new law will not be as enforced as, say, the Click It or Ticket seatbelt rule, which became a car-ride standard over two decades ago, you can land yourself $100 ticket for talking on your pretty little iPhone while heading down Highway 280. But it's still legal to text-message until Jan. 1, 2009. Which? Makes no sense whatsoever. Anyway, hands-free devices are leaping off store shelves, so be sure to get yours today to perfect that look while avoiding a costly ticket from the fuzz.

Union City--just south north [our xenophobia is showing!] of Fremont, near Newark and Hayward--was recently caught re-timing their traffic signals so that the yellow light is shorter than the legal limit. Why? Well, this makes it easier for motorists to run a red light, then get caught by the red-light cameras, which in turn gets the city more money from increased traffic tickets.

This monster pothole lurked on Townsend Street in the shade of the ramp connecting 6th Street to I-280. Under normal circumstances, we find the shrill complaints of motorists about pavement quality to be rather tedious. To motorists, we self-righteously sneer, "Why did you buy that SUV, anyway? If you want smooth roads, move to the country. Or Texas."