edward fox’s reality

According to a recent blog entry I randomly read on some website I’m not citing, having a specific title about what is in the entry is best so that people don’t have to read your entire long entry to figure out what’s really in it…

P.S. My favorite rule is listed last (:

So why are my blogs so abstract? I guess because I want you to find what interests you in them, but I’m sure everyone will enjoy this blog entry because it relates to something everyone over the age of 18 probably does. My ‘theories for the road’ have been reinforced time and time again, but tonight truly proved it. Now presenting, The Unwritten Rules of the Road!

If you feel the urge to be an ass among for your fellow drivers, remember who may be around you–that’s right, someone who can give you a ticket worth a few hundred dollars, or worse. One ticket, topped at almost $300, was enough for me, and gave me a great wake-up call to respect the road. Of course, all laws have slack in them, so you have to find that slack, and find it appropriately.

The Unbreakables - Do NOT break these rules. Doing so will cause you to be considered an idiot by 100% of the people around you, and is just downright dangerous. Please avoid the following:

1. Crossing a double solid yellow line. You’re just asking for an accident, or much worse.
2. Rapidly/randomly/excessively changing lanes during heavy traffic loads. This goes without saying, but many people with cars that they think are invincible try this all the time.
3. Speed excessively, or speed in general, with children or others [you care about] in the car. Drive as recklessly as you want when no one else is in the car, and when there are no cars or people around. However, when can you be completely certain of this? You are in control of every one’s life when you are on the road, so be sensible. You never know what’s around the corner, or over the hill (if you know me well enough, you know what significance that has for me).
4. Making left turns or going straight through a yellow/red light while all lanes are not occupied. I’m not advocating the use of the yellow light to mean go faster but if you are going to run a light, please make sure that all lanes are occupied, as in, there is someone sitting in each lane on both sides of the road. Not checking this will most likely cause an accident, because if someone sees green, they aren’t going to slow down and come to a complete stop, then go with everyone else… just something to think about.
5. Don’t be in a dangerous rush. Not thinking about crossing four lanes to the other side (or any other brainless maneuver) is just as dumb as the chicken that tried to cross the road, with the keyword being “tried.”
6. Stay within your lane of traffic. I see people weaving around all the time. That’s a quick way to get pulled over (or worse, again) as cops are more concerned with getting dangerous people such as those drunk, high, or unlicensed, off the road, faster than those who are simply trying to shave a few minutes off of their commute.

So, now that I’ve told you what you really shouldn’t do, here’s what you can do!

If you feel like speeding, go ahead. I recommend a radar detector if you frequently go more than 6+ mph over a posted Speed Limit of 55mph or under, or 10+ mph over a posted Speed Limit of 60mph or over on the highway. I personally use the Escort X50 8500. It’s definitely worth the money (: Moving right along, now that I’ve mentioned that, here are ….

The Breakables - The Unwritten Rules of the Road!

1. In a rich city? If you don’t have an expensive car (before after-market accessories, silly racers), use your signal always. Rich people don’t care about tickets, and cops know this. Be on the lookout!
2. If a cop is near you, show respect. This is what they care about more than you actually following the laws of transportation. This means: signal when you are near a cop; slow down to the speed that the officer is doing. If they are doing exactly the speed limit, hmm, I wonder what kind of enforcement they are working on today… Don’t be dumb.
3. In front of a cop? Do 5 over to show you aren’t a criminal and totally intimidated by the police, and if possible, use your signal and switch lanes. This will show you respect the law and your moderate speeding shows you have nothing to hide.
4. Is it the 17th of the month? Be careful, because you have the greatest chance of any day in the D/FW Metroplex to get busted on this day of the month than any other day. Four people busted within five minutes in front of me tonight. This number is actually below average of what I usually see on the 16th and especially the 17th of each month and is something I always look forward to and laugh at, thinking, how could these people not see it coming?

Be Safe, and Don’t be Stupid. Also, care for the environment!

If you see crappy, old (or new) vehicles that are shoving black smoke into the air, that means that you paid $80 for an inspection that they either didn’t go to, or had their friend at the auto shop fake. So, go ahead and learn from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality!

“ To Report a Smoking Vehicle

(1) Upon observing a smoking vehicle, please make note of the following information:

• Texas license plate number
• Date observed
• Time (AM/PM)
• City
• Location observed

(2) Report the information to the TCEQ, within 30 days, by one of the following methods:

• Report a smoking vehicle online(in English)
• Report a smoking vehicle online(in Spanish)
• Call 1-800-453-SMOG (7664)
• Send a fax to 512/239-1500
• Mail the information to:

Smoking Vehicle Program, MC-164
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 13087
Austin, Texas 78711-3087″

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 17th, 2006 at 11:36 pm and is filed under News, Oddly Enough, Rants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.