Living Car Free - Three miles in five and a half hours.

Yesterday on October 13 there was a truck crash in a tunnel on Interstate 5 in the Los Angeles area. The crash blocked the road and the fire inside the tunnel caused other damage to the road and tunnel. It will be closed for a few days.

On the ABC evening news there was a short video clip of a motorist saying he had traveled three miles in five and a half hours, and he was still sitting in his car on the road.

I wonder how many of those motorists even had the idea that riding a bicycle would be faster for them. Probably all of them thought that they could be walking faster than they were rolling.

It also made me think about how much fuel was used by all of those motor vehicles just sitting there. In the few days that the road will be closed there will probably be plenty of fuel wasted by motorists using alternative routes with more traffic lights.

Maybe a few of them will try alternative transportation for the few days the road is closed.

Yesterday on October 13 there was a truck crash in a tunnel on Interstate 5 in the Los Angeles area. The crash blocked the road and the fire inside the tunnel caused other damage to the road and tunnel. It will be closed for a few days.

On the ABC evening news there was a short video clip of a motorist saying he had traveled three miles in five hours, and he was still sitting in his car on the road.

I wonder how many of those motorists even had the idea that riding a bicycle would be faster for them. Probably all of them thought that they could be walking faster than they were rolling.

It also made me think about how much fuel was used by all of those motor vehicles just sitting there. In the few days that the road will be closed there will probably be plenty of fuel wasted by motorists using alternative routes with more traffic lights.

Maybe a few of them will try alternative transportation for the few days the road is closed.

makes you wonder why he didn't park and walk... The answer, of course, is that the car dictates where he can and can't go, not the other way around.

Ah yes, imagine how easy it would've been to bike through the accident scene.
http://www.laobserved.com/images/newhallmessblevins.jpg

Ah yes, imagine how easy it would've been to bike through the accident scene.
http://www.laobserved.com/images/newhallmessblevins.jpg

Don't bike THROUGH it. Around it. Not too many people make a habit of biking on a busy interstate, anyway.....

Ah yes, imagine how easy it would've been to bike through the accident scene.
http://www.laobserved.com/images/newhallmessblevins.jpg

I coulda done it; I have a steel-frame, hard-tail hybrid, by God...

I swear to god I thought this was going to be a brag thread, and thought, "man, that is reeeeeaaaaallllly bad even for a newbie" or a new born for that matter.

I have no comment on the original story, however.

A few months back, I had to cover an accident when a logging truck tipped over on Highway 97, blocking both lanes of the highway. I didn't know how far it was so I drove. I pulled off the road and parked where the traffic had stopped and then walked about a kilometre to the accident site. Police and road crews had started to clear some of the logs and were letting traffic through. Still, I was walking faster than the cars were moving.

I would'a ridden right through that!

Man, I feel bad about using so much fuel living in the burbs where I use public trans, like once a month if that. I'm considering popping for a road bike.

Yesterday on October 13 there was a truck crash in a tunnel on Interstate 5 in the Los Angeles area. The crash blocked the road and the fire inside the tunnel caused other damage to the road and tunnel. It will be closed for a few days.

On the ABC evening news there was a short video clip of a motorist saying he had traveled three miles in five hours, and he was still sitting in his car on the road.

I wonder how many of those motorists even had the idea that riding a bicycle would be faster for them. Probably all of them thought that they could be walking faster than they were rolling.

It also made me think about how much fuel was used by all of those motor vehicles just sitting there. In the few days that the road will be closed there will probably be plenty of fuel wasted by motorists using alternative routes with more traffic lights.

Maybe a few of them will try alternative transportation for the few days the road is closed.

Herd mentality and stuck in a steel cage you have to drag with you....
I drive the I-95 corridor way too often. If I hit a back up, the first thing I do is get off at the nearest exit and hit an alternate route. I realize that may not have been an option in this case.

Aaron:)

Ah yes, imagine how easy it would've been to bike through the accident scene.


You're thinking like a car. Bikes don't need roads or tunnels. You go over or around. It's another example of how the bike frees the mind.

makes you wonder why he didn't park and walk... The answer, of course, is that the car dictates where he can and can't go, not the other way around.

Yessir. When i used to commute to work by car, often I'd get stuck in some stupid traffic jam a 10min walk (45min "drive") from my house... but you can't just pull over and leave your car wherever you like!

The real question is, How did we get ourselves into a situation where the average person drives 20 miles or more every day just to get to work?

No, the real question is, How do we get ourselves OUT of that situation?

The real question is, How did we get ourselves into a situation where the average person drives 20 miles or more every day just to get to work?

No, the real question is, How do we get ourselves OUT of that situation?

Good question... especially considering that a lot of employers would rather hire someone that lives 20 miles away and has a car than the person that lives 2 blocks away and doesn't have a car.

Seems kind of dumb, doesn't it?

Good question... especially considering that a lot of employers would rather hire someone that lives 20 miles away and has a car than the person that lives 2 blocks away and doesn't have a car.

Seems kind of dumb, doesn't it?

Then you have the employers that you start working for that are 5 miles from your house and then they decide to shut down that branch and "transfer" you 35 miles across the county to another branch:rolleyes: I have a friend that had exactly that happen to him. His wife still has a job in their local town, so if he wants to maintain his seniority and benefits he has to accept the transfer. If he wants to try and move closer to the new location they will both end up driving...damned if you do and damned if you don't!

Aaron:)

You're thinking like a car.Cars think? :eek:

I would'a ridden right through that!

Man, I feel bad about using so much fuel living in the burbs where I use public trans, like once a month if that. I'm considering popping for a road bike.

i wouldve rode that too.

just move into the city. i havent owned a car for 4 years and never even miss it. the extra money is nice.

Good question... especially considering that a lot of employers would rather hire someone that lives 20 miles away and has a car than the person that lives 2 blocks away and doesn't have a car.

Seems kind of dumb, doesn't it?


Yeah really. I find it totally wrong and discriminatory that prospective employers even ask about your transportation habits.

Yeah really. I find it totally wrong and discriminatory that prospective employers even ask about your transportation habits.

Do prospective employers actually ask? I can't remember an employer ever asking me if I had a car or not. I think a "don't ask don't tell" policy is entirely appropriate here. If you make it to work on time, why should anyone care?

There are a number of positions where employers will state that a reliable car is a requirement. These are generally positions which will involve travel on a regular basis. I've seen this requirement for news reporters, sales people and technical support providers to name a few.In an ideal world, the employer would provide company vehicles in these cases, but it's much simpler for the employer to reimburse the worker for the use of his or her own car.

You're thinking like a car. Bikes don't need roads or tunnels. You go over or around. It's another example of how the bike frees the mind.

I love it! Think outside the cage!

One cage is the motorhead concept that travel must occur on roads. Think like a bike, and you can ride almost anywhere...roads, trails, paths, alleys, cross-country. But be careful if you ride across an old lady's lawn!

There are a number of positions where employers will state that a reliable car is a requirement. These are generally positions which will involve travel on a regular basis. I've seen this requirement for news reporters, sales people and technical support providers to name a few.In an ideal world, the employer would provide company vehicles in these cases, but it's much simpler for the employer to reimburse the worker for the use of his or her own car.

My wife applied for a position as a waitress at a restaurant that is about 1/4 mile from our house. On the application they ask if you have reliable transportation. The next line is 'Year/Make/Model'...

My wife applied for a position as a waitress at a restaurant that is about 1/4 mile from our house. On the application they ask if you have reliable transportation. The next line is 'Year/Make/Model'...

2006/Nike/Air Run Dual-D

My wife applied for a position as a waitress at a restaurant that is about 1/4 mile from our house. On the application they ask if you have reliable transportation. The next line is 'Year/Make/Model'...

That's a bad case of overkill, but sadly enough, I understand the reasoning behind it.

I once worked with a woman who had notoriously unreliable transportation. It seemed her car was broken down more days than it actually ran. She lived in one community and worked in another. This meant others who lived in her town were often cornered into giving her a ride, even if that inconvenienced them. I later asked why she was not posted at a branch closer to her home, where she could have walked if her car was in the shop. Nobody could give me a good answer.

On the ABC evening news there was a short video clip of a motorist saying he had traveled three miles in five and a half hours, and he was still sitting in his car on the road.



...Wouldn't you need to pee?

...Wouldn't you need to pee?

I would...but I guess you could recycle that water bottle you have...;):D

Aaron:)

That's when a folding bike becomes handy keeping it in your trunk. Just imagine the amount of pollutants released to the environment with all those vehicles stuck for that long in traffic and missing most of your day's schedule.

That's when a folding bike becomes handy keeping it in your trunk. Just imagine the amount of pollutants released to the environment with all those vehicles stuck for that long in traffic and missing most of your day's schedule.

Nothing new in any major city that I am aware of...I have seen 2+ hour backups on the beltlines around Raleigh, NC Washington, DC, Richmond, VA etc. The ones I really love (dripping sarcasm here) are the ones where they shut down an interstate in the middle of nowhere for hours and hours on end and you have just passed the last available exit. This happened to me on I-65 near Greenville, AL. It is 30+ miles between exits, a FedEx truck wrecked about in the middle between the exits, I was merrily driving my way home (750+mile trip) when I come upon stopped traffic. We spent the next 9.5 hours sitting there until the reopened the high way. I was about 5 miles past the exit and they would not allow you to turn around, back up the shoulder etc. They did finally shut down the interstate and put in a detour at the last exit after the road had been closed for a couple of hours but that didn't do us that were already stopped much good.

Aaron:)