🚀 go-pugleaf

I'm sorry to hear about your wife's accident and I hope she's feeling
better.  I don't commute that early but I'll keep my eyes peeled around
town (Ben Lomond, mostly).

-Dan Veditz

In Article<328D1A1C.55A3@cruzio.com>, <gstark@cruzio.com> write:

> BTW: My wife is OK and will not have lasting damage.
> 
> Thanks again,
> 
> Gary Starkweather

I am very glad for the above.  Thanks for saying that part.

I only travel lower Hwy 9, and can't help, but if the Mustang
shows up around Felton, I'll let you know.

Ciao...

lees@scruznet.com

After talking with some witnesses, the revised description is:

80's vintage red/burgandy Mustang convertible with whiteish or silver 
top and a faded "World Champions" bumper sticker in the top center of 
the rear window. The car has four headlights. He was flashing his high 
beams and there were definitly four lamps. One witness said there was 
somthing desinctive about the tail lights, but "wingy thingies" was 
the best description she could muster.

From all but the tail light data, this has to be an 83-84 Mustang.

Later,

Gary
----------

Gary Starkweather wrote:
> 
> Help!
> 
> I need to get the license plate number of an 80's vintage
> red Mustang convertible with whiteish or silver top and a
> faded "World Champions" bumper sticker in the top center of
> the rear window. The witness was stopped behind the car at the
> construction light, but had no reason to pay close attention at
> that time. It might be football or baseball or worded slightly
> differently.
> 
> The driver is a regular commuter on Hiway 9 at ~7:00 AM.
> 
> At 7:20AM Thursdat morning s/he drove my wife off the road just
> north of Camp Cheseborough (sp?) near Skyline. She was seriously
> injured and the car was totalled. He did not slow down.
> 
> I just want the license number to give to the CHP to solve a
> hit and run.
> 
> Please keep an eye out and mail me at gstark@cruzio.com or at
> gary@best.com or call me at 338-4017.
> 
> We have many witnesses and can clip the twit's feathers if
> we can just get a plate number.
> 
> Much thanks for any help.
> 
> BTW: My wife is OK and will not have lasting damage.
> 

_____________________________________________________________________
Gary Starkweather                                   gstark@cruzio.com  
Santa Cruz Mountains On-line Guide         http://www.hiway9.com/~slv
SGO Technologies Inc.			           http://www.sgo.com

Gary Starkweather (gstark@cruzio.com) wrote:
: Help!

I'm glad to hear your wife will be OK and I hope the
hit and run driver is caught!

Regards, Charla

Gary Starkweather (gstark@cruzio.com) wrote:
: After talking with some witnesses, the revised description is:

: 80's vintage red/burgandy Mustang convertible with whiteish or silver 
: top and a faded "World Champions" bumper sticker in the top center of 
: the rear window. The car has four headlights. He was flashing his high 
: beams and there were definitly four lamps. One witness said there was 
: somthing desinctive about the tail lights, but "wingy thingies" was 
: the best description she could muster.

: From all but the tail light data, this has to be an 83-84 Mustang.

: Later,

: Gary
: ----------

: Gary Starkweather wrote:
: > 
: > Help!
: > 
: > I need to get the license plate number of an 80's vintage
: > red Mustang convertible with whiteish or silver top and a
: > faded "World Champions" bumper sticker in the top center of
: > the rear window. The witness was stopped behind the car at the
: > construction light, but had no reason to pay close attention at
: > that time. It might be football or baseball or worded slightly
: > differently.
: > 
: > The driver is a regular commuter on Hiway 9 at ~7:00 AM.
: > 
: > At 7:20AM Thursdat morning s/he drove my wife off the road just
: > north of Camp Cheseborough (sp?) near Skyline. She was seriously
: > injured and the car was totalled. He did not slow down.
: > 
: > I just want the license number to give to the CHP to solve a
: > hit and run.
: > 
: > Please keep an eye out and mail me at gstark@cruzio.com or at
: > gary@best.com or call me at 338-4017.
: > 
: > We have many witnesses and can clip the twit's feathers if
: > we can just get a plate number.
: > 
: > Much thanks for any help.
: > 
: > BTW: My wife is OK and will not have lasting damage.
: > 

   
   Gary,
 
 
            i'm glad to hear that your wife is ok. If I see the car
you'll have it's plate number for sure.
 
 
 
                                                B.

While we are on this topic...

It seems that far too many SLV commuters who use Redwood Gulch
Stevens Canyon roads tend to ignore the stop sign at the bottom
of the hill.

I know its a real temptation for some people to run that sign,
but its just possible that a CHP may be watching one of these
mornings.

Just because the bicyclists ignore the stops doesn't make it
right!

-robert

> It seems that far too many SLV commuters who use Redwood Gulch
> Stevens Canyon roads tend to ignore the stop sign at the bottom
> of the hill.

I've long thought that that would be a wonderful location
for a cardboard cop -- just put it 50 or 100 feet up Stevens
Canyon, and replace it with a real cop one day a month, for
about 3 hours.  Don't tell which day.


On the other hand, there is so little cross-traffic there that I
would guess accidents due to the sign-runners are very few
and far between.  And it does make sense for the cops to concentrate
on reducing dangerous behavior, rather than enforcing the letter
of the law just for enforcement's sake.
-- 
    Doug Landauer        landauer@apple.com (work)
                         landauer@scruznet.com (not-work)

The same thing happened to me . A few years back in So. Cal. someone hit
me and ran away. I decided that the only way I was going to find the SOB
was to track him down myself. So I went to the parts stores in the area
and the body shops. I left my name and I told the guys that I was
offering a reward for finding him. It took about 2 days before I got a
tip. Sure enough.!!! People are willing to help when you remind them
that it could be them next time. Good Luck! 



Bryan Hinkle wrote:
> 
> Gary Starkweather (gstark@cruzio.com) wrote:
> : After talking with some witnesses, the revised description is:
> 
> : 80's vintage red/burgandy Mustang convertible with whiteish or silver
> : top and a faded "World Champions" bumper sticker in the top center of
> : the rear window. The car has four headlights. He was flashing his high
> : beams and there were definitly four lamps. One witness said there was
> : somthing desinctive about the tail lights, but "wingy thingies" was
> : the best description she could muster.
> 
> : From all but the tail light data, this has to be an 83-84 Mustang.
> 
> : Later,
> 
> : Gary
> : ----------
> 
> : Gary Starkweather wrote:
> : >
> : > Help!
> : >
> : > I need to get the license plate number of an 80's vintage
> : > red Mustang convertible with whiteish or silver top and a
> : > faded "World Champions" bumper sticker in the top center of
> : > the rear window. The witness was stopped behind the car at the
> : > construction light, but had no reason to pay close attention at
> : > that time. It might be football or baseball or worded slightly
> : > differently.
> : >
> : > The driver is a regular commuter on Hiway 9 at ~7:00 AM.
> : >
> : > At 7:20AM Thursdat morning s/he drove my wife off the road just
> : > north of Camp Cheseborough (sp?) near Skyline. She was seriously
> : > injured and the car was totalled. He did not slow down.
> : >
> : > I just want the license number to give to the CHP to solve a
> : > hit and run.
> : >
> : > Please keep an eye out and mail me at gstark@cruzio.com or at
> : > gary@best.com or call me at 338-4017.
> : >
> : > We have many witnesses and can clip the twit's feathers if
> : > we can just get a plate number.
> : >
> : > Much thanks for any help.
> : >
> : > BTW: My wife is OK and will not have lasting damage.
> : >
> 
> 
>    Gary,
> 
> 
>             i'm glad to hear that your wife is ok. If I see the car
> you'll have it's plate number for sure.
> 
> 
> 
>                                                 B.

Doug Landauer (landauer@apple.com) wrote:
: I've long thought that that would be a wonderful location
: for a cardboard cop -- just put it 50 or 100 feet up Stevens
: Canyon, and replace it with a real cop one day a month, for
: about 3 hours.  Don't tell which day.

Been there, done that.  Many years ago, I lived in east
San Jose near an intersection where running the stop sign
was epidemic.  We took parts of a motorcycle, a suitably
uniformed dummy, some junk that looked like a radar, a
windshield wiper motor to move the dummy around, and
planted it behind a nearby hedge in a neighbors driveway.
It took a week to built it and the kids thought it was
really a cool project.  However, it had no effect whatsoever.
Most drivers just continued to run the stop sign.  The few
that noticed the dummy would slow down a bit after they
ran through the stop sign.  Thinking that visibility was
an issue, we relocated the whole mess to a more visible
location.  Still no effect.  After about 2 weeks of moving
it around, we came to the conclusion that most drivers are
blind.

Three weeks after deployment, the San Jose constabulary
arrived.  Naturally, it was in my driveway at the time.
The officer was polite, tactful, and very informative
as he recited the proposed penalties for creating a hazzard
to traffic, impersonating an officer, taking the law into
my own hands, and doing his job for him.  I agreed to remove
the effigy and promised not to do it again.

However, I didn't say when I was going to remove it.  I
dragged it (no air in the tires) into the roadway and planted
it in plain sight of the stop sign between two cars.  There
was no way anyone could miss seeing it now.  Within seconds,
some driver rear-ended some other driver at the stop sign
expecting the first driver to run the stop sign as usual.
Oops.  In retrospect, I realized that the only moving violations
I've received occured immediately AFTER seeing the traffic
policeman.  While they were surveying the dents, I dragged
away the effigy and quickly reduced it to easily disposable
parts.

Just add the carboard motorcycle policeman to the ever growing
list of great ideas that don't work as expected.

-- 
# Jeff Liebermann  Liebermann Design  150 Felker St #D  Santa Cruz  CA  95060
# 408.336.2558 voice  wb6ssy@ki6eh.#cenca.ca.usa  wb6ssy.ampr.org 44.4.18.10
# 408.699.0483 digital_pager    73557,2074  cis [don't]
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us  http://www.cruzio.com/~jeffl

In article <575gba$a5c@comix.comix.santa-cruz.ca.us>,
Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote:
>Just add the carboard motorcycle policeman to the ever growing
>list of great ideas that don't work as expected.

So, in other words, in your effort to make things safer, you actually
caused an accident, while not preventing any.  And this in spite of
the fact that an officer told you that it was a hazard.

Brilliant.

- Ross
-- 
Working my way into America's killfiles

In Article<57ch59$amu@rhythmic.adobe.com>, <thompson@adobe.com> write:

> Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote:
> >Just add the carboard motorcycle policeman to the ever growing
> >list of great ideas that don't work as expected.
> 
> So, in other words, in your effort to make things safer, you actually
> caused an accident, while not preventing any.  And this in spite of
> the fact that an officer told you that it was a hazard.
> 
> Brilliant.
> 
> - Ross
> -- 
> Working my way into America's killfiles

Did you just get off the boat?  

jeffl's motto is:  "Learn by destroying".  He's had that motto,
and practiced it, for as long as I have known him (many years).
You may not want to loan him your laptop *:-)

lees@scruznet.com

In article <329b359f.45041932@news.pacbell.net>,
Porky <porky@hard.times.com> wrote:
>Don't see how you figure he caused the accident.

He caused the accident in the sense that his accident changed a
situation in which there would not normally have been an accident into
one where there was.  I agree that ultimately the rear-ender was at
fault, but I was irritated by the story of someone who thought they
knew how to enforce traffic laws and safety, and continued with the
plan even after being told that it was illegal and unwise..  The
assertion is arrogant, persuing the action under the circumstances was
reckless, and reporting the story proudly is dumb.

- Ross


-- 
Working my way into America's killfiles

Ross Thompson (thompson@adobe.com) wrote:
: In article <575gba$a5c@comix.comix.santa-cruz.ca.us>,
: Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote:
: >Just add the carboard motorcycle policeman to the ever growing
: >list of great ideas that don't work as expected.

: So, in other words, in your effort to make things safer, you actually
: caused an accident, while not preventing any.  And this in spite of
: the fact that an officer told you that it was a hazard.
: Brilliant.

I don't really expect any praise for making such a mistake.
I consider myself fairly lucky not to have been sued by
the parties involved.  I am trying to prevent someone else
from repeating it.  The fact the people tend to drive in a
semi-hypnotic daze, are oblivious to their surroundings,
tend to follow repeatable traffic patterns, run on auto pilot,
and fail to react properly when presented with a novel situation
is not taught in driving skool or inscribed in the vehicle code.
This had to be learned the hard way.  Of course, you knew that.
Didn't you?

[ ] Email to author  [ ] To mailing list  [x] Posted to newsgroup


-- 
# Jeff Liebermann  Liebermann Design  150 Felker St #D  Santa Cruz  CA  95060
# 408.336.2558 voice  wb6ssy@ki6eh.#cenca.ca.usa  wb6ssy.ampr.org 44.4.18.10
# 408.699.0483 digital_pager    73557,2074  cis [don't]
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us  http://www.cruzio.com/~jeffl

In article <329b359f.45041932@news.pacbell.net>,
   porky@hard.times.com (Porky) wrote:
>Don't see how you figure he caused the accident. The guy that wasn't
>planning on stopping caused the accident. Simply because someone saw
>what they thought was a cop and HE (she) decided to stop

At a stop sign, no less.
Is stopping at stop signs such unexpected behavior around here?
I hope not, because I do it all the time.

Ross Thompson (thompson@adobe.com) wrote:
: In article <329b359f.45041932@news.pacbell.net>,
: Porky <porky@hard.times.com> wrote:
: >Don't see how you figure he caused the accident.

: He caused the accident in the sense that his accident changed a
: situation in which there would not normally have been an accident into
: one where there was.

I'm not an attorney but, at best, I could be judged as contributory.

: I agree that ultimately the rear-ender was at
: fault, but I was irritated by the story of someone who thought they
: knew how to enforce traffic laws and safety, and continued with the
: plan even after being told that it was illegal and unwise..

Agreed.  I will not claim to make infallible decisions.
My theory was that if it didn't have an effect for *3 weeks*
another evening wasn't going to make much difference.

Let's take these one at a time:

: The assertion is arrogant

What assertion?  I said that a cardboard motorcycle cop
was a bad idea.  I stated the reasons why.  I gave an
example of how it won't work.  I suggested reasons for
why it won't work.  I suggested it not be deployed.
Please show me where I asserted anything without
substantiation.

: persuing the action under the circumstances was reckless

With 3 weeks of history non-functionality one would assume
that nothing unusual would happen.  Please show me where
the "circumstances" point to an obvious reckless action.

: and reporting the story proudly is dumb.

I'll confess to taking commonplace stories and packaging
them humorously.  I find that it gets better attention
without the necessity of boring the reader with footnotes,
references and quotations from the vehicle code.  I also
don't engage in one-line pontifications.  I'll respect your
evaluation of my story as dumb.  I do not expect universal
understanding or appreciation.

Now, my turn.  Doesn't it strike you as odd that an entire
neighborhood would waste a weekend building and decorating
a fake police motorcyle policeman and also involve the kids
in the project?  Such a project is neither easy nor trivial.
What would you suggest could precipitate such a project?
Hint:  The kid got out of the hospital in a month, and rode
a wheel chair for another 3 months.  He was lucky.  After
I moved away, I was told that some kid finally got killed
and that a signal was soon to replace the stop sign.

If you're ever tired of horror movies, just hang around the
entrance to SLV High School when skool gets out (approx 3:30pm).
The only thing that keeps the kids that cross Hwy 9 from
getting killed is their good reaction time and the short
distance they have to run for their lives.  There's no
crossing guard because the former principal claims that there's
a state rule (that nobody can find) preventing the hiring
and use of crossing across state highways.  I haven't been
following the issue but I understand it's still a hot item.

[ ] Email to author  [ ] To mailing list  [x] Posted to newsgroup
-- 
# Jeff Liebermann  Liebermann Design  150 Felker St #D  Santa Cruz  CA  95060
# 408.336.2558 voice  wb6ssy@ki6eh.#cenca.ca.usa  wb6ssy.ampr.org 44.4.18.10
# 408.699.0483 digital_pager    73557,2074  cis [don't]
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us  http://www.cruzio.com/~jeffl