28 thoughts on “February 21, 2020: The Blessed Sound of Broadcasters’ Voices*”
My wife, daughter, and I came a step or two away from being run over this morning. We cross a semi-busy street in front of a bus stop. The intersection is not controlled. A city bus pulled up and stopped to let us cross, turning on its flashers. A car behind it sped around into the oncoming lane to pass the bus. Had we not proceeded cautiously, we would've been run over in the crosswalk by an accelerating car.
The car had the name of a business on it. I already looked up the business. There's a picture of the company's staff in front of their cars; one matches the car that almost hit us. My wife & I have a composite description of the driver that matches one of the employee headshots on the website.
I'm pondering the best thing to do in this situation. I'd appreciate suggestions.
First thing that comes to mind is to contact the metro authority to see if they have dash cams, but I HIGHLY doubt that footage is released without a court order.
At the very least, voice your displeasure with the business owner. If he wants to pursue the particular driver, he'll ask you for details. Mention social media -- nothing like a bad Yelp review etc. to get some attention.
Size of the business?
Looks like nine people, including the owner. If I had to guess based on positions, this person is the #2 or #3.
Given the size of the business, I'd be inclined to take an approach like that of Zee's below. Smaller business = more likely to get attention/care.
The upside of such an approach is preventing future tragedy. Ideally this driver already realizes their mistake and feels awful and has learned from it. But it is just as possible that they aren't even aware such an incident happened. So making sure they are aware seems like a good approach.
The other thing I'd consider is contacting the relevant municipal/traffic authorities about making the intersection controlled.
I suspect the driver is well aware of the mistake, given our reactions at the time.
A conversation with city engineering and the alder might be a good step. (I’ve mentioned this same crossing in the past.) The city has started putting HAWK beacons in some locations. I don’t know if this would qualify or not, but it’s worth asking.
One thing I did do already is call metro transit to pass along thanks to the driver of the bus, who honked to help warn us. The person I spoke to said the bus has a dash cam, which they will review. If the incident makes it into their training for other drivers, that’s fine by me. I’ve been pretty impressed with the drivers they hire. I’ve been riding for 13 years, and the number of positive experiences & observations vastly outnumber the few frustrating interactions.
In that case, I think I may be inclined to agree with everyone else here. If you had said a realty company or financial type of company, I'd have suggested wrecking the mf'er.
I figure in these situations we have very few real options for exerting any sort of leverage. Maybe approach from the perspective of concerned citizen in the hopes that leadership is also conscientious. "I was on xxx street this morning when one of your drivers swerved out around a city bus and nearly struck my family." "I would appreciate a return call" (if you would, in fact, like to talk to someone.)
Size of business may dictate who is worth speaking to.
This might make a difference in behavior. Most of your other options are retributive but may not actually improve the situation.
OMG!! This year's Heritage set has autographed cards of Sal Campisi and Tom Tischinski in it! I love the opportunity to get a certified signature card of past veterans, and 1971 was my first real year of collecting, so these really bring back memories.
And somehow I'm more excited by these than the other insert autographs of Killebrew, Blyleven, and Carew.
Campisi looks like a hit man, and not the good kind.
I was gonna say "skinny DPWY"
I used to have that hair, that svelte, and those brows. Now I just have those brows.
Yup.
Listening to the ballgame:D
and painting :/
I personally support Target enough financially that they should easily be able to replace the Harris Family ad - I'll be sorely disappointed if we have them for yet one more season
Rough game for the Gophers. One runner in the first and then nothing until the sixth.
Game called after 7 on account of nobody's paying attention anymore.
My wife, daughter, and I came a step or two away from being run over this morning. We cross a semi-busy street in front of a bus stop. The intersection is not controlled. A city bus pulled up and stopped to let us cross, turning on its flashers. A car behind it sped around into the oncoming lane to pass the bus. Had we not proceeded cautiously, we would've been run over in the crosswalk by an accelerating car.
The car had the name of a business on it. I already looked up the business. There's a picture of the company's staff in front of their cars; one matches the car that almost hit us. My wife & I have a composite description of the driver that matches one of the employee headshots on the website.
I'm pondering the best thing to do in this situation. I'd appreciate suggestions.
First thing that comes to mind is to contact the metro authority to see if they have dash cams, but I HIGHLY doubt that footage is released without a court order.
At the very least, voice your displeasure with the business owner. If he wants to pursue the particular driver, he'll ask you for details. Mention social media -- nothing like a bad Yelp review etc. to get some attention.
Size of the business?
Looks like nine people, including the owner. If I had to guess based on positions, this person is the #2 or #3.
Given the size of the business, I'd be inclined to take an approach like that of Zee's below. Smaller business = more likely to get attention/care.
The upside of such an approach is preventing future tragedy. Ideally this driver already realizes their mistake and feels awful and has learned from it. But it is just as possible that they aren't even aware such an incident happened. So making sure they are aware seems like a good approach.
The other thing I'd consider is contacting the relevant municipal/traffic authorities about making the intersection controlled.
I suspect the driver is well aware of the mistake, given our reactions at the time.
A conversation with city engineering and the alder might be a good step. (I’ve mentioned this same crossing in the past.) The city has started putting HAWK beacons in some locations. I don’t know if this would qualify or not, but it’s worth asking.
One thing I did do already is call metro transit to pass along thanks to the driver of the bus, who honked to help warn us. The person I spoke to said the bus has a dash cam, which they will review. If the incident makes it into their training for other drivers, that’s fine by me. I’ve been pretty impressed with the drivers they hire. I’ve been riding for 13 years, and the number of positive experiences & observations vastly outnumber the few frustrating interactions.
What sort of business are we dealing with here?
This is it.
In that case, I think I may be inclined to agree with everyone else here. If you had said a realty company or financial type of company, I'd have suggested wrecking the mf'er.
I figure in these situations we have very few real options for exerting any sort of leverage. Maybe approach from the perspective of concerned citizen in the hopes that leadership is also conscientious. "I was on xxx street this morning when one of your drivers swerved out around a city bus and nearly struck my family." "I would appreciate a return call" (if you would, in fact, like to talk to someone.)
Size of business may dictate who is worth speaking to.
This might make a difference in behavior. Most of your other options are retributive but may not actually improve the situation.
Twins mystery player of the day:
he wasn't in full pr0nstache mode yet in this photo
My dad is going to be at the Twins/Gophers game today. His first ever spring training game.
Go early and wander the practice fields! (although it's an afternoon game and the workouts are in the morning)
But be warned and keep your head on a swivel! Buck Showalter almost ran me over with his golf cart once 😀
The Phanatic is undergoing a makeover (and for less than ideal reasons).
Whaddya mean "less than ideal reasons"?
What about litigation is less than ideal?!?
OMG!! This year's Heritage set has autographed cards of Sal Campisi and Tom Tischinski in it! I love the opportunity to get a certified signature card of past veterans, and 1971 was my first real year of collecting, so these really bring back memories.
And somehow I'm more excited by these than the other insert autographs of Killebrew, Blyleven, and Carew.
Campisi looks like a hit man, and not the good kind.
I was gonna say "skinny DPWY"
I used to have that hair, that svelte, and those brows. Now I just have those brows.
Yup.
Listening to the ballgame:D
and painting :/
I personally support Target enough financially that they should easily be able to replace the Harris Family ad - I'll be sorely disappointed if we have them for yet one more season
Rough game for the Gophers. One runner in the first and then nothing until the sixth.
Game called after 7 on account of nobody's paying attention anymore.