On Monday, June 25, 2001, at 12:10 , Frank Pomeroy wrote:
> [Winona Online Democracy]
>
> Mr. Dittman[n] I can certainly understand your anger if there were 135
> attempts
> on your life which were made by people not tending to responsible
> driving
> habits.
I do not let terrible driving habits disrupt my day. I do not suffer
from a terminal case of road rage like many motorists of this
municipality. I use terrible driving as a basis jokes. It really is a
great inspiration.
> I do, however, beg to differ with you. I know for a fact that the
> Winona Police Officers are making arrests for all of the violations
> that you
> list, in particulra stop sign, semaphore and speed violations.
Arrests? I hope you mean citations.
(It is good to see you are protecting people from themselves's.)
That leaves out turn signals. I really do not have time to look through
vehicle driving codes but somewhere in there, there is a part about
indication of intent to turn.
> It is impossible to provide an Officer everytime someone takes your
> rights to ride
> or walk safely away from you.
I have said at least twice that I fully acknowledge that occurrence.
Once every ten to twenty-five miles as I had noted. Furthermore, I will
not waste an officer's time, much-less my own [which I value], objecting
to moronic driving habits knowing that as the accuser I would have a
burden of proof to satisfy. What evidence would exist, I said 'they did
this, this and that,' they would counter and say, 'nope'. Case
dismissed, no evidence.
> We patrol nearly 20 square miles, with the inclusion of Winona
> Township into the city limits. We do, however, concentrate on many of
> the areas in town that have serious problems. If you were to provide me
> with the locations of some of your mishaps perhaps we can help.
>
> Chief Pomeroy
With reluctance I will point out trouble areas, as people will most
certainly put up their guard in these zones and drop it elsewhere.
Any intersection that involves a 'T', 'Y', or 'X' formation that
involves vehicles stopping and a frequent amount turning left. The
greatest amount of offences often occur by people turning left.
Along the restaurant strip on West Service drive there are two places
where people driving off the highway seem to believe that they have the
right away to oncoming traffic. (Orin Street and King Street) These
intersections have been cited by MNDOT as intersections to close,
At a different moment, Phil Carlson pursued a different line of thoughts,
>
>
>
>
> Let me take John Stafford's calculations on bikes and policing a step
> further. If Mr. Dittmann is riding his bike every day for nine months
> of the year, 270 days, then in two years there are 540 bike-riding
> days. If 135 "attempts" were made on his life, that means one in four
> trips were life-threatening. If I was in a situation where I felt my
> life was threatened 25% of the time I was out on the streets I would
> take drastic action and not wait for anyone to do it for me, and I
> wouldn't wait two years. I would:
Where do you get this idea that I have waited two years before saying
something? I started saying something about this plague long before I
even began counting acts of idiocy.
> 1) Call 911 (perhaps there is a lengthy log of Mr. Dittmann's calls
> over the last two years)
::shakes head::
> 2) Change my route to and from (there are often many ways to get from
> here to there in Winona)
Sure, if you want to stop every other block, then there are different
routes to take, but like motorists I detest having to stop.
Note: Why are there ten stop signs in a row on Wabasha Street, twice! A
call for moderation with the stop signs.
Changing routes solves none of the problems. People still drive the same
way. The motorists still regard the non-internal-combustion based
targets as lunch or a specific point value.
> 3) Get license numbers (perhaps there is an equally large number of
> inquiries with license numbers from Mr. Dittmann)
Sure, stop and be late for what I was doing or distract myself trying to
remember a meaningless set of digits that will amount to nothing more
than a, 'Sorry, there is nothing we can do.'
I really do not have time for this kind of drain on my time.
> 4) Seriously re-examine my bike-riding skills.
I guess I should thank a certain newspaper for its anti-cyclist
rhetoric. Last year accounted for nearly three times as many attempts as
this year though I have done much more mileage this year than last.
This reflects another case of blame the victim. When will society move
beyond this tactic that fails to address anything.
'...but she was wearing the cloths, it is not my fault I raped her....
look at her!.' - How often have we heard that defence?
Let me guess, If I am going forward before someone decides to begin
turning left I should yield to them because they were there? It does not
work that way for Car versus car so why is this different?
> 5) Change my story to something more believable.
I will observe that these calculations are flawed because of an error on
my part. Instead of 'two' years it should state 'three' years. The
conclusions based from the calculations still maintain their original
value.
Your suggestions are not those of someone in my situation, they are
simply mocking me. I am not the only cyclist that objects to this
macho-pro-internal-combustion mentality that has proliferated. Very few
people that I know consider Winona bicycle friendly.
reference a post by Dan Dittmann, for more on this topic (Re: [Winona]
Vehicle Policing)
Moral of the story:
Never presume things about persons you may not know, as it has an
extreme tendency to come back to bite your butt.
David Dittmann
>> ----------
>> From: David[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>> Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 11:39 AM
>> To: Online Dem
>> Subject: Re: [Winona] Vehicle noise
>>
>> [Winona Online Democracy]
>>
>>
>> On Monday, June 25, 2001, at 09:08 , Frank Pomeroy wrote:
>>
>>> We have typically 3-4 Officers on the street at any one time and we
>>> can't be everywhere or accomplish everything that each of you may
>>> want.
>>
>> In the past two years Winona drivers have made at least 135 attempts to
>> kill me. (This does not include the ones where I determined it to be my
>> fault. (About 15 or so)) Not in that number, since it is only a number
>> reflecting when my life has been in danger, are the occurrences of
>> general idiocy. If I am seeing such a prevalence of such moronic acts
>> then maybe there is a problem, or I must have the strangest luck.
>>
>> Did I accidentally mean to imply the police department membership were
>> deities, if so I retract that, though I fail to see where I said
>> that? I
>> had always figured everyone expected things to not be seen. The
>> prevalence of acts that I see are too many to not be seen at least
>> once.
>>
>>> When I read the paper I see a whole page attributed to arrests that
>>> are
>>> made by Officers on Patrol. We do our best to provide services to the
>>> citizens to keep their community safe, and I think we are doing a heck
>>> of a job-Chief.
>>>
>>> Frank Pomeroy
>>
>> Well, guess what! I do not feel safe on Winona roads. I could care-less
>> if the cars next to me are travelling 15 miles over the speed limit. As
>> long as there are not swerving at me.
>>
>> As previously mentioned, there are majeure problems with turn signal
>> violations in Winona. I see them daily. Why do I not see any violations
>> listed for it?
>>
>> My gripe is apparently there are people that are not seeing enough
>> patrol cars. IMHO, if a few people saw patrols a little more often I
>> would not be regarded as a trash receptacle. (Its a fun experience,
>> bring along some friends, I guarantee they too will love being treated
>> as a trash receptacle.) Furthermore, if a few people were actually
>> ticketed for stupid things it may send a message that is different from
>> the current message that I am seeing.
>>
>> David Dittmann
>>
>>>> ----------
>>>> From: David[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>>>> Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2001 9:55 PM
>>>> To: Online Dem
>>>> Subject: Re: [Winona] Vehicle noise
>>>>
>>>> [Winona Online Democracy]
>>>>
>>>> Another violation that seems to be ignored is the systematic
>>>> harassment
>>>> of anyone with two wheels. Included in that:
>>>>
>>>> * throwing of objects from the window
>>>> * spitting
>>>> * throwing beverages out a window
>>>> *general obscene conduct
>>>> * conveniently ignoring a stop sign then yelling at the cyclist
>>>> for following the right of way (at a two way stop)
>>>> * sitting at a four way stop and waiting for the cyclist to move
>>>> and then stepping on the gas so they can almost hit them. Then yell
>>>> at
>>>> the cyclist for being irrational even though they were the one with
>>>> their head somewhere else.
>>>> * general idiocy
>>>>
>>>> I have not been affected by the unruly driving skills of the masses
>>>> lately but for a while an attempt on my life was being made nearly
>>>> on
>>>> a daily basis.
>>>>
>>>> I see a police patrol ever 10 to 25 miles that I bicycle. That comes
>>>> up
>>>> to once every other day. Yet none of what I listed ever show up in
>>>> the
>>>> paper. Most of what I outlined are a bit minor but it is a real
>>>> detraction on the day.
>>>>
>>>> Again, I ask why?
>>>>
>>>> David Dittmann
>>>>
>>>> On Saturday, June 23, 2001, at 09:34 , Dan Dittmann wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> [Winona Online Democracy]
>>>>>
>>>>> One traffic problem which really irkes me are turn signal
>>>>> violations.
>>>>> How much effort does it really take to use your turn signal? Like
>>>>> noise
>>>>> violations, you do not find very many, if any, convictions in the
>>>>> paper. Why is that?
>>>>> --------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> Dan: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
