Recently in Transportation Category

The shuttle is off from the very last night launch. It's cloudy out tonight, but that actually helped the viewing from my back yard. The exhaust flame looked as though it was half a mile long during the main SRB launch. It was just a big, fiery streak across the sky.

When the SRB finally dropped, the shuttle seemed to change to being a bright star that slowly made its way across the sky from the east to the north. The star would get dimmer, and then suddenly brighten up a bit. While the first stage went by shortly, it seemed to take several minutes until the star finally disappeared.

Damn, I'm glad I didn't go over to the coast to watch this thing. Damn traffic is a nightmare and it's hot enough for mosquitos out there. Some of those people started getting their spots at 10:00 am this morning.

That's a lot of attention for a space truck that's delivering a recycling system that allows astronauts to drink their own urine. It's the new Tang.

Have you ever seen this car driving around town? I swear I've seen it on I-4 for a while now and it always makes me wonder. Who the hell would do something like this?

I know, it's a crappy image, but what do you expect? I was driving about 60 mph down I-4 in Downtown Orlando, fumbling around for a Canon SD800 point & shoot camera, it's starting to rain, and I'm trying to avoid hitting other cars around me. Still, I wanted to get a picture of this car.

Seriously, who owns this car and why is it so festively decorated. I mean, Jesus (no pun), there's even stuff on the roof in case a helicopter flies over it.

There are letters on the back, on the side, on the roof, on the hood, the other side. It's one big Jesus-O-Rama car. Apparently, Jesus is real and driving a light-blue sedan around Orlando. Maybe it's the second coming of Christ. Maybe it's just someone who has a poor grasp on reality.

There are a lot of people in the area who have faith. My mom is one of them. She has a tiny little cross hanging from her rear-view mirror. I don't see what good it does her, since she barely drives a thousand miles in a year, but I guess it's good enough to get her to church and back.

This car's owner is just way, way over the top. It's not enough for him (or her) to have a quiet faith like so many others do. This person has to cram it down your throat whether you believe or not. In fact, you're not allowed to disbelieve in the presence of this car. It's the Jesus car. You can tell by the rainbow letters proclaiming that JESUS IS REAL and JESUS LOVES YOU! Great. That's nice. Now stop driving 15 miles per hour slower than the rest of traffic on I-4.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in my house and heard some engines racing outside. It happens, 46-A isn't that far away and sometimes you hear a car or motorcycle decide to rev it up on a straight-away. However, this engine sound didn't go away. I sounded like someone was racing around my neighborhood. Once I ventured outside, I found the truth surprised me.

There, in the middle of the road at dusk, was my next-door neighbor racing his small child in go-karts on the street. For the life of me, I was dumb-founded by the incredible stupidity of it. No lights. No helmet or protective clothing. Low to the ground. Racing in poor light. There was a grown man putting his kid at risk just for a little "fun." All it would've taken was for someone to pull out of a driveway or turn a corner. Splat. They may have never even seen the go-kart or had any reason to expect one to be scooting around the road. Fortunately, they called it a night before anything went wrong.

Another young boy wasn't so luck this weekend. William Pfifer crashed an ATV into a house and was in critical condition yesterday. He wasn't riding in the street, nor was he wearing a helmet.

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that in 2001 97 percent of children under the age of 16 who were hurt by ATVs were on machines larger than recommended.

The top ten contributing factors in an ATV accident are:

1. Inexperience.
2. No helmet.
3. Children riding full-sized ATVs.
4. Carrying passengers.
5. No supervision.
6. Riding on public roads.
7. Use of alcohol.
8. High rate of speed.
9. Doing stunts/showing off.
10. Unseen obstacles.

I'm not necessarily opposed to kids learning how to operate a motor vehicle at a young age, but you just don't turn them loose and hope for the best. It wouldn't hurt to set a good example. How can you expect your child to exercise good judgment if you're racing a go-kart in the street at dusk right there with him? If you want to share some go-kart racing with your child, visit one of the local attractions like Fun World on Hwy 17-92 (part of Flea World).

Effective July 1, 208, anyone under age 16 operating an off-highway vehicle must have in his or her possession a certificate evidencing the satisfactory completion of an approved off-highway vehicle safety course in this state or another jurisdiction. If you don't know where to find training, ask your dealer. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation sponsors Dirt Bike schools for children as young as six years old. While you're registering your child, sign yourself up for a course, too.

Honda has a safety slogan with a bit of truth in it:

I've been stuck at home for the past few days. Back pain. It's not like there's an exciting story behind it. I injured my back in April 2005 while weightlifting because I didn't properly adjust the leg press machine. Now my back just goes out of whack now and then. The most recent example happened on Sunday while leaning over a laundry basket.

Fortunately, my employer allows me to work from home in a situation like this one. I've been stuck inside for a couple of days. Today, I felt marginally better. I also ran out of food, so I decided to try a trip to the grocery store. My back was a bit stiff getting in and out of the car, but otherwise not a problem.

The problem is driving around the idiots who occupy the space around my neighborhood during a work day. I'm normally at my office 25 miles away, so I don't get to experience this particular breed of American Death Squad - mothers driving minivans while talking on a cell phone.

Who decided it was a good idea to give a 3000 pound projectile to a distracted driver? Does this kind of thing happen every work day? I truly felt lucky to get home unscathed.

This is evil. It must be the work of Satan. In fact, I'm sure of it. A minivan is what Satan would drive.

There's nothing cliche about it. Evil doesn't want to advertise itself in a screaming sports car, oversized SUV, or even a motorcycle. No, true evil is among us in seemingly innocent ways. That's why Satan chooses to pretend to be a minivan driving soccer mom with a child (spawn of Satan) strapped in the rear seat.

In the 1.5 mile trip from Publix back to my home, I was nearly smacked by no less than four minivans. Each one contained a Mom driving while talking on a cell phone turned around attending to her Spawn of Satan in the back seat. Each one ignored common safety protocols, like stop signs, traffic lanes, and the need to avoid other vehicles nearby.

I hope I'm well enough to get back to the office tomorrow. It's safer.

If you're going to live in Central Florida, the thunderstorm capital of America, you need to know how to drive in the rain. We had a pretty good soaker today at the usual time, which is whenever I'm driving home from work.

The common wisdom is that you should slow down when it starts raining. The roads are slick, so you need more time to brake and react. Unfortunately, some people take this wisdom to the extreme, thereby committing stupidity. If you're driving too slow for traffic, then traffic bunches up behind you. Instead of increasing reaction time, you've actually decreased the reaction time of the person behind you.

I drove home behind a few of these extremists tonight, and it seems like the slowest ones were in the left lane. Congratulations! That really makes my day. Not only are you driving 35 mph in a 65 mph speed limit zone, but you're also keeping sane folks from passing you.

Driving too fast in a heavy downpour causes different problems. For example, the white pickup I saw speeding along the 408 today managed to cause the rest of us to slow down. That's because he lost traction on a gentle curve. He had a nice hydroplane going as his pickup truck managed to plow into a tall streetlight post and knock it over. At least he didn't knock the pole over onto other traffic, and he didn't seem injured from his unique brand of stupidity. Some poor county worker now has to come out and fix the damage. I doubt the traffic ticket he receives will cover the cost of replacing that streetlight, so expect to take a hit on your tax dollars if you live in Orange county.

Rain. It's just another opportunity to demonstrate the ill effects of extremism.

Labor Day weekend means it's time for cops to make threats to the driving public. After last year's record death toll - 44 people died in crashes across Florida - the cops are making their biggest threat yet. They promise to jail anyone who breaks the law.

Let's think about that. If you get caught driving drunk, you go to jail. Hmmm.

Do we need a holiday weekend for this concept to be policy? Wouldn't you expect cops to always jail a drunk driver? Does this mean that they normally just give the drunk a ticket and send him (or her) back on down the road? I certainly hope that isn't the case.

No, this announcement is yet another way that local and state law enforcement uses to treat citizens like children. As evidence, the Orlando Sentinel gave this quote:

"Don't drink and drive, because we will fill up 33rd Street if you do," said Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary, referring to the county jail.

This isn't just a local or state effort, though. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sponsored a nationwide effort, in conjunction with MADD, and an $11 Million advertising campaign. You know the type - commercials with real cops who are deadly awful at delivering their lines.

The only thing that's really missing is a catchy name or slogan for this campaign. How about this one from MADD's site?

DRUNK DRIVING
Over the limit. Under Arrest.

Well, someone thought it was catchy. I think they could do better. The first problem is that there's no rhyme, as with Click it or Ticket. You need those rhymes for the message to sink into the juvenile mind of most drivers. At least, that seems to be the message from our law enforcement community.

How about these slogans?

• Have a drink and we'll send you to the clink.


• Bottoms Up! (in more ways than one)


• Abuse your liver and we send you up the river.


• Get hammered. Get slammered./

I don't mean to belittle the severity of drunk driving. It makes sense that our law enforcement community would raise attention to the problem on holidays when so many people find ways to kill themselves (and others) on the roads. I just wish they could do it without treating us as subjects of a police state. Sometimes, I think their authority goes too much to their heads.

I just got off the phone with SunPass customer service. They confirmed that my account hadn't replenished, but it will the next time I drive through a toll booth. That's nice.

I asked about the -$2.57 account balance showing on the web page. Can you refund that?

"I'm sorry, we're not setup to do that."

You were setup fine to take my money at the toll booth. Can you tell that I went through a toll booth instead of the express toll?

"Yes."

Well?

"I'm sorry, but we can't give a refund without a receipt.

How do I show you the receipt over the phone?

"I'm sorry, we're not setup to do that."

So that's just money lost for me?

"Yes. Can I do help you with anything else?"

Getting around town these days means either fighting traffic on I-4 or spending toll money on the Expressway Authority toll roads. With my commute, I get to deal with both roads. In the morning, I take I-4 down to my gym. After a workout, I continue down I-4 to the 408 towards work. After work, it's 408 to 417 to get back home. It's about a 50 mile round trip.

One of the nice things about the Expressway roads is not having to deal with the deadlocked traffic. Of course, the tolls aren't cheap. My commute cost me a little over $100 in tolls last month. It's getting to be a little more annoying lately, though. My transponder from SunPass isn't getting reloaded lately. When I checked their website, I found this little note:

We are currently experiencing delays in the downloading of toll and replenishment type transactions. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Your account will be updated to reflect any recent transactions as quickly as possible.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Hey, at least they apologize for any inconvenience. So what's inconvenient? The fact that I'm going through the pay booths instead of the transponder lanes. Even though I'm paying in cash (and not getting the discounts associated with the transponder accounts), my transponder is giving me warnings that it has an insufficient balance. Honestly, I didn't think anything about that. At least, not until I checked my account.

My account is -$2.57 now. How is that possible, when all the tolls are in $.25 increments? It seems that I lost $.43 on my transponder when I paid at a $.50 toll. It wasn't enough to pay the toll, but they sucked the money out of my account. Since I paid at the booth, that one cost me $.93. Ok, it's not big money. It's just enough to be annoying.

So why is the SunPass system having a problem replenishing accounts? When will my account get replenished so things can start working normally? One of my tolls is $1.50 on the transponder, but costs $2.00 for cash customers. You'd think someone would be a phone number on the Expressway Authority account page, but it's not there. I may have to use the dreaded phone book.

As if this weren't enough, they want to raise the tolls. I understand that's because we have more roads to build and someone has to pay. Wait, I'm already paying. I don't need another road, unless they want to replace my commute on I-4.

I just picked up this little piece from the Road Wise column in today's Orlando Sentinel. It seems the commuter rail service coming to Orlando in the next three years will have built-in wifi and power outlet connections on all seats.

I wonder how many people will be on the train with port scanners trying to hack into someone's laptop?

For the last 20 years, I've heard stories about commuter rail coming to Orlando. One group wanted it, another one didn't. Everyone wanted the federal government to pay for it. Sometimes the money appeared forthcoming, and then people couldn't meet the deadlines to get the grant. One plan called for the rail to travel between lanes of Interstate 4.

Now, it looks like things will finally happen. The money comes from a mix of federal, state, and local governments...plus a little kick in from private investment. It seems the key to this plan is existing track owned by CSX Transportation. That's the company owning the 61 miles of existing track on which the commuter rail plans to run. The path for the initial track runs from DeBarry, FL to downtown Orlando, potentially operating by 2009. Extensions to Osceola county may take a few more years to happen.