So, while trolling the Pittsburgh Bloggers site, I came across an article about Pennsylvania potholes. “Potholes!” I exclaimed out loud (hey, I hit relative ranting writer’s block and was very excited!). I read the blog posting, which was interestingly enough from “Edgar Speaks Out” or the blog for Edgar of Edgar Snyder’s law firm. The article cursorily explained how to recover damages from Pennsylvania potholes. But, the part that really GOT me and made me want to really RANT is that you can not claim property damages on PA (PennDOT) roads (although you can sometimes recover some injury damages).

So, you get into an accident that was not your fault and PennDOT refuses to take any liability. Did I mention that Pennsylvania has consistently been named the state with the worst roads in the United States (I almost started typing Universe and you know…I think the roads in Pittsburgh ARE actually comparable to the crevices on Mars, so this may be an entirely accurate comparison). We actually get hit with a double whammy here in PA because not only does the terrible wintry weather we’ve all been experiencing so frequently erode potholes, but our road system is seriously screwy and the potholes barely get fixed.

I guess we all have to learn to be super careful when approaching potholes - being that the responsibility for an accident caused by one may fall squarely on your shoulders. Edgar Snyder says:

“You can’t recover property damages on PA state roads, but you may be able to receive compensation from PennDOT for your injuries. For roads in local municipalities, you may be able to collect both property damages and compensation for personal injuries from local governments.”

Check out another helpful feature of good ol’ Edgar Snyder’s Web site: A Q&A section where you can find all the answers to hazardous road questions you may have. And, Pittsburghers will surely agree with me that we unfortunately have many - hazardous roads AND questions (especially for you PennDOT employees….boy, have we got questions for you).

So, in what seems to have become a theme on this Web site, I must ONCE again rant about Pittsburgh’s bad drivers. The first (and a half) snowstorm came this past week in the Burgh and I managed to encounter (once again) the worst of the worst of Pittsburgh drivers.

Bad weather Pittsburgh drivers, I beg you:

1.  When you come to the end of a side street in bad weather, please do not pull out INTO the street so that other cars have to swerve around you. It’s best to avoid swerving in bad weather - simple, but obviously misunderstood around here.
2. Along those lines, when you are trying to turn left in an intersection and there are cars going straight coming DOWN A HILL (think Potomac Ave and Banksville here people), please do not try to creep left in front of those cars driving down the hill. They are sliding already and SHOULD NOT HAVE TO slam on their brakes to avoid your dumb self or swerve additionally.  Speaking of, lady in the BMW SUV doing this the other day at the aforementioned intersection should read this and learn a lesson (if our beeping didn’t teach you one already).
3. You don’t have to drive under 5 miles an hour on the heavily traveled roads that aren’t slippery. This only worsens traffic.
4. Lastly, if you hear someone beeping at you from behind, get the heck out of the way. (This is the most important for accident avoidance).

Pittsburghers - if you follow this advice, the incidence of bad weather accidents in this city will decrease. And, so will my blood pressure.

Hit and Runs Abound in Pittsburgh

That’s it. I’ve had it. Some jerk Pittsburgher hit the mirror of my brand-new (to me) Honda Pilot last night, scratching it and cracking a large triangle piece out of the mirror. And, of course, they drove right away. Real nice … Jerk.

When I lived in Oakland, my Subaru’s mirror was hit NO LESS THAN 5 times, 2 of which I had to pay (at inspection) hundreds of dollars to have the entire mirror replaced (not just the glass). And, surprise surprise, it’s not freaking cheap.

Or, how about that one Halloween night in Oakland when I came out in the morning to find that my Subaru along with EVERY other car for 2 blocks distance had been KICKED. I was lucky enough to get the worst of it - and my poor Subaru still has 3 HUGE dents on each passenger side door or panel. Lovely. How courteous. The great part about that story is that my drunken neighbors were up, saw it happen to one of their cars, tackled the idiot, and then LET HIM GO after getting his name and number - a FAKE! Idiots.

What makes people so completely awful and rude? How do you justify doing something like that? Isn’t it the freaking holiday season? Aren’t people supposed to be NICE? What’s happening here?! There is NO courtesy left in this world. To prove my point… Full Story »

GET OUT OF THE INTERSECTION PITTSBURGH!

I truly don’t understand what is so hard to understand about this rule of the road:

“Do not go into the intersection if there is a possibility you will remain stuck there when the light turns red, thus gridlocking the intersection and prohibiting traffic flow.” [my words, but a law nonetheless]

It’s really not that complicated, people. Let’s take this morning for example. Driving into work, we were parked at the intersection of Potomac and Banksville (on Potomac, facing down the hill).

We were lucky enough to watch the idiot drivers that gridlock this intersection every morning block the intersection (again) by trying to get through the Banksville light when there is no room to do so. As we attempted to maneuver around the gridlockers (you know who you are - damn fools), the people who would be turning left decided that the gridlockers gave THEM the opportunity to cut off those of us coming down the hill (who had the right of way). So, that further gridlocked the intersection and RAISED my blood pressure!

Where did you people learn to drive? Full Story »

GET YOUR MIND ON THE ROAD PITTSBURGH!

By Jamie Sterling
If you’ve read the Meet the Pittsburgh Ranters & Ravers page, you know that I grew up on the other end of Pennsylvania and moved here to attend the University of Pittsburgh. Somehow that 5 hour drive spans a gaping bridge between those who have been taught how to drive and understand the rules of the road and the Pittsburgh driving universe, a new world of driving in its own. Not only are the people terrible; the roads are the worst in the nation (literally, Pennsylvania has the worst roads in the nation) and we have the most bridges in the nation (second in the world - see Fun Fact), so the cards are really stacked up against us Pittsburghers…

Crazy Pittsburgh Roads

I’ve established over and over just how much I love the city of Pittsburgh, but there is no doubt in my mind that the extremity and severity of my #1 RANT: Pittsburgh drivers, is anything but underestimated. In fact, I have a good feeling that this topic may become a recurring one on this Web site. Full Story »

Pittsburgh has the most bridges in the nation; second-most in the world after Venice. That’s a lot of bridges.

GET OFF THE ROAD

by Craig Palilla, The Pissed off Pittsburgher

A picture of a Pittsburgh Pedestrian (IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD)

The sidewalk is not a difficult concept to understand. I think my brother’s dog has it figured out, and she eats her own pooh.

For those of you always walking in the middle of the road; I’ve been yelling in my car at you for years. Be it the windows are up, or be it you can’t read lips, or be it walking and hearing me shout takes too much coordination for your feeble mind to comprehend; either way, you are not getting the point. So here it is, I’m spelling it out for you.

This is a brief summary of my Pittsburgh driving rants:
You: stumbling out onto the road in front of Jack’s on the Southside because you’re to slobbering drunk to maintain a straight line in the12 feet width of sidewalk, Get Off The Road! Lightweight! Switch to Girls Light, you can’t handle the Iron.

You: drinking a 44 oz Slurpie on your way back from the GetGo through a side street, I don’t care if you live a block up the road cat-a-corner to the fine establishment, I’m driving here. Get Off The Road! Fatty.
Full Story »