blah blah "war on cars" blah blah etc.

here is a list of menaces on toronto roads, in order of menacingness:

1. taxis. why? the thing that causes the most problems in traffic is unpredictability. taxis are the least predictable of all. that guy on the sidewalk - could be a fare? swerve toward curb without signalling. not a fare? swerve back into traffic without signalling. there's a fare on the other side of the street, u-turn without signalling. maybe they'll run up the fare by driving super slow, maybe they'll zip around like a crazed lunatic so they can get the next fare. they're going places they've never been before, maybe they're lost, maybe the fare is giving them weird directions that don't even make sense. they're talking to dispatch, they're trapped in a car for 12 hours so they're edgy, they want a coffee, they need to pee, they want to talk on their mobile. who knows what they're doing or where they're going? they barely know themselves.

2. truckers. they'd rather be on the highway. they have a tough time accelerating and braking, and they don't like braking because braking = gas = money. like taxi drivers, they're trapped in a car for 12 hours, so they have all of those distractions. worst of all, they have crap visibility. they take nine lanes to turn a corner, and can't see if someone is right next to them. some of them seem to think that might = right, if there's a collision they're not the ones who are gonna lose, so look out!

3. bicycle couriers. they're crazy unpredictable like taxi drivers, and have the same dispatch/time = money distractions. and they're chippy about people getting in their way, with that whole "i'm a counter-culture free spirit earth saver" attitude when really they're mostly just assholes. fortunately, they rarely leave downtown.

4. people waiting for the ttc. where is the bus/streetcar? maybe if you stand in the middle of the road you will see it? maybe if you stand in the middle of a busy intersection you can hedge your bets as to whether you will catch this bus or that bus? maybe if you see your streetcar three blocks away, you should stand in the road to wait for it? and glare at any vehicles who pass the closed doors of the not-yet-stopped streetcar? there's the bus, maybe if you run into traffic you can catch it! again, unpredictable.

there are more menaces, obvs. but those are the top 4.

eta: i almost forgot one of the worst menaces!

5. fitness people. i was gonna say joggers (whoops they call themselves "runners" now, same diff), but today i watched some douche on rollerblades in traffic squeeze between cars and then cut in front of a truck as it started up when the light turned green. seriously? some people barely consider bicycles to be roadworthy vehicles. rollerskates and sneakers are definitely not roadworthy vehicles. jogging on queen st. w. between the streetcars and parked cars, blocking cyclists in a bike lane, stop it all. even those on the sidewalk can be a menace - with their ipods and general lack of awareness, they look up at the last moment to see the light might be changing - and of course, they just can't stop for even a second - so they randomly change direction to try to dart across the street on a yellow light. feh.