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my tax dollars at work

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Today as I was cycling back from Shibuya I passed through a large intersection in Gotanda. It was one of those affairs where a six lane divided boulevard intersects with a divided highway sporting an elevated upper deck (extra pillars in the middle of the intersection!). The lights weren't with me and I had to cross the diagonal to get home, so I wound up crossing both roads using the cycle lane in the pedestrian crossing.

As I started off for the second leg of this crossing, a motorbike charged through the pedestrian crossing. He appeared in the inside lane some five metres in front of me and simply charged into the intersection despite the fact that the cross traffic had already started.

I cursed after him ineffectually as he flew through the arc of his stupidity. Then I was surprised and delighted to see a police motorcycle on the highway veer after the offender. The fellow had been tucked away in the inside lane next to the pillars, completely hidden as it turned out.

Cutting into a tight u-turn the cop had his lights and sirens going and I can just imagine visions of a high speed motorcycle pursuit dancing through his head. Ganbatte officer.