I’m having a hard time coming up with a suitable opening paragraph for today, because my Inner Cynic is trying to take over. I keep coming up with lines like “Large numbers of humans are stupid and proved it today.” Or “The bottom of the bell curve came through again today.” Or ” Safety innovations have only increased the number of stupid people.” That last one wasn’t original with me, there’s a study out there somewhere on the Web that “proves” the introduction of passive passenger protection has lowered the IQ of the nation perceptibly. It has a plausible premise, in that active safety that requires thought and planning, like seat belts and shoulder harnesses, will weed out people that are too stupid to use them, but passive safety that only requires the passenger be in a car equipped with the devices allows stupid and bright people both to survive, especially when they are required by law to be installed on the vehicles. Any way, today’s Feed has put me in a bad mood and I hope the advice and commentary does not suffer for it.
Up first is a wreck in the UK, notable not because of the wreck but because the decedent was an experienced cyclist and continues a puzzling trend in London of killing female cyclists. Cyclist killed by lorry at Oval Tube named as Catriona Cockburn Seven cyclists have been killed by semis in London this year, and six of those were women. Given the statistical breakdown in London cyclists it should have been the other way around, if 7 cyclists were killed then 5 of them should have been male. And this is not just a blip in the results, last year had a similar ratio of female cyclists killed by “HGV”, even as far back as 2004 female cyclists were over-represented in fatalities. I have no answer for that as I was not the first to notice, and have no suggestions on how to fix it. All I can do is bring it to people’s attention, which I have just done. Now one of you readers have been given a challenge: “Why are female cyclists so drastically over-represented in fatal wrecks in London? What can be done to correct this?”
A cyclist was hit and killed with a motor vehicle in Blaine, MN. Bicyclist killed in Blaine and Bicyclist killed in Blaine I can’t figure out if the cyclist cut the car driver off or if the driver got impatient and hit the cyclist from behind while trying to pass. From the articles either conclusion is valid.
A teen-age cyclist weaving through traffic gets clobbered but will survive. Bicyclist injured in accident WI is in the same general area as MN right? Close enough. Anyway, what this kid did wrong was to not be predictable while riding, and not making himself visible. cutting in between trucks hides you from view much of the time, except maybe to the truck driver stuck in traffic while you dodge around him. Ride a straight a path as the road will allow and stay in your lane. It’s boring, but it will keep you alive. If you need exciting, go to a velodrome, or some tight technical singletrack mountain bike trail. Don’t get your adrenaline rush out on the roads.
Apparently this report on a Seattle wreck was outsourced to a UK media firm. Seattle bike rider struck and killed and with a little more information Bicyclist killed in collision in Seattle Well it seems at least the driver was thought to be at fault here, as police transported him for testing for DUI. But beyond that I can’t tell you how to avoid a similar wreck.
More on the AK rider killed this week. Police identify bicyclist killed in wreck and also Bicyclist killed in accident may have been using cell phone A person that claimed to be a witness to the wreck posted the cyclist was hopping up and down on the bike and just took off into the traffic. I don’t know if that’s true, but it is a really good way to get yourself killed. Comments from the second article say he may have been “Special Needs”.
More on the CA rider killed on a double century charity ride. Bear Valley cyclist killed in Malibu during long ride
Suspected DUI driver faces three felonies More information about the wreck and more about the guy that was killed. The guy that hit him and his son is facing 3 felony counts from the wreck.
Another SWCC wreck in SC. Bicyclist killed by car in Ladson Since there were only 2 people that saw the wreck and one of them is dead, it’s kinda hard to say what really happened in this wreck…
A cyclist is killed by a garbage truck driver in a right hook. Bicyclist Killed by Garbage Truck in Fresno [sarcasm]And of course we all know that a cyclist killed by a municipal vehicle while riding next to the roads is responsible for his own death.[/sarcasm] The truck seems to have cut the corner and then the cyclist and his bike were dragged into the intersection before the truck could stop. I don’t know how to avoid something like this when you are not even on the road surface to begin with.
The major peril of sidewalk riding. Cyclist injured in collision Even when you are riding on the sidewalk away from cars, you still have to cross the street. And when you do you are coming from a place where car drivers don’t look.
A request that drivers stop assaulting and verbally harassing cyclists. Drivers: Leave the bike riders alone You can ask nicely all you want, until cops start arresting people for this illegal behavior it won’t stop.
And a “sky is falling” report on allowing small amounts of lead to make brake and shifter cables for bicycles. Lead In Children’s Bicycles OK Rules Consumer Product Safety Commission Really, allowing small amounts of lead in the brake and shifter cables is going to cause widespread lead poisoning? These people need to get a life, and then find something useful to do with it. Of course someone could say the same thing about me, but the lethality of motor vehicles in wrecks with bicycles is well documented. The number of lead poisoning cases caused by contact with the brake cables of a bicycle are documented on the fingers of my left tongue.
And that’s the Feed for today. Biting sarcasm and scathing social commentary are just another of the free services provided by this website.
Billed @$.02, Opus
