Waiting for sentencing, and the Feed

Well now that he’s guilty, really, really guilty in court instead of guilty because everybody has seen it, we have to wait on the sentencing phase of Patrick Pogan’s trial. While we wait for that, the Feed oozes relentlessly on.

Up first is a cyclist hit in NYC that did not have ID by the time LEO and First Aid responders got to him. Police try to identify bicycle accident victim and from what has become my favorite NYC news source Help Sought in Identifying Dead Cyclist I keep harping on this, but I guess these people don’t read my blog. You need something to identify yourself that won’t get lost in a wreck, and wallets seldom stay with the body in a violent tumble like what happens when a cyclist or pedestrian gets hit with a car. You can buy RoadID through the BikeJournal.com store and help support the site. Well, his site, not mine.

In Canuckistan a cyclist overcooks a corner and slids into a car. Cyclist critically injured in crash Apparently the woman’s bicycle left some marks on the pavement to show she fell on her lane and slid into the oncoming lane. “The car driver was not injured.” And neither were any of the other people that saw the wreck. The takeaway from this wreck is to control your speed on the road. or in other words brakes have a purpose…

From Jolly Olde, another report on the man that murdered a cyclist because the cyclist hit the door mirror on his car. Cyclist ‘run down for car mirror’ Just hang this guy already, he has demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt that he has no place in society if he gets all bent out of shape over minor car damage. Killing someone because your car was boo-booed is definitely a sign of mental instability.

In Oz a senior citizen was hit and killed while riding a bicycle. Cyclist killed Nothing on the other vehicle, just that he was hit and killed by “a car”. Sounds like it might be a hit-and-run.

Still in Oz a wreck that was most definitely a hit-and-run. Tears for cyclist killed in hit-run I applaud LEO in this case for setting up roadblocks to find the vehicle or someone that saw the wreck.

Back in the US a conference was held to try to reduce the number of cyclists killed in the Boston environs while increasiing the number of active cyclists. Boston Bike Safety Summit: Cars and bikes need to share roads

More on how people get hit by trains. A firsthand look at close calls with trains Gotta admit, the guy riding the bike was acting stupid.

And an election in a major city mey be decided by the cyclist vote. We could hold balance of pedal power at election, say cyclists Given the stakes involved, namely life or death, I see this as a positive thing.

And that’s everything so far this morning.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Pogan Guilty!!!

The jury found Patrick Pogan guilty of filing a false police report, and innocent of assault. Patrick Pogan Found Guilty of Falsifying Records, Not Assault Apparently hitting someone and knocking them 5 feet into a curb is OK in NYC as long as you are wearing a badge. But as was pointed out in the comments section the 3 month sentence for the misdemeanor assault charge would have been concurrent with the felony sentence anyway, it would have just been another minor blip in his record.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Stupid is like rust and NYC, it never sleeps. Plus the Feed

Still waiting to hear the results from the Pogan trial, nothing yet. I’m having issues with Garland Codes at the moment. They have been giving us heck about the fence that got blown down, and we have been talking with the neighbors about how they want it fixed since it is on the property line. We have been going back and forth on placement, extent, posts, and picket style so that everybody is happy, while Codes is breathing down our necks about the fence. So yesterday we get a ticket, for the leaky pipe in the front yard. The pipe has been seeping for over a year, and only causes problems when we get heavy rains for several days in a row. The rest of the time it is just a damp spot in the yard with lots of grass over it. But never has the city complained about it until the ticket. Now I’m not complaining about getting the ticket, and fixing the pipe was on the “to-do” list right after fixing the fence. The real complaint is that I have 12 days from when the ticket was written to go to City Court and speak to someone about it. The ticket was dated on the 20th which gave me until May 2 to respond. May 1 and 2 are on the weekend, so I can’t go to court then, and the Codes guy held onto the ticket and didn’t mail it out until the 27th. Fortunately the mail sorter didn’t send the letter with my ticket to the main post office or I wouldn’t be getting my ticket until tomorrow afternoon, after the Court had closed for the weekend. That would have given me no time to respond to the ticket before it went to warrant. I don’t think they allow blogging from jail.

The wrecks in today’s Feed are all international, the only story we have from North America is VP Biden sending a bunch of crippled vets out on a long bike ride (Wounded Warriors).

Up first is a chilling account of murder by motor vehicle in the UK. Driver ‘killed cyclist in revenge attack’ The cyclist was killed because he came in contact with the passenger side mirror hard enough to make a sound when the driver did not leave enough room. Even for a damaged mirror, you kill someone? You drive up on the sidewalk and run them over with your car? That’s murder, pure and simple.

Flowers were laid at the site of a wreck that didn’t even make my Feed, but the flowers did. Flowers laid by A41 in Edgware where cyclist was killed on Monday Typical UK wreck story with no real information.

Another take on the SWSS wreck, the U-turn, this time in South Africa. South Africa: Cyclist Hit By Car in Cape Given that a driver has claimed to be blinded by the sun a full half hour before sunrise in that country to explain hitting a group of cyclists head on off the road on their side of the road, yeah, I really believe the cyclist made a U-turn. Not.

And in the US the Veep sends crippled veterans on a long bike ride. At Biden’s cue, wounded troops head on 3-day ride I don’t know about you but Annapolis is not that far from the White House, I could get there in a single day riding Gigi, and Gigi isn’t a fast bike after you add the stuff needed for a long bike ride.

This just in, there is a sick juror in the Pogan case that has delayed deliberations. What’s Taking So Long For Bike-Bodyslam Cop Verdict?

And that’s all the news that doesn’t give me fits.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

This is not a gossip column

This is not a gossip column but a (A-list, B-list?) star did cause a wreck this week. The only reason it makes it into this blog was the person this “star” had the wreck with was riding a bicycle. My life is “ehh” this week as I get a ticket that I’m supposed to appear in court over just 2 days before my court date. Way to go City of Garland!

And up first is the “star” that hit a cyclist on his way to school. ‘Seinfeld’ actor hits cyclist, 14 and ‘Seinfeld’ Star In Car vs. Bike Collision We know nothing about the wreck other than an approximate location at this point, as celebrity reporting tends to focus on the celebrities rather than their victims when they have traffic wrecks.

In Quebec they had another wreck where an off-street bike path becomes an on-street bike lane. Another cyclist struck on Sussex Drive We covered the wreck mentioned in the article last year, and also the follow up articles that showed that bad infrastructure design created a blind spot for drivers right where cyclists had to join the road from the off-street path, and that a lack of a curb cut caused cyclists to be basically motionless right where the path dumped them in the street in the path of oncoming traffic, that couldn’t see them. I don’t blame the driver on this one, as he/she was set up to fail. BTW don’t read the comments on this article, while many of the posters are aware of how roads are paid for and the rules of the roads (the majority of those were cyclists, imagine that) there were enough car-heads that think because they paid registration and gas tax they owned the roads to cause brain explosions. Mine is pre-exploded, so nothing risked there.

In Jolly Olde, breaking your neck is not considered a serious injury. Cyclist injured in collision with car He hit a Peugeot BTW.

In Bahrain the surviving cyclist of a pair hit in an intersection was released from hospital care. Injured cyclist leaves hospital His cycling companion was still being held pending paperwork for taking his body back to his home country.

Legal aftermath of bike wrecks, this one in AZ. Family drops OV, Marana from El Tour rider lawsuit Not going to comment on suing the employer of the guy directing traffic instead of the guy that hit and left the scene…

And a wreck where bad infrastructure design and a city vehicle passing a bike leads to a dead cyclist also leads to some soul-searching in city government. City responds to W. Main Street death of UVA bicyclist Just kidding, city governments don’t have souls to search. They’re just looking to shift the blame and costs away from the city.

And that’s everything today. Still keeping an eye on the Pogan trial, nothing right now.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Pogan on trial: It’s in the hands of the jury

Just in from the Gothamist the trial of Patrick Pogan has gone to the jury. Jury Now Deciding Fate Of Bike Bodyslam Cop To sum up the defense’s closing arguments “Who are you going to believe, me, or your lying eyes?” would be a good description. Pogan is facing 3 months for the assault and 4 years for lying about it. I’ll keep following this and let you know what happens as soon as I know.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Gigi’s advice for bicycle relationship issues

Are you and your bike just not getting along like you used to? Is it a maintenance problem or a relationship issue? Need advice? Fortunately here at WoaB we have the only bicycle relationship councillor in the world to answer your questions. Coming soon, Gigi’s advice to the bicycle-lorn, only at WoaB.

PSA, Opus (and Gigi)

Be glad I don’t just dump the Feed to the blog

OK everybody should be glad I don’t just do a dump and load the Feed to the blog, especially today. Someone committed suicide by car in Va. Beach by driving the wrong way on an Interstate without wearing seatbelts. It was supposed to be a double suicide but they forgot to turn off the passenger side airbag. And that was one of the nicer articles that didn’t involve bicycles. And then people wonder why I’m so down on people that hit bicycles with motor vehicles. The same reason I’m so down on people that injure small animals to watch them suffer, because pain hurts! And allowing people that drive cars to run into people riding bicycles without consequences enables bullying behavior.

Up first is a report from Durnago CO on a left cross with serious injuries. Cyclist injured after hit by car Nothing too hard to understand on this one. The driver was cited for an illegal turn, the cyclist was taken to the hospital, the bike was toast, and the car will need some minor bodywork. To avoid, check out the page on how to avoid common wrecks in the header at the top of the page, just remember that every parking entrance is a conflict zone. And don’t read the comments.

In MI a 12 YO girl runs a stop sign and is killed. Hesperia grieves loss of 12-year-old Brittany Ann Olson Kids do things that are dangerous, because they are kids and don’t know any better. It ain’t right, it just is, and the only thing that makes it stop is for the kids to grow up, if they live through it. Wearing a helmet would not have made this a survivable wreck, her other injuries were too severe. Parents, be sure to remind your kids to stop at stop signs, because they don’t always know which ones are to slow cars down and which ones are to make you look to see if the way is clear.

A bad wreck in one of the Persian Gulf countries (Bahrain?) injured one cyclist and killed another. Cyclist killed in road horror Not enough information to tell what happened beyond 2 cyclists getting hit by one car. The driver was arrested.

There were no infrastructure or lifestyle articles today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

I removed the Social Vibe widget

Some of you may have noticed the flash animated ad for suicide prevention on the upper right corner of my blog. That was part of the Social Vibe widget. Today I removed the widget because it was drastically slowing the loading of my blog, which I have to do 4 or 5 times when I create a post. It was literally adding a half hour to what it took to add a new post to the blog. I know it must have been slowing the load for those of you using slower machines and on lower bandwidth connections.

So the widget is gone, not because I don’t support the charity (I did/do) but because the widget is a PITA.

PSA, Opus

Yay! Boobquake!

Today is the day for women to wear revealing clothing so that we can cause a big earthquake in Iran. Well not me because my man-boobies wouldn’t even cause a quiver except for certain woman that like that kind of thing, but all you females with something to show, show it and shake Iran to the foundations!

PSA Opus

Edit: I forgot to add the link: In the name of science, I offer my boobs Oopsie!

An all-international Feed

Either we had a rare weekend when no cyclists were hit in North America, or my Feed for the last 2 days just hasn’t caught up with the reports yet. I’ll be more than glad to have a weekend free of dead and injured cyclists.

Up first is one of 2 reported bus/cyclist wrecks in Jolly Olde. Cyclist injured in collision with bus (Bristol) This is the official LEO web site asking for citizen assistance on this wreck, so if you know anything about this it is your Civic Duty As A Cyclist to report to the police. (What’s the HTML for wrapping yourself in a flag and saluting?)

Second wreck, a little more recent than the first one. Cyclist injured in bus crash One wonders how the cyclist collided with the windscreen of a bus. I think this is an update of a wreck I linked to Friday.

Terrible wreck involving a cyclist causes much traffic backup. Cyclist injured in serious accident in Stanmore I think this is actually more of a traffic report than noting the wreck itself, as the traffic was getting worse when the article was posted.

In India a hit-and-walk away from the wreck involving an SUV, a cyclist, and a popsicle vendor. Teenage SUV driver mows down child cyclist in Kurla He was driving backwards at a high rate of speed? And he only managed to hit 5 people?

Sole US article this day is about infrastructure in Brooklyn. McGuinness is Brooklyn’s killer boulevard, deaths and study show Make a street that looks like a highway and then people are surprised when it gets treated like a highway by drivers? This was an example of what happens when car-head thinking is allowed when designing cities.

And that’s the whole mess from Sunday and this morning.

Billed @$0.02, Opus