It won’t be as busy as yesterday where I had a late start because of my part-time gig, and lots of other stuff that had to start at a certain time or we all go hungry (and I don’t trust the cats to not eat me if we can’t get their food). But I do have a rather packed evening schedule that gets underway at 1800 and may run as late as 2300 or so. And it’s beginning to look like I might have to mow the lawn again as we have had a wet fall that hasn’t gone below freezing yet so the grass is doing that growing thing unimpeded by lack of moisture or freezing temperatures or excessive heat, AKA near-perfect grass-growing weather. The only thing missing is the more than 12 hours of sunshine a day that comes between the equinoxes during spring/summer. At least this time the grass isn’t blooming making my allergies act up.
Up first is more on the LA County Sheriffs’ cover-up investigation of the cyclist killed by one of their vehicles during a stop. Sheriff Baca Says Bicycle Crash Victim Did Not Have Gun And if that picture is the vehicle that hit the cyclist, this needs to be investigated as a murder rather than a traffic incident. That vehicle could have hit a cyclist, but to do that much damage it would have had to have been at a very high speed for a city street. More LA sheriff: Cyclist killed by patrol car unarmed and Inglewood cyclist fatally hit by sheriff’s car was unarmed
Hit and run just down the road from WoaB World HQ. Cyclist injured, driver arrested after downtown accident Police didn’t have too hard a time finding the driver, they just followed the trail of gouge marks and broken bits of bicycle to the drunk passed out behind the wheel of the weapon vehicle. This was not a wreck that could have been avoided by the cyclist, and I’m not even sure that Dutch-style infrastructure would prevent a wreck like this. The one thing that would have prevented this wreck is making all cars have an ignition interlock that prevents a drunk driver from starting a car. More Police: Man in custody following crash with bicyclist and with video Texas cyclist killed by drunk driver in hit and run accident So, the cyclist died…
Another TX cyclist is hit from behind while riding in the middle of the lane. Longview man on bicycle dies after struck by car OK the driver was driving too fast for conditions, but the cyclist could have made himself more conspicuous by having a tail light or reflector. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. This was about a day’s ride east of the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell.
A MI cyclist is hit because a driver can pay attention to all the vehicles on the road when he drives. Rochester Hills Man, 58, Seriously Injured in Bike Accident The geometry of the wreck was not as described in the headline, the driver was crossing the road, not the cyclist, the driver was pulling from a parking lot or other off-street place and into the road when he hit the cyclist, meaning the cyclist as the through traffic had the right of way. Intersection protocols to avoid because every driveway is an intersection, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. Getting idiots like the driver in this wreck off the road would be a great start at getting the infrastructure right. More Rochester Hills cyclist seriously injured after being struck by motorist
More on the OK hit-and-run murder of a cyclist. Attorney: Client Believes He Struck And Killed Broken Arrow Bicyclist OK this story just went from evil to ridiculous, the driver was distracted by his 4YO in a car seat after “The attorney also said the man was at a poker tournament at the Hard Rock Casino for a few hours that night and had had a few beers, but the attorney says his client was not intoxicated.” First of all, having the 4YO with the driver in the casino is “highly doubtful” as Mrs. the Poet put it. Second, having “a few beers” most likely means the driver was in excess of the legal limits for BAC%. Third if the 4YO really was with the driver and he had been drinking and was under the limit, at that time of night the kid was most likely asleep, not being a distraction… The comments on this wreck are all over the map but mostly against the driver in this case.
More on the WI cyclist killed riding in the bike lane. Driver who killed cyclist said he fell asleep OK asleep at noon? Was there some other reason he might have fallen “asleep” like alcohol or drugs (legal or otherwise). Many cold remedies are also sold as sleep aids with the same dosage. But I don’t know if that’s the case, I’m just offering possible reasons why an adult is asleep in the middle of the day. They also didn’t say if the driver was working 2nd or 3rd shifts, those can make you sleepy in the middle of the day, too.
More on the NC cyclist killed this week. Accident victim ID’d Once again the victim was blamed for not wearing a glow-in-the-dark clown suit when the driver was over-driving his headlights and could not stop in the distance he could see. OK maybe reflectors and lights would have prevented this wreck, but that still doesn’t absolve the driver of the requirement to not drive faster than he can stop in the distance he can see clearly. Hit-from-behind-protocol to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.
Infrastructure! news from NYC. Council Passes New Delivery Cyclist Rules; Vacca to Target E-Bikes Next OK some of this is good, some of it is Really Stupid, and the part about going after e-bikes next really, really bothers me… Also City Council Passes New Rules Aimed At Errant Delivery Bike Riders
And those are all the links that gave me fits today.
Billed @$0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 