Back for a post before heading to the lab rat keeper, and the Feed

Today may be huge as far as links are concerned. I haven’t opened the folder yet but there are 16 messages in the Feed folder. My usual post has 4-6 messages from the Feed folder…

Last night after I got done with the gig I can’t tell you about I got to go to the local dirt track to watch the USMTS race. The USMTS is a touring series for what used to be called IMCA modifieds, but this flavor has a few less restrictions on allowable components because of the frequency they race at, the race yesterday was the 9th in 10 days. The IMCA rules are more of a “junkyard” style of race car where the USMTS allows more fabricated components that can be bought online or purchased from local racing supply shops, meaning when you tear up a front corner you can just buy replacements and have then delivered to the next stop on the tour by UPS Overnight instead of hoping there is a junkyard that has that component open near the track you’re going to. But they have adjusted the rules so that the local guys running the IMCA rules won’t be at a disadvantage when the USMTS rolls in. The local guys with their junkyard parts ran very well last night and won at least 2 out of the 5 heats. Since I don’t know the local modified drivers any more (I last went to that track in 2006 and quit because the road was so bad my bike at the time could fall halfway to the axle in the longitudinal cracks in the road surface and my headlight at the time was more of a “seen by” light rather than a “see by” light) so I don’t know if the last heat was won by a local or tour driver. Anyway, the racing was good if a bit on the loud side even with the mandatory mufflers. You could barely hear the cars as they drove by like they were moms in minivans driving the kids to school, but they made a racket under full throttle… BTW the trip to the race was part of my pay for this gig.

More on a deadly bike wreck involving an SUV that left the road in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike 9 years running. Exeter grad killed on bike in Florida Nothing new on the wreck, lots new about the victim. As I posted before this is an unavoidable by human cyclists wreck.

More FL CARnage. Pinellas Park cyclist dies after crash with car The wreck is technically a SWCC, but preliminary toxicology tests found “something” in the dead cyclist’s system. Also the cyclist was reported to be riding “ninja”. To avoid ride sober and if you ride “ninja” ride like you’re invisible and people would run you over if you let them. I don’t know that infrastructure as we do it in the US would have been of much help, but Dutch-model infrastructure would have had the cyclist on segregated lanes with a barrier protecting him.

Another crossing cyclist fatality in FL. Jacksonville teen killed on bicycle Saturday night From looking at the Street View this is another case of improper infrastructure created by sprawl, as there is a highway rolling right through a residential area with 3 lanes in each direction and turning lanes plus a grassy median to cross. I don’t know if the cyclist was killed inches away from the safety of the median or if he was killed as he left that safe location, but intersection protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. And what was an 18YO doing driving an Escalade with 5 other people in it? That’s just asking for trouble.

An IN man is killed in a hit-and-run. Northern Indiana man on bicycle dies after being struck by vehicle that fled the scene Drunk driver that hit a parked car after he killed the cyclist. Hit-from-behind wreck, apparently there were parked cars preventing the cyclist from having a usable escape route so the protocols don’t apply/can’t be used here to avoid the wreck, but infrastructure looks like it might have prevented it by moving the parked cars over a bit and allowing the cyclist to ride to the right of the parked cars. Then the drunk would have hit just the parked cars and not the cyclist too.

A NJ cyclist is killed. News Nearby: Teen Bicyclist Seriously Hurt in Lindenhurst Crash Ooopsss, the cyclist has been upgraded from dead to seriously injured in the time it took to create the link…Anyway, intersection wreck implies intersection protocols to avoid, the cyclist was hit in the bike lane so the infrastructure was good by US standards but a separate light phase for cyclists might have prevented this wreck, I don’t have enough information from this link to make a judgement. More Teenager Seriously Injured in Car Collision on Hoffman Avenue The consensus from the commenters on the second link is that the weapon vehicle driver may have been trying to beat the light. That would make avoiding the wreck dependent on the cyclist knowing the driver wasn’t going to stop for their red light, kinda like when I saw the truck running the 4 way stop sign last week. I actually found it interesting that the comments did not blame the cyclist for being there or suggest that he ran the red light.

Another NJ wreck. Jersey City Restaurant Owner Killed in Hit-and-Run Crash The cyclist was reported to have been riding salmon but as was pointed out in the comments the only witness that could have seen that was the driver that claimed to not have known she hit a human being… So I’m going to go with hit-from-behind protocols to avoid and infrastructure to prevent. The helmet was a red herring issue as the wreck would have been non-survivable even with one from the reported injuries.

A report from the land of “no criminality suspected”. NYPD: 1,376 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, Eight Killed in Traffic in May Of 397 cyclist-involved wrecks 395 required at least a transport by ambulance with the other 2 being dead… The pedestrian report is equally dismal if not worse because of the higher numbers.

A SWSS wreck from upstate NY. Boy riding bike struck by car The boy “swerved from the shoulder into westbound traffic”. On a similar note, have you met my wife, Morgan Fairchild? (OK so you don’t get the joke, and I’m old for remembering it). Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent a similar wreck…

An IA wreck with very little information usable by this blog. Lenox, Iowa, bicyclist dies after being struck by car Hit and run, the weapon vehicle has been located, but nothing on the actual wreck. He was just “struck while riding” nothing about from behind or at an intersection, just a hit-and-run. More Woman who hit cyclist: I thought I hit deer The cyclist was left for more than 24 hours on the side of the road… Also Lenox, Iowa, man killed while riding bike even more Cyclist on morning ride fatally injured

A wreck in OH hurts a boy. Nine Year Old Boy Hit By Vehicle, Critically Injured The kid supposedly pulled out from between 2 parked cars and immediately into the path of the weapon vehicle, leaving the driver no time to react. The cars blocked the view of the cyclist from seeing the oncoming car, and the driver from seeing the cyclist. Intersection protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

A PA fatality. Cyclist killed in collision at Carrick intersection At this point all I know is there was an intersection involved somehow so intersection protocols seem like a good bet to avoid the wreck. Infrastructure to prevent it. More Carrick Bicyclist Dies After Being Hit By Car Now it’s an intersection wreck and the comments section is betting on the driver of the weapon vehicle not stopping at the 4 way stop.

Lawyer blather from PA. Reducing injury: Bicyclists have similar rights to the road as motorists Actually cyclists have more rights than motorists, as cycling does not require a license…

Another fatality of a PA cyclist, this time in DE. Pennsylvania woman killed while riding bicycle in Bethany Beach OK this reads like everybody lost their minds when they saw a bicycle in the road, from the “swerving from the shoulder to the median” bit to the multiple vehicles involved. Hit-from-behind wreck, use the protocols to avoid.

A cyclist in Western WA is killed when a driver passing other cyclists hits him head-on. BICYCLE RIDER KILLED IN WOODINVILLE The driver of the weapon vehicle was passing cyclists going the same direction as he was driving when he ran head-on into the victim. This wreck was caused by a driver not paying attention to the other traffic on the road, possibly fixating on the cyclists he was passing causing him to miss seeing (but not miss hitting) the oncoming cyclist. I couldn’t get a street view of the scene to pull up, but the description sounds like a narrow rural 2 lane. I don’t know that a human cyclist could have done anything to avoid this wreck, but getting the infrastructure right would have prevented it. More Noted bike rider killed at Woodinville and Noted bike rider killed at Woodinville Not done yet Cyclist killed in collision over the weekend was well known in Marymoor Velodrome community

A NV cyclist is critically injured in a hit-and-run. Police Investigate Bicycle Accident in Wingfield Springs At this point LEO either don’t know or aren’t releasing the cyclist’s direction of travel, but the street he was riding when he was hit is a residential street that would be a low speed limit and non-permeable to motor vehicles under the Dutch infrastructure model so infrastructure changes would be limited to reducing the speed limit and making cut-throughs for cyclists.

Another cyclist injury in VA, this one a little out of the ordinary as the person that struck the cyclist was not even driving his weapon… PD: Passing Bike Rider Shot by Man Loading Gun Keep your finger off the trigger when you’re closing the action, some guns will fire as soon as the bolt goes home if the trigger has pressure on it. As for avoiding this, are you kidding me? More John Albers of Va. shoots cyclist while loading gun, police said

A MI cyclist is hit. Girl injured in car-bicycle accident in Ironwood All I know for certain is it was an intersection wreck, “officials” say she was running the red but nothing about lane position or direction of travel so she could have entered legally which would have given her right of way until she could clear the intersection. Anyway, intersection wreck, intersection protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

A writer from the Great white North on how to get hit while riding your bike. Six ways a cyclist with a death wish can become a hood ornament This is in response to the previous article on 6 ways to kill a cyclist, which was equally tongue in cheek.

Also from the Great White North is this report of a cyclist/pedestrian fatal wreck. Man charged after woman hit, killed by cyclist in Mississauga DO NOT HIT THE PEDESTRIANS!

Still in the Great White North a cyclist is hit by an illegal driver. POLICE BEAT: Cyclist not seriously injured The driver of the weapon vehicle was driving without a license, driving in violation of his parole and just generally a menace to society. Intersection wreck, protocols to avoid, and LEO need to figure out some way to keep idiots like this from getting behind the wheel to prevent, along with getting the rest of the infrastructure right.

Partial closure on a wreck in the Great White North. Vernon senior who killed cyclist pleads guilty

I’ll just let the headlines speak for themselves here. Date set in appeal of ‘lenient’ sentence of driver who killed cyclist and Date set for Crown Office appeal against “unduly lenient” sentence for double cyclist killer Gary McCourt

Along the same lines as the links posted above, but more general. Scotland’s cyclists ‘at risk’ from contradictory and complacent policy

Apparently the Power Puff Girls were too busy to save the day for this cyclist (Obscure media joke). Female cyclist, 58, killed in clash with truck near Townsville Not much information but from what was released it appears to have been a hit-from-behind wreck caused by a blind driver, I mean how else do you hit 4 cyclists in one shot killing one and sending 2 more to the hospital? Anyway if that’s true then hit-from-behind protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. More Female cyclist dies in Townsville crash and Truck ploughs into cyclists, killing one also Missing cyclist found as another mourned

Infrastructure! news from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike. City considers $5 million pedestrian/cyclist safety plan I wonder how much a lawsuit would cost because the city failed to install proper bike/ped infrastructure and someone was maimed for life?

Legal infrastructure problems in ME. Cyclists say there’s a pro-motorist bias when tragedy strikes A semi passing within 4 feet at speed can literally such a cyclist under the back wheels, as demonstrated in this wreck.

Infrastructure in the Great White North. Bronson bike lane gets a makeover This was a bike lane that got a woman killed last year, it’s not perfect but until safety is more important that keeping up the flow of motor vehicle traffic that’s about the best we can hope for.

More infrastructure from West Canuckistan. Coroner probes cyclist’s death on causeway This was the woman who was knocked in front of a bus by a passing pedestrian on the MUP.

Lifestyle in CA. Hit-and-Run Mars Otherwise Low-Key CicLAvia Even when LA tries to do the right thing Angelenos try to ruin it.

I hope this thief is found and his body dumped in several places. Seriously. Thief takes custom-made bike made for double amputee veteran

And those are all the links still alive to give me fits. It has been a very long day.

Billed @€0.02, Opus