Last night was terrible. I just could not get the creative part of my mind to SHUT UP. I went to bed shortly after midnight because I was tired having been woken early yesterday morning by some commotion outside my bedroom windows after working late filtering the early feed. And by “early” I mean “dawn streaming in Oh Gawds why am I awake?” early. So here I am lying in my bed and I can’t stop thinking about building things. Just bang, bang, bang one thing after another and where does this go and what will happen if I do this and how about I make one of these and next thing I know the alarm is going off to wake Mrs. the Poet to walk to the bus stop and take the flavor out of the kids’ food at school and I’m still building things in my mind. I did a general layout for 4 cars and 3 bicycles and that is not including the iterations of any of the vehicles. I mean I even did a quick calculation of the weight and watt-hours of the battery pack of the EV (205 pounds with BMS and 2900 w-h with the only quibble was did I remember the cell weight and the BMS weight correctly). I think I finally collapsed mentally sometime between 0630 and 0700 only to be awakened by the phone about 1000. And I can still feel those cars and bikes churning around in the back of my mind. If I had money and a workshop I would be dangerous. Well not dangerous as in possible losses of life and limb (maybe, one of those cars would have been wicked fast) but dangerous as in pushing the boundaries of what can be done with current technology and a little mixing of parts. I mean I have catalogs full of parts for midget racecars, and also EVs and battery stuff and stock car racecars… And if it wasn’t for having this blog as an outlet for my writing I think I would be insane by now.
Up first, cyclists are getting regularly killed down south of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Officials seek help to solve hit-and-run cycling accidents and promote bike safety Most of these wrecks are because Houston has poor to non-existent bicycle infrastructure. Combine that with drivers who have been told for generations that they literally “own the road” and you get the one-in-a-million sociopath who thinks that riding a bicycle in the street should be grounds for summary execution because “you slowed me down!” With transportation costs taking as much as a third of Texan’s budgets and shelter taking half that doesn’t leave much for the things that help keep people sane. It is a problem that I readily admit I have no cure for aside from time to allow people to adapt to the changes from the changed economy.
A MT cyclist is critically injured by a suspected impaired driver. Cyclist injured by SUV; police suspect alcohol Another “It was the car that did it!” headline, with the narrative suggesting the cyclist was hit because the driver failed to obey a traffic control that the cyclist was obeying. Intersection protocols kinda depend on the driver mostly following the rules, and the driver was already ignoring the built infrastructure built to accommodate his vehicle so changing the environment would simply move the wreck a few feet one way or the other. Yep, this is one of those few wrecks that because of driver behavior even getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would not prevent or probably even reduce the injuries all that much. Way to go drunk driver! The only way to prevent this wreck would be an interlock on the ignition that requires a sober driver to start the car.
A cyclist is killed in IL. Cyclist, 59, killed in Bridgeport hit-and-run Not a lot of information from this article, basically only the escape direction of the weapon vehicle. Direction and lane position of the victim are not known at this time. All I can say is infrastructure that was “up to Dutch” more than likely would have prevented this wreck.
Moving to CA, a driver could be getting prison for the road-rage hit and run of an uninvolved cyclist. Driver faces prison for seriously injuring cyclist The cyclist was not even involved in the initial act of road rage and was just riding in the shoulder when the driver made a break for it right through where the cyclist was riding. As I pointed out when the wreck was first reported there ain’t much you can do about people that behave like anal sphincters when there’s no room to get away from them. I hope this particular sphincter gets a nice long rest at the expense of the state of CA. And even with infrastructure “up to Dutch” unless there was no way for the driver to get to the cyclist it wouldn’t help.
Still in CA, closure to a fatal wreck. Pleasanton teen sentenced to prison for cyclist’s death Charges downgraded from murder for going more than twice the posted limit and running off the road to hit a cyclist after losing control. As I posted when this wreck was first reported on there was nothing either of the cyclists could have done to dodge this wreck by a guy going sideways doing 83 in a 40. Infrastructure that segregated the cyclists away from motor vehicle traffic would have prevented the wreck as the weapon vehicle did not get very far from the road when it hit the two cyclists.
A driver involved in a cyclist wreck is identified. In brief: Officer who hit cyclist ID’d If the narrative is accurate then obeying traffic controls is how this wreck could be avoided. And even getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” won’t prevent that 100%, but studies have shown that when infrastructure makes allowances for cyclists cyclist compliance with traffic controls improves substantially. But otherwise this wreck was 99% on the cyclist.
Ted Rogers finds another report on the cyclist who died from a right hook weeks after the wreck. Whittier rider dies of injuries suffered in Downey collision last month Same rider I reported on yesterday, just different links inside his post.
Moving to the Great White North, a killer driver is found guilty. Driver found guilty in crash that killed elderly cyclist The cyclist in this wreck had no place to go to escape the deadly driver, the only way to prevent a similar wreck would be getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch”. And putting killer drivers in prison with no hope of getting their cars or driver’s license back in this lifetime. And if there was a way to punish killer drivers when they come back for the next go-round… would it be ethical to do so? Hmm, something else to write about.
A Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot moment in Jolly Olde. Preston cyclist deliberately knocked off bike and robbed – another nearby suffers a broken collar bone in a hit and run Yes someone used their motor vehicle as a weapon to allow them to rob a cyclist. And a few streets over someone else used their motor vehicle to injure a cyclist becauuuse? No word on if the two wrecks are related other than proximity.
Closure on a wreck in Jolly Olde caused by a driver who should have been taken from the roads long before she finally was. New inquiry into death of cyclist The driver had a medical condition that should have taken her off the roads but because nobody knew she had it she continued to drive.
Two links to a door prize in London. Cyclist knocked off bike by open lorry door near Twickenham Green and Cyclist knocked off bike by open lorry door near Twickenham Green The cyclist was hit in the head when the door opened, ouch!
A UK cyclist is hit head-on “on the Continent”. British father-of-three knocked down and killed by hit-and-run driver while cycling near holiday home in France OK zero chance for the cyclist to avoid that one, and from the description the area was shared space and the driver should have been driving much slower. So basically that puts this one entirely on the driver of the weapon vehicle, which I guess is a big reason why he didn’t stick around.
In Oz they complain because not all the cyclists and jaywalkers were arrested during a crackdown. Cyclist, jaywalker crackdown Operation Pedro was hit and miss as police fail to fine all transgressors And I’m sure they’ll complain equally when a crackdown on speeding and failing to yield in the CBD fails to catch all the speeders and people who drive through crowded crosswalks.
Major victim blaming in Enn Zed. Cyclist death prompts high-vis warning Hasn’t his particular idiot blamed cyclists for not being visible enough before? Nope, this is a different idiot from the same school apparently, because the other idiot was also named in the article.
Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: A slightly less sucky Westside intersection, victory for cyclists on PCH, and spreading ciclovias
And more Lifestyle from the eastern part of the Great White North. Hundreds ride at memorial for Dartmouth cyclist killed in crash
And sorry it’s late but I wanted to wait until the afternoon reports came in so Monday would be a little lighter, a little more work now saves more later.
Billed @€0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 
Having sleeping problems, and the Feed
Last night was terrible. I just could not get the creative part of my mind to SHUT UP. I went to bed shortly after midnight because I was tired having been woken early yesterday morning by some commotion outside my bedroom windows after working late filtering the early feed. And by “early” I mean “dawn streaming in Oh Gawds why am I awake?” early. So here I am lying in my bed and I can’t stop thinking about building things. Just bang, bang, bang one thing after another and where does this go and what will happen if I do this and how about I make one of these and next thing I know the alarm is going off to wake Mrs. the Poet to walk to the bus stop and take the flavor out of the kids’ food at school and I’m still building things in my mind. I did a general layout for 4 cars and 3 bicycles and that is not including the iterations of any of the vehicles. I mean I even did a quick calculation of the weight and watt-hours of the battery pack of the EV (205 pounds with BMS and 2900 w-h with the only quibble was did I remember the cell weight and the BMS weight correctly). I think I finally collapsed mentally sometime between 0630 and 0700 only to be awakened by the phone about 1000. And I can still feel those cars and bikes churning around in the back of my mind. If I had money and a workshop I would be dangerous. Well not dangerous as in possible losses of life and limb (maybe, one of those cars would have been wicked fast) but dangerous as in pushing the boundaries of what can be done with current technology and a little mixing of parts. I mean I have catalogs full of parts for midget racecars, and also EVs and battery stuff and stock car racecars… And if it wasn’t for having this blog as an outlet for my writing I think I would be insane by now.
Up first, cyclists are getting regularly killed down south of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Officials seek help to solve hit-and-run cycling accidents and promote bike safety Most of these wrecks are because Houston has poor to non-existent bicycle infrastructure. Combine that with drivers who have been told for generations that they literally “own the road” and you get the one-in-a-million sociopath who thinks that riding a bicycle in the street should be grounds for summary execution because “you slowed me down!” With transportation costs taking as much as a third of Texan’s budgets and shelter taking half that doesn’t leave much for the things that help keep people sane. It is a problem that I readily admit I have no cure for aside from time to allow people to adapt to the changes from the changed economy.
A MT cyclist is critically injured by a suspected impaired driver. Cyclist injured by SUV; police suspect alcohol Another “It was the car that did it!” headline, with the narrative suggesting the cyclist was hit because the driver failed to obey a traffic control that the cyclist was obeying. Intersection protocols kinda depend on the driver mostly following the rules, and the driver was already ignoring the built infrastructure built to accommodate his vehicle so changing the environment would simply move the wreck a few feet one way or the other. Yep, this is one of those few wrecks that because of driver behavior even getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would not prevent or probably even reduce the injuries all that much. Way to go drunk driver! The only way to prevent this wreck would be an interlock on the ignition that requires a sober driver to start the car.
A cyclist is killed in IL. Cyclist, 59, killed in Bridgeport hit-and-run Not a lot of information from this article, basically only the escape direction of the weapon vehicle. Direction and lane position of the victim are not known at this time. All I can say is infrastructure that was “up to Dutch” more than likely would have prevented this wreck.
Moving to CA, a driver could be getting prison for the road-rage hit and run of an uninvolved cyclist. Driver faces prison for seriously injuring cyclist The cyclist was not even involved in the initial act of road rage and was just riding in the shoulder when the driver made a break for it right through where the cyclist was riding. As I pointed out when the wreck was first reported there ain’t much you can do about people that behave like anal sphincters when there’s no room to get away from them. I hope this particular sphincter gets a nice long rest at the expense of the state of CA. And even with infrastructure “up to Dutch” unless there was no way for the driver to get to the cyclist it wouldn’t help.
Still in CA, closure to a fatal wreck. Pleasanton teen sentenced to prison for cyclist’s death Charges downgraded from murder for going more than twice the posted limit and running off the road to hit a cyclist after losing control. As I posted when this wreck was first reported on there was nothing either of the cyclists could have done to dodge this wreck by a guy going sideways doing 83 in a 40. Infrastructure that segregated the cyclists away from motor vehicle traffic would have prevented the wreck as the weapon vehicle did not get very far from the road when it hit the two cyclists.
A driver involved in a cyclist wreck is identified. In brief: Officer who hit cyclist ID’d If the narrative is accurate then obeying traffic controls is how this wreck could be avoided. And even getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” won’t prevent that 100%, but studies have shown that when infrastructure makes allowances for cyclists cyclist compliance with traffic controls improves substantially. But otherwise this wreck was 99% on the cyclist.
Ted Rogers finds another report on the cyclist who died from a right hook weeks after the wreck. Whittier rider dies of injuries suffered in Downey collision last month Same rider I reported on yesterday, just different links inside his post.
Moving to the Great White North, a killer driver is found guilty. Driver found guilty in crash that killed elderly cyclist The cyclist in this wreck had no place to go to escape the deadly driver, the only way to prevent a similar wreck would be getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch”. And putting killer drivers in prison with no hope of getting their cars or driver’s license back in this lifetime. And if there was a way to punish killer drivers when they come back for the next go-round… would it be ethical to do so? Hmm, something else to write about.
A Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot moment in Jolly Olde. Preston cyclist deliberately knocked off bike and robbed – another nearby suffers a broken collar bone in a hit and run Yes someone used their motor vehicle as a weapon to allow them to rob a cyclist. And a few streets over someone else used their motor vehicle to injure a cyclist becauuuse? No word on if the two wrecks are related other than proximity.
Closure on a wreck in Jolly Olde caused by a driver who should have been taken from the roads long before she finally was. New inquiry into death of cyclist The driver had a medical condition that should have taken her off the roads but because nobody knew she had it she continued to drive.
Two links to a door prize in London. Cyclist knocked off bike by open lorry door near Twickenham Green and Cyclist knocked off bike by open lorry door near Twickenham Green The cyclist was hit in the head when the door opened, ouch!
A UK cyclist is hit head-on “on the Continent”. British father-of-three knocked down and killed by hit-and-run driver while cycling near holiday home in France OK zero chance for the cyclist to avoid that one, and from the description the area was shared space and the driver should have been driving much slower. So basically that puts this one entirely on the driver of the weapon vehicle, which I guess is a big reason why he didn’t stick around.
In Oz they complain because not all the cyclists and jaywalkers were arrested during a crackdown. Cyclist, jaywalker crackdown Operation Pedro was hit and miss as police fail to fine all transgressors And I’m sure they’ll complain equally when a crackdown on speeding and failing to yield in the CBD fails to catch all the speeders and people who drive through crowded crosswalks.
Major victim blaming in Enn Zed. Cyclist death prompts high-vis warning Hasn’t his particular idiot blamed cyclists for not being visible enough before? Nope, this is a different idiot from the same school apparently, because the other idiot was also named in the article.
Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: A slightly less sucky Westside intersection, victory for cyclists on PCH, and spreading ciclovias
And more Lifestyle from the eastern part of the Great White North. Hundreds ride at memorial for Dartmouth cyclist killed in crash
And sorry it’s late but I wanted to wait until the afternoon reports came in so Monday would be a little lighter, a little more work now saves more later.
Billed @€0.02, Opus
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