Weather is here wish you were beautiful, and the Feed

First off let me apologize for not posting the pictures from the RoS I went to last night. The ride concluded just as a rain shower came through and the traditional post-ride socializing instead was a mad scramble to get to shelter and I had only a chance to share a few words of greeting and goodbye with the guy that started it all, Chris Phelan. That shower was an outer band shower of a severe weather system that brought at least 10 tornadoes to the area, one of which went south of here without causing much if any damage. We got very lucky this year as this was the first severe storm we have had so far and we are 2 weeks past the end of our usual storm season. With any additional luck that was it for this year. Well the reason why no pictures is we stayed glued to the tube watching the weather radar and later reports from the stricken areas, which kinda precluded downloading pictures to the desktop computer, and manipulating them to fit this blog. There was some loss of life to the south of WoaB World HQ, but nothing worse than some flash flooding in the immediate area.

Up first a report that came from the WP “just posted” folder on the dashboard, a driver shoots at his girlfriend in another car, then runs over a bicyclist as he runs a stop sign escaping the scene of the shooting. Bicyclist killed by driver fleeing shooting in Florence, police say The driver was charged with assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting, nothing so far in the cyclist’s death. The wreck was an intersection wreck but so far outside the normal bounds of intersection protocols as to make any attempt to use them ludicrous, I place this wreck in the category of unavoidable by human cyclists without precognition, and equally unable to prevent by infrastructure. The link to the LA Times story came from BikingInLA in this post: More bad news for Bike to Work Day: Bike rider killed by driver fleeing a shooting

I’m going to bite my (metaphorical) tongue on this report. Man riding bicycle hit by firetruck in Canton Again I’m going to point out that many lights do not register the presence of a cyclist and don’t change, effectively training cyclists to run red lights regularly. Also pointing out the cyclist was wearing “regular” clothes, not “dark” clothing. And that I appear to have metaphorically chewed my metaphoric tongue to metaphoric ribbons. Anyway, when a traffic signal doesn’t register your presence and change for your direction there is a procedure to follow: Wait 2 minutes to make sure it isn’t just a delay in changing built into the logic of the controller, the treat the malfunctioning control as a stop sign and waiting until cross traffic is clear before proceeding. Then call Streets for that area to report a malfunctioning signal.

Update on a Chicago-area cyclist that was killed earlier this week. Cyclist Killed Tuesday Identified As Elk Grove Village Woman Nothing on the wreck itself, but the article seems to indicate that it was an intersection wreck and highly infrastructure related, in that they are already completing plans to build grade separated crossings for pedestrians and cyclists there. You can’t get much more explicit that bad infrastructure was involved than to have a shovel-ready project to upgrade the infrastructure, and a project that will be underway in less than a month pretty much defines “shovel-ready”.

Another IL cyclist is killed in a hit-from-behind wreck near or in Chicago. 83-year-old bicyclist hit by car, killed on Northwest Side Another case of using the wrong preposition in the headline he was hit “with” a car not “by” a car. Comments and article point to excessive speed on the part of the driver, leaving mere human cyclists little chance of avoiding by employing the hit-from-behind protocols. I would say that some kind of traffic calming would improve matters immensely for that street judging from the comments viewable at the time this was posted.

More on the wreck in CO where a drunk driver in the bike lane going the wrong way hit a cyclist head on. Boulder cyclist killed in SUV crash remembered as positive, patient and Driver arrested in cyclist’s death had complained bicyclists ‘don’t belong’ in Lyons Those public comments are going to come back to haunt him, possibly getting the homicide charge bumped to a murder charge. Driving the wrong way in a bike lane, well anytime you drive in a bike lane you’re driving “the wrong way” as in a way that is inappropriate for motor vehicles to operate, but in this case the driver was driving against the flow of traffic. That makes it look like he saw the cyclist and took deadly action because his judgment had been impaired as a result of his being drunk. Any guesses as to who gets the “Waste of Human Skin” tag for today’s post?

And another hit-and-run from yet another town I used to live in. Bicyclist struck and killed by vehicle in hit-and-run accident in Augusta Hit-from-behind, from the area they mentioned I don’t think that the protocols would have been any help for mere human cyclists, and the infrastructure from when I was there was terrible. Get the infrastructure right and make hit-and-run a major felony like DUI homicide to prevent.

Don’t drink and ride. Man trying to help drunk cyclist ends up getting him arrested I think this is a re-hash from an earlier story (the swinging of the broken bike seat is familiar), but still, don’t drink and ride.

Good results from the UK as a cyclist uses evidence from the criminal trial against the driver that hit her to prove a total lack of negligence on her part for the civil trial. Cyclist who lost her leg in crash with lorry scores legal win against insurer The only problem I see in this case is that many injury cases never get to criminal charges, much less trials with publicly available records.

RoS coverage from places that didn’t go under a tornado warning. Ride of Silence bicycle event in Flint encourages awareness for cyclist safety also Cyclists ride in silence to remember those injured, killed From just down the road from where I used to live Murfreesboro remembrance bike ride is one of many globally and from the founder of the Mother Ride QUIET FOR 10 YEARS: The Ride Of Silence

Other lifestyle events. Cousin plans bike ride in man’s memory

And to close out this video of a FWD rear-steer delta trike: Monsterbike

And those are all the links that gave me fits today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

When you don’t have an actual job you never get a day off, and the Feed

You would think that not having what my elder daughter called a “jobby job” I wouldn’t be busy, but truth be told I don’t think I have ever been busier since I started doing this blog instead of actual working. I will be voting this morning, then going to meet with the people of Occupy Dallas about establishing a bike co-op this afternoon, doing Mother’s Day a day early with the kids still living on this side of the pond during early evening, then if I’m lucky I’ll be able to catch the end of RPG day as my warlock(6) goes undercover as a courier to thwart gangs that have been stealing the information from their message bags without breaking their (non-magical) seals. For a guy that hasn’t had a daily job since 2006 that’s a lot of running around.

A NE cyclist gets hit just after making a turn. Woman injured in car-bike crash Looking at the scene there were two lanes of travel in each direction, and the wreck was a distance away from the intersection. It looked like the cyclist expected the driver to make a lane change instead of panicking and locking the brakes and running her over. That is why you need to assume that every driver has the traffic savvy of a roadkill squirrel to avoid wrecks like this, basically a slight modification of the hit-from-behind protocol. Obviously getting the infrastructure right to prevent 40 MPH cars from mixing with bike traffic would prevent a similar wreck in the future.

An Upstate NY cyclist is killed by a drunk driver. Wayland teen killed riding his bike near his home Thursday found Friday; Man charged with DWI Have I mentioned lately how much I hate drunk drivers, and hit-and-run? And how much I especially hate drunk drivers that hit-and-run and leave dead cyclists in their wake? Recycle the car with the driver still in it and let then skim the scum off the top of the kiln.

Updates on the AL 6YO killed riding a bike in a residential area. Boy killed while riding bike and Cullman PD: 6-year-old hit and killed while riding his bike I “love” how the one report said it was a “perfect storm” because the kid couldn’t see the truck and the truck “couldn’t stop” (because he was driving too fast in a residential area). But because the driver was within the speed limit fatal mistakes are not “his fault” but the kid’s that died.

From the UK a semi driver admits he’s a git driving defective equipment when he hit a cyclist. A18 lorry driver admits causing cyclist’s death The crime he plead guilty to has a minimum sentence of 36 weeks in jail, but somehow I don’t see that ever happening. I predict a suspended sentence and some community service. What I would like to see is something like 1440 hours of community service if the sentence is suspended. I know, I’m a dreamer “but I’m not the only ooo-one” (John Lennon)

Less than a week out we have our second Ride of Silence link. Cyclists’ Ride of Silence on Wed From Nyack to Piermont

Infrastructure! news from the UK as a barrier is installed on an alleyway to let cyclists know that there is an actual road at the end instead of another alley. Trafford Centre installs safety barrier after young cyclist is killed

Legal infrastructure from the UK. Father of lorry crash victim Ellie Carey wants law on cab cameras The problem is the big trucks have blind spots you could hide the entire TdF peloton in making these vehicles killing machines on wheels. I have seen (staged?) video of a Mini getting run over in the blind spot of a semi, so finding a single cyclist back there would be impossible. Personally I say that no vehicle that has blind spots that large should be allowed on the roads, much less congested urban areas, and this father agrees.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today, actually last night when I did the pre-filter.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

I went halfway across town for nothing, and the Feed

I was supposed to get together with some people from Occupy Dallas about setting up a bicycle co-op where people could learn how to fix their bikes and borrow tools to do so, but the place we were supposed to meet was very large and I forgot to ask exactly what part of this large place we were supposed to meet at. There was supposed to be a picnic and I waited at some picnic tables for over an hour and did not know there was more than one picnic area in the park until I got on the bus and had left the park when I saw what could have been more parking and picnic tables on the other side of the park diagonal to the place I was waiting. I just checked the web site, and I was at the wrong park the whole time.

A bunch of follow-up links on the Seattle semi v bike wreck. Federal Way man ID’d as bicyclist killed in Sodo and Friends remember cyclist killed on East Marginal Way At this point they are still trying to find out the “what and how” of the 5 Ws and 1 H of news (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How) Right now they have a solid grasp on Who, When, and Where, but What, Why and How are either unknown or a deeply held secret. More Bike riders honor Seattle cyclist killed during commute And Friends hold memorial ride for cyclist killed in Seattle

A cyclist is killed in SC. Bicyclist killed in Raleigh accident and Cyclist killed in Raleigh Thursday was prominent developer The mode of wreck was a left cross as the cyclist descended a hill at what would be a high speed for a bicycle but probably under the speed limit. Intersection wreck means intersection protocols to avoid but that may not have been humanly possible, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. More Cyclist’s death highlights tension between two wheels, four and Cyclist remembered as ‘community servant’

An IL cyclist is killed in a hit-from-behind wreck. Bicyclist killed near Lake Villa Hit from behind is all we know now, so hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. More Identity of cyclist killed in crash released

An interesting wreck in ID where the driver was also injured. Cyclist, driver injured in Boise crash It wasn’t clear if the cyclist was riding in the sidewalk when he was hit or just hit after the driver went up on the sidewalk going the wrong way, but either way there was no way for a human cyclist to avoid this wreck when the driver crosses from their side of the road to yours. Maybe infrastructure would help, but as the driver was on the sidewalk when he hit the cyclist I would say probably not.

A MD cyclist gets left-crossed. Cyclist hit in Pikesville Left crosses are always the fault of the driver for failing to yield to oncoming traffic. Intersection protocols to avoid, infrastructure to prevent.

Update on a wreck in CA from a while back. One year after cyclist’s death in North Coast hit-and-run, family searches for answers

A Canuckistani cyclist is injured in a left cross wreck. After serious collision, officials urge drivers and cyclists to take precautions Let’s see, precautions. The cyclist was proceeding through an intersection with the green light when the driver made a left turn without looking, what did the cyclist do wrong? Anyway, intersection protocols to avoid injury if not the wreck, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Another cyclist is hit in Canuckistan. Injured teen can’t remember possible collision between bicycle, motor vehicle The report sounds like there might have been a hit-and-run with the driver leaving a head-injured cyclist to fend for himself. Without being able to see the bike I couldn’t hazard even a guess about what happened with any assurance.

The other Big Story today is the UK driver that was given community service for killing a second cyclist with a motor vehicle. Motorist given community sentence for causing death of second cyclist also Motorist who caused death of cyclists spared jail A cyclist was fined more than $1300 for punching out a commercial driver Cyclist found guilty of assaulting van driver so one would think that actually killing someone would merit a steeper punishment than just what was given for just punching someone in the face after they almost killed you. But that is not the case. More Daughter of cyclist Audrey Fyfe calls for tougher sentences and Fury at sheriff’s helmet claim in cyclist death case

From Oz comes this report on a pair riding in an SUV who were convicted of assaulting 2 women on bikes. Pair fined $3000 after backside slap leaves female cyclist seriously injured One of the cyclists has not been able to ride her bike since the incident because of a crippling shoulder injury. Again, not the kind of thing a human cyclist could avoid.

Also in the news from Oz, the trial of an accused cyclist-killer has gone to the jury over the weekend. Jury in trial of a cement truck driver accused of killing cyclist Richard Pollett has retired to consider its verdict This was the driver that drove a 2.5 meter wide vehicle through a gap of 3.1 meters and tried to share that 3.1 meters with a bike, or for the metric challenged drove an 8 foot wide truck through a 10’2″ gap with a cyclist in the same space, and says it wasn’t his fault the cyclist ended up wrapped around the back tires of the truck. The standard in TX is anything less than 14 feet of pavement with no other obstructions is too narrow for cyclists to safely share with motor vehicles.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today, less the UK links without any information, and the motorcycle wrecks that didn’t have any bicycles in them.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Brr!, and the Feed

If I’m reading the weather crawl on the cable box right, we had a record low this morning in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell, 39°F. This is a record for 2 reasons, only one is because it was the lowest temperature recorded on this day of the month, the other being it was the latest date that had a recorded temperature lower than 40° before Summer. This is following the warmest Summer in history, which was even warmer than the year we had more 100° days than we had official days of summer if you can imagine that. We had fewer days that were incredibly hot, but we also did not have any days that could be called “cool” either. We have already hit the forecast high for today but it hasn’t reached noon yet as I type this. I would say “typical Texas weather” except that records are by definition not “typical”.

From just down the road a bit from the WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell a cyclist recovers from a stupid driver trick. Injured cyclist urges drivers to put away the phones People need to know they are guiding a projectile as deadly as a howitzer shell with the destructive force of a 200 pound bomb, which is not something to be taken lightly. If a weapon was as dangerous and deadly as a motor vehicle it would be classified as a WMD not fit for use against civilians or soldiers not in armored vehicles. Interestingly enough driving a motor vehicle deliberately into either of those groups is treated the same as attacking with a WMD… Because it is.

The mode of wreck has been released in that Seattle wreck, and surprise surprise the truck driver violated the right of way of the cyclist. Followup: Bicyclist identified as Lance David; crash brings safety concerns back into spotlight I quote the wreck report:”Preliminary investigation indicates that a 53-year-old man driving a flatbed semi-truck was attempting a right turn from westbound South Hanford Street to northbound East Marginal Way South. At the same time a 54-year-old male bicyclist was northbound on East Marginal Way South approaching South Hanford Street. For reasons that have yet to be determined, the bicyclist collided with the truck-trailer’s left side wheels in or near the intersection and went down. Fire department medics responded and after administering CPR treatment, pronounced the bicyclist dead at the scene.” The truck driver was turning right into the through street of the T intersection, which means the cyclist had the right of way. Between the documented pavement issues and the truck that pulled out in front of him the cyclist had no way of evading impact.

Another child cyclist is killed in CA. Boy, 14, Killed By School Bus While Riding Bike in Glendale From other reports I can’t link to I know the child was riding on the sidewalk against the direction of traffic for the side of the road he was on, making him essentially invisible to the bus driver. This is the result of not having SRTS instituted for every school, the cyclist was more or less forced to ride the sidewalks by adults with the mistaken beliefs that it would be safer than the road when riding in the roads is safer by a large factor (which I know is counter-intuitive). The way to prevent this wreck is infrastructure,INFRASTRUCTURE, and MORE INFRASTRUCTURE! Until there is a bicycle-friendly route to this school the school should be closed. And I’m NOT KIDDING! If there were gang wars being fought on the only ways to get to this school something would be done about it, well there are already random projectiles being fired down the street, they just have people in them.

And yet another fatal wreck in CA, this one courtesy of Ted Rogers of BikingInLA. Bicyclist struck, killed in Santee No mode of wreck given, just the vague note that the cyclist was found in the intersection by first responders. So, intersection protocols to (maybe) avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

What I didn’t know until recently was code for a “Door Prize” in the UK. Cyclist injured after hitting parked car in Shrewsbury The car is parked, and then the driver or passenger opens the door in front of the cyclist, but instead of correctly labeling the wreck as a dooring incident the cyclist is blamed for running into a parked car.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today, less the motorcycle wrecks of course. I’m getting way too many motorcycle wrecks in the Feed again as some news outlets don’t differentiate between bikes with motors and those without and frequently it isn’t until I click the links to other reports that I find the wreck was a motorcycle one and not a bicycle one.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Another Bean Day, and another Feed

Still banging about after not doing much yesterday, except I got an order for a crank-forward single-speed bike for one of the people I was camping with earlier this month. Her balance is a little wonky because she doesn’t ride much, so she wants a low saddle, but she made a less than 2 mile ride on the last day of the campout to go visit the vendors and came back complaining of knee pain, which I was told later did not go away until 3 days after returning to “civilization”. So once again her friends are getting together to get her something she needs. I’m doing most of the work, and directing, while other people are bringing in the supplies. For ease of transport I’m modifying an existing BMX bike into a 20/20 crank-forward, putting in my version of an anti-rotation seat post/tube combination and adding tubing to fill in the gaps created when moving the bottom bracket forward. I think the woman who gets this bike will be both surprised and pleased.

A PA cyclist is injured and is not at fault (!). Pickup truck driver to be cited after hitting bicyclist in Carlisle The comments are “interesting” in that while the cyclist was totally absolved of blame in this wreck, the people making the comments blamed the cyclist for being there to get hit… The more things change, the more they stay the same. Intersection wreck, use the intersection protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

True crime in CO. Family of man killed by car while riding bike in Boulder has mixed feelings about plea deal and T.J. Doherty’s friends, family wrestle with plea deal in fatal Boulder crash One hundred hours of community service for killing a man, slightly more than double the sentence he would have gotten for littering. That’s 2 1/2 weeks of mowing lawns and picking up trash off the side of the roads for the state. Want to commit a random murder? You can’t go wrong by using a motor vehicle as your weapon, if you just stop and tell LEO “I didn’t see him!” you get away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist if you even get prosecuted which makes this CO case highly unusual. In NYC the driver wouldn’t have even gotten a ticket.

A hit-from-behind wreck in CA. Bicyclist Dies After Being Struck by Vehicle on El Camino Real One of two cyclists riding in the bike lane, and the driver still couldn’t manage to see and avoid hitting the victim. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, and make sure that drivers actually are able to drive under the harsh conditions of clear weather and dry roads that prevailed at the time of this wreck, to prevent. Really, how could anyone place any blame on a cyclist hit from behind in a bike lane? More Bicyclist dies following traffic accident I hate the term “accident” Cyclist dies after being hit by vehicle also BICYCLIST IN BIKE LANE HIT BY VEHICLE, KILLED still more Cyclist dies after being hit by vehicle

Another CA bike wreck, this one caused by a combination of bad pavement and excessive speed. Bicyclist Injured on Golden Lantern Sunday Afternoon To avoid modulate your speed on downhills, to prevent keep the road surfaces clean and smooth. This could have just as easily been a motorcycle rather than a bicycle.

An AL race wreck that could happen to anyone riding on the street, especially THAT street. Pro cyclist injured after dog runs onto Foothills Classic course Dogs running in front of a bike is a hazard that no cyclist can be fully prepared for. Hitting Fido usually causes the bike to fall over no matter what the rider does. Leash laws and other infrastructure to prevent.

A UK driver loses his license for running over a cyclist wearing hi-viz and running a blinking taillight in daytime. Road ban for driver who killed A1 cyclist Dozens of other drivers managed to see and avoid the cyclist, which I think was a major factor in this conviction. You would think that the driver would have noticed the other vehicles moving to the center of the road to pass the cyclist… More Suspended sentence for lorry driver who admitted killing A1 time trial cyclist

A driver in South Africa invokes the universal get-out-of-jail-free card after hitting a cyclist in the back wheel. Cyclist injured in BV accident Numerous trucks parked close to the intersection lends more credence than usual to the claim of blindness for the driver, as he really could not see oncoming traffic until he had pulled far enough into he lane to have his eyes beyond the trucks.

More LifeStyle from NYC. ‘Ghost Bike’ Tour To Honor Cyclists Killed In New York City (PHOTOS) and Photos: 20 More “Ghost Bikes” To Remember Killed Cyclists

And more on West, TX. Regulatory And Oversight Problems Led To Fertilizer Plant Explosion There were 240 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in a site authorized to store 400 pounds of the stuff, that’s 1200 TIMES the legal limit, or about 239.8 tons more than they were allowed. The plant owners should be facing state and federal criminal charges, but as it currently stands I don’t see any such charges being filed.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus (price increase because I have the € on my keyboard now )

Still emulating that chicken, and the Feed

You know that chicken right? The one that runs hither and yon after being relieved of its head? That’s still my life. I have to go buy a reload card for my cell phone even though I paid for a year’s use and haven’t even come close to the 5000 minutes I bought back in December, I still had more than 4K minutes left on my plan when they shut my phone off… Grr. And I have something I need to do at church tonight. And I haven’t even gotten started good at filtering the Feed ’cause it’s freaking huge today.

A cyclist is killed in NC. Cyclist killed in Fayetteville collision This report does not pass the smell test for me as it is just too vague. The cyclist was blamed for “failing to yield to oncoming traffic” but then the only vehicle that has a halfway accurate place and direction given was the weapon vehicle, and even then the place of the wreck was only “near” the intersection listed. So I can’t say for sure how to avoid this wreck with the built environment. Get the infrastructure right to prevent.

From the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike a very strange wreck report that is behind a paywall. Fort Pierce man killed while riding bicycle on I-95 As I can’t read the report I can’t say how or why the cyclist was riding in the middle of the outside lane of an Interstate highway.

More bad news from NYC. Your Dog Can Legally Take Out A Cyclist As Long As It’s Not “Vicious” This is just another link to the “dog runs over bike” story…

Update on a CA wreck, courtesy of BikingInLA. Coroner’s report delaying filing case in Cal Poly bike death LEO have already determined the driver was at fault, but level of charges is dependent on what the coroner’s report says.

LifeStyle in NYC as they hold a pre-RoS tour of the local Ghost Bikes. Tour of City’s ‘Ghost Bikes’ to Honor Bronx Man Killed in Unsolved Crash Ordinarily I would make the comment that I hope this causes someone to report something to LEO that enables them to catch the killer, but this is NYPD we are talking about, they don’t care if you kill someone riding a bicycle unless the cyclist is another cop or a high-ranking pol in city government. And those people know better than to get caught on a bike given the total lack of prosecution against people that kill while behind the wheel. A driver’s license is almost a license to kill in NYC.

And those were all the live links that gave me fits.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

I can’t believe I’m starting a post this late at night, and the Feed

I had stuff I had to do today, with a long trip away from the house and computers involved. I have that camping trip coming up, well part of that is I have to have a bike ready for a customer that is going to use said bike on that camping trip. I had consumables to buy (tubes and brake blocks) that need to be installed by Tuesday at the latest because the bike ships to the campsite Wednesday morning. I think I might have mentioned that I have been a bit under the weather lately and not much good at going out on trips and buying things or doing anything much more strenuous than placing the laptop sideways as I lay in bed and reading web comics. I’m feeling a bit more active now, so I did “stuff”, but now I’m feeling a bit tired again, so this may be a little terse again.

Up first is a story with more than one link about a little boy killed just feet from where he had been visiting, and only 7 blocks from his home. 10-year-old WA boy hit and killed while riding bike and Spanaway boy, 10, hit and killed by pickup truck while leaving friend’s house on his bicycle This was right in the middle of a residential area, the driver should have been going slow enough to stop when the kid entered the road. Also from the video it looked like this was an arterial road through a residential area and had very poor sight lines because of overgrown vegetation on the side of the road, a lethal combination. To avoid teach children that every driveway is an intersection and to use intersection protocols, to prevent have as few houses on arterial roads as possible, and where arterials have to pass through residential areas have the speed limits as low as possible. Forget the “85th percentile” BS when people’s lives are at stake. I have rather strong opinions on the “85th percentile” rule that I will get into in a Sunday post.

And from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike cyclist is left-crossed and blamed for his own death… WTF? Motorized bike rider dies following crash on NW 20th St. The narrative of the wreck makes the mode of the wreck quite clear, then blames the wreck on him for being there to get hit (note, from the comments left with this article, that might change). I checked the entire length of the street in question and there were no stop signs on the street, much less any traffic lights. But the directions of travel for this wreck don’t make much sense as the cyclist was riding on an east-west street if the location was right, or assuming that the directions of travel given for both vehicles was correct then the wreck could not have been on any street in that neighborhood because of a lack of places to travel north and have a car turn east in front of you. This is causing me another WTF? headache as none of the facts are matching the pictures of the area. In particular that bit about the “non-travel lane” as there are no lane markings at all on the street named in the article… I can’t tell you in good faith how to avoid or prevent this wreck until I figure out how it happened, and at this point I’m thinking that it might have happened in an alternate universe because I can’t get any of the facts given in the case match up with the geography of the area. The closest thing I can say is based on the narrative use intersection protocols to avoid and as this was a residential area cars should be moving slow enough to not impede the safety of bicycles or pedestrians.

Update on that wreck from yesterday about the SWCC in FL. Bicyclist hit, killed while crossing Dixie Highway in Deerfield Beach The second driver in this case was driving too fast for conditions if they were not able to see and avoid an adult human in the road for at least 10-15 seconds prior to impact, as the first driver pulled over and stopped and attempted to warn other drivers about the cyclist in the road. Intersection protocols to avoid, get the infrastructure right to prevent.

An OR cyclist rides drunk, into ditch. Cyclist injured after crashing bike in ditch Don’t ride drunk, and keep your vehicle under control at all times. Single-vehicle wrecks are so easy to solve…

A cyclist in Oz has a narrow escape. Struck cyclist is lucky to be alive The cyclist was trying to use the infrastructure as designed to be used and there was just too much speed on the part of the motor vehicles to actually ride a bike on the bike lane which vanished just as the cyclist got to the intersection.

A cyclist in Enn Zed on a paid ride with lots of signs warning drivers to be alert for cyclists on the road gets hit by an idiot. Cyclist injured on fun ride Of the four cyclists hit, only the 63YO victim needed transport. I’m sorry for the cyclists, but this comes down to drivers not paying attention to the roads as they use deadly weapons for transportation. Hit four at once with one needing hospitalization on a route that has signs warning drivers to watch for cyclists in the roads… If the driver wasn’t near-terminally stupid he should be charged with assault.

Infrastructure! news from NYS. Half a Billion to Treat Pedestrian and Cyclist Injuries, and That’s Just the Hospital Bills Those are direct costs of favoring the motor vehicle over all other modes of travel, and not even a full accounting of those costs as it doesn’t include any medical costs after the injured vulnerable road user leaves the hospital, and I can tell you that is an astronomical number, easily exceeding the amount spent in hospital. My total costs for just medical expenses came to almost $250K, of which about $100K was in-hospital…

Infrastructure in WY, as the bridge where a cyclist died from hitting bad pavement and then going over the guard rail gets repaved. Repairs set for bridge where fall killed biker According to the WYDoT spokesperson the work had been in the planning stages prior o the death of the cyclist…

Sad infrastructure news from Jolly Olde. Hackney council to remove ‘ghost bike’ in memory of killed cyclist Someone made the comment that the bike was a constant reminder to the council that bad infrastructure killed the cyclist and that’s why the bike had to go.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Finally able to focus, and the Feed

I have had a decent night’s sleep, the right amount and kinds of food, some human companionship and there is an almost full pot of coffee sitting in the kitchen. I think I’m ready to get focused on the blog and do some writing.

Up first, a single FL city is killing more pedestrians and cyclists than any of the bottom 5 states in the NHTSA 2011 traffic statistics. 28 pedestrians, 9 bicyclists killed in Jacksonville in 2012 There has to be something in the water as only 20% of the pedestrians killed are at fault, while previous studies showed that drivers were at fault in 60% of the cyclists killed. This is a combination of poor infrastructure and bad drivers creating a perfect storm of deadly conditions for people not in cars, and it’s even worse for pedestrians than it is for those of us riding bicycles. I see 2 possible solutions to this situation: fix the infrastructure, or drastically raise the minimum standards for drivers with no grandfathering allowed. Neither is going to be popular, and in the short run it’s a tossup as to which will cost more. Long term fixing and maintaining the infrastructure will be more expensive, but if you just keep bad drivers from driving then you have to provide alternate means for those people to get around which gets back to infrastructure again.

The city that WoaB is in a suburb of has placed an ordinance making it a crime to threaten or intimidate cyclists with a motor vehicle up for final vote. New protections for bicyclists on Dallas roads should win council’s OK today OK if Dallas (aka “Hell”) can do this, any city can do this. Can, should, and MUST do this. The good part is they made it a violation that kicks in regardless of intention, drivers don’t have to intend to make life dangerous for cyclists for it to be a violation of this law, just like there is no need to show intent to speed for it to be a violation.

A right hook in Boston. It looks like there will be more links tacked on the end of this paragraph as I get farther into the feed. BU Student On Bike Killed In Crash With Tractor Trailer The truck made a right turn from the left lane crossing the bike lane while the cyclist was riding in it. This was another wreck that would take supernatural reflexes to avoid and one that I place 100% of the cause on the driver of the semi. Intersection protocols might have saved the cyclist’s life, getting the infrastructure right would have prevented the wreck. More Fatally Injured Cyclist was 23-Year-Old BU Student and Cyclist killed in collision with truck in Boston Also BU student killed in crash on Commonwealth Ave. in Allston; fifth biker killed in Boston this year more Boston University student killed in bicycle accident

Another hit-and-run in UT. Bicyclist killed in hit-and-run accident in Salt Lake City No mode given, but it is a fair guess that this was an intersection wreck of some kind given the location. Making hit-and-run a major felony with penalties equal to DUI manslaughter or DUI homicide (depending on the state) would go a long way to preventing the driver leaving the scene, getting the infrastructure right to keep cyclists separated from motor vehicles in both time and space (Dutch model) would prevent the wreck in the first place.

A CA hit-and-run. Cyclist Injured in Hit and Run Hit-from-behind in the most literal sense, this should be treated as an attempted murder for the investigation phase. Protocols to avoid, infrastructure to prevent, including strict laws that make hit-and-run a serious felony on a par with DUI manslaughter or homicide (see previous paragraph).

Still in CA, a single-vehicle bike wreck. Update: Newark Man Killed in Bicycle Crash Near Fremont The cause of the wreck remains unknown at this posting. More Niles Canyon Road cyclist killed when bike hits rock

A cyclist is hit from behind in NYC, “no criminality suspected”. Bicyclist Killed at Aqueduct Racetrack: Police Not much to go on here except the failure to list an intersection makes this an almost-sure hit-from-behind wreck. First and foremost to prevent a similar wreck is to make the NYPD actually investigate wrecks as required by NY state laws so that exactly what caused the wreck can be fixed.

Another wreck in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike now for 9 years running. Bicyclist hit by SUV, seriously hurt Again with the “witnesses” saying the cyclist ran a red, and I wonder how many of them were not in the SUV that hit the cyclist… Intersection wreck, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Update on a cyclist who was hit head on by a car that crossed the centerline and several lanes of traffic to hit the cyclist riding on the shoulder of the road in WA. Driver who killed cyclist may have been texting Texting is as bad as driving drunk, and much easier to prevent, IMHO. Just stop texting when you drive. If people can’t do that on their own then a technological fix needs to be implemented that prevents texts from being sent or read when the phone is moving faster than a quick jog. With GPS now being required an all new phones this should be a quick software update propagated by the same system used to make phones unreliable after 2 years…

A cyclist in far West Canuckistan gets left crossed. Cyclist injured in Colwood intersection crash this morning I don’t see what investigating is required, the cyclist was riding through on a green light, the car turned left violating his right of way, very simple and un-complicated. Intersection protocols to avoid, infrastructure to prevent.

An Enn Zed wreck story reaches closure, but not the end. Cyclist still mending months after accident The driver was 10 weeks pregnant at the time of the wreck, and had a 6 week old baby at the trial.

More death in Enn Zed. Elderly cyclist killed in Taupo From what was published, this appears to be a SWSS wreck. Hit-from-behind protocol to avoid, get the infrastructure right to prevent.

A rare link from the UK as a killer driver gets banned from driving for a year… Driver killed A1 cyclist “Both prosecution and defence debated whether Mr Warrington should have been on the A1 in the dark at 4am, but concluded that the law allowed him to be.” And we still have a very long way to go… >sigh<

Also from the UK, a driver is charged with manslaughter after giving a cyclist the "door prize". Driver ‘killed cyclist, Sam Harding, by recklessly opening door’

Infrastructure! news from OK. Bicycle riders want a share in the next Fix Our Streets campaign The nerve of cyclists wanting a safe place to ride!

Infrastructure news from the UK. Renewed calls for action after Cyclist killed on one of Britain’s most dangerous roads This road has been on the radar as a dangerous place to drive or ride a bike for years with a 2010 report making this officially a “black spot”, and they are just now getting around to doing something about it after it killed a cyclist? I think this qualifies as “corporate manslaughter” if anything in the UK does.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Solo Mule Day duties, and the Feed

Mrs. the Poet has been feeling a bit under the weather this week so I’m giving her a slight break by doing the shopping by myself this week. I have a cheap calculator I can use to keep track of how much I’m spending, a grocery list and a few bucks. I also have 2 40 pound capacity kitty litter buckets and a surplus army ruck that can carry another 80 pounds. And after that I have the ability to lash one large item to the top of the rack and drape over the tops of the kitty litter buckets. My recent weight loss has allowed an increase in payload without overloading the back wheel. So, haw mule! haw me!

Up first, Ted Rogers over at BikingInLA needs our emotional support. Insurance is handling most of the costs but he could use some messages of good will and positive energy sent his way.

Interesting piece from PA about the truck driver that assaulted a cyclist, with his truck. The Swerving Red Solo Truck Jagoff I LIKE the suggestion the driver be used as a bike rack for a week. Might be a little rough on the junk after a few days sitting outside in the nude. More Drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians can take the high road to safety

A bike wreck in CA. Police Patrol Car Strikes Bicyclist SWCC on a ninja cyclist. Plenty of blame to go around, but one has to wonder just how observant the LEO is to “not see” the cyclist behaving illegally. Infrastructure to prevent, as is the case more than 90% of the time.

Update on a WA fatality. No arrest following fatal truck-bicycle accident in Marysville To remind you this was the buzz job wreck by a pickup truck that never stopped.

From the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike for the last 8 years running, another dead cyclist. Bicyclist killed in hit-run collision on Oakland Park Boulevard This was another one of those cases that had bad infrastructure as a factor in the wreck as the cyclist was riding parallel to a major obstruction to cycling in the area, an Interstate highway. The wreck appears to be a hit-from-behind, apply those protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. Also make Hit-and-run a capital crime when the victim dies.

A lawsuit was required to get justice for a woman killed by a bus while she was taking her bike from the front mounted bus rack. CTA settles suit over bike rack death Just think of how much time and money could have been saved had the driver been looking out the front of the bus at the woman standing in front of him, because the settlement is just the tip of the iceberg on this one, usually about twice the settlement is spent on legal fees for both sides which the loser in this case will have to pay.

Infrastructure! news from MO. “Share the Road” sign put up at location where man was killed on bicycle I would prefer a “(bicycle symbol) may use full lane” sign rather than a “share the road” because many drivers view of “sharing” is “get the hell out of my way”.

And more infrastructure from the Great White North. Provincial News: NDP urges Liberal government to release long delayed bike strategy As more people are killed funds are just sitting for bicycle infrastructure that needs to be built.

More on the Ghost Bike that was removed in MA. Wellesley police ordered Ghost Bike removal

Last link, if you saw a warning sign about a wandering gorilla somewhere in NoCal last week you can breathe a sigh of relief. Weird News: Loose gorilla alert? Electronic road sign hacked

And those are all the links that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

My new piece of winter gear is almost finished, and the Feed

I have been building a piece of gear that will both keep my face warm and keep my glasses clear when I’m riding this winter. Since I be P’ (too impoverished to buy a vowel to be po’) I only had one shot at making this right. I think I have a workable device now, or will have as soon as I find something to use to install the baffles into the mask. One of the people at church has a cement that supposedly sticks to plastic and PU foam and has a fairly good bond strength and long life so that should work for keeping the baffles in place. What I was doing last night was adding some color to the mask to make it less frightening. Mrs. the Poet said I look like a low-rent version of Darth Vader, while some of the people at church said it makes me look like Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs. So to dispel any more movie villain comparisons, I added some simple painted decorations to the severe-looking solid black. I went with a flame motif, that I was so warm that I was breathing fire, and had flames from where my mouth and nose are under the mask. The nose flames I made look like a wild moustache, while the mouth flame looks more like a goatee. From a few feet away they look quite nice and not at all like Mike Meyers, Hannibal Lecter, or Darth Vader. After I get the mask finished I will get some pictures made and posted in a Sunday post.

Up first a cyclist is hit-and-run by a dump truck in Seattle. Cyclist critically injured by hit-and-run truck The description of the wreck makes it possible to be either a buzz job or a right hook. Intersection wreck, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right so that a man on a bicycle isn’t forced to contend for road space with a dump truck that weighs more than 10 tons empty. More SPD Detectives Search for Dump Truck That Critically Injured Cyclist This Morning This link makes it quite plain that the cyclist was right-hooked.

Another blind WA driver kills another cyclist. Bicyclist killed in crash with truck in Marysville Cyclist riding legally in the road gets hit from behind by a driver that wasn’t looking where he was going and they don’t even give the driver a ticket? TANJ!

Insult is added to injury as the driver of the vehicle that hit-and-run a cyclist also takes his bike. Cyclist injured in Presidio hit-and-run also loses mountain bike The weapon vehicle is reported to be a black Porsche Cayenne SUV. “If caught, the driver could face felony hit-and-run and theft charges since the bike is still missing“. The irony in this is that the driver could be facing a steeper sentence for driving off with the bicycle than he does for leaving the scene of the wreck.

Also in CA the parents of a 12 YO cyclist who was killed riding in the street are suing to get the infrastructure right. Ratliff family files claim against Novato for daughter’s death What should be a peaceful residential street is filled with road-raging drivers that routinely exceed the speed limit, text, talk on their cell phones, and do other activities than driving while they are supposed to be driving. The family is also suing the driver, the owner of the vehicle, and the company the driver was working for at the time of the wreck as it was on company time. At this time this is the only way to get people to drive like they have a brain, sue them until you hit pocket lint.

As demonstrated by the gentle caress on the wrist given to this killer CA driver. Driver gets probation, community service for death of Pasadena bicyclist Originally charged with manslaughter the driver will never see the inside of a jail cell for this crime, ever, and will have to endure no loss of driving privileges either. TANJ! TANJ! There Ain’t No Justice!!

A NJ cyclist is left-crossed. Asbury bicyclist badly injured in Greenwich collision The cyclist had a reflective vest but no light, so some responsibility there is on the cyclist as the vehicle was not properly equipped. At this point I don’t know if the cyclist would have been in the lights of the weapon vehicle before it started to make the left turn as the cyclist’s lane position has not been reported. Anyway intersection wreck, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent, with special attention to the infrastructure as the road the cyclist was riding used to be one of those quiet low-speed country roads that cyclists are “supposed” to be restricted to, that was changed to a highway without accommodation for other than motorized transport many years ago.

A PA cyclist is hit in what may have been a deliberate assault. Bicyclist Hit By Truck, Injured In Squirrel Hill “We saw the red truck swerve to actually intentionally hit this biker,” said Walko. “There was plenty of room for both the bike and the car to be traveling through the intersection.” Not to mention a serious violation of the PA 4-foot passing law.The only thing I can say that would have avoided this wreck or prevented it would be to get the infrastructure right, including getting the idiots driving motor vehicles off the roads and riding bicycles where they can do relatively little damage. More Injured Bicyclist: No Way It Was An Accident

Many links to the cyclist hit by a bus outside Boston story. BU student riding bike killed by MBTA bus OK this was just a smear piece on cyclists, there was no indication that the cyclist killed was running a red light since the impact seemed to be from behind. If he did then the bus was running the same light. BU student riding bicycle, struck, killed by T bus also BU student hit, killed in Allston This was the wreck that I had previously described as a buzz job after looking at the victim’s bicycle and seeing almost no damage to the bike except a few scuffs. The bike could have been ridden away from the scene. Infrastructure, infrastructure, INFRASTRUCTURE! Get the infrastructure right and there won’t be any wrecks like these. Oh and the majority of the comments to the last link were left by congenital idiots apparently pounding their keyboards at random.

A cyclist in the Great White north is severely injured just a short distance from where bike lanes are being removed. Woman seriously injured in collision with garbage truck and Cyclist critically injured after collision with garbage truck at Yonge and Gerrard I hesitate to call this a right hook because the weapon vehicle ran over the cyclist from behind, judging by the reported damage to the weapon vehicle and the damage visible on the victim’s bicycle. What made this similar to a right hook was the cyclist proceeding straight through the intersection and the weapon vehicle turning right. I doubt intersection protocols would have helped much in this wreck as there was no escape route for the cyclist because of tall curbs and the width of the weapon vehicle. I’m going to tag this one with the “blind driver” tag because of hitting the cyclist squarely from behind while the driver was supposed to be slowing for the right turn. To prevent a wreck like this in the future get the infrastructure right instead of tearing out what little infrastructure you have.

A “safety” campaign in the UK has resulted in the taking down of at least one web site and one ad company worker going into hiding… Karmarama ‘enormously distressed’ after campaign sparks fury from cyclists The company claimed the ads were the result of a “rogue operator” in the company. Right, and I’m a millionaire.

And those are all the bicycle links that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus