A near-empty Feed

Not much cooking in today’s Feed, but a lot going on with me. I had committee meetings out the wazoo today starting at 10 AM and not ending until after 5 PM at church, plus more in the coming week. Yuck! Being in an Organized Religion is a lot of work. Imagine all the work you have to do as a solitary and then double it as you have to either teach your rituals to someone else, or learn how to do their rituals. This ain’t like sitting in a Christian church and listening to the preacher spout, uh-unh. Not only are you responsible for your religious celebrations but you have to bring along the nubes and hold their hands until they get up to speed and can work without the training wheels. It’s called giving to the next generation and passing on what you have learned. And it’s my turn.

Up first because something had to be, is a family asking LEO to be more cognizant of dealing with human beings when they kill someone while on duty. Cyclist’s Family Wants Cops to Care Yeah, good luck with that one guys.

A compliment to the previous article is this one on s cyclist killed in the turn lane blamed for his death because he was riding a bicycle in the street. Death highlights bike safety The cyclist was more than visible enough under the street light while trying to make his turn to be seen and avoided, but to remain blameless you need to have a headlight and taillight on your bike. I strongly recommend such any time you are out after dark, so that you can be seen and also so you can see. It doesn’t do any good to be lit up like a Xmas tree for drivers to avoid hitting you if you can’t see where you’re going.

Infrastructure in CA, funded by a Girl Scout door-to-door fund raising drive. Girl Scouts go door-to-door to raise funds for speed bumps on 38th Avenue What gets me about this was not that the cyclist was hit, but the drivers honking their car horns at the people trying to help because they blocked the road, and then the people having to raise money to protect themselves from the city’s poor planning and failure to enforce the speed limits.

People helping other people while riding bicycles. Taking the chai road Raising money for a kids hospital and riding in Israel, what a deal.

And that’s all I have today. Just a reminder I will be out having a life tomorrow after church, so no blog post until Monday evening.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Another mild Feed

Yes we had another mild Feed today, with only 6 bicycle-related links, and one of those was not related to a wreck or infrastructure, with one other infrastructure article, so 4 wrecks or related to wrecks. That’s a Good Thing in my book.

Getting to the one that wasn’t a wreck or about infrastructure first, there was a bike-jacking in Daphne AL. Man shoots Eastern Shore teen in the arm, steals his bicycle, police say A bike thief with a gun, joy. Well if you’re too stupid to cut a chain or pick a lock then you have to steal them when they aren’t locked. I hope when they catch this guy they throw a couple of tons of books at him, but since he’s already 24 and still robbing kids on bicycles (with a gun) I don’t hold much hope that trying to educate the perp is going to help much, you can’t cure stupid. To avoid a similar situation, shoot back and aim center mass.

A situation that a little more experience and judgment on the part of the cyclist might have helped prevent. High school student on bike injured after hitting firetruck in Santa Rosa The cyclist was riding the wrong way in the bike lane and the firetruck had the flashers going and the backup alarm sounding and still the kid hit the firetruck. I am hopeful he learned something from this experience. I am also hopeful he continues to ride his bike with a greater appreciation of the safe way of doing so.

From Jolly Olde a bad wreck. Cyclist fighting for life after accident The driver was uninjured, joy.

They laid a cycling advocate to rest in Greenburgh, NY. Riders pay tribute to Greenburgh bicycle advocate killed in bus collision The best thing I can say about this wreck is it illustrates exactly what the guy was trying to tell people, that frequently the only option to get someplace by bicycle is to ride in traffic on high speed feeders and arterials because there are no other connecting routes. This is the same problem we have in Garland, the planning done in the 1970s and ’80s created superblocks that were only connected by arterials with 40-45MPH speed limits, and all the commercial development (grocery stores and other retail) was on those arterials. This is great as long as everyone has a car, not so great if people want to walk or ride a bicycle.

A NYC weekly complains about infrastructure that is supposed to protect cyclists from cars still being overrun by motor vehicles. Make bike lanes safe The wreck in question was on a protected bike lane that was commandeered by a garbage truck. An analogy would be herded animals on a freeway, they don’t belong there and create a hazard for those for whom the infrastructure was intended.

And finally if your bike is equipped with an Easton EA30 stem, stop riding it immediately (well, you might want to ride home very carefully and then park the bike) and contact your LBS about a replacement. Bicycles Recalled by Easton Sports; Stem Failure Poses Fall Hazard The stem was OEM and also available as an aftermarket replacement part, so be sure to check which stem came on your mountain or hybrid bike. I built the stem on Gigi myself, so I don’t have to worry about this recall, just the quality of my workmanship.

And that’s all I have for this morning.

Billed @$.02, Opus

After last night I need a lighter day

Fortunately the Feed was smaller today, as after yesterday’s “Deep into the Night” marathon blog posting session I just don’t have the energy for filtering a large Feed.

I only have one new report of a bike wreck. Bicyclist killed in Woodstock collision The mode of this wreck was the cyclist riding on the sidewalk coming the “wrong way” was killed by a driver not paying attention to anything coming from his right as he crossed the sidewalk. Plenty of blame to go around, but I reserve the most blame for the driver that killed the cyclist while both were on the sidewalk. I just wonder if LEO are going to actually use the law that says cars must yield to traffic on a sidewalk when they cross one while getting to the road, or if they are going to blame the cyclist for being there to get hit.

And an update on a report linked here yesterday, they identified the 13 YO cyclist killed in DE. Cyclist, 13, killed in crash identified Interestingly enough now that we have more details on this wreck the physics don’t add up with the rest of the report. The victim was thrown into the back of another vehicle that was in front of the wreck, which indicates that the vehicle was close to the wreck and that the vehicle that struck the cyclist was moving at a greater rate of speed. Why would even a 13 YO go between vehicles that close together if the light wasn’t in his favor? Things just aren’t making sense in this wreck, something smells.

From Jolly Olde another hit-and-run. Man injured in hit and run Interestingly enough there wasn’t anything about the cyclist actually getting hit. “A car turned into Craddock Road in front of him, causing him to fall off his bike.” Now did the man fall off his bike because the bike or his person were grazed by the car or just because he had to stop suddenly and lost his balance?

First of our infrastructure articles is from SF CA. The Bad Motorist Column Never mentioned in the article was the number of drivers that exceed the speed limit even when that limit is too high for conditions, but then this is an Entertainment column, not a traffic safety column for this paper.

More on infrastructure, which dominated the Feed this morning. Queens Boulevard Bike Lane Not Happening, Despite Demand Interesting that in spite of the number of cyclists that use Queens Boulevard and the increasing number killed there, because it wasn’t placed on a document made years ago as a part of the master bike plan NYCDOT won’t even consider adding a bike lane there. Traffic has changed, but the traffic plan hasn’t and bureaucrats must stay with the plan no matter how much things have changed in the real world.

More on infrastructure and users of same from Newton KS. METZLER: Nice fall weather calls for outdoor safety Interesting how bike riders are admonished to be careful, but drivers who are the ones that can actually kill people that are just out to enjoy the nice weather are rightfully placed with the greatest amount of responsibility.

More infrastructure reports on the increasing toll wrought on pedestrians in spite of a falling share in trip mode in the worst areas for pedestrian fatalities. Report: American Cities Dangerous for Pedestrians and Cyclists This was predicted decades ago, design streets without considering pedestrians and pedestrians will get killed, because there is no way to prevent people from using their feet to get around when things get tight.

And another newspaper weighs in on TTTWLAMWAMD Cyclists and motorists on collision course You might remember the first time this article was posted in the LA Times, but as the paper proves by running it for their readers it still is applicable to current events.

And that’s all I have today.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Hoping my ancient computer doesn’t crash, a huge Feed

Well, I went to the lab rat keeper’s place again. I’m still alive, and I still have a pulse that’s slightly faster than a corpse’s after I drink my 3rd cup of coffee for the morning, no telling what it would be without coffee. I was advised again to get a medic alert bracelet or dog tags to let people I’m not dead if I’m found unconscious in the street before I get my morning coffee. The bad news is I gained 3.2 pounds since last month. The funny part is I have 2 sets of clothes now, one set of pants and shirts for “fat days” and another for “skinny days” and the “fat” clothes I can get over my thighs but when I stand up they fall off, the “skinny” clothes are a fight to get on over my thighs but when I get them on they don’t fall off Also I can now see the entire upper lobe of my rectus abdominus clearly now including the striation between the upper lobe and the middle lobe. I still have some more fat to lose yet, but I have lost a bunch already.

Up first is a story with multiple reports about a cyclist killed by a police car. Cyclist killed in collision with SDPD car in University City and Collision with police car kills bicyclist also SDPD calls fatal collision with bicyclist an ‘unfortunate accident’ and finally Police car headed to call hits and kills bicyclist Notice that aside from the comments there is nothing in the reports that wasn’t cleared by the killer’s employers the police department. The claim that the police officer was driving under the speed limit would be laughable if the consequences hadn’t been so dire. I mean when was the last time you saw a driver doing the speed limit, much less under the speed limit?

More on that drunk cyclist who crashed into a tree while riding on the sidewalk. Bike Crash Victim Seriously Hurt and Santa Rosa cyclist remains in critical condition OK there are a number of things that could have prevented this wreck. Not riding drunk is the first and foremost, not riding on the sidewalk second, and third is wearing a helmet when you ride. If you prevent the crash you don’t need the helmet, but you can’t always prevent the wreck so wear the helmet. Ideally you do everything you can to prevent the wreck first then protect yourself from getting hurt in the wreck.

I keep posting about not riding on the sidewalk, this is why. Cyclist Injured In Traffic Crash See, drivers don’t expect you when you’re riding on the sidewalk and do things like pull in front of you when you’re crossing the road even after you’ve already started across, with life-threatening consequences in this case. Ride in the street with the rest of the vehicles…

A recurring theme today seems to be cops killing cyclists. Bicyclist struck, killed by Bladensburg police vehicle Again the ridiculous claim that the cop was driving under the speed limit. But apparently the cyclist deserves some of the blame for not watching out for other vehicles on the road, and now he’s dead. Again, watch out for other vehicles when you pull out from parking lots and driveways.

Not your normal bike wreck, by a long shot. Police arrest Boise man after they watch him mug a bicyclist Downtown early Saturday Can you get any more stupid than this? He tries to steal the guy’s bicycle, in front of a bunch of cops. At least that’s one more anti-bike nut taken off the streets.

And another kid is killed just going for a bike ride near Newark DE. 13-year-old cyclist killed near Newark Nothing much about the wreck except that the cyclist was killed by cardiac arrest, apparently caused by blunt trauma to the chest if the rest of the report means what I think it means.

A memorial is planned for the cyclist killed by a transit bus in NY state. Memorial planned for cyclist killed by bus This was one of the good guys for transportational cycling, and I’m sorry his voice was silenced. but, his death will also speak volumes as even a cyclist of his vast experience was not able to navigate the traffic on that street because of poor design, that he pointed out almost a decade ago but that still hasn’t been changed.

A point that hinges on bicycle safety, pedestrian safety. The 10 most dangerous American cities for pedestrians and Pedestrians beware: Study ranks Orlando worst in nation for pedestrians and from one of the best cities, where things are still pretty bad Taking a walk shouldn’t be a contact sport And finally Path to good health, less pollution is the sidewalk: report Studies have shown a positive correlation between pedestrian safety figures and cyclist safety figures, safer pedestrians make for safer cyclists and vice versa. It’s interesting to note that the 4 worst cities are all in FL, the state that kills the most cyclists in spite of not having the most cyclists to kill.

Darcy Sheppard is getting a Ghost Bike. “Ghost bike” memorial placed on Bloor St. for Darcy Allan Sheppard, cyclist killed in August Just for the record I really don’t want a ghost bike, but if I get killed riding my bike there better damn well be a white painted bicycle where I got hit or I’m going to haunt someone until there is a Ghost Bike. So Ghost Bike, or real ghost riding a bicycle. Y’all better hope I die in my sleep from old age. I never had the chance to meet Darcy, he might have been a real SOB. But nobody deserves to die the way he was killed by a driver trying to smear him off the side of his car.

Another blameless wreck in Jolly Olde. Cyclist suffers head injury in collision with car in Purley I hope the cyclist recovers, and that the real story comes out so I can tell you what to do to keep safe in a similar situation.

And shades of TTTWLAMWAMD, someone semi-famous in Jolly Olde is handed down a severe sentence for using his vehicle to injure a cyclist. Former showjumper Christopher Robertson jailed for injuring cyclist From what I understand felons have a hard time getting a driver’s license in the UK, especially if the crime they committed used a car as a weapon…

Media stirring poo in DC against cyclists. WTOP Report Provokes Anger Among Area Cyclists I wonder if this station is a Faux News outlet?

And a bike ride for a veteran. Group bikes in honor of Canton man killed in Afghanistan Thank you veterans.

And that’s it for today. I was wondering if this computer would continue to run as it crashed twice trying to compose this report, once while filtering the Feed and a second time while composing the post, fortunately after I had saved so nothing was lost. If you happen to have a computer that works good and you’re either local or willing to ship, leave a comment.

Billed @$.02, Opus

After pruning the ash in the front yard a mild Feed

Sorry I’m late today, I had hunnydews to take care of first, like pruning one of our three trees. It is now possible to walk out the front door to the mailbox without swatting branches out of the way, and to walk down the sidewalk without having to duck. Likewise I can now mow the lawn without contortions. Well the front lawn at any rate.

Up first for no particular reason is the ID story about the driver that killed Kevin Pavlis. Boy who hit cyclist Pavlis will be charged Monday, prosecutors say The most frustrating thing about this situation is the juvenile status of the driver which prevents us from knowing exactly what’s going on after the charges are filed and the judge takes control of the case.

On the other side of the country a woman is killed by a transit bus. Police: Bicyclist killed by Bee-Line bus in Greenburgh Don’t read the comments. At this point they either don’t know or aren’t saying about a lot of this wreck.

Another article about the sleeping deputy in CA. The Ultimate Overtime Bill: $4.3 Million for Dead Cyclists Just think these are reduced settlements, and ponder what might have happened had these all gone before a jury.

Interesting article about bicyclists not stopping at a stop sign with absolutely nobody getting hurt or delayed or otherwise inconvenienced. New York Newspaper Busts on Bay Area’s Bikes There are so many stop signs that are there to make cars slow down and not because the intersection is dangerous enough to require a stop sign, that for the most part if a bicyclist slows down and looks they can ride through without stopping most of the time. The problem is telling intersections where the stop signs are to slow down cars from the intersections where the stop signs are there because the intersection requires a stop sign. I propose a new sign a red octagon like the current stop sign, but inside a white triangle like the current yield sign but with a bicycle symbol on the triangle. The sign would mean “motor vehicles must stop, bicycles yield” and would be used where jurisdictions are using stop signs to slow cars down now.

Much like the TTTWLAMWAMD past transgressions are catching up to a cyclist’s killer. Manslaughter of cyclist: Two new charges Just because someone didn’t die and wasn’t seriously injured doesn’t mean that the problem will go away, in some jurisdictions injuries causing facial scars are a felony.

The rest of the report is from Oz.

A grandmother dies after getting hit by a person riding a bike. Grandmother hit by cyclist dies, woman killed at Wongan Hills From what I have read in other articles about this wreck that no longer have valid URLs the woman died of a head injury. Pedestrians should be wearing helmets. Seriously there are more pedestrians killed by motor vehicles, who die from head injuries, and more vehicle occupants that die from head injuries, than cyclists killed by all forms of injury, why is there not a huge cry for all those other people to wear helmets?

A driver that killed a cyclist will face charges in Oz. Youth charged over cyclist’s death at Lewiston I hate to see people go to jail, but I love to see people prosecuted when they kill a cyclist with a several thousand pound WMD disguised as transportation.

And lastly, as the number of Australians riding bikes for transportation goes up the number of tickets issued to cyclists goes up along with it. More cyclists flout the law, figures show Obey the laws, even when they don’t make any sense for bicycles…

And that’s it for today. Remember I have a gig to do tomorrow, so no Sunday post.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Another breathless Feed

Again today we have a Feed deprived of air. I dunno why, just is that way. So without further adieu…

The only new wreck was a kid that ran in front of a bicycle race in TX. Child injured during Bear Downs This is more a matter of poor crowd control at an event than traffic problems, but still, watch out for kids in the street when you ride in areas where such can be found.

Update on the man injured in UT when a closed race course wasn’t closed. Mesa cyclist recovers after nearly fatal accident in August I covered this wreck back when it happened when participants in a bike race were expecting a particularly dangerous part of the course to be closed to all traffic until the race passed found themselves mixed with 2 way traffic at high speeds on a narrow and twisty road. Some of the traffic that wasn’t supposed to even be there got upset that there were bicycles on “their” road and brake-checked the cyclists causing the wrecks. The man that was the subject of this article was the most seriously injured of the victims.

And speaking of brake-checking drivers, much of the Feed today was commentary on TTTWLAMWAMD and his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, 5 other felonies and a misdemeanor. Justice Served? was Bob Mionske’s take on the situation with Roy Exum: Rage Rides A Bicycle the opinion of an E TN newspaper, notice the blame in the headline is assigned to bicycles instead of the people driving the deadly WMDs used as transportation.

And what I hope will be the last thing I have to write about the sleeping deputy hitting 3 cyclists on the other side of the road head on at high speed last year. $800,000 for dad of bicyclist killed in crash Actually there’s one more suit to be settled as the surviving victim seeks damages for medical bills, loss of income, and pain and suffering.

An idiot attacks a cyclist for leaving the scene when the victim was removed. Tewkesbury dad attacked cyclist with wrench The cyclist left when the little girl was removed from the scene to a nearby house, the idiot with the tire iron showed up because he thought it had been a hit-and-run and tried to kill the cyclist. The cyclist in this case did leave his contact information and thought the pedestrian victim had been removed to her home, which is not a hit-and-run. Had this been a real hit-and-run the idiot with the tire iron would not have known where to find the cyclist. Logic is just lost on some people. Hopefully the girl’s mother has more native intelligence than her father, leaving some hope for her.

And the story that has been the rage in the UK cycling world for the week, 2^nd quarter 2009 KSI stats on cyclists made an alarming jump over the year. Cyclist deaths and injuries increase as more people take to the road and Sharp rise in UK cycling casualties I can’t say anything about the statistics except that KSI is not the same as deaths because it includes cyclists that survive their injuries. From what I understand the KSI was instituted because the rising standards of trauma care has resulted in many more victims surviving their wrecks than had been the case previously, skewing later numbers because timely medical care rather than severity of the wreck had become the determining factor in fatality rates. Now most of the victims of fatal wrecks either died at the scene or during transport, with very few dieing once they get to the hospital. The KSI statistic is people that would have died given mid-1950s state-of-the-art care, more or less.

And that’s all I have today. Reminder, no updates the next 2 Sundays as I will be otherwise engaged.

Billed @$.02, Opus

More strange referrals, and a normal Feed

Of course “normal” is subjective, much of the stuff I get in my Feed has little or nothing to do with what is “normal” otherwise it wouldn’t be in my Feed.

Up first because it so definitvely illustrates how not normal “normal” is around here, a man in OR is hit by 2 drunk drivers and there is a possibility he was hit before that by another driver. Fatal Bike Crash in North Portland Last Night and AHS grad killed in Portland Yes, both of the drivers that were seen to have hit him were drunk, and there is some difference of opinion about how he ended up in the road where he got hit. This is another one of those that I can’t tell you what to do to avoid a similar situation because the whole situation is so bizarre as to defy understanding.

Just down the road a bit from that wreck we find this wreck. Bike rider injured in Gresham accident Apparently 3 drivers saw him and stopped while he crossed the street, but one didn’t and hit him. Again this is one of those wrecks that can’t be avoided by the cyclist because it depends on the other driver(s) obeying the law. The cyclist was obeying the law by using a crosswalk as permitted under OR laws, and the other 3 drivers were obeying the laws by yielding to someone in a crosswalk who had waited for traffic to yield, and then comes this last yahoo with no brains at all and just runs over the guy in the crosswalk. I say this calls for at least a one year loss of driver’s privileges with a mandatory written and road test for at least 5 years after the privilege is conditionally restored, with a permanent loss if he fails either test at any time. I would also put a zero wrong limit on the written test, miss any and you fail, forever.

More lawyer blather on the Greenville SC rider killed in vehicular assault. Update: Arrest Made for Greensboro Cyclist’s Hit-and-Run Death Again, why would they catch this person just to let them go? If someone had been shooting people at random on the freeway, would they have just let him go after paying a small bond, or would they lock him up and wait until trial to determine if he was innocent to protect society?

And another pedestrian is injured by a cyclist, fault not determined yet. Pedestrian hospitalized after being struck by bicyclist At this time, the mode of the wreck and even the location of the pedestrian are in dispute. The only thing that isn’t in dispute is the cyclist was not drunk or on drugs at the time of the wreck, which means that the cyclist hung around long enough to get tested.

Treehugger has a report on how cyclists get killed, and amazingly enough 70% of cyclists are following the law when they were hit. How To Get Killed On A Bicycle Of that 30% who were breaking the law, an unknown number would not have made any difference because they were already squarely in front of the driver when they were hit because the driver was looking in another direction than where they were going.

Nothing about the wreck in this update on a report linked here earlier. Burnham-On-Sea cyclist’s injuries more serious than originally thought I’m sorry that the woman was hurt badly (when is it ever good to be hurt?) but I really wish that UK media laws would allow for more information about the actual wreck.

In Portland OR an Episcopal church creates a shrine to a pre-Roman mountain Goddess that was made a Catholic saint of bicyclists, is that ecumenical or what? OREGON: Portland church dedicates shrine, space to Our Lady of the Cyclists The Lady Ghisallo’s original name has been lost to posterity, but Her followers still remember Her Spirit and honor Her.

The LA Times still doesn’t get it. Cyclists and motorists on collision course The majority of traffic laws were written for cars and don’t really apply to bicycles, but the writer expects cyclists to obey them anyway,

Philadelphia is having a hard time getting out of the car-head psychology and into complete streets. Bikers, walkers, drivers: Can’t they all get along? First, do something so that it isn’t like a jungle out there with everybody fighting for space either on the street or on the sidewalk, make a space for everybody somewhere. Then when there are spaces for everybody where those spaces intersect you will get more cooperation between users.

Some concern about the increase in the number of cyclists killed and/or injured in the UK this year. Sharp rise in number of cyclists killed on roads

Some shop owners have a hard time separating problems with infrastructure from the general downturn in the economy. Bike lane’s killed shop, says owner I loved Vancouver BC back in 1968, but I haven’t been back since then but people are people wherever you go, and some are going to blame changes they don’t like on things going wrong even if the two have nothing to do with each other.

And we finish up with a lifestyle report from Philly. Freewheelers Old people on bicycles, you gotta love it, especially since I’m (becoming) an old guy on a bicycle.

And that’s all I got today. Just a note I will not be doing posts for the next 2 Sundays, as I will be doing a non-computer gig Sunday nights. This gig is not open to the public, so don’t be looking for me, or Gigi

Billed @$.02, Opus

Another light Feed today

The conviction of the thing that walks like a man with a medical degree has sucked all the air out of the bicycle stories today. The usual “bicycle hit in middle of street, rider at fault” reporting has lost a lot of its credibility after the conviction on 2 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and many of the reports are coming back with no details aside from the collision.

Getting to the good news first are more reports on the conviction, starting with the USAToday writer eating crow after his diatribe from last week in favor of the TTTWLAMWAMD. Bicycle justice: Doctor convicted of causing road-rage accident that injured two bicyclists Notice it’s still an “accident” not an assault Second Edition Cycling News, Tuesday, November 3, 2009 For these guys the conviction was small potatoes, and placed well down the list of cycling news. I still can’t find any joy that Dr. Thompson is going to prison, I mean I feel some vindication, but I’m not happy about it. You would think that after all the times I got run off the road or hit I would be doing cartwheels over someone getting caught and punished for the deed, but even if I still had the ability to do them I don’t feel like that. The curse of being a thinking being with morals and scruples.

In other convictions, (I love typing that) a MI man that had been putting away a lot of beer gets a minimum of 20 years sentence for killing a cyclist. 20 beers nets 20 years for driver who killed teen cyclist That must have been some really cheap watered down beer for him to consume that much and only have a 0.18% BAC. That might have been a factor in the lack of judgment in getting behind the wheel with a BAC more than twice the legal limit, besides the impaired judgment that comes with BAC over .08%. As for how to avoid this wreck, you can’t and still use the roads. The driver ran a red light and hit the back end of a group ride crossing the road in front of him, making not being there the only way to avoid getting hit by a drunk driver running a red light. If you start to follow that path, you might as well stay in bed with the covers over your head. and that still won’t protect you from drunk drivers as the Queens man who was hit in his 2nd floor bedroom by a drunk driving a Lexus SUV can testify. I’m going to let you Google that one because I don’t have a valid URL for that article.

This must have been the most excitement in Anoka MN in quite a while, here it is over a week later and they’re still talking about it. Bike rider killed in Blaine identified As of this report this is a SWCC wreck, but at least we know the name of the cyclist.

Another hit-from-behind wreck in CA. Truck rear-ends bicycle, kills rider The lack of information forthcoming from LEO is a bad indication to me that something is being covered up.

More lawyer blather about the NC hit-and-run by the woman in the Dodge Durango that killed the cyclist, only this lawyer is still using the story that the cyclist was hit from behind instead of the now known cross the road to hit head on before the U-turn vehicular assault. Guilford County Hit and Run Kills Greensboro, N.C. Man I guess stories like this are the reason I don’t feel happy about TTTWLAMWAMD getting convicted, it was just a drop in a bucket, and a very large bucket at that.

It turns out the cyclist hit by the bus in Hayward was a bike ninja. Two fatalities in separate Hayward accidents Lights might have helped the bus driver see the cyclist, but coming from where he came from there was no way any reflectors would have helped. From the description of the damages to the bus, a helmet would not have helped either. When you ride after dark have lights on front and rear because you won’t always be in the headlights for a motor vehicle to see you before the wreck. And don’t drink and ride.

Another ride for someone hit by a car, but nothing being done about the cars. Ride memorializes bike-car collision victims At least the transportation department is aware of the issues and is part of the ride for the injured cyclist, even if they aren’t doing anything about cyclists getting hit in the bike lanes at the moment. But I’m really being too harsh on the transportation department, as they don’t enforce the laws they just build the roads.

Things weren’t that different at the turn of the 20^th Century. Gossip of the Cyclers, and Other News of the Wheel The big difference was there were no cars killing pedestrians and cyclists wholesale, the main source of traffic fatalities was horse drawn conveyances, and we all know how smart horses are.

Lastly someone has found a good use for bicycle helmets. Bicycle helmet saves the day — on foot My colleague at examiner.com points out that pedestrians are more likely to get head injuries than bicyclists or motorcyclists and nobody makes a fuss that they don’t wear helmets, because pedestrian head injury is rare, almost as rare as bicycle head injury.

And that’s all I got today, more later.

Billed @$.02, Opus

More on the thing that walks like a man with a medical degree, and other news In The Feed

The last 2 days have generated more traffic to this blog than I have ever seen, what with Dr. Christopher Thompson (the thing that walks like a man with a medical degree) being convicted of all 7 counts against him and BikingInLA telling me about it so I could link to their breaking story. Well that wasn’t the only story breaking in LA yesterday about people using their vehicles as weapons against cyclists.

But the big news first (other than the Blog reports) is still the conviction of TTTWLAMWAMD of 6 felonies and one misdemeanor. E.R. Doc Guilty in Road Rage Attack on Cyclists and Physician accused of deliberately injuring two bicyclists is convicted and Dr. Thompson is found guilty of all counts in LA road rage trial. and comments here Mailbag: Road rage, getting along and Floyd Landis I hope that this is just the first of many prosecutions that have previously been ignored by LEO and prosecutors for assault with motor vehicles.

Lost in the hubbub of TTTWLAMWAMD’s conviction was this tidbit. Texting Driver Guilty in Death of 14-year-old Boy He was driving under the influence of 2 powerful prescription drugs, and texting at the time he killed a cyclist, and the defense tried to make this look like an unavoidable accident due to a medical condition. I have heard some mighty weak defenses in my day, but this one is less than a kitten.

They identified the bike ninja that was hit Sunday in Austin TX. Guns, drugs found during arrest; cyclist killed on Texas 71 identified Ignore the comments unless you already have brain damage…

In the other big story of the day they finally arrested and charged the driver of the SUV that hit a cyclist head on and then made a U turn to escape. Woman charged in hit-and-run death of David Sherman and Driver charged in fatal hit-and-run of bicyclist, released on bond I love it when they publish the booking pictures of drivers that hit cyclists, they invariably look like something the cat drug in and the kittens tried to bury. From the description of the wreck released by LEO it seems this was a deliberate action on the part of the driver to try to kill or hurt a cyclist, why was she given a bond at all unless the Durango was the only vehicle she had access to. I also love that the accused’s home address was given in the article. I’m not saying to do anything bad to the person or her home, but if you happen to have a dump truck load of male bovine digestive byproduct and you need a place to get rid of it…

And in what is almost positively a cut and paste from one news source to another we have the same article from 2 very different sources. Bicyclist struck and killed by AC Transit bus in Hayward and Bicyclist Struck And Killed By AC-Transit Bus In Hayward It could be they both did the cut and paste from a press release, not one copying the other. As to the wreck I can’t tell you who was doing what from this article. Or if the cyclist was lighted and reflectorized, but since the only lights mentioned were the defective streetlights I would say the cyclist had all the legally required lights etc.

Last report if from Jolly Olde where news reports are required by law to be missing 2 Ws and the H out of the standard news reporters 5Ws and an H. Cyclist injured after Toxteth collision And people wonder why I have a tag about UK news reports.

That’s all I have tonight.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Another large Feed with little actual bicycle content

Yes we had another massive filtering session today as there were many articles about bike wrecks, where after almost a page of reading it stated the vehicle was a motorcycle and not a bicycle. Sometimes I had to interpret this as I decided regular bicycles don’t have pillion riders, or if they do the article will state the vehicle was a bicycle rather than a motorcycle. And just for the record there was one wreck that killed 3 and injured one in a single vehicle wreck of a motorcycle that I had to read just out of morbid curiosity about if there were that many people on the one motorcycle or did he hit a bunch of pedestrians or what that turned out to be 4 people riding a 125 cc class scooter with 2 on the seat and 2 more on the floorboard. It’s no wonder he crashed.

Up first because it has been in the Feed every day for days now, more on the MN man killed riding his bicycle in Blaine. Cyclist killed in crash with car in Blaine A little more is known now as we know at least the ages of the driver and the cyclist. There is still suspicion that the driver may have been impaired by alcohol but the test hasn’t come back yet. Nothing on the mode of the wreck yet, but it appears to have been at an intersection, which means the cyclist should have been using intersection protocol to avoid the wreck. Of course with a drunk driver you can be doing everything right and still get hit.

Nearer to my home, a Longview cyclist is injured in a hit-and-run. Police investigating hit-and-run wrecks Since this wreck was in TX had the driver been sober and stayed at the scene the cyclist would have probably been at fault, but since hit-and-run is a felony then it doesn’t matter, the driver becomes at fault. Had the cyclist died from the wreck then the driver could have been charged with Capital Murder and been eligible for the death penalty under a clause in the TX laws that makes a death that takes place as the result of a felony Capital Murder even if that death was an accident and not deliberate. Fortunately for the victim there will be no murder charges in this case.

Still in TX but a little further away is a wreck where the victim did die. Crash with pickup in SW Harris kills bicyclist well they know the make and model of the vehicular weapon, why no ID on the killer? I’m going to classify this as a SWCC until I get more information on the wreck.

Our first wreck from Jolly Olde has a broken collarbone. Cyclist injured in Burnham-On-Sea town centre accident I don’t see how they could have put a roundabout in that intersection, from the pictures it looks like a T-junction, unless the houses are in the middle of the traffic circle. Anyway, intersection protocol with extra attention to vehicles entering the roundabout as they “don’t see” bicycles until they hit them.

Also in Jolly Olde is a cyclist hitting a guard rail for some unknown reason. Cyclist hurt after crashing into Coventry ring road barrier This may have been a cyclist run off the road, or it may have been a case of no brakes in the wet or other traction issue. Because of UK media laws we won’t know about it for several months at least and most likely it will never make the news when adjudicated.

We think we in the US have it rough, in Lebanon they use heavy weapons besides their cars against cyclists. Cycling revolutionaries take to streets for ‘critical’ ride One of the few places where Kevlar is more suitable cycling gear than spandex.

More on not getting killed on a bike in SC. Motorists, cyclists urged to coexist How about “Motorists required to coexist with cyclists, it’s the law” or is that too subtle?

And finally an article about injured soldiers and Marines training for Paralympics competition after partially returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Champions in training Not trying to be funny here, just making the point that just because a soldier is alive when he comes back doesn’t mean he came all the way back, they leave pieces of themselves on the battlefield, sometimes literally as in limbs and bits, sometimes pieces of their minds. Support your local Veterans.

And that’s the whole mess. And for those asking, the ritual last night had a few glitches in that the original priestess was laid up with the flu (hopefully not H1N1) and we had to dragoon a replacement at the last minute who did a wonderful job. Kudos to all the other participants.

Billed @$.02, Opus