Waiting on the Ride of Silence, and the Feed

No, I’m not forgetting about the Ride of Silence. It’s just that this year I’m going to be in a place without a Ride and also without a bike, which makes me a little depressed about the Ride. I’ll get over it, but for now I’m a bit on the down side. That’s why I’m not posting as many links in the run-up to the Ride as I usually do. Also this is the first time I won’t be able to make the Mother Ride. I mean I have missed a few RoS because of scheduling snafus (the BPAC meeting being held on the same day and a couple of cities away from the Ride being the biggest impediment to attending the Ride), but this is the first time I have had absolutely zero chance of making the Mother Ride.

I’m not going to post any links to the death of the cyclist killed when she hit the back of a team car during a race in CA, but that doesn’t mean I disregard the death. It was just as meaningful as any death, but it was during a race on closed roads and there is nothing I can say that would apply to people riding on the roads in “normal” traffic. So while I feel just as bad about this wreck as I do about all the rest of them, I’m not going to link to this story.

Up first a NC cyclist was wearing clothes instead of a glow in the dark clown costume so it was obviously his fault he got hit, right? Cyclist was wearing dark clothing, lacked large reflectors on bike The cyclist in this case was seen to be drinking prior to the wreck, so there is a possibility he was impaired and rode out in front of the driver too close to be avoided. To avoid use intersection protocols and wear lights on the bike, to prevent get the infrastructure right so cyclists don’t have to cross busy high-speed highways to get to or from things like restaurants.

A little away from that wreck the guy that died on Folly Road in Charleston was also charged in a DUI death of a pedestrian on the same stretch of road. Skinful felony DUI suspect under legal limit for alcohol, tested positive for THC I’m still trying to get a handle on this wreck as a local tells me that there were no parked cars on the street where the cyclist was killed, but that this was a street that saw a lot of bike traffic because of the bridge it connected to and that trying to ride on side streets would cause you to keep crossing Folly as the through streets crossed the road several times. As far as the previous wreck is concerned he may not have had enough alcohol in his blood to be legally drunk but add a contact high from pot… and I’m still of mixed feelings about this. Sure he was a drunk/impaired driver who killed a pedestrian, but he died a cyclist… So does he go to the hot place of eternal torment because ha drove drunk and killed a pedestrian, or the comfy place with bad music because he died a cyclist? Questions like that are beyond my pay grade and security clearance…

A CT cyclist and several passengers are injured when a bus is hit from behind as the cyclist was loading his bike on the bus front bike rack. Several Injured After Truck Hits Bus OK there is no earthly way a cyclist can avoid this one as it was a pinball wreck where a second vehicle hits the cyclist after being hit itself, and in this case the bus was hit out of the field of vision of the cyclist or any of the rest of the passengers of the bus. To prevent this would be a good case for installing bike/bus lanes so that there would be no trucks in the lane to hit the bus from behind at a high rate of speed.

A really nasty hit-and-run in PA. Charges Expected In Weekend Hit-And-Run From the information in the article I would say that this was either a case of an impaired driver or a deliberate assault on the cyclist for being “in the way”. To avoid use the hit-from-behind protocols from the link at the top of my blog, to prevent get the stupid infrastructure right so drivers don’t feel compelled to get angry at a cyclist “in the way”.

A cyclist in Enn Zed gets right crossed (the equivalent of the left cross for those that drive on the wrong side of the road). Cyclist hit in rush hour traffic Not much I can say about this one really except the usual platitudes about using intersection protocols to avoid a similar wreck and getting the infrastructure right to prevent a wreck like that from ever being able to happen.

Infrastructure! news from around NY. Westfielder Walker Makes Strides for Safety at Tamaques Park Apparently pedestrians feel like they should walk in the bike lanes. And the sidewalk, and anywhere else they feel?

Another article ranking infrastructure along with intangibles for cycling in the US, by city. Minneapolis Ranks #1 For Cycling…. Again. I noticed that Dallas and Garland both failed to make the top 1000 of cities in their size…

Cyclists in Jolly Olde don’t like being stationary targets. We jump red lights for our own safety, cyclists claim I have been hearing this for years, and there is some factual evidence to back them up on this one, specifically the study on why more women than men are killed by HGV at intersections. Advocacy & Safety – “Are women cyclists in more danger than men?”

Links to Ride of Silence events. The Ride of Silence: a loud cry for bicycle safety and Freeloaders: Two wheels are better than four

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

Billed @$0.02, Opus

After a very long day Dad is back home, and the Feed

My brother and I finally have Dad back home. His pain levels have been brought under control, and he looks and sounds much better. He still isn’t eating much and has lost a lot of weight he couldn’t afford to lose, but part of that was the quality of the food they served in the hospital. I mean I tried some of the stuff they served him and “Yuck!”. There were a couple of things they couldn’t screw up, like pinto beans and a grilled cheese sandwich (in separate meals) but most of the “food-like substances” were not actually edible by anyone with functioning taste. I mean I wouldn’t even eat most of the stuff they gave Dad, it was that bad, and I managed to eat just about everything my daughter gave me when she was first learning how to be a vegan cook. The total lack of anything with sodium in it except the cheese just ruined what little flavor the ingredients had to begin with and the preparation (pureed and minced foods) did the rest. I mean pureed mac and cheese with low-salt cheese? Try wallpaper and the paste as a substitute. Seriously, it was that bad.

Moving on to actual bike links, up first we have a blame-the-victim because all cyclists break the law letter from Just outside Woab World HQ in the beautiful suburbs of Hell. A letter from a reader about cyclists Note the tone of the letter is accusatory, even thought the cyclist in this case was hit several feet away from the actual road on the shoulder.

Another TX cyclist gets splattered across the countryside by the favorite weapon of vehicular homicide (and the biggest selling vehicle in TX) the Ford F-150 pickup truck. Bicyclist Struck, Killed Along Local Highway Identified Another hit-from-behind wreck in TX, q’uelle surprise. The usual protocols apply for avoidance, and effective infrastructure to prevent. Another thing that might help is mandatory seizure of the vehicle as “evidence” any time there is a fatality.

A wreck in CA that could be upgraded in charges if they could locate a couple of key witnesses. Tehama County DA seeks ID of witnesses in cyclist killing “However, in certain situations, the law in California does allow for a murder charge to be filed when the DUI driver acted with a reckless indifference to human life“, from the statement of the DA to the press. On the off chance that either of those two people is reading my blog, or someone that knows these people, please get in contact with the DA’s office.

A cyclist is hit and killed in NC. Bicyclist dies after being struck by vehicle in Laurinburg Since the driver is being charged with a homicide I’m going to assume this was a serious case of “I didn’t see him” that would have required the driver be actually blind to not see the cyclist. IOW negligence that borders on a deliberate assault. Hit-from-behid protocols to avoid, getting the infrastructure right to prevent.

Meanwhile in the most deadliest state to walk or ride a bike in the US for 6 years running, LEO still haven’t cracked the case of a SWCC as a homicide. Investigation of Bicyclist’s Death May Take Another Month So, there’s some evidence the truck driver ran the red? “Curiouser and curiouser,” said Alice…

A sidewalk salmon is hit in Upstate NY. Woman, 47, riding bicycle struck and dragged by car Driver making a right turn and not looking where he was going runs down a cyclist in the sidewalk. Simple enough, to avoid ride in the street with traffic, but the real issue is why an adult woman was riding on the sidewalk instead of the street, so get the infrastructure right to prevent wrecks like this. And in this wreck infrastructure that was not bike friendly was as great a contributor as the salmon cyclist.

Bike V bus in MI, with a somewhat better outcome than what is normally the case. Bus hits bike; biker OK, bus damaged The cyclist in this wreck had too much to drink. To avoid, don’t ride drunk, to prevent, don’t mix buses with bikes which will make drunk cyclists a minor inconvenience.

A bike v bike wreck in OKC. Beloved Cyclist Dies After Crashing Into Other Cyclists In OKC The cyclist appears to have had something like a stroke or heart attack just before he lost control of his bike, nothing that can be done to avoid or prevent something like this.

An ID cyclist has next to no chance of finding justice in his wreck. Bicyclist injured in collision with Boise police car

Another story about that CA hit-and-run. Driver Sought In Hit-And-Run That Injured Antioch Cyclist As I pointed out yesterday that model of Acura has a glued windshield that requires professional tools and supplies to replace, all they need to do to catch the perp is wait for him to fix the windshield and arrest him then for tampering with the evidence in a crime, and obstruction of justice…

Another MD cyclist is hit. UPDATE: Cyclist Killed On Rt. 108 Identified Yet another hit-from-behind fatality, use the protocols to avoid, proper infrastructure to prevent.

Another link that wasn’t posted yesterday about helmets. Only 1 in 5 Capital Bikeshare Users Wears a Helmet Ooohhh! scaaarrryy! cyclists with bare heads! It’s total Anarchy! Cats and dogs lying together… How does that quote go? (Ghostbusters, I think, Bill Murray had the line whatever the movie was.)

I keep mentioning infrastructure so many times, here’s a link to a partial solution to the problem. Crash expert backs calls for 20mph speed limit While this would be a step in the right direction, speed limits in the Netherlands are 20 km/h in residential areas.

A pretty bike picture. Twin Cities Bike Picture of the Day: 5.3.12

And those are all the links that gave me fits today. Before today becomes tomorrow…

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Dad is coming back from the hospital today, and the Feed

I have been somewhat out of the loop about Dad’s condition and destination, but from what I have been told we are going to pick him up from the hospital this afternoon and bring him home, that there had been some alterations made to his medications that have stopped his back spasms and made him much more comfortable, and that he is able to get in and out of bed on his own. Before he quit eating he was almost able to get back in bed on his own, but still needed help getting sat up to get out of bed. After he quit eating that went backwards of course. His voice on the phone sounded much more sure and stable, and free of pain.

Up first is an update on the CA wreck of the founder of the Cutters cycling club, named for the Cutters team in the Little 500. Cyclist’s death has riders on edge Way too many wrecks on that stretch of pavement, way too many cars leaving the road to hit bicycles. And why haven’t assault charges been filed in the case where the driver crossed the road to hit cyclists head on? TANJ!

Another hit-and-run in CA. Police seek vehicle that injured cyclist in Antioch hit-and-run I didn’t catch the mode of the wreck, but finding the perp shouldn’t be too hard if they lean on the people who sell windshields.

A cyclist is hit in MD. Hit and run leaves teen severely hurt The mode of wreck sounds suspiciously like an assault, “swerved onto the shoulder striking the teen“. Anyway hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, getting the infrastructure right to prevent.

The LEO that hit him says the MA cyclist was riding salmon. Police: Bicyclist rode wrong way on Rte. 9 before crash Assuming the sole witness to the wreck was telling the truth, this wreck could have been avoided by using hit-from-behind protocols and not riding salmon. Getting the infrastructure right would have prevented the cyclist from being on a fast, busy, highway in the first place. The fact that the hospital the cyclist was taken to has no record of his admission and the police report having him with serious injuries makes me wonder about the rest of the report.

An IA wreck has closure as the driver responsible pleads guilty. Driver to plead guilty in death of bike rider AFAIK IA has Vehicular Manslaughter which has a much higher minimum sentence, so I’m assuming this is a plea bargain.

A cyclist is killed in Oz. Cyclist killed in accident near Clunes and Cyclist dies in road accident near Clunes also Three killed on Victoria’s roads None of the reports gave a mode for the wreck but all seemed to indicate the cyclist was not the one at fault in the wreck from the wording of the articles.

Helmet-crazy Infrastructure! news. Study: 80% of bike-share riders don’t use helmets and Bike Sharing? Stay Safe By Wearing A Helmet also 4 out of 5 of Bike Sharers Don’t Wear Helmets another one The Flaw In Public Bike Sharing Programs and last link Bike helmets could save $41 per child in hospital costs So the average child in the ER would cost $41 less if he/she had been wearing a helmet? And how much could we save if we get kids away from the most deadly thing in their lives, motor vehicles?

Infrastructure news from the UK about the upcoming London election. London Mayoral candidates questioned at cycling hustings I agree with one of the hecklers “When in a hole, stop digging!”

Infrastructure of a different kind in Italy where they have charging stations for e-vehicles built into a phone-booth like structure that also offers WiFi for browsing the Internet while waiting for your car or e-bike to recharge. In Italy, solar-powered phone booth offers wifi and electric-vehicle charging Just the spot to recharge your e-bike and catch up on e-mail… (no pun intended)

And that’s all the news that gave me fits today. Come back tomorrow for more Dad news with more actual bike news, too.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Dad took a slight setback, and the Feed

Dad is not doing as well as before, the main thing is getting him to eat. When he eats he gets better the next day, but getting him to eat has been a battle. We have so much good food in the house now that he just refuses to eat and it makes me a bit crazy. Between the food delivery lady and the neighbors bringing food by we have enough food in the house to feed two of me if I was riding my bike every day, but I’m not riding my bike and there’s just me and Dad, who ate like a bird before the wreck. now he hardly eats at all. If it wasn’t for Ensure I don’t think he would get enough vitamins to stay alive.

The big story today was broken by BikingInLA yesterday and picked up by major news outlets, and Patch. Berkeley Hit-and-Run Between Driver, Cyclists Captured on Video and Police Arrest Alleged Driver in Hit-and-Run with Cyclists and Berkeley Hit-And-Run Caught On Tape: Cyclist Catches Accident And Getaway On Bike Camera (VIDEO) more Oakland man arrested in connection with hit-and-run of Berkeley bicyclists captured on YouTube even Video: Cyclists struck by hit-and-run driver in Berkeley The owner of the car reported it stolen roughly 3 days after the wreck or about the time the video began getting viral status in the bike-blog world (since my usual computer doesn’t play video I don’t subscribe to notices about bike wreck videos posted to YouTube). From what I saw in the video there was no way for the cyclists to avoid this wreck, the car apparently pulled up alongside slightly faster than the cyclists and just moved over into them until they fell down then pulled back into the travel lane. IOW this appears to have been a deliberate assault with the motor vehicle as the weapon. No way to avoid except with psychic powers. SBR would prevent this by removing motor vehicles from the field of play.

A more complete report on the MN teen hit leaving a parking lot shows he was leaving church, not school. Church Mourns The Death Of Cyclist Killed Leaving Worship Now we know the cyclist was riding salmon for at least a short period when he got hit and that visibility may have been a factor, and that at this point LEO are not blaming the cyclist or the driver in this wreck. With what I know now I can’t say that there was any way to avoid this wreck as the cyclist’s salmoning does not appear to have contributed to the wreck. Dutch-style SBR would have prevented it as the cyclist would not have been even trying to get in the same lane as a car.

Another report on the CO man killed by what is alleged to be a drunk driver. Monument cyclist killed on evening ride Again, hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, decent infrastructure that doesn’t try to run cars through an area with limited sight lines and narrow lanes at highway speeds would go a long way to preventing a future wreck.

Conclusion in a civil suit against a driver that should not have been allowed to be in control of as large and dangerous a vehicle as the dump truck he was driving when he killed a cyclist. Settlement for man killed by city truck The driver had rear-ended a minivan less than 2 weeks prior to killing the cyclist as well as 19 other wrecks, most of which were his fault, since 1995. I don’t know anything about the actual wreck that killed this cyclist except that it involved the dump truck and killed the cyclist, so I can’t tell you how to avoid this wreck, but to prevent it SBR and making it much easier to lose a driver’s license, especially a commercial license like this driver was supposed to have. I mean seriously 20 wrecks between 1995 and 2010, that is more than a wreck every 9 months on average, his license should have been pulled years ago. I mean why even have licenses if there’s no penalty for bad driving and seldom a penalty for driving without one?

Battle of the octogenarians in NJ. Cyclist, 81, Seriously Injured in Crash With Car Hit-from-behind, hit from behind protocols to avoid. Proper infrastructure to prevent including taking the keys away from people that can’t keep their cars in a single lane (and I know this is ironic coming from a guy whose father is recovering from sliding off the road). Between the two there was 169 years of life experience and over 140 years of guiding vehicles down the road, and they still couldn’t manage to avoid running into each other. I believe this is the oldest combined age for a wreck I have ever had a link for.

Another wreck in CA shows why separate phases for bicycles and cars at light-controlled intersections is a good idea. TEMECULA: Bicyclist injured in Redhawk Parkway collision The cyclist and the driver were side-by-side at the intersection but there was rather heavy contact between the bike and the van right after the light changed. The working theory for this wreck is there was not enough room allowed for the cyclist to wobble from the start. I don’t know how to avoid the wreck, but getting the infrastructure right would go a long way to preventing it.

A WI wreck is blamed on a cyclist running a stop sign. Car hits bicycle in rural crash If as described then this could be avoided with the most basic of the intersection protocols, the one that says stop and yield at stop signs. Getting the infrastructure right so that bicycles don’t have to share high-speed rural highways would prevent wrecks like this.

A wreck in VA with injuries. Reston Bike Club Rider Injured in Ashburn It is unknown from this report what the mode of this wreck was. It may very well have been a bike-on-bike wreck as it happened on a club ride.

Another VA wreck definitely involved a motor vehicle, driver given a ticket. Local Cyclists Reaching Out to Help Injured Cyclists Hit By A Car The driver tried to pass when there wasn’t room to pass or for the cyclists to move over. LEO seems to be placing all the blame on the driver in this one, a rarity in VA. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid a similar wreck if there’s room with decent infrastructure to prevent. Seeing the scene of the crime there should have been plenty of room to pass unless the driver that hit the cyclist was trying to pass when there was already another vehicle passing him. In which case the driver definitely deserves the reckless driving charge.

Another apparent red-light runner in NE. Cyclist hurt in crash near 72nd, Dodge The bike in the picture was definitely hit from the side, no doubt about that at all, so intersection protocols to avoid, and Dutch-style infrastructure to prevent.

Late link from GA as a driver hits 3 cyclists from behind despite reflectors and multiple blinky lights. Two Florida bicyclists killed along U.S. 17 At this point I can’t say what the driver’s problem was as the cyclists would certainly have been visible had the driver been looking, and why was he driving at speed on the shoulder of the road?

LifeStyle from a state that is relatively safe, protesters are saying it could be safer. Procession aims to show how bikes, cars can co-exist That this is being done just shows me how far we have to go to get people from A to B without killing them, independent of their mode of transportation. Notice that there is a co-protest with pedestrians and the wheelchair bound over their rights to the roads.

Also today in the UK more than 13,000 cyclists showed at 2 protests in London and Edinburgh. 10,000 pedal for action in biggest bike protest and Make our cities safer for cyclists also Thousands protest in London, Rome for cycle safety This pictures are just awe-inspiring, bicycles as far as the eye can see…

And that’s all the news that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Trying to get Dad better, and the Feed

Well there was some improvement yesterday in Dad as he had scrambled eggs for breakfast and more of the turkey-broccoli casserole for dinner as well as a few snacks between, but so far this morning he has been mostly quiet, denying he needs any pain meds or food, but I did manage to get half a bottle of Ensure down him. The really good news is that with all those calories he is finally starting to get warm enough to feel the temperature of the room and ask for the thermostat to be lowered and he had thrown off all the covers when I checked in on him this morning first thing. As the temperature in the house is hovering just under 80°F most of the day, this is a real improvement. It also makes icing his shoulder down much easier which really reduces his pain levels without using the drugs.

Up first and the Big Story, SF is batting 1.000 in criminal prosecutions against cyclists in pedestrian fatalities, but still under .070 in prosecuting drivers. S.F. bicyclist in fatal crash may face felony and Cyclist accused of killing pedestrian facing charges also Chris Bucchere, Cyclist Accused of Killing Pedestrian, to Be Charged more Bicyclst To Face Manslaughter Charges another one Cyclist In Fatal San Francisco Pedestrian Crash May Face Felony Charge not done yet Chris Bucchere, Cyclist Who Allegedly Killed Pedestrian In The Castro, Will Likely Be Charged With Felony still more SFPD Wants Felony Charges for Cyclist Who Killed Man not done yet SF DA to file charges this week against bicyclist in fatal collision getting close now Cyclist will face charges in connection with hitting pedestrian and last link SF’s DA says charges will be filed this week against cyclist in fatal collision Just a little reminder that fewer than 10% of drivers that kill pedestrians even get tickets, but 100% of cyclists that kill pedestrians have been prosecuted at the felony level. Not to say this guy didn’t deserve it, just that there are easily 50 times as many drivers that if investigated as hard as this cyclist would result in prosecutable offenses.

In sharp contrast, a cyclist is hit-and-run in Sandy Eggo. Bicyclist Injured in Hit-and-Run Note the difference in the degree of investigation between this wreck with a known felony offense (hit-and-run) with the cyclist’s offense in SF. Anyway, to avoid intersection protocols should be used, to prevent SBR need to be built.

On the other side of the country in SC a cyclist is hit in a crossing by a car. Cyclist Injured After Wreck In Simpsonville This was such a breaking story they didn’t even know which way the car was going when it hit the cyclist riding straight on the same road…

From the most deadliest state to walk or ride a bike in the US 6 years running and showing no signs of losing that #1 spot, another squished cyclist. Bicyclist injured after crash with car There is some question as to the sobriety of the cyclist. If the cyclist actually darted in front of the car, which may have been the case based on the grainy and out of focus picture that was with the link then avoiding this wreck would be as simple as riding in a controlled and predictable manner, with proper bicycle infrastructure to prevent the wreck.

From the UK one of the most terrifying videos I have ever seen (and I ride a bike in TX). Leicester bus driver may face disciplinary proceedings after cutting up cyclist (+ video) The bus tried to split a lane that was a couple of inches wider than the bus, forcing the cyclist to bail onto the sidewalk and as was pointed out if there had been any marked degree of curb separating the two the cyclist would have been all over the sidewalk or under the bus…

Infrastructure! news from NYC as a law that requires trucks to have mirrors similar to what is on school buses to eliminate front blind spots is unenforced. Family of Williamsburg child killed on bike blasts truck drivers, officials for ignoring new mirror law This and similar laws are on the dockets all over the world in an attempt to make large trucks (or HGV as they are called in the UK) less deadly.

Infrastructure news from the Twin Cities of MN. What’s Happening With The Sabo Bridge? Apparently what’s happening can be summed up in two words,”Not much.”

And As I finally get to put this post to bed, that’s all the news that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Back to the grind (literally), the Feed

OK while tha lady that has been hired to take care of Dad’s hygenic needs does her thing, I have a few minutes to filter the Feed and create cogent comments on how to react in the same situation. For those following at home we are going to be taking Dad to his first follow-up exam since the wreck this afternoon, The swelling around his shoulder and broken arm has gone down so much that the splint is just hanging there (which is why they don’t put broken bones immediately in a cast any more) so either he gets a cast today or he gets re-wrapped and a return visit for the cast. What I’m most hopefull for is something to relieve the pain from his back muscles going into spasm when he has to move. If they can come up with something for that it would improve his life 150%. I need something like that too, but none of the current anti-spasmodics are on the list of approved medications for the BP meds used in the study I’m on right now, so I’m doing as best I can with ibuprofen and diphenhydramine to help me sleep.

Up first is a CA cyclist that left crossed himself as he turned into his driveway at the end of a ride. Oakdale bicyclist struck and killed near his home and Bicyclist Hit, Killed Near Oakdale also Bicyclist dies in Oakdale crash The remains of the bike show a wreck of incredible violence that appears to be 100% the fault of the cyclist for not waiting for traffic to clear before making the left turn to his home. To avoid, just wait your turn to make your turn. Using Dutch neighborhood design principles and not putting people’s homes on high-speed arterials would prevent a wreck like this.

In the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bikefor the last 6 years running a drunk driver is given a free pass because the violence of the wreck knocked the reflectors off the victim’s bike and they were not found at the scene. Investigator, prosecutor explain misdemeanor charge in fatal Flagler DUI crash The bike was destroyed so badly in the wreck they couldn’t find all the pieces (including the reflectors) so they gave the driver a “freebie” on killing the cyclist. Note the experiment the father of the cyclist did with the plastic cup for visibility at the scene of the wreck.

A bit of a bother in the UK over the head of a taxi service telling cyclists that they need to pay road tax (something that hasn’t existed in the UK since 1937, the current tax on vehicles is for pollution), just days after telling his drivers that he would pay the fines if they drove in the restricted bus/bike/taxi lanes from which his service was prohibited. Updated: Addison Lee backlash: Politicians and cyclists unite to condemn views of minicab firm boss First of all don’t come down on cyclists in the same week you told your drivers to break the law with impunity, second get up to date on the laws you want them to obey, third even if they were subject to the tax, as zero-emmisions vehicles bicycles would be taxed at no fees and get their stickers for free, just like electric cars and hydrogen fueled vehicles…

Final link, a memorial ride for 2 cyclists after the driver that killed them last year is convicted of 2 counts of murder. Riding in memory of the Doolittles I am so glad to see those 2nd degree murder convictions after this wreck…

I realize that this is a bit sparse for a Monday post, but I have been clearing out the Feed folder so I wouldn’t get overwhelmed when I got the blog back running from TN.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Another allergy attack, and the Feed

Before I did the filtering this morning I went out to purchase replacement CFL bulbs after several “let their magic smoke out” a couple days ago. For the non-technical among my readers, electric and especially electronic devices are actually run on “magic smoke”, and you have to be very careful to keep that magic smoke inside the device. Ever see the smoke come out of some electronic gear? Did it ever work right again? See, “magic smoke” makes electronics work…

Anyway, the wind was blowing like it frequently does in TX in the Spring, which means lots of dust and pollen is in the air, and now it’s in me because I breath like a cyclist, in great volume. Between the dust and the pollen my eyes feel like they’ve been sandblasted, and I’m starting to get trickles of blood from my nose, bit indications that tonight will be “fun” in ways that are normally not aligned with the word “fun”. Fortunately we have diphenhydramine available in large quantities, so I won’t know about the “fun” as I won’t be conscious for it. Or most of it at any rate.

From the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike, what at this moment appears to be suicide by train until more information comes out. Bicycle rider killed by Tri-Rail train in Deerfield Beach The cyclist was just walking down the track in front of the train and did not get off the tracks when the train engineer used the horn…

From another part of FL, updates on the investigation of murder by motor vehicle of a cyclist. Hit-and-run victim remembered 1 year later I thought they had caught this guy, but from this story it seems the driver and his truck are still at large. Anyway the wreck was head on with the truck on the wrong side of the road, a cyclist would have to be psychic to be able to avoid one like that. SBR might be able to defend against a wreck like that, but I doubt it.

A scary incident in CO. SUNRISE: Bicyclist injured as bullets fly in Springs Again I have no idea how to avoid something like this. The stupid part is the shooter had the perfect weapon and then used a gun, when all they had to do is just run the guy over and leave and report the car as stolen. But because a gun was used the LEO will have to investigate this as an assault with a deadly weapon or even attempted murder. Not the brightest of moves on the part of the shooter.

To back up the statement in the previous paragraph, I present this article. WALLA WALLA: Man acquitted in cyclist’s death Even in the off chance you are charged, a driver has little to fear from the justice system in the death of a cyclist.

In the furthest south of south TX, a ghost bike goes up for a cyclist killed by a truck. Memorial bike honors memory of accident victim Yeah, he was riding salmon.

UK news that a small road defect caused a cyclist to be “flung” into the path of a car. Coroner says pothole most likely cause of crash that led to cyclist’s death, as DfT publishes review of problem Apparently the pothole formed overnight between trips by the cyclist, which is part of the reason it hadn’t been fixed.

And that is all the news that gave me fits…

Billed @$0.02, Opus

To the gills with coffee, and the Feed

I haven’t even looked at the Feed folder this morning as I plow through the rest of my daily correspondence required to make the house and writer function, and I have already polished off the first pot of coffee for the day between breakfast and lunch. As the glow from my eyes glares from the computer screen I will have to don shades just to filter the Feed today

The big story for today is still the Pinkybike wreck in L.A. Police skeptical that cyclist was injured in road rage incident and LAPD Reversal: Cyclist Crash Being Investigated as Crime also Police Continue ‘Exhaustive’ Investigation into Susanna Schick Biking Accident, Hope It Doesn’t Create ‘Bike Versus Car’ Mentality Again, the injuries suffered by Susanna just don’t mesh with either speed reported in the media for the wreck, impossible at 18 MPH, highly unlikely at 30 unless there was something in the bike lane to run in to, which would have had to have been invisible because nobody reported seeing any sort of obstructions in the bike lane. I personally have had several wrecks at the speeds in question and on smooth unobstructed pavement like that in the incident in question have never been injured worse than road rash and bruises. The only reported road rash in this case was to the rider’s face (another reason I wear a full-face helmet). The facts in this case are like 2+2=pi, just not adding up. There is additional information being left out by someone, most likely the LAPD.

The next biggest story is the kid hit on a bike at the curb in NYC. Bicyclist Killed While Riding in the Bronx and Bronx teen on bike hit and killed It’s so nice for the driver that NYPD immediately absolved (him/her?) of any possible guilt in the wreck before the cyclist’s body had even gotten cold.

Another fatal wreck in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike for 6 years running. Bicyclist dies after riding into path of car in Lee County Again the narrative does not fit the evidence. The cyclist was hit in the left rear by the right front of the car that “veered sharply left” while crossing the road. If the cyclist had been crossing with the left side facing the driver, then veering left should have resulted in a left-FRONT impact. If the cyclist was hit in the rear while crossing in front of a vehicle that veered LEFT the cyclist would have been hit on the RIGHT rear. The wreck impact as described would have had to have been a pass that was too close to the cyclist by more than the 3 feet of clearance required by FL law when passing cyclists. IOW this driver rammed the cyclist from behind while the cyclist was proceeding in a lawful manner down the road.

A driver that killed a cyclist in a left-cross is absolved of blame. Driver not charged in cyclist death in Middletown “I didn’t see him” invoked again. I hope all the LEO involved in this one have terrible nightmares the rest of their lives of blind drivers almost running them over.

The big overseas story is from the UK where a truck driver that ran a cyclist over from behind on a clear day with unobstructed sight lines is spared jail time. Family dismayed by light sentence for driver who killed cyclist and Lorry driver sentenced after he ploughed into cyclist and killed him also Speeding lorry driver who killed racing cyclist escapes jail more Lorry driver who claims he didn’t see time-trial cyclist he killed escapes jail gads, not done yet? Suspended sentence for driver who killed Karl Austin and Lorry driver receives suspended jail term after death of cyclist Karl Austin The facts of the case are undisputed, the driver had most of a mile to see and avoid the cyclist who was doing and estimated 20 MPH at the time he was hit, and the driver’s on-board speed recorder showed he was 6 MPH over the local limit for his vehicle. The cyclist was dressed in a HiVis jersey, and had a very bright blinky light on the back of his bike. The impact threw the cyclist more than 150 feet before he stopped, and died on the spot. To describe the event as “careless” is a gross understatement. And the sentence, the hardest part of which is the 4 month curfew, is nothing short of ludicrous. He should be in jail, and the hardest thing he gets is he can’t go to the pub for 4 months. TANJ!

A cyclist is injured in Enn Zed. Cyclist hospitalised with head injuries If there as less information in this report we wouldn’t even know there had been a wreck, not to mention that there were actually 2 cyclists in the article in 2 different wrecks, a motorcycle and a bicycle. I find it interesting the bicyclist had a head injury in spite of NZ’s country-wide helmet law for cyclists…

More on the new PA law that requires drivers to give 4 feet of clearance when passing. Cyclists give ‘cushion of safety’ in new law I really like Chip’s grasp of the physics involved in hitting a semi, too bad he is completely wrong about it.

And to close, a pretty bike picture. Twin Cities Bike Picture of the Day: 4.13.12 Ain’t that nice to look at?

And that is all the news that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Planning another service, and the Feed

Being a ritualist at my church means never being able to say “Done!” We just got done with the April Fool’s service, and now we have a Full Moon service to do Thursday, and another Sunday service to do after that. Now if we had a full-time minister this would be a piece of cake, but we ritualists have jobs to do, yards to mow, gardens to tend, and then we also have to do that same stuff at home. There is always something that the ritualists need to be doing at the church above and beyond just putting on the services.

Up first today is a different kind of bike theft. Tuesday’s Sentinel police log The blurb is well hidden in the link, I will quote it for your assistance: “A bicycle was stolen from a detached garage in the rear of the 100 block of East King Street in Shippensburg between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. March 29. According to police, the bike is described as a girl’s Schwinn mountain bike, bluish-purple and silver color and a black seat. The bike should have a water bottle on it. Police say another bike was left in its place. The found bike is a men’s Magna mountain bike, silver in color with 26 inch wheels and 21 speeds. Police seek information.” So, not so much theft as an unapproved trade. I wonder if the bike left had a flat tire or other mechanical problem.

First wreck is just down the road from WoaB World HQ in the beautiful suburbs of Hell. Local Bicycle Rider Serious Hurt In Collision With Car Note to the “writer” of this headline: adverbs, learn how to use them. This is another intersection wreck where at least one vehicle ran a red light, so it was assumed the cyclist was the one that did it. Anyway, intersection protocols, don’t run red lights and don’t assume that the people in control of 2 tons of death won’t either. I have to say that the one time I rode down there Waco seemed like a nice place to ride a bike, but I was on the road for about 11 hours and suffering a bit from the heat that time. Can you say 90 miles into a headwind? And that was just Day 1 of a 2 day 250 mile ride (planned). Remind me sometime to relate that tale of a broken tail.

First of a series of bike wrecks with teens and almost no information about the wreck. Minor injuries in car-bicycle accident And the article went, where? There was one sentence in that article, not counting the headline, that covered the age of the victim and the location of the wreck.

Another wreck, another young victim, another article that has almost no information in it. Boy on bike suffers arm injury after collision with vehicle OK a tiny bit more information on this one, it appears to be some kind of right of way violation in an intersection, use intersection protocols to avoid, SBR to prevent.

A sidewalk cyclist is injured by a car running a stop sign in AZ. Bicyclist injured after colliding with car in Yuma Again in spite of irrefutable evidence the driver ran the stop sign LEO managed to blame the cyclist on this one. To avoid, ride in the street and use intersection protocols. To prevent demand SBR.

I had to take a break from composing this post because we had a tornado touch down a bit to the south and moving west of WoaB World HQ. It’s a bit difficult to compose a post on a desktop computer when you’re sitting in the bathtub trying to keep two cats from getting away while trying to keep track of flashlights and a blinky locater light in case the house falls down on you. Did I mention the cats tolerate each other at best?

Back to the theme of kids on bikes, a 15 YO is hit-and-run in PA. Police Looking for Hit-and-Run Driver The driver in this wreck hit a cyclist from behind in his lane then crossed over to hit a skateboarder in the opposite lane. That sounds to me like a grumpy old man/woman trying to take out as many “rotten kids” as he/she can get to. I can’t tell you how to avoid a driver like this, but to prevent a situation like this you can’t do any better than SBR.

Another hit-and-run in CA of an elderly cyclist. Police briefs: Monterey bicycle accident victim identified Not much here to help other cyclists avoid a similar wreck with the built environment, but SBR would prevent a wreck like this.

A blind driver hits 2 cyclists from behind in MI. Man seriously injured when car hits his bike The driver claimed to have the sun in his eyes when he hit the cyclists @1945 yesterday. This is a major danger to cyclists, as drivers try to maintain their speed even though they can’t see the road in front of them. To prevent we need to have SBR or severe restrictions on motor vehicles so that drivers are at fault when they continue to drive in conditions like this.

A celebrity delivers a door prize to a cyclist in NYC. Tracy Morgan Bike Bust-Up: Cyclist Crashes Into Comedian’s Open Car Door To avoid, ride far enough into the street to be outside the door zone. To prevent, get bikes away from the door zone via infrastructure since SBR are pretty much impossible with the existing environment.

A cyclist is apparently murdered in CA. Police investigate hit-and-run fatality The reason I’m calling this one a “murder” is the weapon vehicle was obviously trying to not be seen, driving without lights, and did not stop after hitting the victim. If I wanted to kill someone, that’s the way I would do it…

Also in CA a driver gets 2 years. Hit-and-Run Driver who Killed Bicyclist Zachary Parke Gets Two Years in Jail and Hit and Run Suspect Sentenced and Santa Cruz area man jailed for two years for hit and run that killed cyclist on Empire Grade Road also Live Oak man jailed for two years for killing cyclist on Empire Grade Road last link Driver sentenced for crash that killed Zachary Parke Apparently killing a cyclist is no big deal in CA, Michael Vick got more time for killing dogs.

A cyclist is killed in far west CanuckistanCyclist involved in collision with car succumbs to injuries and Vancouver police investigating the death of a woman cyclist in collision and Female cyclist dies from injuries after colliding with car in east Vancouver also Cyclist hit at 12th Avenue succumbs to injuries This is the cyclist where they still haven’t determined which one was running the red light.

Moving to the UK, a cyclist is assaulted with a non-lethal projectile weapon from a moving car. Wiltshire cyclist injured in drive-by paintball attack The cyclist took one shot to the face and 2 more to the torso. To avoid, ain’t going to happen, there’s no way to avoid someone out hunting cyclists with a weapon carried in a car. To prevent, well start with confiscation and destruction of the vehicle live on national TV, then a firing squad of paintball guns on a naked perpetrator, also on live TV. Follow up with restitution to the injured victim and a prison sentence, then permanent loss of driving privilege, with mandatory prison if caught driving.

Also in the UK, a hit-and-run victim was a LEO. Injured cyclist found under flyover is police sergeant There is at least a fighting chance that this wreck will be properly investigated. Unfortunately that is only because the victim was LEO.
A wreck in Oz kills a cyclist. Man killed in bike, ute collision and Man killed in bike and ute collision At this point the only news that can be verified is that both vehicles were travelling in the same direction and the cyclist was hit from behind… hit from behind protocols to avoid, there were unconfirmed reports that the cyclist was trying to access a SBR when he was hit.

LifeStyle from NYC. On the trail of ‘ghost bikes,’ families and friends of cyclists killed on the streets of New York rally for more police action

And those are all the links that gave me fits today. Sorry this was so late, but I spent most of the day watching tornadoes tracking through the area on the TV and grabbing the cats to hide in the “safe area” of our house.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Why no 04/01 joke, and the Feed

With as much as I like to be funny I’m sure some people are wondering why I didn’t do April Fools this year. Well, I did, I just did it with such a straight face that nobody noticed. Look at yesterday’s post. I was quoting from a Heinlein novel Job, A Comedy of Justice, not a funky Biblical translation from the 1970s. But the rest of what I wrote, and throwing in the Chuck Jones cartoon, so mis-directed everyone that nobody got the joke. The joke being “Why is a ritualist in an openly Pagan UU church even mentioning a secondary deity from Christianity? Much less devoting an entire service to his change in status from the beginning of the Bible to the end.” Well I did get a few zingers in during the homily and one during the closing, so it wasn’t a total loss.

The big story today is the SWSS death of a respected college professor. WOU Professor Killed In Hit And Run Accident later WOU professor killed in bicycle accident and WOU professor hit and killed while riding his bike also Western Oregon professor dies in collision last link Bike crash kills Western Oregon University professor of special education north of Monmouth The one thing that struck me about the crime scene pictures was what was not there: skid marks from the weapon vehicle trying to avoid the collision. During this encounter the driver of the weapon vehicle never used the controls in such a way that limits of traction were even approached, much less exceeded. If the wreck went the way the driver described it there should be tire marks on the road from the frantic swerve to the left. Anyway, hit-from-behind wreck, to avoid use the protocols, to prevent SBR needs to be built. Real Separate Bicycle Roads, not MUP in parks that don’t actually go anywhere.

Next biggest story is Levi Leipheimer getting hit by a car in Spain. American cyclist Leipheimer ‘lucky to be alive’ after being hit by car in training in Spain and Levi Leipheimer Hit by Car on Training Ride This just goes to show that even an experienced cyclist in a fairly bicycle-friendly country can still get hit and hurt without SBR. I know Levi knows the protocols and applies them on every ride when he isn’t racing, but it still wasn’t enough to keep him from getting hit. It probably did keep him from getting killed though.

Another report on that bike/car wreck in MO I told you about Saturday. Bicycle rider injured in collision with car in Hannibal Still nothing more solid about the actual wreck.

A cyclist is hit from behind by a drunk driver driving without a license in CA. Bicyclist injured after collision with car on Market Street in Santa Cruz Anyway, hit-from-behind protocols would not have helped in this case as the cyclist was already off the road in a bike lane when he was hit and lacked any other place to escape the wreck. SBR with a barrier that could prevent a drunk or determined driver from reaching the cyclist would do the job.

In the same area of CA as the previous wreck a cyclist loses control of her bike and suffers injuries requiring transport to a hospital. Woman hurt in bike crash on Soquel San Jose Road No word on what caused the loss of control, so just keep your SA up and your speed in control to avoid a similar wreck.

Judges in the UK continue to get it wrong in cyclists’ death cases. Motorist spared prison after he admits error in crash that killed cyclist The driver ran into a cyclist covered in HiViz and flashing lights, says “Ooopsie” and gets off with the gentlest taps on the wrist possible under the circumstance. There was nothing obstructing the driver’s vision but his own stupidity when he hit the cyclist from behind on a clear day. To get community service and less than $5000 in restitution is a travesty.

A wreck in Oz. Cyclist killed at Magenta Just another SWCC, nothing more to see here, move along!

Infrastructure! news from WI. Appleton police focus on reducing bicyclist, pedestrian injuries Naturally the majority of the enforcement attention is given to the victims and next to none is applied to the potential killers in this scenario.

And last link, something so stupid I’m not even going to add anything here. Helmets key to safe biking, officials say

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

Billed @$0.02, Opus