What is going on with Darcy Allan Shepard’s killer? And the Feed

I have been very frustrated in trying to find out the results of the court visit by former AG Michael Bryant this past Monday, Googling the name came up with nothing new at all. Can some of my Canadian readers shed some light (and maybe some links) on this situation. I have even been to the WordPress Blog on the case, and they don’t have anything new there either. I thought court proceedings were public records, but apparently public records in Ontario are not on the Internet.

Up first today is a report on the filing of a suit in the case of a cyclist killed. Wrongful death suit filed on behalf of cyclist killed in Beaumont If LEO would do their jobs then lawsuits would not be necessary in cases like these, the perps would be in jail instead of walking free and unencumbered by the law.

Charges are filed against a woman that killed a cyclist while DUI and awaiting trial on a previous DUI. Manslaughter charge in Palm Beach DUI bicyclist fatality “She told the police she had ingested prescription medications including Xanax, Hydrocodone and Oxycodone.” Why is she still breathing? She tested positive for the narcotics and an illegal level of alcohol in her system, she should have been dying of respiratory shutdown unless she was an addict. If she was an addict then she should have never been released to probation after the previous DUI, and should have never been allowed access to a motor vehicle until her addictions were proven under control by a period of years without intoxicating substances in her body. In other words, she should have been medically disqualified from driving before she was driving down the shoulder of the road drunk and on drugs. Stuff like this just infuriates me almost (but not quite) beyond words.

Another report on the man arrested over the death of a UK LEO riding a bicycle to work. Man charged over The facts of the case are just so depressing, even with the limited information given by UK media.

No surprise to this blogger, 20 MPH speed limits reduce the number of people killed or injured by cars. 20mph speed zones cut road injuries by 40%, study says Well besides the increased amount of time that slower speeds give to react, when hit at 20 MPH the NHTSA has shown that only 5% of pedestrians and cyclists die, where at 30 MPH only 5% of cyclists and pedestrians walk away from the wreck (of the rest 50% die and 45% are hospitalized).

More from the debaters in that Spectator debate. Cyclists must stick to the rules of the road Yes that car drivers expect cyclists to obey the same rules of the road when the vehicles are so different is not reasonable, but them’s the breaks. Or to put it in more formal language, that is the situation with which we deal.

In Enn Zed, something is being done about cars hitting cyclists, I’m just not sure they’re doing the right things. New rules for Tamaki Dr after cyclists hurt Some of the things (like posting a sign for broken glass instead of just cleaning the mess) are just wastes of time and money to look like something is being done without actually taking care of a problem. Other things might actually do something about problems.

The residents of a SC island recognizes they have infrastructure issues. Lady’s Island cyclists need safer riding options Because some people can’t share they have to spend more money to make room for them? Why not just reduce the speed limit to a safe level?

A NY lawyer-to-be creates a blog that tells people what the real laws are in NY as opposed to the ones people make up in their minds. Bike Blawg: Post 1 The only problem is actually getting the people that need to, to read it.

Finally a report on bicycle commuting from Nova Scotia. Commute changes work, life perspectives on getting to and fro I know bicycle commuting changed my life, hoo boy did it change my life. Commuting by bicycle almost ended my life, but just because there was one stupid person on the roads that wanted to kill me because I wasn’t driving a car doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t do it again, in fact the few times after the wreck I had work I did commute by bicycle.

Aannnd, that’s a wrap. I have things to do this afternoon and tonight, and bread to make tomorrow, but there will be a post tomorrow.

Billed@$.02, Opus

Another cyclist hit in the bike lane, plus more stuff that will make you mad (crazy) and other stuff that will make you mad (angry)

I hate finding out that another cyclist was hit in the bike lane, and I hate having to post about it in my blog, but if people don’t know about it how can change be made? If you don’t know that drivers are killing cyclists where cars and trucks should not be, how can you do anything about it? And what can I do about it except tell you about the carnage?

Getting to that story first, a woman drives into the bike lane and kills a cyclist. Names released in cyclist-vs-car crash and Woman accused of felony hit and run “Authorities said Murphy was following bicycle safety laws and was wearing a helmet as he rode northbound on Jamboree Road along the easterly curb. Izquieta hit him and didn’t stop to help him, police said.” and “Izquieta had made an “unsafe turning maneuver” before hitting Murphy” Now it appears that “unsafe turning maneuver” was driving in the bike lane. The cyclist’s bicycle was dragged over 300 feet according to one report, so there’s no way the driver could not have known they hit something. Mr. Murphy was riding with a group of cyclists when he was hit, so it was probably just chance that he was the one hit instead of someone else. For you to avoid this kind of wreck, use the hit-from-behind protocol I mentioned a couple of months ago in this post .

No bicycles involved in this one, it’s just a demonstration of why I think that large vehicles need to have special permits to be on the roads with much higher standards of licensing. SUV slams into building in Mechanicsburg The SUV in this case had barely 100 feet to reach a speed that almost took out a concrete block building, and would have killed someone had they been inside the blast radius of the debris that sprayed from the wall at impact, or been crushed by the shelving unit that was knocked from the wall.

The rest of the wrecks were outside North America.

From the charges filed it appears that someone drove a bus over a cyclist, literally in this case as the bus had to be lifted off the cyclist. Birmingham city centre bus crash: Cyclist named This makes this report unusual for a UK wreck report, in that the mode of the wreck can be inferred from the report. Using my incredible powers of deduction I can hazard the statement that the cyclist was waiting at the stop light and the bus turned left over him, causing him to be trapped under the bus. Check back in 6-18 months when the court case is concluded and the real story is released, if that ever makes the news.

From Enn Zed comes a story of an injured cyclist whose ID went elsewhere in the wreck. Police Seek To Identify Injured Cyclist If the description of the cyclist, his kit and his bike ring a bell ring up the LEO contact mentioned in the article and let them know who you think it might be. The Witch on a Bicycle says it’s your civic duty.

More lawyer talk about the change in injury severity and type as more commuters go by bike. Can Cars and Bikes Co-Exist?

Infrastructure for pedestrians gets slammed because it’s ugly?! Safety vs. eyesore? Signs at Oceanfront draw complaints

Get a bike fit as a first step in fixing painful cycling. Enjoy the Ride Or you could just get a recumbent.

Aaaannnd, that’s a wrap.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Again few wrecks from the US and Canada, much consternation here and abroad

I’m back from the Lab Rat Keeper, still percolating right along. My BP is better than it has been in decades (since before they lowered the definition of high blood pressure down to 120/80 in fact) my rest pulse is akin to a Zen elephant’s (very slow) and my weight is down, after Thanksgiving no less! They are double-checking the Red Cross on my Hgb levels, the RC had it as 11.8 when I tried to donate a couple weeks ago, but back in the summer when I was testing a new med and getting that stuff tested every couple of weeks my Hgb and Hcrit were both good. But I wasn’t taking Azor during the test, I was on a different med. So, maybe I have found a new side effect for Azor when taken over an extended period of time. On the blood donation front I still haven’t been able to donate since my last donation in 7/2007. I might as well go ahead and get that tattoo now while I work on getting my Hcrit and Hgb levels back up, this looks like it might take a while…

Up first because something has to be, a report on a head-on crash between a cyclist and a cab on the wrong side of the street in DC. Crash Last Night at 31st and M, NW What can I say? The cab was driving on the wrong side of the street. Given that DC streets have danged high curbs to prevent sidewalk flooding (or so I was told back in the dark ages before Clinton, or even Carter) a cyclist doesn’t have any escape route should a motor vehicle do something as stupid as driving on the wrong side of the street unless the cyclist is extremely skilled in the “bunny hop” to clear the curbs and not wreck. The wrong-way vehicle would prevent any escape to the left (where the motor vehicle would be if it was on the correct side of the street), and you can’t hop the curb, the only other option would be to abandon the bike and accept road rash over broken bones and massive internal trauma, and hope the bike does some major damage as it goes under the motor vehicle.

Kill a cyclist, go to jail… Hit-and-Run Driver Sent to Jail “Lipe pleaded no conest to felony hit and run, and a judge ordered him to spend the next year in jail and four years on probation.” But not for very long in jail. From the limited details of the wreck in the article it appears the cyclist could not have avoided this wreck that took him into the canal. I don’t know if the cyclist drowned or was dead prior to being in the canal.

In the City of Brotherly Love there ain’t much love between the various modes of transport: drivers hate pedestrians and especially cyclists, cyclists hate pedestrians and especially drivers, and pedestrians just hate anything that can hit them hard enough to hurt including cars, cyclists, and joggers (other pedestrians). Readers Write: We don’t need your stinking traffic rules And apparently everybody hates the traffic laws…

From my examiner.com colleague in Toronto, jurisprudence reports from the Great White North. Toronto Goes To Court – Bryant and Kenk Trials Both Begin Bryant is scum, but Kenk is in a class by himself. Of course from what I know Kenk never killed anyone to obtain any of the bicycles he had, they were all stolen after the owner had left them to go do something else, much like someone stealing a parked car. Bryant killed a cyclist, that much has been determined, all that’s left is did the cyclist do anything that would warrant a response of deadly force? It is known that Darcy Sheppard had been drinking, but my back-channel report was that toxicology on Sheppard found that he was not drunk, considerably under the legal limit, and that Bryant was never tested for drugs or alcohol.

A huge WMD almost takes out a building and a cyclist nearby as a driver apparently has a seizure at the controls of a large truck. Two hurt as lorry ploughs into pub Fortunately the only injury was to the cyclist, as normally the front of the pub and the sidewalk in front are packed with people during operating hours. This is why there should be a physical exam requirement on a driver’s license, like there is for a pilot’s license. Bi-annual exams would have caught the physical issues that led to the driver having a seizure, and a psych evaluation would prevent people like TTTWLAMWAMD and Bryant from having access to the WMD that motor vehicles have become. Anyway, there was no way for the cyclist to have avoided this wreck except clairvoyance, so just look sharp out there.

And another incident involving a truck in the UK. Cyclist seriously injured after being hit by lorry And in this case they know even less than the typical UK wreck report.

Finally something (slightly) less lethal than a big truck, I hope. Cyclist from Godalming killed in collision with car $&(% no, still lethal, still nothing I can point to and say “Do this, don’t do that” and you can avoid a similar wreck.

I love the UK’s media sometimes, where they can advocate a point of view without fear of court for creating a false impression. Sign of the times: The cycle path with a painted symbol every few feet (and still someone is going the wrong way) so the photographer stands in front of the cyclist, facing away from him and when the cyclist passes in the oncoming lane, the photographer takes his picture to “prove” that cyclists can’t even follow the laws in their own protected places, with markings on the pavement every few feet (probably at every intersection with a driveway).

Another working cyclist in South Africa is hit by a truck. PIC: Cyclist pinned under truck nothing yet known about what caused the wreck, “It is thought that the bicycle delivery man had entered Mitchell Road and the driver of the truck was unable to avoid him.” Typical car-head thinking on display.

A police blotter from a Chinese newspaper reports, you have to scroll down a good bit to find the bicycle wreck. Cyclist killed in hit-and-run

A lawyer tries to explain that cyclists belong on the roads and that people in cars should respect that. Finding equilibrium

The DCist finds lots of interesting infrastructure news. Go Home Already: Making Friends Lots of interesting things in the report.

Among those interesting things was a parking enforcement vehicle parked in a bike lane. Oh Look: A Parking Enforcement Car Blocking a Bike Lane They are allowed to use the bike lane as they write tickets for vehicles parked in the bike lane, but it is still annoying to find a car in the bike lane.

And that’s all I have tonight.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Dec. 4 Feed Pt. 2, the rest of the world

OK I’m back from my church duties and ready to finish this mess and go to bed. I have been at this off and on since 11:45 AM and it is now 2 minutes after midnight. Between baking bread and sustaining the body, and my church duties, and this blog I have been going constantly for over 13 hours now. {yawn}

I think this is supposed to be a hit-and run in Jolly Olde, but it sounds more like a nightmare. Cyclist injured in non-stop crash Yes that does remind me of one of my nightmares, the crash that never ends, bouncing off the cars and the road until I wake up, the sheets a tangle and covered in sweat. But since this is a typical UK media wreck report, aside from that bit of horror poetry there isn’t anything aside from names and places. Well there was the note that the suspect vehicle was a white van and would be missing the passenger side rear view mirror, so be on the lookout for a vehicle fitting that description.

A incident more than a wreck, someone assaulted a cyclist on a bike path. Cyclist is pushed off bike by man PC Ryan Townsend from Bromsgrove Police appealed for any witnesses or anyone with any information to contact him and said: “Fortunately the woman’s injuries were not too serious but we need to identify the male who pushed her from her bike.” So if the person described in the article is familiar, and you’re somewhere near the scene of the crime, call the PC. Just don’t call PC Macintosh, he has some serious identity issues.

Another UK bike wreck that is a bit worse than most. Cyclist critically injured in smash Yowch, a head on crash between a White Van and a cyclist. LEO are looking for witnesses, the van driver was hysterical at the scene and incoherent and of course the cyclist was not doing too well either. Again if you know anything, contact number is in the article. Do your civic duty and get the cyclist off the hook.

Several reports on the critical PR infrastructure building being done by the UK cycling community. Us Cyclists aren’t a menace, we’re freedom fighters and ‘Blinkered motorists make roads unsafe for cyclists’ also UK cyclists in more danger than foreign counterparts Keep up the pressure, people. Illegitimi non carborundum!

Sometimes they can’t even decide who is the intended target of an informational PSA. Highway Code TV ad to target cyclists says Minister… oh no it isn’t says Driver Standards Agency Get back to me when you figure that one out, lads, will you?

In Oz they can’t figure out where to put cyclists… Hidden injury toll sparks call to segregate cyclists And the most infuriating thing about it is the idiots in the comments section that blech and moan about how much of a hazard cyclists are to motor vehicles, and how they should be taxed to construct the bike lanes, and never even realize that if drivers weren’t hitting the cyclists they wouldn’t need segregated infrastructure.

On the same subject but from a different perspective, still in Oz. `Not enough bike paths’ The complaints are typical, drivers expect cyclists to ride in the paths, but the paths don’t go anywhere useful.

Infrastructure in the US is similar to the UK and Oz. Southwest Florida’s Deadly Streets Again drivers complain that cyclists don’t use the paths that don’t go anywhere useful, and cyclists are caught between the rock and the hard place.

So what do the experts (?) recommend? Helmet Use Proven Life-Saver That’s right, don’t do anything about the infrastructure or bad drivers, make people wear helmets instead.

Finally, so I don’t blow a fuse, an article about something to let you get where you need to go without getting all sweaty or driving a car. Currie’s electric beach-cruiser bicycle is priced right, goes the distance I keep telling you guys about my working on e-assist bikes for the “slow”, well here’s one that you can buy without having to tinker on it or weld brackets in or program the uController after you build your own motor and controller (I do that, but then I’m brain damaged, so I think it’s fun). I do this for fun, you can do it for transportation. And you can even get some of that nasty “e” word if you want.

And that’s it, finally.

Billed @$.02, Opus

After I picked up around the yard, a Feed

I have been doing some more pruning on the live oak out back and discovered we had some more damage from the tiny-nado last spring. We couldn’t hear it because of the wind noise, but one of the branches of the live oak was broken and laid over the other direction, but because we couldn’t see through all the small branches that sprouted since the last pruning nobody noticed. so after clearing out a huge number of branches to get to some deadwood I discovered that like half the tree was dead and sitting on top of the live part. And now it’s sitting in the driveway because it’s too big to move to the curb out front until it gets cut into smaller pieces. I’m going to tell the people at church that we have some U-Cut firewood sitting behind the house this Sunday, and if they don’t come get it by Tuesday it’s going to the curb Tuesday night. I think by then I will have recovered enough to actually be able to move that thing with some help. And now the Feed.

New Haven has injured another cyclist. Injured cyclist remains ‘stable’ Don’t read the comments, my head is “pre-exploded” so I can read that “stuff” without damage, you shouldn’t take that risk. The cyclist in this wreck was being harassed by the driver behind him when he rode into the oncoming lane of traffic. All I can say is no matter how bad the sub-human life form at the controls of the WMD aimed at you is behaving you have to watch where you’re going.

Kill a cyclist, and maybe get your hand slapped if you don’t stick around to leave your contact data. Man accused of leaving fatal accident scene faces trial Note that he faces no charges for hitting and killing the cyclist, just for leaving the scene without talking to the cops.

An English cyclist is killed riding the Americas. Islander killed in charity ride and from the Beeb Tributes paid to charity cyclist Even though the wreck happened in another country and is outside UK judicial jurisdiction, old habits are hard to break and the actual mode of the wreck is not to be found here.

What appears to be a hit-and-run on a cyclist in Gloustershire, which is somewhere in the UK from what I’ve been told. Gloucestershire cyclist injured in mystery incident The cyclist has no memory of the wreck, so good luck figuring out how this one happened.

And home of the famous smile without a cat… Ellesmere Port cyclist suffers serious injuries after collision The female motorist was not injured in the incident and is assisting police with their enquiries. Isn’t that just ducky? She’s helping the police. Wanna bet she’s lying like a rug as she “helps” the investigation?

Another wreck in the UK. Bas Clarke killed on A1 – Police seek witnesses to collision You have to watch out for those trucks, even when they’re not trying to hit you they have so many blind spots that they can kill you and the driver would never even notice he hit anything.

And from Oz comes the reports (finally) on the cyclist killed in the middle of the street by a tour bus. Tram tracks trapped cyclist’s wheel: inquest told and Tram tracks a trap for cyclists, police tell inquest and finally Bus travelleling slowly when cyclist killed, inquest told So, synopsis of the proceedings so far, the infrastructure was a deathtrap with less than 5 feet between the tram tracks to the right and the bus traffic to the left with the cyclists in the middle, and this particular one got her wheel trapped in the tracks trying to avoid a bus and fell into the path of the bus, so suddenly as to not give the driver time to react even though he was driving at a walking pace because of the congestion in the area. This is what we used to call a FUBAR in the Army. The situation has been rectified by removing the buses from the area and giving the entire left to cyclists and pedestrians.

I think that’s everything for today, if it ain’t I ain’t coming back to post more until tomorrow anyway.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Another potential Gigi public appearance, and the Feed

My friends(?) at the Dallas Winter Solstice celebration (SolstiCelebration) have asked if I can ride my bicycle as part of the opening festivities. I have already been asked to wear a penguin costume (Opus, the comic strip character) so I guess I’m supposed to ride Gigi indoors, surrounded by people, while I wear a penguin costume. This could get interesting. Well at least this time I was asked to come first, then Gigi was requested. Last time it was Gigi that was requested and since it was my bike I could ride it her.

Up first because it is a sign of the Apocalypse. Police charge woman in death of Va. Beach cyclist That’s right, a cyclist was killed and the driver wasn’t drunk, on a cell phone, texting, or otherwise distracted, and still charges were filed against the driver. I wonder what the end of the world will be like… The cyclist in this case was wearing a helmet and hi-visibility garb.

Another report on the drug-dealing driver that hit a cyclist while texting a drug deal negotiation. Personal Injury Accident Notice: Texting driver strikes cyclist in N.J. Lawyer blather, but the interesting thing in this wreck was now we know the cyclist was wearing some kind of body armor when hit besides the helmet and reflective vest. “She had been wearing protective gear and a reflective vest and helmet when she was struck by the car.” Still didn’t prevent broken bones but to be honest even being inside a car doesn’t prevent broken bones when you get hit by a car or truck.

This is the only time I like seeing someone get hit riding a bicycle. Bike thief struck by vehicle during getaway try, police say Unfortunately the thief will most likely survive his close encounter. But given the nature of the injury what little smarts he had will be long gone, so even if he doesn’t go to prison he will get to be housed in an institution.

CHP is trying to work out how the cop hit the cyclist (again?!) in San Diego. Police reenact crash that killed bicyclist in University City I’m willing to bet that if they do a good reenactment they will find the cop was at fault and/or speeding.

Another report on the City of Brotherly Love over-reacting to a statistical blip in bicycle/pedestrian wrecks. Council’s problematic bicycle crackdown For perspective, “The proposed fine for headphones ($300) is almost three times the fine for running a red light“

And another report that just really chaps me off. Former Asheville firefighter pleads guilty in cyclist shooting He pleads guilty to trying to kill the cyclist with a gun, should have been attempted murder, and he gets, wait for it… 120 days in jail. Not years, not A year, not even a full 4 months. one hundred twenty days! I hope the DA can sleep with the knowledge of how badly he has dropped the ball on this case.

And thank the Lady Ghisallo, we are done with today’s article. Reminder unless there is breaking news of great import there will be no post for tomorrow. My sanity is more important than the weak Feeds I get on Sundays any way.

Billed @$.02, Opus

I can hardly lift my arms, but here’s the Feed

Well, I pruned some more today, on the live oak out back. I don’t have much upper body strength or endurance any more, so I lopped a few branches off with the pruner and had to call it quits. Then I filtered the Feed and now here I am to post the reports and make comments.

Another SWSS/SWCC wreck in the Pelican State (Louisiana). Cyclist killed at 171 and La. 394 and Bicycle rider killed near DeRidder I find the description of the wreck highly suspect. Especially the part where he was going east on 394 and then turned around to go east on 394…

What sounds like a left cross wreck in CA. Cyclist killed in traffic accident identified CA has the same laws about turning vehicles as TX that requires turning traffic to yield to traffic that is not turning, whether that traffic is oncoming traffic on the same street or road or traffic on the street or road that is being turned on. Hopefully there will be at least a ticket filed against the driver that killed the cyclist.

Another report on the DC cyclist killed by a cop cruiser. Md. cyclist who was killed by police cruiser identified Yeah, anyone that believes the cop was going under the speed limit, I have some oceanfront property in El Paso I would like to sell. I’m not saying the cyclist wasn’t at fault, just saying the likelihood of the cop driving under the speed limit is so low as to be invisible. The fact that they made the statement thus renders all of their other statements suspect. The grain of salt required is about the size of a semi-trailer.

Another report on the kid killed in DE. Teen cyclist killed on 273 ID’d Again the rider was thrown into a car that was in front of both vehicles. This indicates to me that traffic was stopped and the kid did not run the red light like the cops say.

More on the NY state cyclist that was hit by a transit bus. Cops: Greenburgh cyclist was riding alongside bus; bikers invited to ride at funeral The cyclist appears to have been doing exactly what he should have, I still don’t know why LEO haven’t charged the bus driver with running down the cyclist. NY law requires the passing vehicle to pass safely, which means far enough away that you don’t scare the other operator to death. That didn’t happen this time. So why no ticket or charges?

A TX lawyer thinks that Gov. Goodhair’s veto of the Vulnerable Road Users Bill (SB488) may have contributed to the driver that killed 2 people on a tandem bicycle not getting any kind of ticket or charge. Texas Governor Perry Vetoes Safe Passing Bill: Cyclist Deaths The Result? I just want to know what the Helotes LEOs were thinking when they decided that the guy in the truck did nothing illegal when he killed the 2 cyclists.

A case in Scotland that just floored me as the police report wasn’t allowed to be read into evidence. Scottish jury finds case against driver who killed cyclist ‘not proven’ Of course it wasn’t proven, the judge threw out the most important evidence against the driver. Again, what was he thinking?

Again I had to pick myself up off the floor when I read about a multiple repeat drunk driver was facing in the way of charges in Enn Zed. Drink-drive charge ‘appallingly inadequate’ “Downer, who has two previous drink driving convictions, could face a maximum of five years behind bars.” Five years for drunk driving that killed somebody, that’s just a travesty.

And a trio of people that train together for bicycle riding suffered similar wrecks. Cyclist tells of horror crash The man was killed while the wife was recovering from a previous crash, and the personal trainer was in a coma for 5 weeks from the wreck that killed the man… What a mess.

The 2010 Tour of the Battenkill will have a stage dedicated to Veterans. 2010 Tour of the Battenkill Announces Ride to Benefit Injured Veterans If you can do this next year Witch on a Bicycle says do it.

And that’s all for tonight.

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