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

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

Running late again, the Feed

Yes we’re running a bit late again. This time it’s because of trying to get shopping done, and bake some bread for family consumption, plus the creaky antique of a computer I’m using. It would be easier to post the blog if getting the articles to link to didn’t take so long. After about a half-dozen the computer starts to get bogged down and Java and Flash scripts start causing program crashes from running my poor AMD 1 GHz processor at its limit, and it just gets worse the more windows I have to keep open to be able to link the articles from. I currently have 24 windows up, one to compose this post from, 22 containing articles for links, and one that monitors my system use (not what I type or anything like that but resource use like memory and CPU). Right at the moment I’m using 90+% of my CPU resource, but I still have about a third of my memory available.

Up first because it’s the closest thing to being local for me is an update on the cyclist killed in Houston. Honor-guard ride set for late cyclist Campbell The comments were blissfully short and respectful. Still no word on if the car that hit him went through a traffic control or not.

This is the kind of wreck that just makes me sad and angry at the same time. Boy, 9, dies after being hit by pickup The driver admits, no volunteers to driving with impaired vision, why wasn’t an arrest made at the scene? The kid was following traffic rules and waited for the truck to stop before proceeding and then was run over by a bozo driving a truck raised so high he couldn’t see a legal road vehicle crossing in front of him. Why was the driver allowed to drive away from the scene? More 9-year-old killed in bike accident identified

We don’t know what caused this hit from behind wreck in Tempe AZ but I can make a pretty good guess… Tempe PD: Bicyclist seriously injured in collision with car Traffic backed up from a previous fender-bender and a cyclist in the middle because of debris, add in drivers more interested in what’s on the side of the road instead of what is in front of their car, and you get flattened cyclist. The driver in this case went through an intersection where the cyclist was already crossing without paying attention to the cyclist and broadsided the cyclist at a fair rate of knots, causing serious injury to the cyclist and totaling the car.

A teenager riding his bike to school is hit from behind by a bus. Harrisonburg Teen Injured When Hit by Bus The bus driver was charged with reckless driving for not slowing the vehicle when sun glare diminished her vision. And I soooo relieved that none of the bus passengers was injured when a 10 ton bus ran over a bike and rider that weighed less than 200 pounds.

And while the bus driver is facing jail time, a driver that ran several cyclists off the road and threatened them with a gun gets probation> Driver who targeted cyclists gets probationary sentence Some people are just real slow to learn, or maybe because he was threatening cyclists instead of “real people” the sentence was so lenient. Whatever the reason, someone needs to invite this guy for a beer and then alert his probation officer so his probation can get revoked.

In a similar vein, the sentencing of TTTWLAMWAMD has been delayed because of the swine flu. Breaking News: Christopher Thompson sentencing delayed Apparently because H1N1 was detected in the cellblock the former Dr. Thompson was unable to be interviewed by psychiatrists for his evaluation prior to sentencing, so will have to spend the holidays in the LA County Jail. From what I have been able to determine he is not in general population but in a special jail for rich people, something he won’t get when he gets transferred to regular prison. The next hearing date is 1/8/10, but i don’t know what courtroom it will be heard in, I assume the same one as it has been for the trial.

While I usually trust the Motley Fool for investment advice, I don’t extend the same deference about their take on traffic safety. Be careful on your bikes, trikes, and unicycles! The same old car-head thinking, why are cyclists on the road when there’s a perfectly good bike path in the park? Well besides the fact that some people ride to get places instead of for {shudder} exercise, there is the corollary rebuttal about why you aren’t driving on the highway instead of surface streets?

Another report on the LA cyclist injured by a hit-and-run driver. Hit and Run Driver Critically Injures NoHo Bicyclist The cyclist was listed in “critical” condition the last I heard from my back-channel informants. I hope they catch the humanoid that did this.

In Canuckistan killer drivers will face trial over the death of a cyclist during a street race. Street racing trial ordered after hearing I find it upsetting that racing on the street is a greater offense than killing someone, riding a bicycle or not. Street racing can get you life in Canada, killing a cyclist about 5 years if the reports on the former elected official who killed a cyclist in Toronto are accurate.

In more jurisprudence news from above the 49^th parallel, a man is fined $2000 CDN for killing a cyclist because the driver wasn’t watching where he was going. Road death brings $2,000 fine “Death always complicates sentencing in any case,” said provincial court Judge Peter Ayotte, who ruled a jail term was not called for. OK, the driver left-hooked a cyclist, resulting in death, so exactly what does call for a jail sentence? and the judge might want to re-read his law books, except for central city areas cyclists are allowed to ride on sidewalks and use crosswalks.

Also from the Great White North is this report on sidewalk cycling. Bikes don’t belong on sidewalks I agree, bicycles don’t belong on sidewalks except to park. The only people that think otherwise are drivers who don’t want bicycles in the street.

I have to go someplace so this post has a “to be continued” addendum to come later.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Road insanity continues unabated, the Feed

The Feed this morning was humongous, with updates from previous reports, and new reports, and a metric buttload of UK reports. Tuesday and Wednesday have been very busy for bicycle wrecks in the UK. We also have reports on studies that have just been released in the UK, and a whole host of other things from North America.

Up first because it just floored me, a pedestrian waylays a cyclist in PA. Bicyclist threatened with bat in Carlisle Apparently the pedestrian was upset the cyclist wasn’t there to buy drugs but was just passing through his “turf”. I have no idea how to avoid a situation like this.

Another in the epidemic of hit-and-run in LA CA. Cyclist critically injured in NoHo hit-and-run The actions of the driver are just inexcusable. The cyclist was crossing legally, other traffic had stopped to allow the cyclist to complete his crossing, and this bozo comes along at between 30 and 40 MPH and never even slows down, running right into the cyclist who was plainly visible crossing from the left. It wasn’t like the driver couldn’t see the cyclist if he looked, if he looked he just didn’t care. He knew he wasn’t going to get hurt.

Another LA hit-and-run, in the state of LA. Cyclist Killed in Hit and Run This is another one that the cyclist didn’t have much chance to avoid, according to police the vehicle left the road to hit the cyclist then proceeded on. The cyclist was knocked into a pole near the road causing massive internal injury leading to death. Police have no clues as to the make and model of the weapon vehicle.

Another UK road incident involving a cyclist. Cyclist injured in collision Other than the cyclist was 22 YO and the driver was 73, that pretty much recaps the entire report except for the geography.

A cyclist is slightly injured, I think. Cyclist injured in Botley Road I hope she recovers. From the description she most likely will.

Another report on the cyclist being injured by a silver Mercedes that was noted here yesterday. Cyclist is injured in hit-and-run A 3 door Mercedes? Must be one that never made it to the US. It figures, they did tend to keep all the really good cars in Europe back then. Anyway it will be scrap soon as the driver will have to either destroy it or face charges.

Another report on the wreck on A16 reported here yesterday. Cyclist killed in A16 crash and a report on the victim Tulips stalwart killed in Spalding A16 crash Apparently the nickname for the local soccer team is the Tulips, but from the report we know the cyclist had no lights or reflectors on the bike, which may have had an effect on the wreck.

More on that debate over the danger posed by cyclists to the community at large. Cyclists aren’t a menace: Spectator debate and Cyclists”not a menace” according to Spectator debate

And a profound reason why cyclists are not the menace. English cyclists 20 times more at risk than motorists I question the methodology of the study a little, but not the results. Given the exposure of a cyclist compared to the amount of protection afforded by a car it’s quite logical that what would be pranged sheet metal would be bruises, scrapes, and broken bones for a cyclist, even if cyclists had an accident rate many times less than motor vehicles they would still get injured more often.

Infrastructure woes in Montreal. Who owns the road in Montreal? This article feels familiar, I may have made a link to it at another web site. But even if it is new the problems reported are familiar, when cyclists are given segregated infrastructure in North America pedestrians begin to take it over, and then complain about how rude the cyclists are to them.

When NPR notices you have a problem, it’s not a small problem. ‘Road Rage’ Case Highlights Cyclist Vs. Driver Tension Some good advice, but some seriously car-head thinking going on at NPR. Also don’t ride like a jerk in a video game, GTA is make believe, you don’t get any extra lives for riding your bike, and riding like you are in GTA just annoys people that then take it out on the next cyclist they see.

Lawrence KS decides to put up a Ghost Bike. City of Lawrence supports ghost bike memorial to encourage cycling safety I’m afraid they still don’t get the idea of a Ghost Bike though. The idea is you make people aware that bicycles use that strip of road by marking the place where a cyclist was hit, you don’t just put one up any old place to remember fallen cyclists.

And another ride for wounded vets. Injured Vets Riding into Jacksonville I know the healing effect a bike, or other human powered vehicle, can have on the physical and mental health of an injured person, from first-hand experience. Go Us!

And that’s the whole of the mess today.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Bicycle zombies take over the news, people still getting killed by cars, the Feed

Yes, “zombies” are all the rage now, and have spread from the UK to the US. In the meantime cars are still killing people at a rate of nearly 110 people a day in the US, and nobody is saying anything about that (except me and a few other bicycle fanatics). I feel a rant coming on, and I don’t think it is going to be pretty.

Up first is another report on the waste of human skin that had 20 beers before going out and driving into 2 cyclists, killing one. Driver who downed 20 beers, killed cyclist gets 25-40 years in prison This is the guy that in a previously linked report the victim’s mother gave him a Bible and said he was going to heaven. I hope she’s wrong about that, because if there was ever a guy that deserved to suffer, this is the guy. Interesting that the previous reports said the disgusting piece of filth got 45 years determinate sentence, but this report has him as serving 25-40. I wonder who’s right.

In other court news the driver that dragged a cyclist 860 feet under her car while the man was screaming and beating on the car (that part was new information), is facing undisclosed criminal charges in the case. Driver of car that dragged bicyclist in Natick to face criminal charge The complaint was filed Nov. 25 in Framingham District Court against Lorraine Peterson, 61, of 359 Berlin Road, though police redacted the specific charge. Apparently public records are not public for certain people.

More on the wreck that killed the driver while only slightly injuring the cyclist he hit. Vehicle crashes kill 4, injure 5 Not a good day to have been driving a car, or riding a bicycle for that matter. If I’m reading the report right the vehicle hit the cyclist on the north side of the street and then crossed the road to hit a tree on the south side of the street. That ain’t normal. Hitting a cyclist isn’t what I would call “normal” but the circumstances of the wreck speak to me of a person who was dieing before they hit the cyclist, and the tree just finished the job. This sounds like a stroke or heart attack in progress when he left the road the first time and grazed the cyclist and then tried to stay on the road and pulled left on the wheel, then died. I know that’s an awful lot to pull from a tiny report…

Another hit-and-run in LA CA. Cyclist struck in West Hollywood hit-and-run Not much to go on in this report, but it appears to be a typical right hook wreck, good that the cyclist survived.

In Scotland a cyclist has a run in with a bus and survives. Cyclist in serious condition after accident with bus and from the Beeb Cyclist injured in bus accident It’s good to know that you won’t get hurt driving a bus into a woman riding a bicycle [/sarcasm]. For those who live on my side of the pond, it appears the woman was trying to turn across traffic when she got hit. They drive on the wrong side of the roads in Scotland so you have to turn right to cross traffic, not left.

Someone driving a silver Mercedes is going to have a rough time of it when he gets caught. Cyclist seriously injured in hit-and-run As per usual in UK wreck reports I can’t say anything about how to avoid a similar wreck, other then to always be alert, this cyclist being able to say make and color may very well result in the miscreant being brought to justice.

And what seems obvious as the nose on your face is debated in the UK. Cyclists are not a menace, Spectator debate decides In the end the argument was mass times velocity, would you rather get hit by 200 pounds going 20 MPH, or 4000 pounds going 35 and up? In the overall scheme of things it was like getting hit in a rugby game versus getting hit by an artillery shell. Every once in a while someone will die in a rugby game, but not often, but get hit by a car and you stand a good chance of dying or being permanently injured.

A cyclist is injured in a left hook wreck in Oz. Cyclist injured after collision with car I noticed the cyclist got a few licks in on the car as he was hit, tearing off the passenger side mirror and crumpling the hood a bit and only sustaining minor injuries in the process. As they say “Good on ya!” for returning fire in the face of the enemy

Still trying to figure out if the guy that hit a cyclist in South Africa was just stupid or culpable. Cops hunt for evidence in cyclist death Hit from behind in the cycle lane, and there’s a question of culpability? Did these guys get their training from AZ LEO?

And the “bicycle zombies” meme makes its way to these shores. ‘iPod zombies’ blamed for UK road deaths Note that in this article from the people that actually make the iPod, using one on any vehicle that one is in control of is not a good idea. Bicycles because you might get hit by a car you didn’t hear, cars because they distract you from your environment, and you already have way too many distractions while driving a car anyway.

An opinion about the ruckus over the recent pedestrian deaths by bicycle in the City of Brotherly Love. Road Rage at Philly Newspapers Why are Ronnie and Stu whipping up fear when cars and trucks pose a bigger threat? Because they don’t like bicycles in their streets, and making then out to be a danger to pedestrians arouses fears that they can use to get them legislated away from their city…

On the same subject but from a different direction. Registering bicycles will not prevent any accidents If there was just some way we could easily identify cars so that when the hit someone and drive off the owner could be brought to justice… and pedestrians they just wander around like they own the place, we need some way of identifying pedestrians too…

I hope NY has a better time of it than TX when they pass their 3 foot passing law. NYS Assemblymember to Introduce Safe Passage Law for Cyclists This is desperately needed legal infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.

And SF finally gets to build bicycle infrastructure again. Eyes On the Street: SF Gets Its First New Bike Lane in Three Years The paint was barely dry before people started using the new bike lane, who had been trying to ride vehicularly but because of driver attitudes were not having a good go of it.

And that’s all I have today, but there will be a rant later, I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to phrase it yet.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Before I eat turkey, here are a bunch of road turkeys, the Feed

For people living in the USA this is a major holiday. For the rest of you it’s Thursday, but today is the day we have set aside to reflect on our lives and to be thankful to whatever deity we follow.

This is what I’m thankful for. I’m first and foremost thankful that I’m alive and here to share “wit” and “wisdom” with you. I know I’m not always witty and that I’m frequently not wise, but I have my moments. I’m thankful I have a nice bike that I can use to move my butt and stuff that I need to move from place to place. I’m also very thankful for my church community without whom I would just be spending 24/7 at the house, making angry posts to this blog and nasty comments on other web sites about the evil things drivers do behind the wheels of their cars and trucks. They help keep me sane and mostly functional. I’m most thankful for the people around me that put up with the “stuff” I do as a result of the brain damage I have. I know I’m not easy to live with, but I’m very glad that there are people that choose to live with me, and that put up with the way I am.

Up first is an update on the Natick MA man that was dragged 860 feet (initially reported as 300 yards) and around the corner of an intersection. Natick police question injured bicycist I strongly suggest reading the full article if you think you have the stomach for it. Lots of new information there.

Another cyclist injured in FL, the deadliest state in the US for cyclists. Bicyclist injured in Seminole crash Mode of the crash hasn’t been released yet. People in the comments are saying this is a bad intersection for cyclists no matter where you ride. Apparently drivers won’t give cyclists any room on the road, drive too fast and don’t pay much attention to the sidewalks either. But until I get more information on the wreck I can’t say for certain how to avoid a similar wreck.

Another cyclist is hit with a bus, this time in Chicago. Bicycle rider injured by CTA bus Lots of information about the bus movements, but nothing about the cyclist. Interesting that the FD says the cyclist is in serious condition but the bus company says the injuries were minor. In this case I would place more credence in the FD than the bus company.

And in the spirit of the holiday. Cyclist thankful to be alive after wreck Yeah, them dogs can be a major pain when you ride a bike.

And that’s all I have this Thanksgiving day, enjoy your meal, even if you’re having tofurkey

Billed @$.02, Opus

Running late due to trying to donate blood and Thanksgiving perparations, the Feed

I’m officially out of the blood donating business for a long time, I’m still anemic. That would explain the lack of legs on long rides and especially on hills, and the low cruise speeds. I’m still as strong as ever in sprints and up short hills where oxygen-carrying capacity is not the limiting factor, so the strength training has been working, I just lack the oxygen-carrying capacity to go the distance at tempo. meh. For people who have followed my blog from MySpace you know this problem first reared its ugly head summer of 2007 and made my ride at the HHH that year a fiasco, as little girls on BSO MTB with knobby tires passed me any time the road made a slight inclination against me and I had to SAG out at the first rest stop as my pulse wouldn’t come down and my BP went up drastically. Up until them I had been donating every 8-9 weeks, but I haven’t been able to get my counts up high enough since June of ‘07. I guess this would be a good time to get that tattoo.

Up first because something has to be, and because this was appropriate for the season, a bike race/food drive. An Outlaw Street Race, for a Good Cause Basically it’s a race, but to win the race you have to buy the major makings to a Thanksgiving dinner for donating to a food bank. The Witch on a Bicycle blog heartily supports such an endeavor. We’re real big on food around here.

The other US story was about a month old, but still has lessons to be learned. Bicyclist seriously injured in Bybee Blvd. collision Yeppers, it was a left cross wreck, one of the most common but fortunately one that is usually survivable, if you turn with the car to reduce the impact. that assumes of course you have time to recognize the impending wreck and decide if you can stop in time or need to turn, then institute the turning movements to reduce the angle of impact with the car. I’m not too good with that, but fortunately I don’t get that kind of wreck very often and so don’t have to make those decisions very often.

More on the cop v bicycle wreck in SD CA. ‘Ghost Bike’ Honors Cyclist I would really like to see that report from the CHP given all the facts that have come to light since the wreck, the years of experience of the cyclist, the safety gear worn by the cyclist, the lack of flashing lights or siren used by the cop on the way to assist a fellow officer, claims that the officer was at least keeping up with other motor vehicles in the near vicinity contrary to the claim the LEO was driving under the speed limit…

Cyclists are suing the city of Toronto for failing to keep the streets safe for their cycling employees, the bicycle police patrol and the bicycle paramedic squad, total of about 530 employees working the streets on bicycles. Law backs cyclist’s quest for safe roads If you can’t get then to do right by you as a taxpayer, make do right for their employees, and then they also do right for the taxpayers.

On a similar note, the family of a UK cyclist killed in London asks for better infrastructure for cyclists. Family of cyclist killed in crash call for improved safety Really it isn’t all that hard, you just have to decide that too many people are getting killed, and build the infrastructure to prevent that.

And the last story is from Oz, as a man riding home from work is run over by a co-worker (not the legendary cow orker). Cyclist injured At least they charged the driver with something more serious than failure to maintain lane position.

And that’s all I got tonight. Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your meal tomorrow. Best wishes to our servicemen and women who are having Thanksgiving dinner in the chow hall or out in bivouac in the boonies. I’m thinking about you, and glad I’m not doing that anymore.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Should there be a tougher written exam for driver’s licenses? and the Feed

After reading so many reports on drivers that don’t know the laws on how to drive their cars (there were a lot of car wrecks in the Feed this morning that had nothing to do with bicycles) I have come to the conclusion that either we need to have recurring testing for drivers with a zero tolerance passing standard, or drastically need to increase the PSAs for new laws that are passed for driving. There are just so many people that don’t know how to drive their WMDs within the laws, and who kill or seriously injure other people in the process. Something has to be done. The only other alternative would be to make killing or injuring someone while breaking a traffic law a felony, so that some legal bite could be applied to drivers, and so that LEO could get clear direction about the seriousness of motor vehicle crime.

Up first because there were more than one report on the wreck is a story out of AZ about a possible right hook of a cyclist by a garbage truck. 23-year-old cyclist killed in traffic collision identified and a later report Cyclist dies in collision The media outlet placed a copy of the AZ statute on making turns in the second article to demonstrate the level of care required by law to make a right turn. Many of the comments displayed a shocking lack of concern about the law as it stood and tried to substitute their own anti-cyclist interpretations (the cyclist deserved to be hit because he was there). I’ll continue to keep an ocular opened in this direction for more news.

More proof that gang-bangers are stupid. Cyclist killed in Norwalk, gunman sought See what I mean? They are in control of the perfect murder weapon, all they have to do is run the guy over and then claim he swerved in front of them, and the cops will believe it even after the heated argument if the cyclist is dead. Actually I don’t know which group is more stupid, gang-bangers or cops.

Speaking of stupid cops… Police Cracking Down On Rogue Cyclists Two pedestrians killed in one year and the politicians and the cops go nuts over “rogue cyclists” but how many pedestrians are killed in a month by motor vehicles without a similar crackdown? I won’t say that this was a waste of resources, because there are an awful lot of cyclists that were never taught the laws, but I think a similar effort every time a cyclist or pedestrian is killed by a motor vehicle would also be a good idea. Massive traffic enforcement after every fatality has a proven effect on lowering the fatality rate.

The cyclist from Oz that crippled a team mate while driving drunk loses his appeal of his sentence. Cycling-Australian mountain biker loses appeal against jail term No sympathy from me, as a cyclist he should have known better.

Cycling News has an article about Dave Zabriskie’s campaign to reduce car/bike wrecks in their daily blotter report. First Edition Cycling News, Wednesday, November 18, 2009 The Zabriskie article is second down the list.

Not a cycling specific story but if you wind up on one of my posts this will be valuable information to have. Injured Uninsured More Likely to Die in ER than Insured Yeah, when you wake up (if you wake up) in the ER you stand a better chance of survival if there is some kind of insurance covering you, which makes hit-and-run just that much worse. That is why there needs to be federal level laws that cover against hit-and-run.

More on distracted driving and infrastructure. Breakfast links: Consequences of distracted driving, biking Yeah, some doubleplusungood things going down here. For those who haven’t read 1984 that means very very bad.

Infrastructure in suburban LA. Two wheels and the future They are facing a monster of Hobson’s Choice there, can’t afford to go it, but can’t afford to not do it either. Not building bicycle infrastructure will cost them millions in increased medical costs and lost productivity from traffic jams, while building will also cost millions to build and maintain. I say go in the direction of increased happiness and health when faced with this dilemma.

And infrastructure in Jolly Olde. Convex Mirrors to be trialled on cycle super highways Given the huge number of cyclists killed, well actually not huge in absolute numbers but in proportion to other modes of fatality, killed by large vehicles turning left at stoplights (right cross for those of us driving on the right side of the roads), this is potentially a major invention. Trucks and buses turning over stationary cyclists at stop signs and lights are a major mode of cyclist fatality in London.

And that’s all I have this morning.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Billed @$.02, Opus