Sturgeon’s Law applies to the population in general, too, and the Feed

I know that the pronouncement in the headline will go right over the heads of many of my readers, but I don’t care. For those of you interested you can look up Theodore Sturgeon in the Wikipedia. If you’re really interested you can do a follow-up on Kilgore Trout and Kurt Vonnegut. That literary journey of discovery will place you square in the middle of Wonderland, enjoy.

Up first because it’s closest is a wreck in Houston. Cyclist, 68, struck by car in fatal NW Harris crash I noticed that many papers have disabled their comments sections when reporting a bicycle wreck in their online editions. That saves a lot of agita for me. This wreck seems very well defined, the car ignored a traffic control and hit the cyclist in the intersection, the driver is expected to be charged after the grand jury hears the case. I fully expect this case will not languish because of the close relationship between the decedent and a member of the 4^th estate.

In ID a driver is jailed for hitting a cyclist while driving drunk, before he sobered up. Caldwell man charged after car hits, injures cyclist The driver was jailed on charges of aggravated driving under the influence until his case can be heard and bound over for bail/bond. Why can’t TX do that? Why can’t AZ do that?

Another trial over injury to a cyclist that took even longer than TTTWLAMWAMD to come to trial. It’s been a long road to trial in cyclist’s death This was a homicide, the other case was a simple case of assault with a deadly weapon, and yet in spite of the evidence in this case it still has taken more than a year to come to trial. The wait must have been terrible for the family of the victim.

In UT a cyclist asks that drivers hang up and drive. Bicyclist’s instruction Don’t read the comments section, while there is some sentience in there the babbling of the semi-sentient will drive you insane.

In Enn Zed they are cranking up their warm months campaign to alert drivers that there are other people on the roads besides people driving cars. Share the road this Summer Equally, cyclists are very vulnerable and the road can be a scary place if you don’t have the protective shell of a car body. Amen Brutha’! Also, as cyclists we need to obey traffic controls, even when they don’t make a lot of sense for bicycles, and work on legislators to get traffic rules that make sense for cyclists and drivers, even if that will require making different rules for drivers and cyclists.

Another “Share the roads” event, in Oz this time. Riders pedal message to share the road Again the comments section ruins a perfectly good article.

Even in South Africa they are having issues with drivers that don’t want to give up an inch of their precious pavement to other road users. Appeal over Tour training as cyclist killed You have to do a couple of page downs to get to the actual article as there is some kind of issue with the layout in FF or Opera. I don’t have IE because I have a Linux system so I can’t tell you how it looks on that browser. The fact that cycling clubs are leasing race tracks to train because the roads are too dangerous should be a wake up call to the politicians that something needs to be done, ASAP if not sooner.

A motorcycle/bicycle wreck in Nepal kills the motorcycle rider and severely injures his passenger and the cyclist. One killed in Saptari This is one of the few wreck modes where the cyclist is on even terms with a motor vehicle operator in terms of relative injury. In the long run that makes motorcycle operators our allies in the battle to make roads safer.

And an article about something very close to the author of this blog, brain injury. Changed in a moment: Inside the lives of those living with brain injury Yes I have a brain injury, no you can’t tell from my blog. I have a permanent limp, that I try very hard to disguise and mostly succeed in doing so. I have aphasia when I speak, so sometimes my speech is slow and halting. I have anger issues and poor anger control; if you make me mad I will let you know about it in no uncertain terms if I can get the words to come out.

And that’s all I have for today, it’s such a nice day out I think I’ll go for a ride with Gigi.

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

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

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

Ugly wrecks and multiple reports, the Feed

We had some ugly wrecks in the Feed today, which is not to imply that there are ever any pretty ones, just more or less ugly. Today we had some that were very ugly indeed.

The worst of those was a cyclist/pedestrian wreck with a little boy and a hit-and-run cyclist. Boy injured by alleged hit-and-run cyclist Don’t hit the pedestrians, if you do hit the pedestrians don’t leave until contact information has been exchanged and/or the pedestrian has been transported by medical caregivers. Or until you are transported, because bicycle/pedestrian wrecks are one of the few modalities that allow pedestrians to give as well as they get. But, don’t hit the pedestrians.

And this one was ugly because of a lack of information. Cyclist Killed By Car OK all we know at this point was the car hit the kid on the bicycle, it wasn’t a hit-and-run and the driver will get away with it.

Another SWSS in WA state. Bicyclist killed in collision with tow truck and Leavenworth bike rider killed in collision Interesting how the cyclist turned left but still got hit on the shoulder of the road… For those trying to avoid a similar wreck, use hit-from-behind protocols posted elsewhere in my blog. Use “protocol” as your main search term.

And more multiple reports of the man killed on US 23 in OH. Crash kills Piketon bicycle rider on U.S. 23 and Cyclist struck, killed in Ross County Another hit-from-behind wreck, what was once the most rare of wrecks is still pretty rare but extremely fatal as cars are going faster and drivers pay less attention to things outside the car.

A wreck caused by bad infrastructure in MA. Cyclist dies from Rt. 2 crash The cyclist hit a hole that was either unmarked or poorly marked and partially hidden by fallen leaves. The fact that the cyclist was riding on a sidewalk is not germaine to this particular case as leaves pile up on streets and roads as well as on sidewalks and there are utility access panels on streets as well.

This is an interesting wreck. Cyclist hurt in smash with car in Solihull I wonder what made the car overturn and was the car in the act of overturning before or after it hit the cyclist? This could have been a very interesting story had it happened outside the UK.

Another hit-and-run cyclist, but with a twist. WALTHAMSTOW: Injured artist calls for change to “dangerous” road layout The victim never saw the cyclist before the wreck, and from the article the cyclist never saw the victim, and the victim is blaming the infrastructure rather than the cyclist. Presumably the sight lines were such that a cyclist would be screened from pedestrian view and vice versa and cyclists would be therefore intent on oncoming traffic from the left rather than expecting a pedestrian from the right.

A report on the death last year of an Australian cyclist. Cyclist saw Swanston St rider fall to her death Heavy bicycle traffic and streetcar tracks, and adjacent bus traffic equals dead cyclist. Not a pretty equation, and to be right next to it would be horrific.

Another bike ride to honor another cyclist murdered by a driver. Cyclists Honor One Of Their Own There have been too many of these rides lately, even one is too many. Something must be done so that cyclists can ride without drivers trying to kill them.

And that’s all I have for you this day.

Billed @$.02, Opus

You didn’t miss anything yesterday, but I feel much better

Well, in spite of not making a post yesterday you won’t miss anything because I didn’t flush the Feed I just waited until today to post the link from it. You didn’t misread that I did in fact use “link” singular rather than the plural form of the word. Sunday has been the lightest day for the Feed followed closely by Monday, so it looks like from here on out I will be posting only 6 times a week barring breaking news items getting sent to me like the conviction of TTTWLAMWAMD. BTW if someone in the LA area would like to place themselves in the courtroom for his sentencing and e-mail me what the outcome of that is I could make you semi-famous. That and $3 will get you a cup of coffee that you could get for $2.60 otherwise… Seriously I will post your name or Internet handle, pseudonym, or any other form of written identification (I’ll even make up a cool acronym) if you so desire if you send me an e-mail when TTTWLAMWAMD is sentenced, whatever sentence he gets. I won’t even blame you if he gets probation

First up is your link from Sunday. Bicyclist without helmet critically injured Obviously the lack of a helmet caused this wreck. Actually what caused the wreck was whatever made the cyclist lose traction while rounding a corner around 25 MPH (a speed which I find highly suspect as I have heard people estimate the speed of my bicycle at anywhere from 5 to 40 MPH at the same time and in the same place (18 MPH)). Not having a helmet only contributed to the severity of the subsequent injury. I should also point out that this is a situation for which helmets were intended to be of use, even though the certification test doesn’t do anything to test for the motion of the helmeted head over the ground.

A wreck in OH that we don’t know much about because of a news blackout by LEO. Bicyclist Killed In Collision With Van At this point the best guess from what limited information is available (and my OH backchannel is shut down for this story) is the cyclist was hit from behind, and because of the blackout there is a strong possibility that the driver did it intentionally. I’ll continue to keep an ocular open on this story.

An ME cyclist in a single vehicle wreck requires extraction from a bad location. Cyclist hurt in York woods near Folly Pond Fortunately for the cyclist he was in an area with cell reception so he could call for help. This is a good idea for every cyclist even if you never leave concrete and asphalt paving. Always carry a cell phone and make sure the battery is charged before you leave, If you’re going on a several day long trip you might want to have spare batteries, depending on how good your phone is on talk time. Obviously if there is any doubt about capacity or endurance you’ll want to leave the phone turned off until needed.

From Oz the report of a little girl injured on her bicycle by someone with a learner’s permit. Cyclist, 13, injured in learner driver collision This sometimes happens with new drivers. The Witch on a Bicycle blog understands that and will refrain from calling for the hide and various bits of the driver’s anatomy in retribution for this CARnage. Should the driver be at fault, the staff at Witch on a Bicycle suggest that a 6 month ban on driving and a requirement to ride a bicycle during that ban be imposed on the driver in lieu of a jail or prison sentence.

A year after a driver hit 10 cyclists injuring 5 and nearly killing one of those, it’s time for El Tour de Tucson again. Focus on safety as countdown to bicycle race begins And it took only 4 comments before the strawman of bicycle taxes was brought up by Jim S. (kingrat). Well Mr. S. I strongly suggest that you stay west of the NM/TX border, as you have not paid TX taxes so you are not permitted to use our roads

A memorial ride for the cyclist murdered in NC. Memorial Bike Ride Honors Man Killed in Hit-and-Run I don’t care what the charges are, when someone crosses the road to hit a cyclist head on and then hangs a U-turn to escape that’s a murder in my book, maybe not 1^st degree or capital (in TX) but murder at any rate.

A suggestion that cars share the roads with cyclists is falling in hearing-impaired ears in SD. Proposal: Let bicycles, cars share road Don’t read the comments on this one either.

And that’s all I have today.

Billed @$.02, Opus

After a break for me, more bike wrecks for you

I really should take more days off from this blog, the serenity of not reading about dead and injured cyclists was so nice. So show of hands, how many would object to my going to a 6 day a week update schedule? This isn’t like a web comic where I can build up a buffer for days off, I have to do these on the day they get posted. That means I have to read the day’s Feed, filter it, and then come up with cogent commentary about the reports I read, every day I make a post.

Up first because it’s stupid, a cyclist crashed trying to avoid a car that cut her off and the car ran over her head. Helmet saves Oregon rider Crediting a few ounces of styrofoam with saving a life when the head gets run over is stupid. The only way this could have actually been of help is if the shell was strong enough to either support the wheel on its own or to distribute the forces evenly around the skull. The average bicycle helmet can’t do that.

Is there something in the water in Greensboro? Cyclist Seriously Injured in Accident Of course Faux news is going to try to blame the cyclist, but LEO is saying “Not so fast, the car might have been at fault here.” All I know is the car was in front of the bicycle moving to the side. Whether this was because the bike ran the red or the car left-crossed the cyclist is not known at this point.

A cyclist that might have been drunk was riding too fast on the sidewalk and hits a tree. Santa Rosa bike crash critically injures man Do I really have to tell you what to do or not do to avoid this kind of wreck?

What is it with the Carolinas and bike wrecks? Bicyclist hit, killed in Dunn Nothing about the actual wreck, but as this was a hit-and-run on an Interstate highway access road it was probably a hit-from-behind. And the driver was probably drunk. Prepare the kittens!

More on the NY cyclist hit by a transit bus. Man killed by Bee-Line bus was bicycling advocate Still nothing on the mode of the wreck, other than the cyclist was crossing the road. Nothing mentioned about running a light or stop sign for either vehicle Very strange…

An unidentified cyclist runs a red light in CA. Unidentified cyclist dies in crash And other than that there’s nothing I can tell you.

Lots of anger about the Boise wreck that killed Kevin Pavlis. Boy will face charges in accident that killed cyclist Kevin Pavlis Anger is being displayed by both sides in this battle, but I don’t see what the car drivers have to be angry about. Nobody driving a car has even been injured in any of the fatalities this year in Boise. Bicyclists have sustained all the injury and death, the only thing that drivers have lost has been a few minutes of time waiting for a safe place while passing a cyclist.

A bike wreck where they aren’t even sure if there was another vehicle involved in Jolly Olde. Teenage cyclist injured Typical UK media report, long on useless details but short on the 5W’s.

Another one of those reports with no real news in them (have I mentioned how much I hate UK media laws, this post?). Cyclist injured after collision in Exeter Same as it ever was.

And another case of ranting about the thing that is not a problem except in your mind, when other things you don’t worry about are much more dangerous. Daily Mail calls for prosecution of anti-social cyclists Cyclists kill almost nobody, drivers kill thousands, and the newspaper complains that drivers get thousands of tickets while cyclists get almost none. Hmm, I think I see a pattern here…

From Oz I’m not sure if this is the same woman killed I reported on before or if these 3 are 3 new people killed in a different part of Australia. Deadly 24 hours claim three more lives Don’t hit the pedestrians! Especially don’t kill little old ladies out walking their grandkids in strollers. It’s really a bad idea folks.

And finally is another memorial ride for more cyclists that were killed and injured which couldn’t wait for the Ride of Silence in the spring. Killed and injured bicyclists remembered at Mesa ride Sometimes you have to get the word out that drivers are getting careless and killing cyclists.

And that’s all I have today.

Billed @$.02, Opus

After pruning the ash in the front yard a mild Feed

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

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

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

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

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

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

The rest of the report is from Oz.

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

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

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

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

Billed @$.02, Opus

Strange referral, and the Feed

I had a couple of strange referrals today. For some reason Facebook has a click on their home page that directs people to my blog. I’m not on Facebook so I have not a clue why there would be something for people to click on that directs them here. Facebook users, could you post a comment and help me out here?

Up first is a wreck where a cyclist crossing the road was hit by a car. BRIEF: Cyclist killed in crash with car in Blaine and Bike Rider Killed In Blaine While Crossing Street And that is pretty much all I know about it at this point. Nothing on if there was a signal light, who had which signal if there was a light, stop signs, nothing.

And after what must qualify as one of the slowest lab analysis in human history, charges have been filed against the Boise teenager that left crossed a cyclist in the bike lane. Officials promise justice for cyclist Kevin Pavlis They promise justice, but because the killer was a minor we will never know about it even extending to the name of the killer…

And the man that claimed to not see a 6 foot tall driver in an orange bunny costume and her brightly lit pedicab gets a trip to jail. Man convicted in orange rabbit pedicab hit-and-run Apparently hitting someone while digging for your cell phone is OK but hit-and-run is still illegal. From this and previous reports on the wreck there wasn’t anything the pedicab operator could have done to avoid the wreck since the driver wasn’t watching and didn’t slow down.

A pair of reports on the wreck near Toronto reported on here ealier this week. Memorial in Cambridge for cyclist killed And UPDATE – Cyclist killed I fail to see where sidewalks would have made any difference in this wreck, but bad infrastructure is bad infrastructure even if it’s not our (bicyclist) infrastructure.

Apparently somebody has decided that it’s OK to have huge blind spots on big trucks because it would cost too much to fix…Cyclist Death Ruled “Accidental” Why is not being able to see an “accident” and not a defective vehicle?

A motorcycle/bicycle wreck in India puts the motorcycle rider in jail. Biker held for Shivranjini mishap A little confused as to who hit whom, but the guy on the bicycle came out the worst for it.

A loudmouth in Oz changes her tune after making a massively untrue statement on Australian national TV earlier this week. Going berko over a bisycho Yes, she did say that cyclists had no legal place on the roads earlier this week, which is contrary to the laws of every civilized nation which includes Australia, and now she’s back-pedaling so hard if she was actually riding a bicycle the tire would be smoking.

SC cyclists try to remind drivers that cars are not the only thing on the road. Cyclists urge motorists to share the road “People aren’t watching,” Connelly said. “We’re not getting any respect out there. We do have a right to the road. We’re considered a part of traffic, and drivers don’t seem to understand that.” He said it better than I could.

Same song, different verse in CA. Bikes and cars: Can we share the road? Between 1998 and 2008, for example, bike commuting in Marin County increased 66% as bicycle crashes declined 34%. The best practice is to get as many bikes on the roads as possible.

Still in LA is an article on cyclist safety that is highly car-head. Bicyclists should stay on the defensive to stay safe Watch out for cars, but don’t give up the road to them.

And that’s it for tonight, have a spooooky Halloweeeeen [evil chuckle].

Billed @$.02, Opus

Same stink, similar “stuff”, different day, the Feed

We had another stinky Feed today, stunk up by the thing that walks like a man with a medical degree. Well he had some help, but truth be told he did most of the stinking up all by himself.

Shoving that putrid pile out of the way as quickly as possible. Doctor denies trying to injure cyclists And VeloNews’ reporter had this take LA road-rage defendant says he stopped to try to take a picture I wonder what the penalty for perjury is in CA? Right up until the trial he was saying the cyclists deserved it, but now that he’s facing the music he denies he was trying to hurt anybody. So that makes him a two-faced thing that walks like a man with a medical degree. His title grows while his reputation shrinks. Again when he is found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon (or whatever the charges are against him) I hope that he is forbidden from ever owning or driving a car or other motor vehicle again for the rest of his miserable life.

Still in the state of CA. Bicyclist Injured in Collision at Market and Ellis Streets this Morning Actually that would be yesterday because of the time lag involved. Nothing much known about this one, maybe a car, probably a car, but maybe not. If there was a car involved the driver stayed at the scene because nobody notified the hit-and-run investigators about the wreck.

Apparently the only way to get charged with a crime when you hit a cyclist is to be on something at the time of the wreck that can be found with a blood test. East Tennessee man charged with vehicular homicide in bicyclist’s death and from MS Man charged in death of bicyclist from Netherlands The MS report is another on the cyclotourist killed on the NTP bike route this spring. But seriously, is the death of a cyclist only meaningful if the killer was drunk or on drugs? Or does the feeling that the killer could be the cop or the prosecuting attorney because everybody drives like that make only deaths with chemical impairment prosecutable? I don’t know the answer, I’m just glad that impaired killers are prosecuted. I would like to have all killers prosecuted, but at the moment that’s just not possible. Until we get prosecutors that can identify with the cyclists over their killers we are up the unsanitary tributary without visible means of locomotion.

Another cyclist is hit in the most dangerous state in the US to ride a bicycle. Bicyclist hospitalized after struck by SUV in Fort Pierce Another one of those driverless vehicles hits a cyclist and nobody says anything? And this one had 4 people sitting in it while it drove around all by itself.

Another right hook crash that is getting blamed on the cyclist… Cyclist killed by city water vehicle “Based on witness statements, the bike pulled into the path of the vehicle,” Guitron said. Yeah, and I bet all the witnesses were either on the truck that killed the cyclist, or employees of the city which would have been liable for the death… TANJ!

And in spite of the relative dangers for cycling under the influence the fine is the same as DUI. Cycling under the influence? In Sacramento, it can cost you $570 Around 17,000 people died last year because of drunk drivers, but less than a dozen were killed by all cyclists, drunk or sober. But to be fair they have to stop the drunk cyclists just like they do the drunk drivers.

A memorial was held for the cyclist killed in NC. Memorial Service Held Tonight For Killed Cyclist I don’t see why they don’t just arrest the owner of the vehicle that hit him, which they found this week. Had a gun been used to kill him the registered owner of the gun would have been responsible for the death unless he could prove that the gun had been in someone else’s possession at the time of the killing, why not the same standard for death by WMD with nice seats and A/C?

From Jolly Olde, a cyclist wins the door prise and wants to share the bounty with the driver of the vehicle, who drove off without leaving contact information. Appeal after cyclist injured in accident Yep it’s pretty low to injure a cyclist by flinging a door in his path and then leaving the scene.

Someone else knows the right thing to do, still in the UK here. Oaklands College student praised for helping injured cyclist Yep kudos from the Witch on a Bicycle blog for doing the right thing. Keep up the good work.

A cyclist in Oz is hurt in a wreck. Cyclist seriously injured after highway collision Apparently the driver didn’t see the cyclist until just before impact, from what I have been able to determine. Now whether this was because of the path of the cyclist, lighting conditions, or driver inattentiveness is unknown as the cyclist’s path prior to the impact with the car is not known at this time (not known publicly). So, continue to ride like drivers are blind and stupid, because mostly they are.

They finally charged the driver that ran into a pack of cyclists after she ran a stop sign in Enn Zed. Charge after allegedly driving into cyclists I hate to tell them but somebody ran into those cyclists and whoever did it was driving the car she was in. Unless it was another one of those DARPA cars that was joyriding around with someone in the passenger seat, that kinda makes the only person that was in the car that hit the cyclists the one that was responsible for the wreck. Alleged doesn’t enter into it.

And an INFRASTRUCTURE article, from TX. Avid proponents of walkability want to ‘get there from here’ I thought it was a Federal law, and a TX law that all new or rebuilt roads in TX were supposed to be walkable and bikeable. I have a PDF dated 2002 that states as much, that under a law that went into effect in 2001 all TX roads and highways that get state funds must have walking and cycling facilities, except those roads that are prohibited for walkers and cyclists. Silly me actually expecting government to obey their own laws…

And that’s it for today. I have a lot on my plate this time of year so the next few days my be a little spotty on the new posts.

Billed @$.02, Opus