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

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

Making baguettes, writing about bike wrecks and trying to find a ride to rehearsal

I’m making bread, creating a post, and trying to chase down a ride to rehearsal tonight for the SolstiCelebration. I only got a notice about the rehearsal late last night with almost no time to arrange a ride that could haul Gigi down to the Cathedral of Hope. And I’m doing this all at the same time, of course.

Once again almost all of the links are from outside the US, with most from the UK and Enn Zed, and only a total of 7 links even from the North American continent. Very few of the US and Canadian links are about specific wrecks, except for the ones about jurisprudence of course.

Up first because it’s a gripping story, the only person in North America that can make TTTWLAMWAMD look relatively good as a driver, Michael Bryant goes to court yesterday. Bryant case back in court Monday I’m hoping Mr. Bryant doesn’t get long to work at his new job, linked here yesterday, before he has to spend a lengthy stretch of time behind bars as a guest of the Crown. For those who have been living in a cave without newspapers or Internet access Bryant is accused of being the driver recorded on several security cameras hitting a cyclist from behind and knocking him from his bike, only to have the cyclist get back up to “discuss” the matter. Bryant then proceeded to run into the cyclist and drive on the wrong side of the street and up on to the sidewalk, hitting trees and lamp poles and eventually putting the cyclist against a mailbox that was bolted to the sidewalk where the cyclist, Darcy Sheppard, died from massive blunt trauma.

Also above the 49^th parallel is this story of a serial motor vehicle offender that killed a cyclist a few years back with a stolen vehicle stealing another vehicle and leading police on a high speed chase. Accused in high-speed chase was driver in fatal crash The excuse given for the first theft, the one that killed the cyclist, was lame to the extreme, “he stole the truck because he didn’t feel like walking“. Well he won’t be doing much walking in prison, but I think making him hike there wearing shackles and under armed guard, in public with maybe TV coverage, will remind him that driving a motor vehicle is a privilege that he will never ever get to enjoy for the rest of his life.

Another report on charges being brought against the killer of a UK LEO while he was riding a bicycle. Man charged over death of cyclist Jim Fleming on A413 Not as much information in this article as there was in yesterday’s.

And a cyclist is injured in, I think, the north of England. Cyclist hurt in Sticklepath road accident Again the UK media laws prevented any actual information about the wreck from being given, but the fact that at one point it was necessary to perform CPR on the cyclist indicates that this was a pretty bad crash.

A similar wreck in the south of England. Teenager injured in Southsea Again nothing useful, but the cyclist was removed from the scene on a backboard, indicating a possible spinal injury.

A road “defect” that has injured cyclists before the public transit that requires it can even be put into service in Scotland. Edinburgh tram lines throw cyclists off track Bless the Beeb for bringing this case of infrastructure for one group imperiling another.

More on UK infrastructure. The Mayor needs short term transport targets to keep him on track Boris has great long-term goals, but nothing in the short term that will take London there.

And in a story to rival Dutch police giving helmets and hugs, UK police give out HiViz vests to cyclists wearing dark clothing. Cyclists in dark clothing stopped by Hampshire police – and given free hi-viz gear While this is nice, why are they stopping legal cyclists over this issue?

From Enn Zed, more about the woman that turned in to a group of cyclists after running a stop sign. Sentence delay as police assess cyclist’s injuries Yes, it will be a while until they can communicate with the worst of the victims to determine how this female waste of human skin can be properly punished.

Back to North America for the first of the infrastructure articles, a woman in Canadia finds a way to keep cyclists and pedestrians from winding up under a snow plow. N.L. woman making snow removal safer Jeanette Holman-Price began lobbying for side guards, which run from the front wheel to the rear wheel, to be placed on trucks after her daughter was killed in 2006 by a snow-removal truck in Montreal. This is one of those things that is dangerous but has to be done or even more people are in danger, so they are always looking for things to make it less dangerous.

And back in the US a cyclist speaks about riding in the streets of Philly. Injured cyclist stresses bike safety After being hit by a car while biking, student Robert Stillwagon says he’ll keep riding as safely as possible. Yeah, how about doing something about the reasons why cyclists sometimes ride on the sidewalks, instead of punishing everyone for the transgressions of a tiny minority?

In CA they are starting to recognize that education has a place in cyclist safety. It’s time to stop killing cyclists I love the thought, I would like to see something behind it. The LAC defensive cycling course is a great start. This is another article that it would be a good idea not to read the comments.

Another lawmaker that “gets” it. Paulin drafting a safe-passing bill for cyclers Three feet is nice, but making hitting a vulnerable user a crime with some bite is required to really protect cyclists and pedestrians. That and LEO that do their jobs and actually enforce the laws as written, not as they think they should be.

A specialty license plate helps fund bicycle safety education in KY. Specialty license plate helps fund bike safety classes This is another article that I strongly caution against reading the comments. My mind is pre-exploded and safe from the words of idiots, I can’t assume the same about yours.

And finally someone here on WordPress read a book about bicyles and really liked it. My Favorite Books of the Year The one about bicycles was first on his list.

And that’s all I have today, I have to go finish baking the bread and other things.

Billed @$.02, Opus

From 2 days’ Feeds with mostly motorcycle wrecks

Well I just went through 2 days’ worth of the Feed, and most of it was motorcycle wrecks. While I feel really bad about people getting hurt and/or killed whatever way they manage to do it, motorcycles are not on the menu here at Witch on a Bicycle. So for 2 days we have exactly 108 links of bicycle-related things. Two of the links turned out to no longer connect to bicycle-related reports.

Up first because it’s the only USA link is a display of just how stupid the guy that proposed the registration of bicycles in Philadelphia really is, in his own words. The Bike Debate: It’s really all about safety Nowhere in that rambling waste of paper (originally posted in the print edition of the news) did he justify registration as a means of actually generating a safety function, the closest he did come was the statement “By requiring that every bike be registered, whether with the Police Department or the Parking Authority, it would create a point of contact to educate all bikers. But nowhere does he state how this education will take place, who will fund or how, or anything else. Also missing are practical points on just how the registration will be mounted and displayed so that people can see it and report it to the police given that bicycle design for the last 100 years or so has made no provision for such, unlike motor vehicle design which is required to have mounts for a standardized license plate.

More proof that lawyers have their morals and ethics removed in law school. Michael Bryant joins prestigious Toronto law firm For those with short memories, Bryant is the sewer scum that ran over a cyclist in the street and when the cyclist got up to discuss the matter used his car as a deadly weapon to smash the cyclist against trees, light poles, and a mailbox that was bolted to the sidewalk, all caught on several surveillance cameras from the initial hit through the final ride on the sidewalk against traffic. If you have need for legal advice I suggest never using the Ogilvy Renault law firm while you are in Ontario.

All I can say on this is the cyclist was either comatose while riding, or the sound of the ambulance siren echoing off nearby buildings gave the cyclist a false impression as to the location of the vehicle. Cyclist seriously injured in collision with ambulance Seriously, when you hear a siren for any emergency vehicle, don’t go until you know the vehicle is not in your area. I have been in urban areas when an emergency vehicle siren was in use and could not tell which direction the vehicle was coming from, and this happened both on foot and in a car (yes, I used to own and drive a car, look at my bio page). Since the consequences can be so dire, a little extra caution is in order. After all it isn’t just you that can be hurt, it’s also the person the emergency vehicle was dispatched for who could suffer as a result of the delay caused by your wreck.

And in jurisprudence news from Jolly Olde, a person that killed a cyclist (who was also a LEO) is charged with multiple offenses in the case. Charges over cyclist death of Jim Fleming on Amersham Road I don’t like for any cyclist to get hit, but I know that when a LEO is hit the driver is more likely to get hit with the hammer of Justice than if a mere citizen is hit.

And to show that anti-bike crazies are not just limited to our shores, London weighs in. Cyclists targeted as Westminster Council goes after ‘lycra louts’

Lots of news from Enn Zed as a stupid driver pleads guilty to hitting 4 cyclists after running a stop sign. Woman pleads guilty after injuring cyclists and Safety Message Repeated As Motorist Admits Injuring Cyclists and Share The Road I only hope that the driver gets a punishment commensurate with the seriousness of the assault with a deadly weapon.

Back into the fray, the Feed

Yes, so soon after doing a 2 part post yesterday/early this morning, I’m back at it again. I must be crazy. At least there weren’t as many wrecks this time.

Up first is the first of 2 wrecks in TX, this one in Waco. Minivan Strikes Bicycle On Busy Waco Street; Rider Seriously Hurt They went to press with this so soon after the wreck that the article reads like a UK wreck story with the lack of information.

Down the I-35 a bit further is this report from Austin. Cyclist injured in campus collision Again nothing on the actual wreck because of deadlines, but plenty of snark in the comments.

What appears to be another bike ninja gets hit from behind. Marshfield man seriously injured in bike-truck accident Seriously people, lights and reflectors aren’t that heavy or expensive and the greatly increase your visibility at night and low light conditions. Just remember that reflectors only work when cars are shining headlights on them.

They are having some difficulty with gas-assisted bikes in CA, as their regs are much more restrictive than other states. Officers upping enforcement on illegal gas-powered bicycles The interesting thing about the wreck reported in the article was entirely independent of the legal operation of the struck vehicle and entirely caused by the driver not watching what was on the road in front of him. As a driver went by one bicyclist, he became distracted, wondering what he had just seen. He then made a left turn and hit the other bicyclist. How is that the fault of the second cyclist? But still, follow the laws about registration and safety equipment.

Another wreck in the UK. Cyclist injured in crash

They are having real problems with construction vehicles in China with bicycles being their favorite victims. Death toll in truck accidents rises to 13 Too many wrecks to tell you about in that article, but in every wreck the truck was at fault and the cyclist died.

Infrastructure analysis from Green And Save News. The Not-So Open Road

And laws don’t mean a thing without LEO that will enforce them. A Troubling Story of SFPD Bias Against Bicycle Riders If you can’t trust the LEO that is investigating your wreck, what good are laws?

And that’s all I have today, remember no post tomorrow because of church and other obligations.

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

OK here’s your rant, and some other things

First things first. I need some full finger water and wind proof glove shells to fit over a military size 9 glove liner. My fingers still haven’t warmed up from last night’s ride home from the Full Moon at church, what with the rain, low 40s temperatures and the wind and the gloves I was wearing not being waterproof.

Now the rant.{rant}

In Philadelphia they are losing their minds about “dangerous” bicycles after 2 pedestrians were killed in one month when it had been more than a year since the last bicycle-caused pedestrian fatality. Folks this is a statistical blip, a coming up boxcars two rolls in a row, heads 10 times in a row, that kind of thing. It’s notable because bicycle/pedestrian wrecks are so rare to begin with and fatalities are rarer still. Seriously, the last pedestrian fatality caused by a bicycle in Philadelphia was sometime in the middle of 2007. Now you have 2, and because of that you lose your minds?

Or maybe you just see a potential cash flow that hasn’t been tapped until now. Well keep looking, bicycle registration has never paid for itself, much less been an income source. Bicycles go for as much as $10,000 and as little as $1. How much do you think you can get from someone who paid less than $10 for their bike? I noticed that the registration (bike tax) would hit cyclists as young as 12. Since federal laws prohibit people younger than 16 from working a steady job, and from using the tools that are required to mow lawns and the like, and paper routes have been adults-only for decades, where do you propose that Johnny and Suzie 12YO get the money to pay your bicycle tax? Or don’t kids deserve independent transportation alternatives?

So, why are you acting so crazy? Motor vehicles kill more than 100 people a day in the US, and almost that many in Philadelphia in a year, but 2 people get killed by bicycles in a month after nearly 18 months of death-free existence and you lose your mind? I forgot the technical term but there is a condition where people ignore the obvious danger they live with every day, and focus on some less dangerous thing because it is novel. This is what is happening here. You ignore the constant threat caused by motor vehicles that kill someone 3 or 4 times a week, and focus on bicycles that have killed an average of less than one person a year, because they suddenly killed 2 in a month. Ask your friends and neighbors if they know someone that was killed by a motor vehicle, and I’ll bet you that every single one of them knows someone or is related to someone that died because they were in a motor vehicle wreck. Then ask them if they know personally anyone that was killed or injured by someone riding a bike, and most have no personal knowledge or experience of that happening.

Let’s look at the relative risk of a 200 pound or so person moving at maybe 20 MPH, versus the motor vehicle that 2009 averages 4000 pounds and in the city moves about 40 MPH (30 MPH limit plus the 10 MPH that cops “give” before writing a ticket). The cyclist hits as hard as a HS linebacker except without pads, so yes that will hurt a bit, you might get a sprain or a broken bone, and in very rare cases the person falls and hits his or her head and dies (pedestrians don’t wear helmets). Now the motor vehicle on the other hand will cause death at 40 MPH more than 85% of the time and send someone to the hospital the other 15% with some permanent injury more than half the time when they survive, and that you’re good with, but the bicycle you get all kerflemt about how dangerous it is. I’ll even go out on a limb and say that motor vehicles kill more people on the sidewalks, where motor vehicles are prohibited, than bicycles do. I know this is a fact in NYC where motor vehicles kill an average of 100 people a year on the sidewalk, roughly 2 a week, where bicycles kill an average of 1 pedestrian a year in the entire city.

So, Philadelphia, stop focusing on something that is inherently non-dangerous, and do something about the things that are killing people daily, like cars. You had 300 murders last year, and 2 killed by bicycles last month. If the murders went according to averages, there were 25 people killed deliberately with something other than a bicycle with another 2 killed with a bicycle. How’s that for perspective?

{/rant}

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

Bicycle zombies and even scarier things, The Feed

Yes, the UK has been overrun with bicycle zombies wearing iPods, the horrors! In the US there were so many wrecks in one city in one day that the guy getting hit riding a bicycle didn’t even get a full sentence, much less his own article. and even scarier things than that, if you can imagine.

Getting to the really scary stuff first comes 2 reports on the sentencing of a man that was caught driving drunk 5 times, killing a person on a bicycle the last time. Mother of 19-year-old killed by drunk driver offers driver Bible and place in heaven and Man convicted of fifth drunken driving offense, killing bicylist unable to answer judge’s question: How to stop repeat drunken-driving offenders? I can answer the judge’s question for the brain-dead drunk: Take away their cars and crush them (cars or drunks either one). If you remove access to cars you prevent drunk driving, if getting caught driving drunk means you lose your car, well that ain’t gonna happen twice. Also require a valid driver’s license to purchase a car to prevent wealthy drunks from going out and buying a cheap car to replace their crushed one. This bozo earned the “waste of human skin” tag for this post.

The city of Chicago had so many wrecks that hitting a cyclist didn’t even merit a full sentence in an article in the paper. 6 dead, more injured in holiday weekend crashes I feel sorry for the guy that got hit, near death experience and didn’t even get his name in the paper. From the level of detail in the article about this one I can tell you that one vehicle was definitely a bicycle, if the guy had just been walking they would not have called him a cyclist. But to be fair to the paper when there are 6 people killed in separate wrecks in one day and one wreck requires 5 ambulances to transport the victims, one guy getting hit riding a bike is just a blip on the radar.

A cyclist in NoCal is hit by a passing pickup truck yesterday. Injured Hwy 49 Bike Rider Identified What struck me was the ages of the participants, the 70 YO driver failed to safely pass the 50 YO cyclist with the full length of his vehicle and hit him with the trailer. Another interesting thing was the driver was from AZ, a place known for drivers that don’t think bicycles belong on the roads. As for avoiding a similar wreck, unless you’re Superman or the Flash with superhuman levels of reaction time it ain’t gonna happen. The initial pass was at a safe distance, but the driver started pulling over before the full length of the vehicle and the trailer had cleared the cyclist. Even knowing the vehicle was there you would have to be watching it and ready to bail to an escape route or off the bike when the vehicle started getting too close. This is one of those cases where to be safe everybody has to be playing the game to ensure cyclists’ safety. This is another example of scarier things than bicycle zombies.

Another example of why I don’t ride off-road trails. Cyclist airlifted out of Crystal Cove The cyclist was less than a mile from an elementary school when he had his wreck, but they had to use a helicopter to get him out because the only other ways in were bike or foot. When I’m less than a mile from a school I want to be where an ambulance can get to me without VTOL capability. Heck I want that no matter how far I am from a school.

I have been mentioning bicycle zombies all during this post, and now I shall deliver. Sunday Times and Daily Mail blame ‘iPod zombie cyclists’ for rise in deaths OMGWTF ZOMBIES!! Yeah, as this article points out the other guys are conflating 2 things without correlation, an increase in quarterly bike wrecks with injury statistics and people wearing headphones and earbuds. There were no statistics on how many cyclists were using music players in wrecks, so there was no way to correlate their use to increased numbers of wrecks. This is a common logical fallacy and even when statistics are taken for two things, unless there is also a statistic for those 2 things happening at the same time you can’t draw conclusions especially about causality. For instance the Australian study that showed when bike helmets were made mandatory head injury went down, failed to make correlations with did people with head injury have a helmet or not. Using other data from the same study you could also say that wearing a helmet reduced broken legs because that number also went down, because the helmet law didn’t reduce head injury it reduced the number of people riding bicycles drastically, which indirectly reduced the number of people with head injuries. Beware of people quoting statistics at you without stating their sources or any other data that might refute their conclusions.

And an article about a SD LEO honoring one of their own by making a bike ride. ‘Tour De Force’ Donates To Mechels Family I have my disagreements with LEO about interpretation and enforcement of the laws, but when it all comes down to it at the end of the day they are on the business end of preventing chaos from breaking out.

And that’s all I have today, more later if anything big breaks.

Billed @$.02, Opus

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