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

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

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

The LA county DA wants (needs) to hear from you, and the Feed

Opening up with a strange request from the LA County DA’s office for cyclist input on the sentencing of TTTWLAMWAMD. You can use this link to get more information and a mailto link for the DA.

Clearing this one out of the queue early because of the heavy Flash content of the site is making my computer slower than I type and causing typos, a texting driver hits a cyclist and when they find him they also find thousands of dollars worth of drugs and other items. Police: Drug-Deal Text Lead To Crash The cyclist will pull through, but good luck on getting any compensation from the driver until after the prison sentence is completed…

Another bicycle wreck in AZ (are they sure they aren’t just FL without the beaches?) Woman killed in motorcycle-bike wreck identified From what I can find out about this one back-channel the cyclist was hearing impaired and went through a red light unable to hear the unmuffled motorcycle approaching. This was a case of not paying attention to surroundings, which in this case was fatal. Aside from not running red lights while you ride the best way to avoid a similar wreck is just to be alert, and don’t impair your hearing when you ride. for those reading that might be hearing-impaired, this means keeping that head moving and looking at more than just the road in front of you. This motorcycle was visible if the cyclist had just looked in that direction before entering the intersection.

And from one of my old stomping grounds in the far NW corner of WA, another Bike Ninja gets clobbered. Bellingham cyclist injured after slamming into side of truck Reflectors would not have helped in this wreck, the only thing that would have made this rider visible was lights. If you’re going to do the Bike Ninja thing, you have to behave as if you’re invisible. Or you could just buy lights and either keep them charged or keep spare batteries around for when the old ones die. I’m a big fan of big lights myself, click on the tag for the Honkin’ Huge Taillight^tm to find out how to make one for yourself. I’m still working on the companion headlight, that is both cheap, energy efficient and powerful without glaring into oncoming road users. I have the low beam “seen by” light, still trying to find a good high beam “see by” light.

Austin area cyclists are annoyed that when things got tight they got banned “for their safety” from a road near the city. Cyclists oppose new road ban in Manor Construction on the road made sharing impossible at the speed limit, so instead of lowering the speed limit to a level that was safe (legal in TX) they just banned bicycles.

Philadelphia thinks they can license bicycles. Bike riders may have to sign up First of all, city bicycle licenses have never worked, second what about people from outside the city that ride their bikes in the city, third how young are they going to go on the license?

Finally an article from Bob Mionske on the violations of the civil rights of cyclists when they get injured by drivers of motor vehicles. Traffic Injustice What can I add to that?

That’s all I have today, more as I get it.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Live in LA CA? You could be semi-famous!

Here’s the deal: I want to be among the first to post a report on TTTWLAMWAMD getting sent to prison and for how long. Contact me here and I’ll give my e-mail addy to you to post the results. I keep a window open to my inbox and a new post ready to go on the day of the sentencing, and when I see your post in my Inbox I read it, do a copy and paste with your name on it and add my own pithy commentary and repeat your name several times as the reporter on scene. You become semi-famous and I get high Google search results driving up my blog traffic and making me more attractive to advertisers should I move to my own web site.

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 last night I need a lighter day

Fortunately the Feed was smaller today, as after yesterday’s “Deep into the Night” marathon blog posting session I just don’t have the energy for filtering a large Feed.

I only have one new report of a bike wreck. Bicyclist killed in Woodstock collision The mode of this wreck was the cyclist riding on the sidewalk coming the “wrong way” was killed by a driver not paying attention to anything coming from his right as he crossed the sidewalk. Plenty of blame to go around, but I reserve the most blame for the driver that killed the cyclist while both were on the sidewalk. I just wonder if LEO are going to actually use the law that says cars must yield to traffic on a sidewalk when they cross one while getting to the road, or if they are going to blame the cyclist for being there to get hit.

And an update on a report linked here yesterday, they identified the 13 YO cyclist killed in DE. Cyclist, 13, killed in crash identified Interestingly enough now that we have more details on this wreck the physics don’t add up with the rest of the report. The victim was thrown into the back of another vehicle that was in front of the wreck, which indicates that the vehicle was close to the wreck and that the vehicle that struck the cyclist was moving at a greater rate of speed. Why would even a 13 YO go between vehicles that close together if the light wasn’t in his favor? Things just aren’t making sense in this wreck, something smells.

From Jolly Olde another hit-and-run. Man injured in hit and run Interestingly enough there wasn’t anything about the cyclist actually getting hit. “A car turned into Craddock Road in front of him, causing him to fall off his bike.” Now did the man fall off his bike because the bike or his person were grazed by the car or just because he had to stop suddenly and lost his balance?

First of our infrastructure articles is from SF CA. The Bad Motorist Column Never mentioned in the article was the number of drivers that exceed the speed limit even when that limit is too high for conditions, but then this is an Entertainment column, not a traffic safety column for this paper.

More on infrastructure, which dominated the Feed this morning. Queens Boulevard Bike Lane Not Happening, Despite Demand Interesting that in spite of the number of cyclists that use Queens Boulevard and the increasing number killed there, because it wasn’t placed on a document made years ago as a part of the master bike plan NYCDOT won’t even consider adding a bike lane there. Traffic has changed, but the traffic plan hasn’t and bureaucrats must stay with the plan no matter how much things have changed in the real world.

More on infrastructure and users of same from Newton KS. METZLER: Nice fall weather calls for outdoor safety Interesting how bike riders are admonished to be careful, but drivers who are the ones that can actually kill people that are just out to enjoy the nice weather are rightfully placed with the greatest amount of responsibility.

More infrastructure reports on the increasing toll wrought on pedestrians in spite of a falling share in trip mode in the worst areas for pedestrian fatalities. Report: American Cities Dangerous for Pedestrians and Cyclists This was predicted decades ago, design streets without considering pedestrians and pedestrians will get killed, because there is no way to prevent people from using their feet to get around when things get tight.

And another newspaper weighs in on TTTWLAMWAMD Cyclists and motorists on collision course You might remember the first time this article was posted in the LA Times, but as the paper proves by running it for their readers it still is applicable to current events.

And that’s all I have today.

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

Another breathless Feed

Again today we have a Feed deprived of air. I dunno why, just is that way. So without further adieu…

The only new wreck was a kid that ran in front of a bicycle race in TX. Child injured during Bear Downs This is more a matter of poor crowd control at an event than traffic problems, but still, watch out for kids in the street when you ride in areas where such can be found.

Update on the man injured in UT when a closed race course wasn’t closed. Mesa cyclist recovers after nearly fatal accident in August I covered this wreck back when it happened when participants in a bike race were expecting a particularly dangerous part of the course to be closed to all traffic until the race passed found themselves mixed with 2 way traffic at high speeds on a narrow and twisty road. Some of the traffic that wasn’t supposed to even be there got upset that there were bicycles on “their” road and brake-checked the cyclists causing the wrecks. The man that was the subject of this article was the most seriously injured of the victims.

And speaking of brake-checking drivers, much of the Feed today was commentary on TTTWLAMWAMD and his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, 5 other felonies and a misdemeanor. Justice Served? was Bob Mionske’s take on the situation with Roy Exum: Rage Rides A Bicycle the opinion of an E TN newspaper, notice the blame in the headline is assigned to bicycles instead of the people driving the deadly WMDs used as transportation.

And what I hope will be the last thing I have to write about the sleeping deputy hitting 3 cyclists on the other side of the road head on at high speed last year. $800,000 for dad of bicyclist killed in crash Actually there’s one more suit to be settled as the surviving victim seeks damages for medical bills, loss of income, and pain and suffering.

An idiot attacks a cyclist for leaving the scene when the victim was removed. Tewkesbury dad attacked cyclist with wrench The cyclist left when the little girl was removed from the scene to a nearby house, the idiot with the tire iron showed up because he thought it had been a hit-and-run and tried to kill the cyclist. The cyclist in this case did leave his contact information and thought the pedestrian victim had been removed to her home, which is not a hit-and-run. Had this been a real hit-and-run the idiot with the tire iron would not have known where to find the cyclist. Logic is just lost on some people. Hopefully the girl’s mother has more native intelligence than her father, leaving some hope for her.

And the story that has been the rage in the UK cycling world for the week, 2^nd quarter 2009 KSI stats on cyclists made an alarming jump over the year. Cyclist deaths and injuries increase as more people take to the road and Sharp rise in UK cycling casualties I can’t say anything about the statistics except that KSI is not the same as deaths because it includes cyclists that survive their injuries. From what I understand the KSI was instituted because the rising standards of trauma care has resulted in many more victims surviving their wrecks than had been the case previously, skewing later numbers because timely medical care rather than severity of the wreck had become the determining factor in fatality rates. Now most of the victims of fatal wrecks either died at the scene or during transport, with very few dieing once they get to the hospital. The KSI statistic is people that would have died given mid-1950s state-of-the-art care, more or less.

And that’s all I have today. Reminder, no updates the next 2 Sundays as I will be otherwise engaged.

Billed @$.02, Opus