At least nobody dies or was injured riding a bicycle. Those of you riding motorcycles have many to mourn, however. Way too many motorcyclists are in single vehicle wrecks, of which 90% are caused by excessive speed for conditions. Slow down, and make sure you’ll get there.
I think this is a good time to re-state my objectives in writing this blog. First and foremost I want everyone that reads this blog to not die on the roads. Even you EEEEEVILLLLL car drivers. Seriously, do you know how many wrecks are the result of alcohol with or without excessive speed for conditions? Do you know how many of my blog readers drink and drive? Yeah, me neither. Let’s start with not you.
And helmets, wear ’em. I know they hardly do any good, but the thing is they do do a little good, and at the moment they’re all the PPE we have. I was told that had I not been wearing a helmet I would have died in my wreck. This is better than being dead. Really, no kidding. There is always that hope that someone will discover a cure for brain damage, and I won’t sound like a retard when I speak. And for those of you who think I’m being insensitive to the plight of the mentally challenged, what the bloody hell do you think brain damage makes me? And as you can tell the brain damage mostly affects my verbal communications, not my written ones. Sure I have an occasional moment when I can’t think of the right word for a sentence, but that is nothing like the verbal blockages I get when I’m trying to speak. The weird thing is I can think of the words, but I can’t always say the words. The first few times that happened it was interesting, but now it is just aggravating beyond words, which make the problem even worse. So wear your helmet.
Buy and use a rear view mirror. Get the kind that mount to a visor or glasses. Best investment I ever made, unfortunately I didn’t make it until after I had been hit.
And make friends with LEO. Law Enforcement takes things much more seriously when it happens to their friends and fellow cops. So if you do get hit, the investigation will be much more serious if the LEO know you. Of course this may require you to educate the local LEO about the laws and how they pertain to cyclists, but this will be time well spent.
PSA, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 