A quiet weekend produces a light Monday Feed

It must have been a quiet weekend for bicycle wrecks because my Feed was very light today. At least I hope so and not that the MSM has decided that cyclists getting killed or injured is no longer worth reporting.

First up are a couple of reports on a man dodging traffic on a BMX bike and zigging when he should have zagged. Bicyclist injured in Friday crash remains critical and Bicyclist Still In Critical Condition That is not the correct way to “mix” with traffic on a bike, especially one without a front brake. rear only brakes are fine when just riding around but dodging traffic requires the ability to stop more quickly that a coaster brake can manage, even (especially) with a locked brake sliding the tire.

I’m not sure if this cyclist in Indiana was following too close or got cut off, but he hit the back of the van hard enough to go through the rear window and wind up entirely inside the van. Bicyclist Injured in Collision with Vehicle Unless and until I can get more information on this one I can’t tell any more about it, but the wreck has similarities in its physics to the Swoop and Squat road rage attack against 2 LA CA cyclists last summer. That cyclist went through the back window of the car like this guy did, which tells me there was some speed involved on the cyclist’s part. Has anybody heard anything about that California wreck lately? I haven’t seen or heard anything since the driver was arraigned back last fall.

Four wheels for 2 vehicles in this wreck that injured 3. 3 injured in collision of bicycle, motorcycle Nothing on the mechanics of the wreck other than the motorcycle hit the bicycle and mayhem ensued. Lots of road rash, some kind of head injury for the guy riding the bicycle, and a note saying he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Would wearing a helmet have made any difference in this wreck? No way of knowing, but the cyclist was Bad for not wearing one. Does NY state have an adult helmet law?

I’m not sure who was at fault in this wreck, but since it’s the Chicago Sun Times and they aren’t screaming about “scofflaw cyclists” I’m willing to place a wager that the cop that hit the cyclist was not following the letter of the law. Chicago Police squad car hits teen on bike This was an intersection wreck, which means that as a cyclist you have to be alert to threats from all directions, not just in front of or behind you.

A kid in Knoxville was hit by a truck while riding his bicycle. Boy riding bike struck by truck, critically injured The kid wasn’t paying attention to traffic, and rolled in front of a moving vehicle. There was lots of comments about how the kid should not have been riding away from parental supervision, but by that age I had been riding in the street for 2 years and almost all of that was away from my parent’s supervision. But I was taught and repeatedly tested by my parents on the rules of the road, and how to enter the road safely even before I was physically ready to ride on the road (while I was still using training wheels) so while I blame the parents I’m not blaming them for not watching the kid (being a “helicopter” parent) but for not teaching proper road behavior.

Another verse of the same song just played out above. Cyclist, 6, struck by car And at 6 YO you aren’t a cyclist, you’re just a kid on a bike. Again, poor or non-existent training in road behavior by parents results in poor judgment by a kid. You can avoid this by teaching your kid(s) before they get old enough to pedal about road rules and how to ride your bike on the road, then quizzing them periodically, like my parents did.

NCTCOG has been in contact with me, can’t say any more right now.

Billed @$.02, Opus

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