Well, this was a really ugly Feed today, with a capital UGH! Dead cyclists all over, with updates and new reports, plus some really bad injuries that will leave the victims crippled for life. Not a fun way to spend your morning, if you ask me…
Starting things off is a report from the Christian Science Monitor about conflicts over the roads. Can bikes and cars share the road? I have to question some of their assumptions, but the initial question is a valid one to ask. If bikes and cars can’t share the roads, who leaves? The vehicles that don’t pollute, pose a minor risk of death or injury to other roads users, and which have been experimentally proven to do no more damage to the roads than the weather, or motor vehicles? From the phrasing of the question I think you know my answer.
A cyclist in Seattle (maybe) runs a red light and gets clobbered. Police: Injured bicyclist may have run red light and Cyclist seriously injured in downtown Seattle I don’t suggest reading the comments section of the second link unless you have a strong stomach. OK guys, I’ll say it again because it appears some of you are not paying attention: before you run the red light you have to stop first and make sure the way is clear before you ride through the intersection. And while I don’t know that it would have helped this guy, you should wear a helmet, unless it’s the law in which case you shouldn’t unless you really wanted to in the first place. Umm, did you understand that, because I’m totally confused now 😉
More updates on the cyclist hit by a pickup truck in MI. Bicyclist Hit and Killed and Lansing bike rider dies after being hit by truck Another hit-from-behind wreck by a driver not watching for other road users. Usual hit-from-behind advice, mirror(s), escape route, and be ready to use the escape route or bail from the bike and hope the bike disables the other vehicle.
Another report on the cyclist hit from behind by a UPS truck. Bicyclist Killed After Being Hit by Tractor Trailer I just don’t know what to say about this one, the cyclist was wearing clothing that made him highly visible in the prevailing light conditions, the bicycle was “covered” in reflectors, and the driver admits to seeing the cyclist well in advance of the collision, so why did the collision happen? Was this a case of the driver wanting to “teach the cyclist a lesson” on not being in the road in front of him, or what? Are assault charges warranted in this case? Stay tuned…
And in another town with the same name… Bicyclist Killed On Port Republic Road Not enough information to know what happened in this case.
Yet another hit-and-run in AZ. Driver arrested after bicyclist injured in hit and run ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Driver most deserving of death by kitten is the drunk (progeny of unmarried parents and a female dog) that knew he hit “something” but drove off anyway. I propose a little “warm up” of all the surviving victims of hit-and-run beating this total waste of human skin with bicycle chains and then a little alcohol and salt water rubdown afterwards, you wouldn’t want the guy to die of infections before we kill him with kittens. Bonus if the ones in wheelchairs run over his feet and/or fingers while beating him with the chains.
And a wreck report that is impossible to interpret. Bicyclist injured in accident at Sixth and Main Hit a vehicle that was stopped in the intersection? Did the bike run a red light or stop sign, did the car? Did the car stop short when the light changed and the cyclist run into it? OK checking views of the scene, there was a light, but until I know where the car and the bike collided, and the direction of the bike I can’t say what happened or how to avoid the wreck if you find yourself in a similar situation.
Another report but no new information on the MTB wreck in PA. Bike rider killed in Brady’s Run Park Sometimes I think they just post the same article with different URLs to get more site traffic…
Another wreck on a closed course race, this time between one of the support vehicles and a competitor. Triathlon cyclist, two motorcyclists injured Forrest Gump would have had a field day with this one. And I don’t mean “Life is like a box of chocolates” either, more like “Stupid is as stupid does”.
On the same note that I expounded upon here a week or so ago someone is suing the state of NY on the faulty design and construction of the bike path where a cyclist fixing a flat tire was hit in the head by a motorcycle from an adjoining freeway, for an entirely different wreck except for the flying motorcycle and adjoining freeway. Oceanside man injured on Wantagh bike path sues DOT Really, had this been a plain road would the DOT have built it along side a freeway without a barrier between the 2 roads? And why not install Jersey barriers between the 2 after the first 2 wrecks from the same cause? Place the Jersey barrier 8′ from the white strip indicating the edge of the road on the freeway, anchor it, and you’re done. A few thousand dollars per mile that should have been figured into the cost of either the freeway or the bike path when it was constructed and there would have been no deaths from uncontrolled motorcycles hitting people on the bike path. Now you will have lawyers and court costs, damages paid to the victims and their survivors for medical bills and loss of income and wrongful death for the ones that didn’t survive, we’re talking about millions that NY doesn’t have right now, because they went cheap when construction was done…
And lawyers continue to weigh in on the recent spate of wrecks in HI. Can We Afford NOT To Build More Bike Paths in Honolulu?
And that’s all I have so far this time. Come back tomorrow, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.
Billed @$.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 