OK yesterday’s blog post ne’ rant got some interesting visitors from DC, about my suggestion for dealing with hit-and-run drivers I suppose. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t for the quality of my writing 😀 I’m still not even nominated for a Bloggy and I wouldn’t even know what category I would fall under, aside from curmudgeon with a computer.
Up first because nobody got killed and also because it had multiple reports, a woman fell off her bike in heavy (bike) traffic during Cycle Oregon. Boise Woman Injured in Bicycle Crash During Cycle Oregon South of Grants Pass and Cycle Oregon rider from Idaho seriously injured in bike crash For those interested Cycle Oregon is a lot like RAGBRAI except without the Pork Chop Man and a lot less pie. And less beer also. I leave if those are good or bad things up to you. As this was a bike v bike wreck in heavy bike traffic the only advice I can give on how to avoid is to slow down in heavy traffic to minimum balance speed, and if you ride clipless have your dominant foot unclipped to be ready to dab.
In the same area of the country comes more reports on the teacher killed in a hit-and-run in Vancouver WA. Bicyclist dead in Vancouver hit-and-run Note the huge difference in the description of the suspect in that early report and the actual perp caught in this report. Vancouver high school mourns loss of popular teacher killed in hit-and-run; suspect arrested Yep he went from his 30s to 18 in one day. I can’t say how outraged I am about this wreck, at least in polite company. To avoid the same fate standard hit-from-behind protocol might help: Mirror(s), escape route, and willingness to either use the escape route or to bail off the bike and let it take the hit. The thing is I don’t know if the cyclist had enough time between the driver moving into the bike lane and the actual collision to do any of those things, as the bike lane was on a steep hill, and the speed limit in the area (35 MPH) is mostly ignored. The speed of the driver’s vehicle in this case is not known to any degree of certainty beyond that it was in excess of the 35 limit.
On the other side of the country a student on a bicycle is killed by a motor vehicle. Student’s Death a Reminder of Need for Caution Around Bicyclists There were apparently several new laws that went into effect as the students were leaving for the summer break that LEO are now enforcing, but that still doesn’t mean that cyclists have to be any less vigilant about their own safety. Making things that are a danger to cyclists against the law will help to get reparation when broken, but unless enforced vigilantly and thoroughly will not do a great deal to protect cyclists. laws are mostly an after the fact thing, like helmets.
Another distracted driver kills a cyclist, this time in OH. Pandora bicyclist killed in crash Dunlap looked away from the roadway momentarily and his vehicle drifted across the white edge line, hitting Watkins’ bicycle. See, even if you aren’t riding on the road, you can be killed by a car. Again standard hit-from-behind protocol might have helped in this case, but I’m not sure the cyclist would have had enough time to react.
Another UK wreck report with typical UK levels of detail as mandated by the government. Cyclist killed in crash with lorry The only thing I can say about this wreck is the description of the directions of travel make me suspect either a hit-from-behind, or a left hook (UK equivalent of the right hook).
Another waste of LEO time and resources to ticket kids not wearing helmets while ignoring driver behavior that kills cyclists. Students receive fines for biking without helmets
And to wrap up a nice story about kids and freedom and growing up. Learning to ride
I might have more later, but that’s all I have now.
Billed @$.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 