Which is something for which I am grateful. I have to read so many links to gut-wrenching stories, most of which I can’t use for this blog because they aren’t about bicycles or cycling, they are events at which there was a cyclist, or they are about motorcycles, or things that run in cycles, and in order to find out what they are about I have to read the article which because of the search string I used invariably involve death or carnage. Unfortunately for me there is no way to prevent those results from finding their way into the Feed without also blocking the reports I need to see to help you avoid getting killed. So having few links to read and even fewer that I can use is a good thing for my sanity. And who wants a crazy poet writing a bike safety blog? I know my wife doesn’t want to live with a crazy poet, she tells me so frequently.
Up first is the notification of the services for the “drunk” cyclist killed last week. Services Friday for Ramona man killed in bicycle accident Notice that the only evidence that the cyclist was “drunk” was the report of the driver that killed him, AFAIK there was never a blood test to determine the BAC% of the victim. I can’t say for sure how this wreck went down, the only clear picture I have of the bike shows damage that doesn’t make any sense, the seat is spun almost 180 from normal riding position and there’s only half a handlebar visible. Spinning the seat would require enormous force, as would breaking the handlebars, but there is almost no damage visible on the rest of the bike. Whatever broke the handlebars didn’t do it by using the front wheel as a base, because that much force would have twisted the front wheel like a pretzle and there is very little damage visible to the front wheel. I can’t even see which side of the handlebars is intact, from the shape it looks like the left side but from the position it looks like it is on the right side of the bike. I have sent the reporter that did the article an e-mail about the questions I’m having, I’ll let you know if I hear anything.
The other link I have to an actual cycling-related story is from Jolly Olde, on the sentencing of a woman that hit a cyclist from behind and killed him. Wallasey gran’s “momentary misjudgement” killed cyclist Yep kill a cyclist go to, home? Five weeks of community service? The only thing resembling “real” punishment and protection for the public is a 3 year ban on driving, which when you consider how many people in the UK are driving without licenses and getting away with it is pretty much unenforceable. Unless they station an unmarked police car staking out her car waiting for her to drive it… Like that would ever happen.
And, that’s it!
Billed @$0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 