This is the counter to the Big Lie, where a lie repeated often enough becomes accepted as truth no matter how refutable it is by facts. This is one of the reasons why I put up the page Gay Marriage Challenge, to refute the nonsense that what other people do in their relationships will somehow affect me in mine (or you in yours). There are all kinds of Big Lies out there in the bicycle world, the “85% reduction in head injury” being one that jumps to mind immediately (using other data from the same time period, you could also say that helmets reduce broken legs by 77%), along with the “bikes don’t pay for the roads” canard, well actually bikes don’t pay for the roads people pay for the roads and everything else, but the point of that is neither do cars pay for the roads. One of the minor goals of this blog is to refute Big Lies whenever possible.
First up today is a wreck from outside the Americas in South Africa, with several links as I type this. Police mow down cyclists Yes, you read that right, on-duty LEO are being investigated for a homicide with a police vehicle of 2 people on a bicycle. More Cyclist’s family to take action And with that link the dike bursts Cyclists die in accident another one Cyclists knocked over by cop still more Cyclists’ families vow action not done by a long shot Protect cyclists – group more Cops deciding on cyclists’ crash Another one Probe underway after police van hits cyclists: report Still going Police vehicle ‘kills two cyclists’ more Cyclists not protected – network and another one Two cyclists killed by cop van tons of comments mostly in favor of cyclists after the text in that link South African tandem riders killed after being hit by police van OK after all that the synopsis is the van (or bakkie in some articles) was going off the road at a high rate of speed and the bike was in the way. Opinion (and at this point it is strictly opinion) is equally split on the cyclists being in the way when the driver lost control, or the cyclists being targeted because they were there to get hit and it was easy to make it look like an “accident”. I think the homicide investigation is one of the major things making people think that the cyclists were targeted by the driver or perhaps the passenger grabbing the wheel.
Back in the US, a cyclist is killed in SC. Darlington bicycle rider killed in collision with vehicle If the commenter is right and that bike lane is the scene of the wreck, then there were 2 crimes here, the wreck and that bike lane. Notice that there isn’t enough room between the gutter pan and the lane strip to even paint the bike lane symbol? They had to paint the symbol in the space between the dashed stripe, which is also an indication that this is not a legal bike lane but merely a suggestion. An actual bike lane has a solid stripe prohibiting drivers from crossing into the lane, a dashed stripe is advisory for cyclists and permits drivers to use the lane, all 18″ of it. As for avoiding the wreck I don’t have enough information from that link. This other link I found says the cyclist was riding salmon. Darlington bicyclist dies in Tuesday evening crash with SUV
More on the cyclist who hit a snowplow in MN. New Brighton bicyclist killed in collision with truck ID’d This is beginning to look like a suicide by bike as the cyclist was riding ninja and salmon in the middle of the street! There are less messy ways to kill yourself than that. Another link Updated: Cyclist Killed by Plow Had No Lights, Helmet or Home
Back in SA, a hit-and-run injures 2 cyclists on separate bikes. Two cyclists in hit-and-run accident It’s no wonder that cyclists in SA feel like they are riding with targets pinned to their jerseys.
More on the Infrastructure! story from NYC with a fence going up on a pedestrian bridge over a bike path to prevent people from throwing heavy objects at the cyclists passing under the bridge. City Fixing Navy Street’s Cyclist-Stoning Bridge While a fence is a physical barrier that will prevent most of the debris rain, a more permanent solution would be arresting the perps and charging them with attempted murder. I just noticed that I am a top-5 commenter at that site… leading to the question: “Are you serious? I hardly ever read that site.”
And as deaths on the roads for all users collectively decline sharply, cyclists in the UK find their kind getting killed at an increased rate. London Cycle Deaths Rise
And that’s all I have for you right now.
Billed @$0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 