Well it’s a pretty day at my dad’s place today, but I had a rough night last night. It took me forever to fall asleep, and then the alarm went off way too soon and we had visitors soon after that. So I have been up longer than I was asleep before I even fired up the computer… Thank the goddess Caffeina for coffee or I would be non-functional right now.
Up first because I seldom see anything like this, a cyclist is threatened by a driver and returns fire with a .45. Bicyclist charged in road rage shooting While I do not condone this action (much) I have to say the cyclist made an excellent choice in weapon, as the .45 ACP was designed to penetrate car bodies back in the 1930s when they made cars from thick steel. Both vehicle operators in this case made actions that could have been considered as an assault, but LEO only recognized the one with the gun as such. Seriously though, don’t shoot back, it only gets you in trouble because cops don’t see cars as weapons…
The really big story (by number of links) was the 56YO man hit from behind by a sleeping driver in CA. Cyclist killed after being hit by car on Silverado Trail and Council candidate’s father killed in cycling accident also Napa man riding bicycle killed by car identified last link Napa Man Killed Riding Bicycle on Silverado This was on what is considered to be pretty good bike infrastructure, and as you can tell it doesn’t do much good when the driver is not in complete control of the vehicle. The normal speed of motor vehicle traffic does not give much reaction time for cyclists to employ the hit-from-behind protocols in that location, so avoiding a wreck like this would be mostly a matter of luck. Preventing such a wreck would involve creating through routes away from motor vehicle roads, not likely at this stage as CA has a hard enough time keeping the roads they have from falling apart without creating separate roads just for bicycles like they have in the Netherlands.
The next biggest story was the woman that rode her horse while drunk down a bike path (marked with NO HORSES signs) and the horse got spooked and crushed a cyclist. Woman injured in fall from horse Tell me, were they more worried about the woman who caused the mess than the cyclists she injured? Woman hurt in horse-bike mishap If someone can tell me how to avoid a horse being ridden by a drunk in a no horses area I would appreciate it, because this is not the first time I have seen something like this. I mean besides shooting the horse and rider, the horse can’t read so why should it be punished for its rider being stupid?
A CO cyclist does not stop for poorly placed stop signs and hits a police cruiser. Bicyclist injured after crashing into police car I used Google Street View to look at the intersection and it appears that the stop signs were turned facing the wrong way, not where someone would expect to find a stop sign, making them on the wrong side of the street in both senses. This would be confusing, and add to that the impaired sight lines which were probably the reason for placing the signs in the first place. To avoid stop at stop signs, to prevent get those signs turned the right way.
An OH boy is injured after hitting/being hit by a truck. Police headlines for May 19 The kid may not have been able to stop because his brakes were in poor condition, another reason to do the ABC (Air, Brakes, Chain) preflight before you start riding. Infrastructure would not have prevented this wreck as under the Dutch model this would be an area that was shared at a moderate speed for bicycles as the speed limit.
A cyclist is severely injured in a wreck with a driver impaired by cold medicine in IL. Bond at $500,000 in Urbana car-bicycle crash The driver apparently was too blitzed to even know there was traffic controls or that the street he was driving on ended at a T intersection and he ended up in someone’s yard against a tree. The driver ran a 4 way stop after the cyclist had come to a stop and was making a turn. Intersection protocols might have made a difference in this wreck. but keeping stoned drivers off the roads would prevent it. This was another wreck that was in what would be shared space under the Dutch model of bicycle infrastructure. Google Street View of 701 W Washington St and you can see the tree the driver most likely hit. After re-reading the article I found this was a hit from behind wreck while the cyclist had stopped to make the turn, something a cyclist absolutely cannot prevent or avoid.
A salmon cyclist is hit someplace where they have lots of experience with salmon of the fishy variety. Bike Rider Critically Injured When Hit by SUV The cyclist was proceeding slowly on the sidewalk but still faster than a person walks, and the driver did not see and identify him as a possible conflict before he turned and hit the cyclist. Sidewalks are not bike infrastructure, unless there are signs directing you to use the sidewalk, and drivers are not expecting to see fast-moving objects coming from the wrong direction for such. Hell, they barely even see people walking from the “wrong” direction.
The driver in a CA hit-and-run has been arrested. San Ramon Attorney Arrested In Dublin Hit & Run That Killed Cyclist A lawyer would know better than to hit-and-run unless he was DUI at the time, in which case he would know that hit-and-run and then cooperating with police would be his best option as DUI could not be proven and he could just claim he “didn’t know” he had hit a person… Might I suggest that Mr. Smith and his car be shredded for recycling? They probably won’t get much useful out of the lawyer, but I’m sure there’s some good steel in that car that could be separated out and made into quite a few nice bikes.
A cyclist in Canuckistan is almost recovered from being brutally wrecked during a left cross back in October of last year. Injured Tour de Rock rider back at work after long recovery The “driver” in this case was unlicensed but not charged with unlawful possession of a lethal weapon even though he hit an off-duty cop. TANJ!
LifeStyle as a second memorial ride in Nashville after the RoS is held for a cyclist killed the day of the RoS. Nashville’s Tour De Nash Remembers Fallen Cyclist
Infrastructure! news as St. Louis passes an anti-harrasment ordinance. No more threatening cyclists in St. Louis; Alderman proposes $100 fine The comments section shows why this law is needed. I really wish it wasn’t needed, things would be so much nicer.
More infrastructure news from the Great White North. Safety improvements for cyclists needed I was with this guy until he got to the mandatory helmet part. Helmet laws have never been demonstrated to do anything except reduce access to cycling where enacted.
And those are all the links that gave me fits today.
Billed @$0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 