One of the things I like to do is make plans for things that I know I’ll never have the money or space or whatever to build. One project I have been contemplating is a car, a hot rod with a 1927 model T roadster body. and a frame that is part front-engine formula car and part winged sprint car. That means the upper frame rail is actually the top of the roll cage and runs from the front suspension upper pick ups to the rear suspension upper pick ups, over the roll cage hoops. As you can imagine, this results in a frame that is incredibly stiff in beaming and torsion, which means that suspension design must be spot on because there will be no frame twist to muddle up the results. I have a rule when I do hot rods that the only thing that goes below the bottom of the frame are the rims, which must keep the frame off the ground even when there are no tires on them. Well in order to do that I have made some designs that had the motor sticking way higher than the firewall, but not this one. The bottom frame “rail” ended up becoming a semi-monocoque tub what with the belly pan and the body attach points and using shear panels instead of triangulation. This is major-league stiff all on its own, but then add the triangulated roll cage and you get practically monolithic stiff but still very light. I take my inspiration for frame design from a number of sources including off-road race trucks, which is where I got my “rule” of nothing below the bottom of the frame rail. The idea for that in its original form was to maximize clearance without raising the entire vehicle too much, but when I moved it to hot rods it became a way to get the car as low as possible for best possible handling without leaving anything that could get dragged off on a speed bump in a parking lot. When I do these plans I assume I will have access to all the tools and materials I need, including metal fabrication tools sufficient to fabricate suspension uprights to work with whatever other design points I have chosen, like using Wide 5 hubs. I used Wide 5 hubs for the first time on a 4WD design that needed 4 wheel disk brakes and independent suspension because the hubs are designed to be driven through the hubcap by a floating axle and the snouts for making front suspensions for Wide 5 hubs are tubular so you could easily run a drive axle inside one and use them in an independent rear or front suspension, with or without drive through that end of the car. Since then I have used Wide 5 on any design they would be appropriate, because of their strength and light weight and because they also reduce parts count in the braking system. Anyway, enough of my fantasy hot rod and on to keeping people safe on bicycles.
From MI a suspect was arrested in a hit-and-run of a cyclist while the motor was still warm Suspect arrested in Emmett hit-and-run crash Hit-from-behind, use the protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent a similar wreck. Kudos to LEO for quick work in finding the perpetrator in this wreck. they definitely earned the “smart LEO” tag today.
From Ted Rogers in L.A. the hideous run of cyclist deaths continues unabated. Make that 7 deaths in just the last week, as Temecula cyclist killed in solo riding wreck Because Ted is local to the scene he gets wrecks that don’t make it to the media. The solo death is one of those that is just not avoidable, and probably not preventable with changes to the infrastructure.
More on the Fullerton, CA hit-and-run. Bicyclist Struck, Killed By Hit-And-Run Driver In Fullerton Not much new in that link, LEO is not sure if the cyclist was walking or riding his bike when he was hit, which is a strong indication that they think the initial impact was in the crosswalk, and that CA law requiring drivers to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk might be brought into this wreck as an aggravating factor.
The big story continues to be the woman who was hit-and-run on the PCH in Santa Monica. Cyclist killed in Santa Monica hit-and-run is identified and Erin Galligan, Venice Cyclist, Killed by Hit-and-Run Driver on the PCH also Update: Cyclist killed in hit-and-run on PCH more Police Identify Venice Woman Killed In Tuesday’s Hit-And-Run On PCH As I posted before this was a hit-from-behind that LEO are claiming was the fault of the cyclist for “swerving”. However the driver knew he hit someone when he left the scene, which makes him a criminal and a felon.
More on a different hit-and-run in CA. Man Accused In Crash That Killed Cyclist Pleads Not Guilty The comments are particularly bloodthirsty today on this one. Perhaps the tide of public opinion is starting to swing to the defense of cyclists when they are doing nothing wrong when they are killed?
More information about a NY wreck victim. SPCA Remembers Ossining Bicyclist Killed in Briarcliff A nice person is killed in a terrible way.
More on the moped rider who was hit while legally riding in the bike lane. Reno police ID moped rider killed in hit-and-run Still a hit-from-behind wreck that was partially the fault of bad infrastructure that allowed speeding motor vehicles in the same space as bicycles (and mopeds). While I don’t particularly like riding with mopeds on bike facilities (particularly the 2-stroke variety) I’m not opposed to them being there so long as they keep their speed close to bicycle speed. I like the electric ones much better as their speeds are federally controlled to the same as an e-assist bike and they also don’t have a noisy engine or smelly exhaust. And they need to let the driver “fall down some stairs” when they arrest him for driving off with the victim and his moped sitting on the hood of his SUV for several hundred feet.
From the Great White North a hit-and-run driver is jailed. Judge jails ‘callous’ hit-and-run driver This guy sound like a real winner, driving without a license, knocked the bike 50 feet from the point of impact, carried the victim on his hood almost 300 feet, met the LEO that came to arrest him with a katana drawn. I just wonder if he was already disqualified from driving because of his previous DUI, what do they think the 5 year after prison driving ban will do?
Infrastructure! from CA. Will San Mateo County Finally Fix a Dangerous Overpass for Cyclists? I posted an earlier article about this project and I think the D2 plan with the color overlay from the D4 plan would be the safest of the alternatives listed.
LifeStyle in NC to honor a fallen cyclist. Memorial ride honors bicyclist killed by logging truck and Ghost bike honors memory of cyclist killed on Raleigh’s Louisburg Road Too many comments from that first link blamed the cyclist for being there to get hit instead of the truck driver that failed to pass safely.
And those are all the link that gave me fits.
Billed @$0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 