To be honest I really did not want to do this post today, because I have an abscess in my jaw and my face feels like I did after the wreck. The best thing I have for pain is ibuprofen and ice packs, which only help a little bit. Ora Jel deadens the surface of the infection but doesn’t do anything for the pain caused by the swelling. Also I get watering of my eyes for no apparent reasons except pain. So if the advice about the wrecks in today’s post seems more acerbic than usual, now you know why.
Up first in an update on a CA hit-and-run. Family, Friends Remember Cyclist Killed in Hit-and-Run Again, there was nothing a human cyclist could have done to avoid this wreck, and infrastructure would not have helped the driver not ignore the already-existing infrastructure. When they find the guy I hope they allow him to witness the recycling of the weapon vehicle “up close, and personal”.
Also from CA an update on another wreck… Thousands Of Cyclists Ride To Support Severely Injured Hit-And-Run Victim This was the guy hit by a left turning vehicle that was jumping line in a traffic jam. More Bicyclists Ride in Honor of Hit-and-Run Victims
A MN drunk kills another cyclist. Minneapolis cyclist killed in hit-and-run, driver arrested for DWI Apparent hit-from-behind wreck, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. Google Maps shows a mixed residential and light commercial area which would be served by bike lanes under the Dutch model. So maybe the real prevention would be slower speed limits and fewer drunks on the roads.
Finally appropriate charges in NY for a cyclist killer. Upstate NY man facing murder and other charges for death of cyclist during police chase The cyclist’s body was stuck on the truck during the chase at speeds up to 90 MPH. In my book just the DUI makes this wreck deserving of murder charges. Another driver that should be forced to “watch” his vehicle get recycled chained to the steering wheel.
Enn Zed sees another cyclist fatality. Cyclist killed in crash At the time of the posting there was nothing more known about the wreck except its severity, described as “gut-wrenching”. I’m going to assume that means “really bad”. The wreck was identified as “near” an intersection so perhaps intersection protocols would have made a difference, in a very rural area so infrastructure to keep high-speed traffic away from fragile human beings would have been useful as well.
Volvo introduces a gradual phasing out of human drivers with a car that refuses to run over cyclists… Volvo debuts world’s first cyclist detection system with full auto-brake
Last link is to an awesome Instructible that I thought at first was an early April Fool’s prank. Build a life-sized active volcano Secret lair not ready yet? Well build the volcano first!
And those are all the links I could remain upright enough to copy and paste.
Billed @$0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 