OK, your update on if I’m going to live or die, it looks like the pool will go to the people betting on “live”. I have a massive abscess on the right side of my lower jaw that the swelling extended up to just under my cheekbone, and that started draining spontaneously as I was consuming a liquid lunch (milkshake, not alcohol). The damages extended as far forward as my lower right lip, and as far back as just under my right ear. When the infection started to drain the piece of potato chip that started the whole mess came out first, then a whole mess of really vile-tasting gunk. It was almost bad enough to put me off from finishing my chocolate shake. Only the fact that I had not actually eaten anything that day made me able to continue. The dentist prescribed an antibiotic that was on my list of approved medications for this study I’m currently on, and a synthetic opiate painkiller so I could get an uninterrupted night’s sleep. I go back to get the roots left over from the broken teeth extracted on Thursday after giving the antibiotic and my near-Wolverine (comic book X-Men character) healing powers a chance to work at clearing up the infection. That means Thursday’s post might be either late or incoherent as the roots come out shortly after 0900.
Up first with the big story, a SUV driver commits hit-and-run in GA. Police seek driver of SUV after bicyclist struck and killed in hit-and-run crash also Marietta bicyclist killed in hit and run and Bicyclist killed in hit and run, motorist with 2 children wanted for questioning more Police investigate SUV driver in fatal hit-and-run not done yet Marietta police seek SUV driver after deadly hit-and-run I see no indication from any of the articles that there was anything the cyclist could have done to avoid the wreck, as what little I can find out indicates the driver just pulled out almost on top of the cyclist. Remember every parking lot entrance is an intersection that drivers wait to pounce on you from, and ride accordingly. Infrastructure might have prevented this by forcing the driver to acknowledge he could be encountering cyclists as he left the parking lot.
The next-biggest story is the ongoing saga of the MN cyclist killed by a DUI driver. ID for cyclist killed in Mpls. accident and Family Remembers Bicyclist Killed In Mpls. Hit-&-Run also Friends grieve for Minneapolis bicyclist killed by hit-and-run driver At this point since the only blame being placed on the rider is for not wearing a helmet or having lights it’s a pretty fair bet that the driver of the motor vehicle was on the wrong side of the street, and not just a little but a lot. That makes this definitely an “unavoidable” wreck for the cyclist as the driver had to cross at least 2 and maybe 3 lanes before hitting the cyclist… from looking at the Street View of the intersection.
More links but no more information on the OH 6YO hit while riding his bike. Boy critically injured in Ohio collision The kid was riding in his home neighborhood residential area, the driver should have been alert for children playing and riding in the street. Also some better instruction about intersection protocols for the cyclist (even a 6YO needs to know how to cross the street on a bike). All said and done this wreck falls mainly on an almost total lack of education on bicycles as transportation for all parties involved in the wreck.
Another infrastructure-related wreck as a college student and a city bus failed to negotiate right of way. Purdue student injured following bus crash near campus Looking at the scene, with no visible damage to the visible side of the bus it looks like the bus pulled into the bus stop while the cyclist was riding in the space. Update just posted Purdue student in serious condition after crashing into bus on campus Since I can’t see the video the article mentions I can’t say how much BS there is in the bus company’s interpretation of it, but the location of the blood stain next to the curb supports my initial interpretation of the wreck, so it may be a combination of the rider not having situational awareness to avoid the bus that was pulling into the stop where he was already riding.
Update on the riders hit in far West Canuckistan. Saanich cyclists injured in two separate accidents over Easter Still intersection wrecks with a right hook and a left cross and both still the fault of the drivers involved…
Also from the Great White North, a cyclist is hit by a right-turning driver as she crossed with the light and is blamed for riding in the crosswalk? Riding through pedestrian crosswalk lands Toronto cyclist in hospital I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one, as the driver is getting a free ride for hitting someone in a crosswalk crossing with the light. Sure if riding a bike in the crosswalk is illegal give the cyclist a ticket, but don’t let the driver off because the same thing would have happened if there was a pedestrian in the crosswalk.
And those are all the links that gave me fits today.
Billed @$0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 