Catching up on links, the Feed

I have been a bit out of it for the last couple of days, but I managed to get in my first bike ride since Saturday this afternoon, and have been able to sit down and type coherent sentences for the first time in a while (and I sincerely apologize for that almost random words from the keyboard post from yesterday).

Up first because Florida is the worst place to walk or ride a bike in the US AGAIN… Bicyclist Fatally Struck by Two Cars on Deerfield Beach Road, One Driver Fled Part of the problem here is a culture that thinks anything on the roads that is not a car or truck is illegal, and may be run over at will. Even when you have a case where a driver hits someone because they are not actively watching for anything smaller than a Fiat 500 on the roads with them but stops to alert other drivers not to hit the guy he just hit, since the driver is in fact smaller than a Fiat 500 (by how much I’m not sure) he gets ignored along with the body on the road that was just hit and presumably still alive. Other than banning motor vehicles in the state of FL for a year and applying stringent medical, psychological, and legal testing combined with extensive practical testing, I don’t see any way to avoid wrecks like this. Seriously, you have a whole state full of people that should have never been issued a license combined with people that are no longer able to function as drivers who don’t know they are no longer competent to drive a deadly weapon as transportation, and throw in a rather large population that either by choice or economic necessity is not using a car or other motorized armor, then throw in the third factor of infrastructure that was designed by someone who never heard that people walk or ride bikes for anything other than exercise, and you get Florida, the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike for NINE YEARS running!

Still hittingkilling cyclists in FL. Young teen struck by vehicle on Hutchinson Island dies LEO originally though the youth was riding the bike but additional investigation showed he was walking across the road with a friend when hit. The condition of the friend has not been released.

A little north of the most deadliest state we have a SWCC death. Cyclist struck, killed in Beaufort Co. Since the media outlet chose a stock photo collage over pictures of the scene I can’t make any comments on the story except that it wasn’t said where the cyclist was crossing from and to, and the only witness to the wreck was the driver of the weapon vehicle.

An IL man is killed riding his bike. Bolingbrook man struck and killed by car in North Riverside and Bolingbrook Bike Rider Struck, Killed by Car Hit-from-behind wreck, use the protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Justice delayed in a fatal LA bike wreck. Judge reschedules hearing for suspect in cyclist’s death No reason given for delaying the hearing.

A cyclist in the Great White North is knocked down at an intersection then run over by a truck. Cyclist killed in Griffintown Given the fact that the cyclist was filtering up between stopped cars in heavy traffic there is the possibility the cyclist was doored first then run over by the truck. To avoid filter up the outside, not between lanes so that you at least have a possibility of falling on the sidewalk away from motor vehicles. To prevent get the infrastructure right so that heavy trucks are not sharing road space with cyclists. More Cyclist killed in Griffintown collision

From Oz comes a report of a ninja driver hitting a lighted cyclist. Cyclist lucky to escape serious injury Driving with provisional plates (P Plates) without lights and in the bike lane, I don’t see anything wrong with permanently denying this person’s application for a license. Also take his car. The cyclist on the other hand was lighted front and rear and wearing reflective clothing (that only works when the car has its headlights on…) and not in the road. More Cyclist injured in hit and run – Port Macquarie

LifeStyle in GA. Bike Ride Set To Honor Fallen Police Officers

From Enn Zed a driver actually admits they did not look before opening a car door and killing a cyclist. Driver admits fault in cyclist’s death The “small amount” the car door was opened was enough to knock an experienced cyclist off the bike and half a lane over into traffic moving much faster than the cyclist’s speed before the impact and definitely more than the now stationary cyclist. This wreck was not avoidable by the cyclist under Enn Zed law that requires a cyclist to remain in a bike lane if one is provided, and could only have been prevented by a driver actually looking before opening a door into the bike lane.

More from Enn Zed. Cyclists feel vulnerable New Zealand is the Florida of the Antipodes with bad infrastructure magnified by bad attitudes on the parts of transport ministers and drivers alike.

Infrastructure! news from the UK. Cyclist warned of death danger at west Hull roundabout This is why infrastructure projects need cyclist review, this cyclist was able within 3 minutes to tell this intersection would not work and would in fact kill cyclists that tried to use it as designed. Of course those 3 minutes were as he was getting hit by another vehicle that “did not see” him…

Legal stuff from DC. DC Should Be Tougher on Drivers Who Hit Bikers This is in response to the DC case where a driver used his vehicle as a weapon against a cyclist and then left the scene, and got community service.

Infrastructure from NYC. Pedestrians Who Follow Rules Still Risk Injury, Study Finds Interesting that more than 1 of three cyclists going to ER are sent there by cabbies trying to get to the next fare. Also interesting that only 10% of injured cyclists or pedestrians were distracted by cell phones or music devices when they were hit. This is much lower than indicated by the number of people walking around in a cell-induced haze, or riding as an “iPod Zombie”. You would think that with such a high percentage riding distracted they would form a larger percentage of the victims, but apparently distracted cyclists still pay more attention to their surroundings than distracted drivers.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Advertisement