I love my job, but I really hate to do it on Monday, mainly because there is a whole weekend of accumulated links to filter through and analyse. That means there is a lot of death and destruction to wade through, only some of which applies to the topic of this blog.
And I did notice the big mess over in Paris (I got my first report from the Eagles of Death Metal Facebook page). I’m not doing a big thing because first, I’m not that big a deal in the blogosphere, and second my personal feelings about generalized terror attacks are not really pertinent to the blog. If they had attacked a Velib station I would have said something because that was a specific target of bike infrastructure. But a heavy metal concert and a soccer (football) game are just generalized terror attacks.
Up first is a subject that has been bouncing around the bicycle blogosphere like a ping-pong ball at supersonic speed, what is appropriate criminal punishment for a death from vehicle wrecks? Cyclists Question Decision Not to Press Criminal Charges Against Driver Who Hit, Killed Bethesda Bicyclist I put the link to the BikePortland article on a similar wreck on this blog late last week, and now we have this link to a wreck in MD. And drivers in both cases basically get away with a homicide because there is a huge gap between the mens rea required to prosecute a vehicle operator and a person with a gun. If you read this blog for long you know which one is the more deadly.
Similar questions on a CA wreck. Fatal crash in which Sacramento judge struck cyclist prompts questions First we have to overcome windshield bias of investigators to get charges, then the bias of prosecutors to get to a trial, then the bias of potential jurors to get a conviction.
The drunk driver who killed a cyclist “making a u-turn” in VT is sentenced for the death. Woman sentenced for driving drunk in crash that killed cyclist
Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Bikes aid Paris healing, Calbike wants to know what you want, and Wilshire bus/bike lanes open Not as many CA links as I have been getting lately.
More on the tour bus that went on a killing spree, seemingly all on its own. Tourists injured in San Francisco bus crash I keep reading reports that the bus was practically driving itself against the inputs of the driver. Was this a case of a hacked computer-controlled vehicle used as a weapon?
A bit closer to WoaB world HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell is this from the Big Easy. NOPD investigating bike attack in the Bywater The article says this has been escalating over the last several months.
Still in LA, away from NOLA. Bicyclist dies after being hit by vehicle Saturday night on Lee Drive Assuming the damaged vehicle in the pictures was the vehicle that struck the cyclist it looks like the cyclist was about 2 feet off the edge of the road when he was hit from behind.
A climate zone away from NOLA we get this MN wreck. Bicyclist critically injured in Mac-Groveland collision Nothing from the article about the mode but one of the comments said the cyclist was riding on the sidewalk and failed to stop for the motor vehicle on the main road he was coming up on.
A cyclist killed in NYC restores the vision and visage of a firefighter in MS. FACE OF CYCLIST KILLED IN CRASH TRANSPLANTED ONTO DISFIGURED FIREFIGHTER I hope when I go there is enough useful tissues left after the autopsy to do someone some good. And yes I am sure there will be an autopsy because of the latest study I’m working to find out some basic science for hypertension. I get a free autopsy so they can study my brain and kidneys.
Infrastructure news from DC. Why are bike lanes such heated symbols of gentrification? I have no idea why bike lanes that do nothing to the buildings on a street are fought more than freeways that destroy entire neighborhoods. I mean they are mostly stripes on the street, not bulldozers gouging out the pavement.
That study in Canada continues to reverberate around the world. Female cyclists less likely to be injured than men finds study Now we find that this study mirrors other studies of vehicular violence that also report female drivers are less likely to get killed or injured.
Several links from the Emerald Isle today, including these about a cyclist killed in County Kerry. Cyclist killed after horror crash with car in Co Kerry and Cyclist killed in Kerry collision Other than the fact the cyclist was hit and killed without harming the occupants of the weapon vehicle LEO are very tight-fisted on this one.
Talk about LEO making up new laws, they have just decided to make wearing headphones illegal in Ireland. Cyclists face €40 on-the-spot fines if they’re caught using earphones while on a bike. “Minister Paschal Donohoe confirmed that although it is not a specific offence under road traffic legislation, using headphones could be seen as dangerous to other road users.” If there is no legislation saying it is illegal, why are you handing out fines on the street for doing it? There are laws against running red lights, riding on the sidewalk, and the other things but unless they also start fining drivers with the radio playing which has been proven to cause wrecks they have no business fining cyclists for doing something that is not technically illegal. In fact driving with earphones is legal, but much more dangerous than cycling with headphones. IOW they are fining cyclists for doing something that is legal while allowing drivers who are controlling much more lethality to do the same thing unimpeded.
Still in Ireland the families of the victims of road violence come together. Families gather to remember loved ones killed on our roads
Meanwhile in Jolly Olde a cyclist responds to the constant clamor for registering cyclists. LETTER: No other country has legislation requiring cyclists to have registration plates “You know who really liked bicycle registration schemes? The Nazis during World War Two. They were also extremely keen on cars.” I also like the question of the size of the license plate required to be readable on a bike when combined with the number of letters and numbers needed to have a unique combination for every one of the 27 or so million bicycles in the UK now plus the ones that will be bought in the future. My calculations are that 4 letters and 4 numbers would handle the current population of bicycles, which would require a plate about 9″ wide and 2″ tall, but it would not handle the expected number of bikes to be sold in the next 2 years so the plate put into use would have to be even wider.
Cyclist without ID found lying in the street in Oz. Do you know this tattoo? Police want help identifying critically injured cyclist Considering the number of reports I have gotten this year of cyclists’ wallets getting stolen after they get hit this report does not come as any surprise to me.
We may see a practical H2 powered e-assist bike sooner rather than later. General Motors Sending Fuel Cell Research Vehicle to U.S. Army For Use as Reconnaissance Vehicle
And I’m all outta links tonight. Tomorrow I check other sites that I don’t do on Mondays and also Twitter. “Bleah”, to quote Peanuts.
Billed @€0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 