Happy Pi Day, and the Feed

For the non-geek non math nerds in my readership, today is Pi Day (3/14) where because the greek letter π is pronounced the same as the English name for a pastry crust baked in a pan with a filling we celebrate by eating pie. This year I’m having apple. Pi Day is like my fifth or sixth favorite holiday in the year, because I like pie! So go to your favorite gastro pub and have some pie! I hear the “Eat what I give you or I’ll go back in time and kill your grandparents as babies” pie is delicious.

Up first because OMG at the links. 1 Cyclist Dead, 7 Injured in Spain, Octogenarian Driver Held and Police say a 52-year-old cyclist has died and seven others have been injured, three of them seriously, after being slammed into by an SUV near the northwestern town of A Guarda also 1 Cyclist Dead, 7 Injured in Spain, Octogenarian Driver Held this too Police say a 52-year-old cyclist has died and seven others have been injured, three of them seriously, after being slammed into by an SUV near the northwestern town of A Guarda not done yet 1 cyclist dead, 7 injured in Spain, octogenarian driver held I would have really liked to know the nationality of the driver, or something besides “octogenerian”. I hope part of his new identity is “non-driver”.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Entrada Drive to get a little narrower, a call for safer driving, and your next bike may not need you

Still in CA, crap infrastructure. VIDEO: Magnolia Off Ramp – The Danger of Bad Design

Also in CA. Light Up the Night community ride teaches bike safety Nice bit of victim-blaming going on there, about the helmets and reflective clothing.

Still not out of CA. 2 Women Arrested For Hit-And-Run After Cyclist Struck In Sausalito One for driving under the influence and hit-and-run, the other for DUI and obstructing justice accessory to a felony. Guess which one is facing the greater amount of jail time?

This guy didn’t get very far on his trek across the US and Central America. Cyclist on B.C. to Panama ride injured in crash in Forks Another driverless car involved in a serious wreck? I though the only wreck like that was a bus hit at 2 MPH. Next-to-last paragraph of the article mentions the SUV had a driver… Anywho, hit-from-behind wreck, use the protocols to avoid. Crush and shred the SUV to prevent another wreck.

Wreck in AZ. Tolleson hit-and-run involving cyclist closes road There are no pictures, so I can’t determine the mode from evidence, and LEO aren’t saying. Hopefully the weapon vehicle shed some identifying parts so LEO can find it.

AZ infrastructure news. Tucson bicyclist using data to thwart fatal crashes Before the tumor took me off my bike I was getting a scary pass every time I rode, and a near-death experience about once a week. That might have something to do with the slow pace of my recovery.

Under age DUI killer sentenced in CO. Man Gets 10 Years For DUI Crash That Killed Bicyclist and 20-year-old drunk driver gets 10 years in death of cyclist I’m sorry but there is a terrible mistake in the first link, 0.204 is not more than twice the legal limit, it’s more than twice the legal limit for people old enough to drink. For a 20 YO it’s infinity times over the limit.

Another hit-and-run in OH this time. Teen bicyclist dies after struck by 3 vehicles on Harrisburg Pike The hit-and-run (or hit-skip as the call it in OH) was the first weapon vehicle involved, the one that hit the cyclist from behind with the left side of the vehicle. I know it was the driver’s side because the cyclist was launched into oncoming traffic. There are only two ways for that to happen, hit with the left side of the car or be sharply aimed to the left at the time of impact. Both require the cyclist to be riding primary as our UK brothers call it. Well I suppose the driver could go completely off the road and come back on right where the cyclist was riding at the edge, but how likely is that?

Hit-and-run in PA this time. Police: Suspect in custody in Harveys Lake hit-and-run At least the victim survived the wreck this time, and they have a suspect in custody.

Another hit-and-run, MA. Cyclist Injured In Hit & Run In Wellesley and Wellesley Man Charged With OUI After Hit And Run Seldom do I get the pleasing combination of posting a link to a hit-and-run wreck with injury, and the driver’s arrest on multiple charges in the same post.

Wreck in CT caused by AFRAP laws. Cyclist injured in Morris fall flown to hospital by Life Star What do I mean by this wreck was “caused” by As Far Right As Practicble laws? the cyclist was hugging the right side of the road and went over the edge and fell, which would not have happened if the cyclist was allowed to take the lane at all times.

Hit-from-behind in MS. Bicyclist killed on Highway 98 Most of the article is behind a paywall so what little I know says the cyclist was in no way at fault in this wreck: Daylight, hit from behind and not at an intersection (yet).

Ugh! FloriDUH! Tampa police search for driver in hit-and-run that injured bicyclist and Tampa Man Charged in Hit and Run of Bicyclist Two hit-and-runs with links to the arrests of the drivers in one day!

Still in FL, a SWCC wreck. Pompano Beach bicyclist, 57, killed in collision with car The geometry for this wreck is right for a stale green wreck.

Infrastructure from MD. Bicyclists and motorists sharing the roads

I thought I heard all the stupid excuses for hitting a cyclist. Jail sentence for driver who killed cyclist when he was ‘running late’ Well I heard that one before. Trying to get there just a fraction of a second faster so he cut the corner on a blind turn and hit a cyclist head on. And just what would have happened had there been a semi truck around the corner instead of a man on a bicycle?

Nothing about the wreck, but they got their man. Man charged over death of cyclist by ‘careless driving while under influence’ and ‘How I tried to save cyclist’s life in Outland Road tragedy’ – by photographer at the scene I’m still trying to wrap my head around any death caused by a DUI being “careless” instead of “dangerous” by definition.

So they weren’t hurt in the wreck but fell down after? Cyclists injured after incident Cut off by the driver pulling out in front of the group and wrecking trying to avoid hitting the car.

Almost no information about this wreck in Oz. Victoria’s road toll climbs as motorbike rider, cyclist and 88-year-old woman die in separate accidents “Went off the road” is not a very specific wreck narrative…

National US infrastructure! It’s Time for U.S. Cities to Ban Right Turns on Red
Actually I would like to see a nationwide ban at the state level (kind of how they got seatbelt laws passed).

Last link is preventing gentrification with bicycles. How I Stopped Gentrification in My Neighborhood

And I have to get up early to go to the Lab Rat Keeper tomorrow, so off to bed.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

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Had my toes done again, and the Feed

One thing that enduring the swollen foot debacle uncovered was my toes were getting squished a bit because the nails needed trimming. I can tell this because I got bruising around the nail beds caused by the pressure on the beds from getting pushed against the inside of the shoe. One thing I can’t depend on any more is waiting until it hurts to let me know the nails are getting too long, because my toes were all black and blue but I didn’t feel anything aside from a bit of pressure at the ends. I guess my pain tolerance is getting greater, or I’m just not getting the pain signals through the nerve damage any more. Anywho, I got my toes done and now my shoes are much looser. I tell you, getting old ain’t for wusses.

Up first is a tragic tale of kittens gone bad. Slow down plea after hit and run cyclist kills kitten on London commuter route towpath and Cyclists urged to slow down on canal towpath after beloved kitten killed by bike in east London The cat ran across the path with only the kitten and the cyclist knowing how much reaction time was available, then the cat ran onto the boat. I would have thought the cat was OK myself, and I have been cat-owned most of my life. Still, common decency says at least stop and check to make sure the cat was OK.

Our Daily Ted. 20-year old OC driver faces 10 years for 2014 DUI death of Dana Point cyclist

And another link about the same thing. Man to Be Arraigned in Alleged Drunken Crash that Killed Cyclist on PCH I agree with Ted on this one, as a minor the driver was not allowed to have more then 0.01% BAC (it is possible to reach 0.01% BAC just by consuming a high carb meal for people with some strains of intestinal flora).

More on the CO cyclist killed by a buzz job from a dump truck. Ghost bike ceremony for cyclist killed by truck is Saturday There were two major components to this wreck, bad infrastructure that limited crossings for a man-made obstacle, and an impatient driver who chose to pass at the wrong place and time possibly because he had a certain number of runs he had to make every day to pay for his fixed costs before he started making any money.

AZ bike wreck victims are remembered. Cyclists killed in crash remembered at Mudshark The cyclist was the male rider of a mixed couple that were killed on a tandem bike.

Another case of windshield bias from LEO. Injured cyclist disputes account of BTV crash The fact remains that the truck still turned in front of the cyclist, not giving him time to react. Also not LEO deliberately misquoting the sign in the picture. It does not have the MUTCD BMUFL language or symbols, all it says is that vehicles turning right must yield to bikes. Which BTW the truck that hit the cyclist failed to do.

I’m having a WTF!?! moment with this link from the Great White North. Dog attack not the cause of Hamilton man’s death, autopsy reveals OK so there is a man laying in the middle of the road being attacked by a dog, and the man dies, but the dog didn’t do it? Did the dog bite him after he got hit and run by a car?

Lots of cyclists getting hit in Far West Canuckistan. Three Vernon cyclists hit by vehicles cause for concern One SWSS, one no details aside from someone getting hit, and a third vlind driver who didn’t know if the cyclist he hit was in the bike lane or on the sidewalk, because he didn’t look as he crossed either one.

Not sure how you could deal with this infrastructure meltdown. Young boy injured after cycling onto road surface which had melted in heatwave Something similar happened in the TdF a few years ago when Lance was riding, the lead rider in a breakaway hit a melting patch of road and went down while Lance showed his cyclocross skills.

Another “don’t ride there” article about some of the busiest intersections in the town. 16 cycling blackspots you really should avoid in Lincolnshire The roads head here said “We recognise through providing a separate space on the road, cycling lanes offer protection for cyclists, and measures for cyclists are incorporated in transport strategies.” but they were not going to pry one red cent from the roads budget to pay for them.

CCTV footage of the woman crushed by a delivery truck in London shows her pulling alongside the truck as it was signalling it was going to cross the bike lane. Woman cyclist killed by delivery lorry was ‘on top of the world’ after landing her dream job Apparently under UK law cyclists are not allowed to pass a vehicle in an adjacent lane signalling for a turn.

I think the comment at the end of this article is the best thing I have read all day. ICEguard: the new helmet attachment that logs accident details for cyclists The device is basically a combination black box and Road ID, and would be quite handy in a wreck. The comment: yuhuhbhb 13 hours ago
Car driver caught breaking the law: ‘vigilante cyclists!’. Car driver films cyclist chewing gum: ‘idiot cyclists, they’re their own worst enemy, they should get their house in order, roadtax, hi-viz, insurance, blah blah blah!!!’”

Presented without further comment from Yr Fthfl Srvnt. ‘If there aren’t as many women cycling as men … you need better infrastructure’

And a demonstration of the need for better infrastructure. Justice for an injured London cyclist

To illustrate that it’s only a small percentage of truck drivers that are anal sphincters. POLICE COMMEND TRUCK DRIVER FOR HELPING INJURED CYCLIST

And another article about missing infrastructure causing death and injury in Oz. Lack of funding, technology, leads to massive cyclist toll So who goes to jail for all the dead cyclists caused by a lack of infrastructure?

Since technology was mentioned in the previous paragraph, here’s some that is helping enforce passing laws in test communities. This Invention Could Boost Bicyclist Protection Laws Yep, a device that measures how far from the end of the handlebars a car passed a police cyclist. Perfect for writing tickets and even better for informing drivers about the law. TN has had a 3 foot passing law for years as a state-wide law, and still people don’t know about it

And I’m outta links, and TIRED.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet