I love all you guys out there, but my personal life this week has been such that I’m looking forward to being able to just NOT MULTITASK for 18 hours this weekend. I have been dealing with house guests all week for one reason or another, nothing malicious on anyone’s part just people staying the night EVERY SINGLE NIGHT this week, and maybe I will have a night alone tonight while I blog and sleep late Saturday. Like I wrote earlier I love my readers, and I love the people who were forced to spend the night, but I love being alone more. I don’t know what it is but if there’s someone in the house while I’m trying to work I MUST INTERACT WITH THEM. I think I know the source of this, from when I was a kid and my undiagnosed Aspie tendencies would show when other kids would come over and I would retreat to my room to cool off from excessive interactions during my normal decompressing and alone time. But my mother would force me out of my room to “be with my friends” when other people came over and interact with them (even when I was forced to be in a dark room because I had sunburned my retinas from being at altitude in a mountain range in North Africa and just wanted to not talk to anybody). But to get back to it I went from needing to be alone to being compelled to interact with people because they are there, usually both at the same time. I like people when I can deal with them at a time of my choosing. And then hole up in my office until the next time I choose to be with people. That was one of the nice things about riding my bike, I was alone but I was out of the house and “doing things” so Mrs. the Poet was not on my back about sitting inside and “doing nothing”. And now you know way too much about my early life.
Bikeyface captures the insanity that keeps some people from cycling to work. Fear of Sweat I love how she made the second panel the cover art for her blog.
Our Daily Ted, because I need to clear out space and Ted’s BikinginLA blog was like the second thing in the queue. Morning Links: LA River bike path gets greener, more on Gardena shooting, and analysis of York Blvd bike wrecks
And just a few miles from WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell, another TX driver drives off with the victim embedded in the windshield. Man Hits Bicyclist, Keeps Driving With Him Stuck in Windshield: DPD Now you see why I say I live and work in a suburb of Hell. As I wrote, this is not the first time this has happened near WoaB World HQ. Motorist given 50 year-sentence in windshield murder trial I don’t know what it is about TX and drivers, but we raise some mean ones. And I didn’t even mention the guy that tried to kill me…
More on the victim of that driver that had a “seizure” and went speeding up the wrong side of a NYC street. UPDATE: Brooklyn Cyclist Killed by SUV Identified as Alejandro Moran-Marin The driver stopped when he ran into the concrete-filled steel bollards protecting the pedestrian plaza in front of the Barclay’s Centre. If those bollards were placed between the bike lane and the motor vehicle lane then there would have been a wrecked SUV and a live but frightened cyclist.
More on the WI cyclist killed training for RAGBRAI. First-time RAGBRAI cyclist killed by car during training RAGBRAI is on my bucket list, but not this way. More Eighth Bicyclist of Year Killed by Motorists
One of the big problems across the country is not taking away a driver’s license when there is a clear need to do so. Repeat Hit-And-Run Driver Has Killed Two, But Judge Won’t Permanently Revoke License How high does the body count have to get before they take this guy off the roads permanently?
And yet they arrested this guy. [UPDATE] Truck Driver Who Fatally Struck 78-Year-Old Man On Canal Street Was Taken Into Custody Apparently it is more who you know than who you killed.
This NE judge knows what’s what. Hickman man goes to prison for Lincoln cyclist’s death More than twice the legal limit two hours after the wreck means absolutely blitzed at the time of the wreck. Twelve to 16 years seems about right, a little light for killing a man, but harsh for killing a man with a car. We need to work on getting killing a person treated the same regardless of the weapon.
I suspect the news outlet that published this has an agenda. Two crashes, including fatality, involve drivers who admit marijuana use One driver was obviously on something other than pot when he killed a cyclist, and the other driver admitted he was drunk. I mean “One officer said that Hargrave kept pressing down on the gas even after he crashed, causing his truck tires to dig a trench in the grass. As they continued to spin, the tires were ripped off the wheels” is not a person on pot, that’s a person on some kind of hallucinogen, or some other drug that impairs perception. Still this was another one of those wrecks that could only be prevented by some kind of barrier like those bollards that stopped that NYC driver having a “seizure”.
First of two links out of FL. MIAMI BIKE CRASHES ALMOST DOUBLED FROM 2005 TO 2013, ANALYSIS FINDS Usually you get a safety in numbers thing, but I am suspecting this is more due to getting numbers because of decent infrasructure that makes cyclists feel safe to ride.
And second link shows how to get that decent infrastructure. Miami Designers Counter Florida DOT With Their Own Plan for Little Havana Corridor First of all you fire the DoT and replace them with the DoM, the Department of Mobility. Get rid of all the “highway builders” who have overrun cities with miniature Interstates with wide lanes and gradual curves, and replace them with people who understand the needs to build spaces for people and a way to get there without destroying the spaces for people elsewhere. If they insist that they need a manual give them a CROW manual for €90 each.
Or you could hire this guy, I have a sneaky feeling he’s going to be needing a job soon. IOWA DOT CHIEF: THE SYSTEM IS GOING TO SHRINK Looking at the stats it does look like IA has become the most overbuilt highway system with one mile for every 27 people. Unless you get a lot more 1%ers living there and somehow convince them to pay their fair share of taxes as a percentage of wealth there is just no financial base to support that kind of system. We gotta lotta extremely rich people and corporations in TX and we can barely sustain our current highway system with current tax revenues.
People are finally starting to figure out that cars are the problem, and the answer to that problem is not to let more cars in an area but to force more out. Traffic trouble: Neighborhood concerned after family pet death, cyclist injured At this point about the only thing that would work immediately they haven’t done yet is to start towing cars.
The first link out of several from BikePortland concerns crosswalk safety. 58 traffic stops in four hours at latest PBOT crosswalk enforcement action That works ou to be about 15 tickets per hour, not good. Maybe if they didn’t announce the day before on the evening TV news where the enforcement action was going to be, or put up signs on the sidewalk warning drivers to watch where they were going and pay attention to the crosswalks, then they would actually act as a deterrent to crosswalk violations.
Some infrastructure improvements coming to a busy bit of bikeway? TriMet announces big changes to SW Moody cycletrack Sorta, they have straightened out the lanes and cyclists and pedestrians no longer have to mix at either end of the path.
Eventually they are going to install this as a permanent feature, or maybe put in a sidewalk and forbid putting barriers across the sidewalk during festivals. Better Naito is back: Bike/walk path will return for Brewfest
Horrifying news out of the Great White North. Driver charged after two children injured in crash between car, bicycles and Ottawa driver charged after 2 kids, mother hit on bikes The bicycles involved were a regular adult cruiser with a tagalong trailer bike, and a child-sized cruiser bike. The weapon vehicle was some kind of motor vehicle driven by a homicidal maniac running a stop sign. To see if your lane has to yield to the oncoming lane look to your left and check for the back of a stop sign. If there is no stop sign then crossing traffic does not stop.
As if to back the previous paragraph up we have this link from a nearby city. MEAN STREETS This is as thorough a indictment of crappy infrastructure in North America as I have read.
UK infrastructure news. MPs tackle Prime Minister over recent deaths of cyclists [slacker]Hey dude, you have like really bad infrastructure that’s getting a lot of little dudes and especially the dudettes killed, and you should have already fixed it with the money we gave you ages ago. What’s the deal man?[/slacker]
And just what might be the consequences of not spending enough to build working bicycle infrastructure? Bristol law firm sees 200% rise in injured cyclist enquiries
Meanwhile over in Ireland. Cyclist hit by car waits over an hour for an ambulance This is being investigated because nobody should have to lay on the road waiting an hour for transport from a wreck.
Another useless magic foam hat, with turn signals. Could the high-tech Lumos helmet help reduce the number of cyclist deaths on Britain’s roads? Could publicly executing drivers that kill reduce the number of cyclist deaths? My way tackles the source of the problem, drivers who “don’t see” cyclists because they aren’t looking and “I didn’t see him” is allowed as a defense to preclude even getting charged. Instead hitting a cyclist could get one shot in the public square and your body left to rot. Now which do you think would be more effective at getting drivers to stop hitting cyclists? A magic foam hat with flashy lights, or the knowledge that one’s corpse would be left as food for the local feral dog and cat population? As an alternative to public executions, I would allow executing the car instead, by shredding.
And at least he didn’t get killed. Cyclist cops abuse from truck driver for being on a narrow country road Noted in the article was that this is a popular cycling route, has been for years, and that recently sprawl has increased the amount of traffic on this route.
This looks like a great cycling destination. Abandoned States: Pennsylvania’s Abandoned Turnpike Pavement’s a little deteriorated after more than 40 years of disuse and having been laid in the 1930s, but it’s not too bad really, any touring bike that you would use on a gravel trail would work just fine.
He’s almost there! Injured veteran defies the odds to take part in cross-country bike ride (PHOTOS and VIDEO) This was the guy that started in San Diego back at the start of the summer and he’s in Joisey now. Kinda out of the way to go to NJ to get to VA from CA.
Last link is like a huge DUH!!! from me. Mental, physical ailments linger for cyclists injured in crashes The blogger with brain damage from a 2001 wreck concurs.
And now I’m going to get something to drink that isn’t caffeinated, and go get some sleep. I’m also thinking that an allergy pill might be in the offing because my nose is getting stuffy.
Billed @€0.02, Opus the tired Poet
Witch on a Bicycle 
Still basking in the post-party afterglow, and the Feed
Yep, things have been very rosy around Casa de El Poeta so far, very rosy indeed. I’m still eating the leftovers from the party, and enjoying my presents. And now I have to ruin it by reading about bike wrecks and crappy infrastructure. 😛 I guess there is only so long you can keep a great feeling going.
Up first I’m going to try to keep the good times feeling going with birthday boy Ted Rogers and our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Anti-bike lane madness grips Coronado, and OC police stop a one man bike-born crime wave
Staying in CA for a while. KTVU Stays Classy With Fearmongering Segment on “Bike Yield Law” Yep, thousands of pedestrians could be killed by stop sign running cyclists, except no they won’t. Two pedestrians have been killed by cyclists in S.F. since the turn of the century. That’s about S.F.’s normal pedestrian tally from motor vehicles in a week.
Still in CA, and another link to the driver who managed to kill a bicyclist and a motorcyclist on opposite sides of the road. Two killed in crash involving car, bike and motorcycle Not saying these guys are slow, but that wreck was 2 weeks ago. Still amazes me how someone could manage to kill 2 people on opposite sides of the road in the same wreck and not be actually trying to hit anyone. Just saying… :whistling:
Moving north and east of that wreck. Child severely injured in bicycle, minivan crash in Boise As the article is posted now they have no idea how the van ran over the kid, just that he was dragged about 40 feet after the initial impact and he was wearing a helmet (which does a bloody hell of a nothing against getting dragged by a motor vehicle).
South of the ID wreck we get a cyclist hit in my old college town. UPDATE: Bicyclist seriously injured in car crash “Vision problems”? As in “blind as a bat”. Yeah, if you “can’t see” a cyclist then you need to not drive. Seriously, of this guy wasn’t trying to hit the cyclist he needs to be taken off the roads permanently for incompetence, otherwise he needs jail and then permanent license revocation.
And moving north and east from the UT wreck we get a MT wreck. Cyclist Injured in Early Morning Crash They don’t even know which end of the bike got hit, but the cyclist only had a minor head injury? Possible buzz job with no bike damage, or possible salmon cyclist bailed in front of the weapon vehicle and not hit but the bike was mangled? Those are the only two scenarios that I can envision where the investigators can’t tell which way the bike was going from the damage it sustained. I’m betting on “buzz job” if only because the likelihood of jumping off the bike without getting hit is extremely low.
OK now we move to KS for another hit-and-run. Police find driver suspected of hitting cyclist, leaving scene and the reaction to the wreck Cyclists seek safer roads after hit-and-run wreck The debris looked like a hit-from-behind wreck.
Someone in NYC has a pair. Bronx DA Johnson Files Manslaughter Charge for Cyclist’s Hit-and-Run Death This was the cyclist killed riding the City Island Bridge earlier this month. That was a fast move by the DA, another thing not known to happen often in NYC when cyclists are killed or injured.
A cyclist is injured in GA. Macon cyclist critical after being struck by vehicle in Bibb County The cyclist was in a group of 3 and was the only one hit. This tells me the driver was not paying full attention to the road. And should probably be shot at dawn, smoking a low-tar cigarette.
Another one hit in IN ( I love that pun ). Bicyclist killed in accident on 500N Ugh! How can the make the claim that speed was not a factor when the driver was driving too fast to see what was in the road in front of him until he hit it?
They still kill cyclists in FL and every so often you have to take a break and remember the ones who died. Benefit ride for cyclist Chris Liddy Except this one didn’t die, was not riding his bike when he got hurt, and by all accounts seems to be a genuinely great guy. WoaB gives moral support (the only kind of support we can afford) to this ride.
And back in TX before rocketing across the globe, Houston wants better bike share. Houston Poised for Massive Bike-Share Expansion As at the moment we only have 1½ bike lanes in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell we are not yet ready for bike share.
Cyclist down in the Great White North. Cyclist injured in collision with van Nothing explicit on the mode, but implicit was the cyclist was directly in front of the weapon vehicle when he was hit from the right side. We may be dealing with a stale green wreck on this one.
And still more bad news for the drunk that killed 2 cyclists and his passenger in far West Canuckistan. Whistler cyclist’s wife sues car’s driver, owner, after husband killed in crash Yep, the guy driving was not the owner…
More good news from Jolly Olde. Serious injuries among Britain’s cyclists rising three times faster than distance ridden Given how hard it is to measure miles and minor injuries things may be even worse than they appear.
Last link, what if US law was like UK laws that allow people injured by bad infrastructure (both design and maintenance) to sue the responsible party? What If Traffic Engineers Were Held to Safety Standards Like Carmakers?
And I’m all done for the day.
Billed @€0.02, Opus
PS. Yanno, if everybody who subscribed to this blog would send the equivalent of €0.02 for every post I would be able to buy groceries every week and not worry about always getting the store brands. Or I would have money to spend on building bikes from raw stock instead of using donor bikes for things like forks and rear dropouts.
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Tagged bicycle infrastructure is not a sidewalk, bike infrastructure, blaming the wrong people, canuckistan, crap infrastructure, Drunk drivers must die, Great White North, hit from behind, hit-and-run, infrastructure, Jolly Olde, lawsuit, raising money, sidewalks are not bicycle infrastructure, stupid drivers, stupid drivers leaving stupid comments, wrongful death lawsuit