Finally got some money, and the Feed

The check came in this morning, so I’ll be out running around paying bills and making deposits and stuff tomorrow instead of going with Mrs. the Poet to shop for groceries. There won’t be a big difference for the blog, just for my selection of salty snacks. I think I might have to give up meditation to get my BP up high enough to make the grade for the new test med, because cutting my current meds in half doesn’t quite do it, and eating salty snacks doesn’t do it either. I’m barely at 110/80 now.

Up first, wait, what?!?

Another cow caught stealing a bicycle…… pic.twitter.com/7gtONxicdn

— classicretro (@classicretro) March 30, 2016

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And closer to home.

Crews Finally Add Last Block of 2-Way Protected Bike Lane in Downtown Houston pic.twitter.com/DyjHLsSstv

— StreetsblogTexas (@StreetsblogTex) March 30, 2016

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Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Downtown bike lanes draw new brewery, new bollards on Vineland and a new LA Bike Fest video

Unknown mode of wreck in MN. Bicycle rider killed by car in Sartell and Bicyclist Struck, Killed In Sartell As of this posting all I know is there was a cyclist hit by an unknown vehicle and possibly left for dead making this a possible probable hit-and-run.

Victim blaming in the Great White North. Cyclists share responsibility for accidents More blaming the victim for not wearing the GITDCS that drivers seem to think every cyclist should wear 24/7 when riding. Instead of you know, actually looking more than 20 feet in front of the vehicle.

Right hook in far West Canuckistan. Cyclist dies in collision with truck in Victoria’s Chinatown and Cyclist, 73, struck and killed in downtown Victoria I zoomed in on the picture of the crime scene and the only truck visible was a COE with good forward and side vision. So, aside from using the standard protocols posted in the links at the top of the page what could be done to prevent this wreck? They were already using the delivery vehicle with the best outward vision, the cyclist was wearing clothing that made her visible, what else could be done? EDIT: As I was getting ready to move from the first link to the next link the page updated with a much better picture of the crime scene showing the actual delivery vehicle having a conventional cab that is blind to a large area in front and to the right where the cyclist was hit. So going back to the question, replacing the delivery vehicle with a COE flat van and a glass door to the right would be a massive help.

Speaking of the devil, here’s an article from Jolly Olde on just that kind of vehicle, this one in a trash hauler. Pioneering lorries with panoramic view hit the streets in bid to save cyclists’ lives

Also from the UK is this factoid from the trial of a killer driver. Janina Gehlau: Lorry driver ‘should have seen cyclist for up to five seconds’ before fatal collision The cyclist was using the infrastructure as designed, the driver of the weapon vehicle should have been looking in the direction he was planning on driving before actually proceeding through that space, I believe the colloquial phrasing is “Looked where he was going”.

This is an aspect of UK jurisprudence that I would dearly love to see here in the US. Cyclist injured in fall from bike due to road ‘hazard’ awarded damages after suing council for ‘negligence’ Injured or incur property damage because of crappy infrastructure? Sue the government body responsible for it not being crappy.

Now this just sucks. Man pushes cyclist off BMX and rides off on it I try not to wish harm to another human being, really I do, but this guy needs to get hit by an HGV turning left at a stop light since this is over in Jolly Olde where they drive on the wrong side of the road.

Another rider in Oz hits a parked car? Qld rider killed after hitting parked car Seriously this is two this week.

More on the 73 YO driver that killed a cyclist in Oz. Hit-and-run driver charged over WA cyclist

Back in the US, SF infrastructure! TWIN PEAKS FOR EVERYONE OK let me get this out or I’m going to explode: “That’s one fine cuppa coffee” .

And how do you get bike parking? How Portland’s oldest Buddhist temple got better bike parking Sometimes you have to DIY.

And here it is not even midnight and I’m outta links, Gigi is going to be so happy.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

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Still running around trying to get things bought, and the Feed

I am still trying to get the parts for that railing for the porches at church, making sure the stock was cut like I paid for, and all the fittings are in stock for pickup at 0Gawd30 tomorrow morning, to drop off at the church and then I come home.

Up first we have Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: $700 billion alternate mobility plan digs LA, and squash your scrotum for Paralympic victory Um, I’m not too sure about that scrotum thing. I know I’m not going to do it.

Still in CA a city is sued for their criminal lack of bicycle infrastructure, and loses. Indian Wells ordered to pay $5.8M for cyclist’s death They had a bare-minimum bike lane before widening, no bike lane after and it was still a signed bike route at the time of the wreck. So, yeah they deserved to lose that case.

Infrastructure news from CT. Cyclists call for new bike lanes As usual the headline drastically oversimplifies the situation, as not just bike lanes are demanded, but cycletracks and segregated bike paths. And it’s not as if this was something that wasn’t approved and paid for already, they should be done now and construction hasn’t even started.

This FL wreck is being blamed on the salmon cyclist. Bicyclist struck, killed on U.S. 17-92 in Haines City You know what I have to say about driver reports on cyclist pre-crash behavior, which is why I want to see the wrecked bike from this wreck.

And another example of windshield bias from LEO of all levels as what should be a minimum 3 year prison term is reduced to 100 days. Drunk Driver Who Killed Hector Avalos Sentenced to Only 100 Days in Prison One of the reasons for the light sentence was the cyclist’s clothing, he was not wearing the glow-in-the-dark clown suit that LEO seemed convinced that all pedestrians and cyclists are required to wear, just regular clothes. And once again a dead cyclist is barely more than a dead animal for the punishment the killer got. You would think that leaving a dead person on the side of the road could have gotten the driver a littering fine at least.

As OR residents and safe streets advocates struggle with CARnage, ODOT looks to slightly reduce traffic deaths. 135 ghostly memorials of traffic victims now haunt our region’s streets “ODOT’s goal is to achieve 175 fatality free days in one year. Last year they had 170.” Don’t strain yourselves guys.

And with all the non-effort to reduce motor vehicle deaths, who do they go after? New rules would require Portland pedicab operators to drive cars and carry car insurance

On the good side, this caught thief is unlikely to get away without a trip to prison first. Brazen bike thief appears in court facing prison sentence and $250,000 bail This clown was caught on camera stealing a bike and had more stolen bikes in his possession, ans has been arrested 98 (!) times.

A little infrastructure news from the Motor City. Detroit Gets Funding to Launch Bike-Share They are going pretty much all-out to repurpose all those acres of unused paving for bicycles now that about 45% of the population has left town after their jobs were shipped overseas.

In Jolly Olde another cyclist is killed by a bus driver. Cyclist dies after being hit by bus on Durham to Sacriston road Nothing on the mode of course, but the damage makes it look like a hit from behind wreck.

And another UK cyclist is seriously injured by a truck. Cyclist seriously injured after being struck by lorry in Cambridge Seriously, they need to do something about those trucks running over people. Maybe put drivers in them?

It looks like anything on two wheels is in danger this month in Oz. Police warn Greater Dandenong riders to stay safe on roads after three deaths in a month Two motorcycles and a bicycle…

A recent wreck shows the desperate need for getting the infrastructure installed on a planned bike route in Enn Zed. Cyclist injured in Wellington on proposed Island Bay to City cycleway How many broken bodies are required to get this thing on the road to getting bikes off the road?

Last link, this vehicle will perform 95% of the trips taken by 95% of the people, and would make cities so much more livable if even half of that 95% bought and drove them to the full extent of their usefulness. Driving Toyota’s three-wheel electric i-Road They are slightly bigger than Francis/es, carry about the same, and go as fast as urban vehicles can go, or should go, in a city anyway.

And now I’m outta links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

The Long Day just got longer, and the Feed

Friday is my day that doesn’t end until halfway through the next morning, because I wait until the midnight posting to my Feed Folder in my e-mail. Usually though I get enough links to filter that I don’t get a lot of downtime, or I go out and do something and get the post started way after 1800 so that I’m not just sitting around and waiting for links. But today I have the coincidence of nothing on my social calendar combined with nothing in the 1200 post to the Feed Folder leaving me with very few links and lots of time to look at them…

Because why not? I’m putting the Daily Ted first. Morning Links: Protect your bike on Metro buses, motorists behaving badly, and more kindhearted people

Just down the road from WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Few Protections for Cyclists

Proving that it can be done, NJ demonstrates how. Man indicted in hit-and-run crash that killed cyclist Wow, three felony charges including two homicides.

And in the UK… Alan Cartwright murder: Joshua Williams guilty of cyclist’s fatal stabbing Proving that cyclist’s lives are only valued when they are killed by something other than a motor vehicle.

Back in CA, where is his bike? Man ‘Sleeping’ in Bike Lane Was Victim of Hit-and-Run Crash: Police I think the CHP officer that reported the man “sleeping” will be called in for re-training soon.

CO cyclist is blamed for getting right hooked. Cyclist injured in crash with SUV “The motorist was not at fault, but the responding officer used “officer discretion” and decided not to cite the cyclist, Cunningham said.” Umm, driver turning across a pedestrian crossing and hitting someone in that crossing is most definitely at fault, unless the person is crossing against the light. And I bet the only one the officer talked to was the driver.

A driver left crosses 8 cyclists, hits 5, and kills one. Bicyclist killed in Brecksville truck accident, others injured And the comments section goes wild, blaming the cyclists… SMH

Update on a cyclist hit in the Great White North. Cyclist hurt in Oshawa collision expected to recover I hate that LEO are still trying to excuse the driver because the visibility was restricted by rain and darkness…

And update on a wreck in Canuckistan. Police seek more info on injured cyclist I don’t see what the problem is, the cyclist was left crossed. That is automatically the fault of the driver no matter what the cyclist was doing.

In Finland they take hitting a cyclist seriously. Motorist who hit cyclist to be indicted on manslaughter, other charges The driver was seen to deliberately hit the cyclist during a road rage encounter…

Meanwhile in Oz. Cyclist seriously hurt, man killed in Mandurah in horror night on WA roads How do you hit someone from behind with the driver’s side of the car and drive off? More Cyclist injured in hit and run in Mount Pleasant, Perth

I have been making this argument from the other side for years… Breaking the Cycle Nobody in their right mind these days would blame women for wearing the “wrong” clothes or being in a bad part of town, at least in the Western world. Well we need to stop blaming cyclists for not wearing helmets or glow-in-the-dark clown suits when they get hit.

And I am out of links, and also my mind 😀

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Why I’m not making money, and the Feed

I checked out my subscriber list recently and I think I know why I’m not making money on this blog. Too many people are reading my blog posts someplace that is not my blog. If everybody reading my posts was reading here at my blog I would have more than enough clicks to get shared ad revenues, but I’m getting less than 10% subscriber click-through. Now I’m not dependent on blog revenue for anything except things I could live without, so I’m not going to starve or anything if you continue to read my posts where you read my blog posts now. But I could afford things like Starbucks, or a massage, or getting my toes done (that one is on the verge of becoming a necessity since my hips started acting up) if y’all clicked through and read the posts here. Seriously, a 75% click-through rate would get me all of those things, at least once a month. Again, I’m not doing this for the money, but getting paid would be icing on the cake.

Up first because it is close and reminds me of my wreck. One year later: Injured cyclist shares status of recovery Her wreck was in August like mine and she spent about 6 months off the bike like I did. She still has hardware after a year and mine didn’t come out until at least 2 years after my wreck.

The Big Story today is the backlash on the driver hitting 3 cyclists in AL while admittedly driving distracted. Grand jury to review death of prominent businessman killed in cycling crash and Prosecutor: Grand jury to review crash that killed cyclist also ‘William would want us to cycle:’ Memorial ride planned for cyclist killed in crash Convening a grand jury for a wreck usually indicates the driver was seriously in the wrong for the wreck and “i”s are being dotted and “t”s being crossed. Since there is already at least one recording of the driver admitting driving distracted I’m sure there will be some charges filed as a result of the grand jury investigation. Or the driver is not even a ham sandwich (internet meme).

The next biggest story is the cyclist hit from behind crossing a bridge in LA. Bicyclist killed in Tangipahoa Parish crash and Unidentified bicyclist killed on U.S. 190 Tangipahoa River Bridge: State Police also Troopers identify woman killed in bicycle crash OK I agree with blaming the cyclist for not having lights or reflectors, but there is no more a requirement to wear reflective clothing (the glow in the dark clown suit) than there is for the driver to wear a firesuit while driving. Lights and reflectors people, everyone needs them at night.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: New study says bike injuries increasing, but without context; comedian rants riding through LA

A NJ driver admits to killing a cyclist back in 2012. Man Pleads Guilty in Hit-Run Crash That Killed Dad Riding Bike OK he hit a cyclist while driving salmon on the oncoming shoulder, then conspired to hide the weapon vehicle from LEO and the most he can get is 8 years!?!?! While his co-conspirator gets 5 years of probation?!?!? TANJ! Talk about deterrents against others for the same crimes, this murder conspiracy doesn’t have much deterrent at all.

Meanwhile across the river in NYC, a driver driving backwards on a one-way street hits a pedestrian then drives away. Video: Driver Runs Over Pedestrian, Gets Out To Look At Her, Drives Away OK I want the pitchfork concession, let someone else deal with the flammable fluids for the torches.

Someone thinks making bus drivers face punishments for hitting pedestrians crossing with the right of way like everyone else is too harsh. Should Bus Drivers Get A Break From The NYPD When They Hit A Pedestrian? I think the NYPD should give bus drivers the exact same number of breaks the drivers give to pedestrians they hit, and in the same locations: Arms, legs, ribs, skulls… pelvises might be a little hard without using a big hammer or a baseball bat…

Update on the driver who hit-and-run the passenger in his car. Source: Drunk Driver Dragged Dying Passenger From Porsche After Hamptons Crash & Drove Away I really wish that was a link to The Onion, but no it was Gothamist. “Put a bicycle near the victim and claim the victim was riding it. That’s a guarantee of “no criminality suspected””

And crazy people can write letters too. Readers sound off on cyclists, lions and guns

Meanwhile in MI. Police identify man hit, killed while riding bicycle in Davison Township Once again the cyclist is getting blamed for not wearing the glow-in-the-dark clown suit thus “causing” the wreck. If you look through the pictures you can see the headlight on the handlebars but the back is too damaged to tell if there was a light or reflector there before the wreck. I’m going to assume that at least one was present given the headlight, but even then with the LEO adding extra-legal requirements for the cyclist…

More victim blaming in WA. SPU official struck, killed while riding bike in Central Wash. Cyclist was headed east into the rising sun, so of course the driver “couldn’t see” him.

And you think this will result in charges? Bicyclist struck by SUV later dies at hospital in Herndon I didn’t think so either, their still blaming the cyclist for not wearing the glow-in-the-dark clown suit.

Since there are more cyclists, more cyclists are getting hit, but nobody can say for sure what proportion of cyclists are getting hit. As More Adults Pedal, Their Biking Injuries And Deaths Spike, Too

Driving is a public health risk? Driving to work as a public health problem Lots of Meta-data there.

Carrying the charger with you makes for a harder ride on your e-assist. Woman completes solar-powered bike ride across U.S. The panel put out 240 watts, the bike used 250 max and the difference was made up during breaks. The only time outside electricity was used was once or twice after hard rides in cloudy conditions.

Solving the “Where are the next generation of cyclists?” problem in DC. Why D.C. Wants to Teach Every Kid How to Ride a Bike

Still trying to tame the monster trucks in Jolly Olde. Family of tragic Alnwick cyclist Eilidh Cairns vow to keep fighting for safer roads So far they have the ones in London taken care of, but that still leaves something like 90% of the population unprotected.

Last link, Google cars are having problems with human drivers who don’t follow the laws, sound familiar? Google’s Driverless Cars Run Into Problem: Cars With Drivers Sounds like bike riders, and also that bike riders are not the biggest problem for Google Car.

I’m outta links now, so ima go read comics after I proof and tag.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Going off-air again tomorrow, and the Feed

As you can see in the headline I will be away from the computer again tomorrow on church business, pretty much all day. I won’t be in any mood to do a post when I get back, either, because it will be after 2000 and I will need to consume food and also get up early to ride the bus to Sunday services. That, and I think cutting back to a 6-day schedule is better for my head. Get all the death and destruction out of my head for 2 days, and stay off the keyboard for at least 24 hours and I should look at the world with a less-jaundiced eye. I’ll still be the same grouchy curmudgeon at the keys I previously was, just (slightly) more sane and better able to hang onto that level of sanity. I’m still toying with the idea of dropping the wreck reports (and I recalculated the number of wreck reports I read over the 8 years this blog has been on various services, it’s more than 12K not the previous guess of 6K) to get a better toehold on sanity, but dropping back from 6 days of mayhem to 5 with one complete day away from the blog should do it for now. Saturdays are my slow day, click-wise. Apparently y’all have other things to do on weekends, whodathunkit?

Up first Houston is in media paroxysms over the drunk driver arrested for hit-and-run against a cyclist. Houston woman arrested in cyclist’s hit-and-run death and Woman accused in fatal hit-and-run of Houston cyclist appears in court also this commentary on the situation Can we just agree we are terrible at operating all vehicles? Apparently being an above-average driver in Houston is not jumping a high hurdle… as is true in most of TX from watching the news the last couple of days.

More on the cyclist hit wearing clothes on his bike (instead of the glow-in-the-dark clown suit) in CA. Killed Cyclist Identified At least in this article they did not mention the regular clothes instead of the GITDCS. And since nobody ever claimed the bike itself did not have at least rear-facing reflectors I think it’s safe to assume the bike was legally lighted and reflectored.

Also in CA more information about the wreck between a cyclist and a Tesla luxury car driving on the wrong side of the road. Tesla Motors named in fatal bike crash suit in Santa Cruz My opinion is this is a tactic to prevent the driver from using the “new car smell put me to sleep” defense in the criminal trial.

More on the MN cyclist run through a snowbank by a drunk driver in a van. He is dead: it doesn’t matter that he was a “careful” bicyclist and Organs of Bicyclist Killed in Mpls. Donated to Girl in Need What hasn’t been pointed out by all the people complaining about the cyclist not using the Greenway just a “few blocks” away, the driver was also not using I94 which was just a “few blocks” away…

In Jolly Olde someone finally got dinged for using the universal get-out-of-jail-free card. Jail for South Wales driver “blinded by sun” who killed cyclist The driver had a list of priors as long as my arm, and also left the scene without waiting for LEO or leaving proper contact data, but was not punished for either of those offenses. Also only a £120 fine? WTF the driver killed a man and then left the scene!

A bit of UK infrastructure that doesn’t get enough credit for reducing the death toll in London. London hospital that saved 668 cyclists: ‘Do more to prevent crashes’ That’s right, without quick transport to this level of care there would be another 7 deaths per year on average. But preventing wrecks is so much less expensive than treating the injured, so…

Speaking of infrastructure, it doesn’t do much good under lines of stationary cars. Gridlock

I love it when people reject bicycle infrastructure because there are no bicycles already using the non-existent infrastructure. City collects feedback on proposed cycle track system

A bit of Lifestyle from America’s Copenhagen. Freak Snow Can’t Stop Cycling in Portland and ‘Worst Day of the Year Ride’ cancels 45-mile route; 15-mile route still on So, snow can’t stop people who have to get to their destinations by bike, but it will deter people from riding for “fun”.

It seems like every day I need to link to something Ted Rogers puts out. Today is no exception. An open letter to cyclists from the Rock Store photographer, and a warning about a dangerous NELA bike lane

And those were all the links that gave me fits, or not, today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

I’m doing that decapitated chicken thing again, and the Feed

How did I get so busy? Between the blog and church and trying to cut up the fallen tree bits in the back yard I barely have time to take a deep breath. I mean when did this happen? I went from writing a blog and reading web comics with long bike rides nearly every day to having to figure out a schedule and manage appointments and still get things done outside and never getting any time to ride the bike. I’m an “Old Dude”, this shit ain’t supposed to be happening to me…

Up first, I hate being right about things that are stupid. This is really stupid. This Bike Suit Makes You Look Like a Marvel Superhero Remember all those stories I mentioned the glow-in-the-dark clown costume? It’s here. >shudder<

From the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike another is killed in a SWCC. Orlando police officer strikes, kills bicyclist The Street View of that intersection shows no bicycle infrastructure at all and poor pedestrian infrastructure. The cyclist would have had to been crossing from the grassy median to get hit on the right side. And I wonder how many “witnesses” were not riding in that police car.

Up north a bunch from that a driver with 13 major moving violations in 3 years hits and kills a cyclist. 13-time Loser Kills 61-Year-Old Bicyclist I agree with the author of the article, how was this guy driving to be there to kill the cyclist? And also I agree with the “suspended license means never drive unless you want to go to jail”.

From NM an act of terrorism is dismissed as a “prank” because the intended victims were cyclists? Steel cable tripwire prank causes bike crash, injury Had this “prank” been set up across a road and damaged a car and injured a driver, would it still be a prank?

A cyclist is killed in Central America (that place south of Mexico). Another Knocked Down And Killed On Christmas Eve SWSS again, which the police apparently did not believe because there were a plethora of charges placed on the driver. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid and infrastructure to prevent.

It has been a bad weekend in Oz for cyclists, starting with this update on a wreck I covered Saturday. Cyclist killed in hit-and-run south of Adelaide, woman charged

Things get worse from that with another hit-from-behind wreck. Young cyclist dies in road crash and Cyclist killed in Tasmania road smash According to the first link the cyclist was in compliance with all applicable laws, including one that put him 18″ from the outside edge of the road IOW completely outside a driver’s vision.

An indictment of the state of infrastructure in Enn Zed. Cycling: It’s hell on two wheels The comments are made by mostly what Archie Bunker would call “meat-heads”. You know, dead from the neck up?

More infrastructure from CA. Smith: It’s taxing when we consider getting from place to place Here’s a clue, there was lots of bike infrastructure in existence at the turn of the 20th Century, it was called “streets” and everybody paid for them and everybody could use them. Asking cyclists to pay not to get killed sounds an awful lot like extortion…

I keep telling people that motor vehicles are WMDs, here’s another example of that from CA. Suspected drunk driver crashes into home, killing resident The vehicle retained enough energy after plowing through the wall of a house to cause death inside the house.

Lifestyle from down the road a bit. Wife of cyclist killed in crash speaks the night before his memorial ride

One of those I really don’t know how to classify. Inside: McLaren and its partnership with Specialized

Last link is a review of the first Clyde off the line. I’m getting the second. Customer Review: The Clyde It appears to have sufficient capacity for a large amount of groceries limited more by volume than by weight.

And finally I get done with today’s links just before I get hit with tomorrow’s.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

This post may be interrupted, and the Feed

Mrs. the Poet has decided that I am an asset for her part-time job as I can bend over to reach things she can’t and I’m taller to reach things she can’t, so she drags me with her and shares some of the money. Since this has to be done during the day I may have to suspend writing this post while I go help my wife. Yay! employment.

Up first, a cyclist is hit-and-run but LEO find the weapon vehicle with the engine still warm and arrest the driver. Valencia Woman Arrested After Newhall Hit-And-Run Investigation Intersection wreck, intersection protocols to avoid the wreck, fix the infrastructure to prevent, and kudos to the local LEO in this case for taking the assault with a deadly weapon seriously even though the cyclist may have run the stop sign.

Another blind driver hits and kills a cyclist. Cyclist hit by pickup, killed on Highway 20 Notice that the report did not say the cyclist was riding without lights or reflectors, just that he wasn’t wearing reflective clothing, IOW the cyclist is guilty because he wasn’t wearing the glow-in-the-dark clown costume the LEO or the reporter thought he should have been wearing. Hit-from-behind protocol to avoid, and enforcement of the law to not run into vehicles that are in front of you to prevent. More Thursday night crash claims bicyclist’s life

I’m not sure how to classify this article, it’s about the legal infrastructure but it’s more about attitudes towards vulnerable users than anything else. Anyway a ride in NYC to protest “No Criminality Suspected”. Cyclists draw a line; Demand accountability in car accidents The assumption of innocence should only start in the courtroom, until then investigate assuming a crime has been committed.

And it’s Saturday, so there must be a link about e-assist bikes in the folder. And here it is. Juiced Riders ODK Electric Cargo Bike Review I personally think the best use of e-assist on flat terrain is with cargo bikes, also the best use when the road slants up.

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

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Not feeling particularly chipper today, and the Feed

I woke up this morning with a very dry mouth and throat, a touch of a sore throat, and a voice that resembled 5 miles of dry creekbed it was so gravelly. Now the dry mouth and throat are gone, but the sore throat and gravel voice remain. This is unfortunate as I have a speaking engagement tomorrow. Also I’m supposed to help get groceries today but as the available budget is somewhere between $2 and $3 I don’t see this as particularly burdensome to haul home. Now eating with a grocery budget of between $2 and $3, that’s going to be a problem that will probably include beans, frequently.

Up first is a hit-and-run in Baton Rouge LA. Bicyclist in critical condition after Tuesday hit and run LEO have a very good description of the weapon vehicle, which ran a stop sign at the time of hitting the cyclist on the through street. Intersection wreck, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. Interesting to note the ratio of anti-bike to pro-bike comments was heavily skewed pro- rather than anti-, this time. Another link Mid City cyclist outraged at hit and run accident that injured rider

From the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike 8 years in a row, they got another one. Cyclist struck, killed by driver First of all that the fact that the driver remained at the scene had to be mentioned prominently says a lot about society, none of it very good. Second that bike was hit on the driver’s side of the vehicle at high speed, notice the hole in the windshield right over the steering wheel and the broken front triangle on the bike. Third, it looked like this was a wreck in the left-turn lane where a slower than speed limit speed should be in effect because of getting ready to make the turn and the limited room available. IOW the cyclist was doing everything right and according to law, and the driver just ran him over without even slowing down with the cyclist right in front of his face. That also says a lot about our society and culture that is equally bad

A UGA student is left-crossed by another student on campus with an all-student witness and assistance group. UGA student bicyclist transported to hospital after striking a car Intersection wreck, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. Seriously, why do you need a car to get around the campus of the University of Georgia at Athens? This is a small school with a compact campus, unlike say UT or USC. Even the town the school is in is Not That Big, perfectly suited for getting around by bicycle. Since the article didn’t specify if the facial injuries were upper or lower I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that if a helmet had been worn the injuries might not have been as bad. I mean I know that most people are not going to wear a full-face helmet like I do, hell if I hadn’t had my face ripped off and sewn back on I wouldn’t be wearing a full-face helmet. I would be wearing one of those “urban” or “city” style round helmets with the hard shell and some coverage to the back of the head. More Bike Rider Injured

A child riding on a sidewalk is killed. Child killed on bicycle identified There should be no question about this, the child was riding on the sidewalk, the weapon vehicle was crossing the sidewalk, vehicles entering a sidewalk MUST yield to traffic (pedestrians and cyclists) on the sidewalk. Even in areas where riding on a sidewalk is not legal, bicycles on the sidewalk still have the right of way over other vehicles crossing the sidewalk. I don’t know if this was an area that prohibited riding on the sidewalk, but I don’t think it was. Intersection wreck (every driveway is an intersection) so intersection protocols to avoid, and as the child was already on segregated infrastructure that was being crossed by the weapon vehicle that was required to yield to traffic on that infrastructure, the only changes to the infrastructure that will “help” are severe penalties for those causing harm when crossing the infrastructure… Take the weapon vehicle and recycle it, then a steep fine and/or jail time. For the very rich jail time is “worse” than a steep fine as they have lots of money but not much time that isn’t spoken for already.

More on the WI teacher killed while taking the “scenic route” to school. Belgrade wrestling coach killed while biking on highway Again, I see blaming the cyclist for being there to get hit, not the driver of the deadly weapon for over-driving his headlights and not avoiding the other vehicle in the road in front of him. The “dark highway” was mentioned more than once, the weapon vehicle’s headlights never…

A cyclist is hit from behind in the Great White North. Cyclist killed in East Garafraxa The cyclist was blamed for not wearing a glow in the dark clown suit, the driver was let off for driving without functional headlights. There seems to be a theme developing in today’s post…

A UK wreck with death and injury that seems to be a case where the dead victim was in a wreck either solo or with another vehicle and was then hit by a vehicle of some description while first aid was being administered by a passer-by. Man who died in road collision near Craven Arms was a cyclist I am including this wreck because it was strange, not because there is anything useful to be gleaned from it besides hoping Yehuda Moon is one of the first 1-3 people on scene.

Infrastructure news from the UK. British Cycling secures meeting with justice minister and Justice minister agrees to meet British Cycling to discuss justice review If they can do something about drivers getting 100 hours of community service and a few weeks to a year ban on driving when they should be getting a year or more in lockup and a permanent ban on driving with more jail if caught, then good on them.

Someone is desecrating a shrine to the dead in SC. Who’s Stealing the William Wilson Ghost Bike?

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

Billed @$0.02, Opus