Interesting things happened yesterday but not to me

Thank [$DEITY] I was not the interesting person this time, only interesting adjacent. There was a three car pileup in front of me while I was waiting for the bus. I feel really bad for the guy at the head of the line, because he obviously lunched his transmission before the wreck, or maybe something in the clutch. Anyway when he stopped at the red light next to the bus stop something broke and he couldn’t get the engine to connect to the wheels correctly which caused him to turn on the emergency flashers and wait for help. Eventually someone pulled behind him not paying attention to the situation, and another numb-nuts behind him. When the light changed you can probably imagine the results, but I’m going to tell you anyway. The first guy’s vehicle was still disabled, the second guy started moving but almost stopped in time, and the third person didn’t look up from their phone until they hit the second vehicle and banged it into the first vehicle again hard enough to move it forward a few feet. The guy driving the second vehicle came out the worst of the three with front-end damage I couldn’t see aside from the debris on the road, so at least a headlight taken out, and chunks and parts knocked off the rear bumper. The third vehicle had some headlight damage but by then the bus got there so I don’t know what else happened to it.

Almost forgot to wish everyone a Happy Imbolc, or Groundhog Day if you don’t see this as a religious holiday. May your Happy Plans come to fruition.

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Happy MLK Day, and the Feed

Today is the day we pause and remember a major leader of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Biographical note I was living less than 100 miles east of where Dr. King was shot at the time he was shot. So I wasn’t “there” there, but I was in the conflict zone at the time of the conflict. And yes I know that makes me “old”, deal with it. In many ways what Dr. King was trying to do is mirrored in the bike advocacy movement. Not that I am implying that what cyclists go through is in any way as bad as what people of color went through or continue to go through today, we can stop getting killed in the streets just by getting on the bus for example. But there are parallels. Anyway, remember what Dr. King meant to the rights movement, cherish it, and emulate that in trying to get safe bicycle infrastructure installed in your area.

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Bicyclists help make a better world, and York Blvd is thriving

Still in CA, more links to a driver actually getting a proportional sentence for using a motor vehicle to kill a cyclist. Drugged driver who killed cyclist sentenced 15 years to life and Drugged driver who killed cyclist sentenced 15 years to life

Still in CA a left-crossed cyclist gets his medical bills covered but he had to sue the employer of the driver that hit him. City settles with injured cyclist

Speaking of proportional sentences. Seattle man gets 6 ½ years for killing bicyclist in DUI crash Not quite as proportional, but still leaps and bounds ahead of typical sentences for killing cyclists.

Cyclist killed in OH. Cyclist dies after being struck by car Not much information on the actual wreck, just the outcome.

The most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike takes another victim. Pasco County bicyclist killed after riding into path of vehicle on SR 52 Another SWCC wreck with no word on where the cyclist was crossing from or to.

A little schadenfreude in NYC. Hit & Run Driver Crashes Into Gowanus Canal and Video: Alleged Drunk Driver Arrested After Flipping Car On Upper West Side The video is no longer available through the original source, maybe they will find another place where it was uploaded.

A bit of CO infrastructure news. Boulder to shift gears on protected bike lanes I think that when drivers complain about losing a lane so that cyclists can have a safe place to ride they should plow up everything except the bike lane and leave the street filled with the rubble. But then I have been called an extremist 😉

Good news about cycling from WI. Local Collective Gets Milwaukee Biking After so many bad things about cycling from WI it is really nice to put up a link to something good.

It takes a Canadian getting killed to get MS LEO investigated for biased investigation of bicycle wrecks. A haphazard investigation of Iain Gerrard’s death in America’s Deep South The initial report was a SWSS with a salmon cyclist, but the physical evidence was entirely contradictory to that report. The report from accident reconstructionists was that the driver had 14 seconds to see and avoid the cyclist in the road.

Cyclist down in the Great White North. Cyclist in critical condition after L’Épiphanie crash If the cyclist was “in the middle of the road” wouldn’t a driver who was paying attention be able to see and avoid the cyclist? I mean if the cyclist was right there in front of him, why didn’t the driver use his brakes to not hit the cyclist? And this is probably the only place where those are rhetorical questions.

Infrastructure news from the Great White North. Claremont bike lanes will be well planned Given that the soonest they plan on installing those lanes is 2017 they had better be “well planned”. I mean how much planning does it take to haul in some K-rails and plop them down 2 meters from the edge of the pavement?

No place to (legally) lock up, but sell them bike locks anyway? Almost 200 fork out for discounted lock to crack down cycle thefts in Grimsby “We also need cycle stands, like the ones outside the Cycle Hub, throughout the town.”

Another wreck in Oz. Surf Coast cyclist flown to hospital after being hit by a car A 72 YO cyclist struck by a 74 YO driver? Are they pulling my leg? The driver was judged at fault in this wreck almost instantly by LEO. Intersection wreck so either a hook or cross is my guess as to mode.

This death in Oz is very similar to a wreck in Enn Zed from last year. Wantirna cyclist found dead in Dandenong Creek Cyclist hits a solid bollard in the bike path and falls down in water next to the bike path and drowns, the exact same thing that happened in Enn Zed.

Speaking of Enn Zed, a motorcycle crosses the centerline going up a mountain and runs into cyclists coming down that mountain. Queenstown-bound cyclists struck by motorbike and Motorbike injures cyclists The report from the one link that the motorcyclist had a rear tire slide out just before the wreck suggests he might have been going just a touch too fast.

And those were all the links I had.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

I paid bills and now my feet hurt, and the Feed

I spent most of the afternoon walking around Garland getting bills paid and banking done. My feet are killing me, especially that spot on my left big toe that always has a huge callous removed when I get my toes done. My feet feel like I have been beating on them, which tells me I need more shock absorption in my footwear. Oh, well, something else I need to spend money on. It will go somewhere in the middle of the list of things to spend money on.

Up first because links, and a cyclist killer gets prison time. Former Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook sentenced to seven years in drunk-driving death of cyclist and Bishop who killed cyclist while driving drunk gets 7 years also Judge sentences ex-bishop who killed cyclist while driving drunk this too Ex-Maryland Bishop Sentenced to 7 Years in DUI Death of Cyclist not done Bishop Who Killed Cyclist While Driving Drunk Gets 7 Years

Next because it’s strange and bizarre, and also has lots of links. Bicycle rider killed by container falling from truck and BICYCLIST KILLED AFTER CARGO CONTAINER SLIDES OFF FLATBED TRUCK, FALLS ON HIM IN LONG BEACH also BICYCLIST CRUSHED BY CARGO CONTAINER IN LONG BEACH IDENTIFIED AFAIK the wreck was caused by an improperly secured container on a trailer that was not designed to haul cargo containers being driven by a scab driver hired by a union-busting conglomerate. tl;dr The cyclist was killed by corporate greed.

This looks like a good place to put the link to Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Caltrans takes another step forward; CHP wants to improve bike safety, while cycling deaths up

Still in CA, more judicial bike news. Huntington Beach Man Convicted of Murder in DUI Hit-and-Run Death of Cyclist The minimum sentence is 16 years before parole.

More on the cop being in the right place at the right time to catch a DUI hit-and-run driver. Bicyclist killed in West Covina hit-and-run, driver arrested Pity he couldn’t have been in the right place and time to arrest her for DUI before she killed someone.

At least they didn’t call it a race this time. Injured veterans finish 500+ mile bike ride As a vet WoaB strongly supports our injured and wounded warriors.

Today seems to be the day for judicial news about bike wrecks, as this link from MI shows. Sentencing is Tuesday for Romulus woman who hit, killed boy riding his bike Killed while driving impaired by illegal drugs… Like the guy convicted of murder in CA a few paragraphs upstream.

Still in MI. Man on bike killed in hit and run in Ann Arbor overnight They are still examining the debris left from the weapon vehicle to try to identify it.

A couple of states over in MN they decided there wasn’t enough evidence to suspect another vehicle in the death of a cyclist. Ramsey Co. Sheriff: Vehicle No Longer Believed Involved In Cyclist’s Death “(D)octors determined that his injuries were not consistent with the bike accident.”

This CT link is just so full of “NO DUH!” Blunt trauma killed Torrington bike rider, state medical examiner says The guy was hit with a semi, that is pretty much the definition of blunt force trauma.

This NC wreck screams “assault with a deadly weapon” for the cyclist. Cyclist injured in Fayetteville crash Hit a cyclist, sideswipe a car, and hit a pole. The driver was either trying to kill the cyclist, or impaired.

Some Portland political news that could have an impact on other cities looking to Portland for guidance. Six bike-related issues that might take a turn with Hales out of the race

Still in Portland, something else that could impact bicycle safety in the rest of the country. At Wonk Night, County DA announces effort to change state law The change spoken of is the massive gap between a traffic ticket and vehicular homicide when someone with a car kills while breaking a traffic law. When the victim survives the gap is even worse as there is nothing that a driver can be criminally charged with.

Now this is an amenity. Portland Downtown Marriott adds in-room bike parking This would not work with Francis/es, but it might work with Blue or Gigi. I would bust a gut trying to get Francis/es up on that hook, cargo bikes are not meant to be lifted by the handlebars.

Infrastructure problems in SC. Charleston’s king tide floods are a sign of what the world will face as oceans rise Kinda hard to ride in the bike lane when the whole road is under water.

When they perfect driverless cars enough to replace human drivers, will they be allowed to drive? Will City Regulators Treat Driverless Cars Like They’ve Treated Uber?

Up north of Portland in far West Canuckistan. ICBC blames cyclist negligence for highway bike death Still trying to wrap my head around the concept that a cyclist hit head on by a vehicle driven by a drunk driver on the wrong side of the road while the cyclist is riding on the right side of the road with a chase vehicle(!) is at any way responsible for the wreck. The fact that the chase vehicle was hit and both occupants killed hasn’t even been entered into the equation yet.

Crap infrastructure is still crap in Jolly Olde. Killed Northumberland cyclist’s sister’s anguish as another bike rider hit This makes several cyclists severely injured since the wreck that killed the woman’s sister, all in the same intersection.

Surviving relatives of a UK cyclist killed by a driver who legally was banned from driving but the paperwork had not gone through yet speak out against what he did. Katy Charlton confronts driver Neil Urwin who killed her husband Andy

A rare cyclist-on-ped wreck in Jolly Olde. Schoolgirl injured after hit-and-run with cyclist in Sheffield DON’T HIT THE PEDESTRIANS! And especially don’t hit a pedestrian and leave the scene without making sure the pedestrian either isn’t injured or is getting care and you have left your contact information.

Last link is from Enn Zed. Cyclist critically injured in Tauranga crash This is the “We drive on the left side of the road” equivalent of the left cross.

And I really want to get to bed now and rest.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Yay! food again and the Feed

Yep, time to buy groceries again. Still trying to figure out how to stop doing this “eating” thing so we don’t have to keep dipping into savings to pay bills. Eventually savings will run out. I may have to start taking the laptop to the library and using the free WiFi and drop cable, phone, and Internet at the house. That would be a drag, but workable as I seldom watch anything except racing, and not much of that lately. Mrs. the Poet would probably have a harder time of it than I would, but once she got over her Pat Sajak and Vanna White withdrawal she would live over it.

Up first is massive schadenfreude unrelated to bicycles or infrastructure. Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Taken Into Custody She can be held up to 30 days after the expiration of her term if she does not allow her staff to issue marriage licences. I’m reminded of a Fleetwood Mac lyric, the second verse to “Oh Well”. I will leave looking up that lyric to the reader as I have already devoted too much space to this waste of skin.

The first bike story isn’t all that big and seems to be the same report from two different outlets of the same media company. Cyclist hurt in Southborough crash Yep, exact same report, just a different URL. So, no second link.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Avoiding bike/car collisions, too much bike theft news, and new bike coffee shop in DTLA

More on the trio of cyclists hit by a distracted driver in AL. Cyclist urges everyone to share the road after recent death of fellow rider in Blount County Back channel says serious criminal charges are pending against the driver in that wreck, if they can get past the grand jury.

More on the VA pair hit at twilight with no lights on their bikes. Fairfax police identify man killed after he was hit while riding a bike Unfortunately LEO never enforce the Basic Speed Law.

Portland doesn’t know how lucky they have things. Lane blockage on SW Stark presents a different kind of bike commute ‘challenge’ Here in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell we don’t have people parking in bike lanes that aren’t there.

Bike wreck in MN. Montgomery Remembers 8-year-old Killed Following Sunday Bike Accident Single bike wreck that a helmet may have made non-fatal had the victim been wearing one.

Hit-from-behind in MI. Man killed after being struck on bicycle Nothing on anything about this wreck except they haven’t charged the operator of the weapon vehicle yet.

We can’t get the mayor out of his car here, but that’s a different story. Here’s what happened when Mayor Hales biked to work for the first time I seriously think that every elected local official should have to interact with all of the infrastructure they are responsible for using the mode that infrastructure was intended for and then a mode that it wasn’t intended for but that has to use that infrastructure anyway, like crossing a busy street without marked crosswalk, or riding an arterial street with no bike lanes.

Now we segue to NYC traffic idiocy. SUV Driver Runs Over 4-Year-Old Girl In Brooklyn, No Charges Filed “No criminality suspected.”

Another cyclist is killed just a few blocks and few days away from another high-profile fatal bike wreck. Bicyclist struck, killed in west Modesto Salmon cyclist hit by a blind driver, we are talking about wrong² in this wreck. Obviously don’t ride salmon and get out in the lane where you can be seen to avoid a similar wreck.

A little UK infrastructure news. Calls for London’s safer lorries scheme to be applied nationwide It is appalling that death machines are allowed such free rein on the streets of the UK.

Infrastructure news from Oz. The tab heading is better than the headline. Our cities need to future-proof infrastructure to cater for those using alternative forms of transport Cyclists are awesome and this is why we need bike paths

Maybe we don’t really need Google Car. Adjustments in Already Available Auto Technology Could Reduce Frequency of Auto Bike Collisions I have a slight quibble with people who start suggesting “adjustments” that are complete reworks of the code used to run the hardware and require major research and development to get the new code right. When the only similarities between the two systems are one sensor and the CPU.

I have been debating for at least 10 minutes which order these last two links should go. I tossed a coin. Brompton CEO Will Butler-Adams on why the future of the foldable bike is electric A folding bike would probably be a good option on this train when the racks are full. Rolling onto Amtrak’s Capitol Limited Note that this paragraph would be equally intelligible no matter which link was first.

And I’m done, and I want to lay down and let the kinks unwind.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Another day “interrupted” with D&D, and the Feed

I took part in another D&D session today, and as I was the only one that had to work today I filtered while I played and let everyone else just play. My 5th Ed. Warlock3 was not challenged by the encounters because everybody was suffering a case of mediocre dice. Nobody rolled any 1s when it counted, but that was about the best thing we could say about the game today. I have never seen so many 2s and 3s on attack rolls as we had today. And it just dawned on me that I was using the wrong column for computing my attack rolls because “Eldrich Blast” is a spell attack in 5th Ed and calculates as Performance Bonus + Charisma Bonus + 1d20, where in D&D3.5 it was Attack Bonus + Feats Bonuses + 1d20 and I was leaving the Charisma bonus off the attack. That meant I was rolling 1d20+2 when I should have been rolling 1d20+7. Considering the number of times I missed by 2 or less, I could have done a lot more damage than I did (none).

Up first, a cyclist disposing of used toilet paper may have caused a massive wildfire. Pooping Cyclist Blamed for 73-Acre Idaho Wildfire Maybe digging a cathole latrine and burying the paper would have been a better idea? Do they even teach digging a cathole latrine any more?

We cyclists know roads were not built for cars, and neither were cities. European Mobility Week: The capital cities that are banning cars from their roads – for one day So for one day cyclists in a few European cities will get a few streets that are blissfully free of death machines.

LEO are “aware” of a video showing an assault on an Irish cyclist. Gardai ‘aware’ of video showing thug knocking cyclist off bike As was pointed out in the comments, that shirt is very distinctive and shouldn’t be too hard to locate. Now if “aware” translates to “give a shit” we might see some charges, maybe even some prosecutions.

Over in Jolly Olde a particularly egregious hooking wreck sees a trial date set. Trial date set for lorry driver from Willesden accused of killing cyclist at Ludgate Circus I’m sure the defense is going to use “activating an automatic speaker system which said ‘this vehicle is turning left’” as an excuse for running the cyclist over as the truck passed. This is especially egregious because the signal did not activate until the weapon vehicle was already making the turn across the cyclist’s lane, leaving less than zero reaction time to the signal.

This Brazilian cyclist hulks out over a car parked in the bike lane, and then does something about the car. Hero cyclist picks up and moves car blocking bike lane I think that might be the rear bumper cover in the foreground of the video that the cyclist removed from the car to get a better grip on the subject.

Our Daily Ted. Update: 36 year old bike rider killed in Newport Coast From the later comments this appears to have been a solo wreck on a trail near the highway. No word on exactly how or where the wreck happened.

Guess who has a bike culture now? Detroit Bike Culture Is Unstoppable It’s a lot easier to keep up two 5 foot bike lanes than a 70 foot wide street, especially when there is almost no traffic on the street anyway.

One of the biggest problem facing cyclists is getting the light to change so that running the red becomes optional rather than mandatory. City and state working to help bicycle users get the green Maybe if they put beg buttons on the side of the street for drivers to use as well as cyclists… Make the infrastructure as convenient for drivers as it is for cyclists. Or even better put a detector in a protected bike lane and make cars wait until a cyclist shows up to trigger the light. Or is that schadenfreude on my part?

Language is important. We don’t say “plane accident.” We shouldn’t say “car accident” either. Changing the language of crossing the street caused what was once normal behavior to be criminal. See “jaywalking”. So, don’t call them “accidents”, call them “wrecks”. Or “death machine tangos” 😀 “Death machine tango leaves two injured, one seriously” has a lot more impact than “Traffic accident leaves…” And how about “Death machine tango with cyclist causes life-threatening injuries”? “Death machine tango in crosswalk leaves two pedestrians dead, another seriously injured”. You don’t even need to be specific about what kind of vehicle any more, because they are all “death machines” to one degree or another.

More Portland infrastructure. City advisory committees oppose TriMet’s plans for swing gates on Orange Line Remember that article two paragraphs ago about making the signal change for cyclists like it does for motor vehicles? Same theory on this one. They want cyclists and handicapped people to work their way through spring-loaded gates trying to not get caught on any protuberances on either the vehicle or the gate that slams shut behind them and hoping a train doesn’t pass while they are trying to get unhooked from the gate on the train side of the gate.

NC residents say “Nuts” to 45 day limits on Ghost Bikes. Residents spurn policy for removing ‘ghost bikes’ As it is now, one determined bike hater could get any ghost bike removed 45 days after it goes up.

Things are very different when a local celebrity is the one injured in a bike wreck. KXLY radio host Ken Hopkins recovering from bike accident I like they are spending $$ to remodel the studio to make it ADA compliant, but why wasn’t it compliant already?

Dude, you got way too much anger about this. Thief Hacks Down 25-Foot Tree to Steal Bike, Locals Say That’s $thousands of tree destroyed to get a bike that will fence for $20.

Last link, BMW designed an e-assist that could be installed on full suspension bikes and retain the clean benefits of a Gates belt drive, but wasn’t in the e-assist business. BMW i Develops Drive Unit Swing Arm For Heisenberg XF1 E-Bike So, shared technology. Yay!

And that’s all I got and I had to do some crawling around to find that much.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet.

In pain and having a mild allergy attack, and the Feed

After getting the gas on Francis/es this morning because I got done too late to buy gas last night, I mowed the grass this afternoon. The good news: I rode Francis/es for 1.04 miles today in 92/93 degree weather. Bad news, I still need to make that extended stem so I can sit comfortably and see the road.

More bad news, as I was doing the filtering my feet started to swell a bit until I couldn’t put my shoes back on. I will still be able to put out the garbage and recycling tonight for trash pickup tomorrow, I just won’t be very graceful about it. I think the swelling is due to my lower legs getting peppered with cut grass as I was mowing this afternoon.

Up first is Our Daily Ted, part 1. Morning Links: DUI driver in Palos Verdes rampage gets three years; scofflaw cyclists no worse than drivers I think it might be just me, but when I read “no worse than drivers” the image that comes to my mind is the 30K+ people killed by motor vehicles annually. I don’t think that is exactly what we are to aspire for.

Daily Ted part 2. Guest Post: The Benefits of a Bicycle for Urban Transport A reasoned, sober look at the benefits of city cycling.

And my second favorite bike blog also had a guest post. Guest article: Biking on the cheap There’s getting by and then there is having a bike to be proud of. They are not mutually exclusive, but you would never see me sourcing my tires from a dumpster.

One of the great ironies of history is that protected American bike lanes and intersections were being planned and pilot installed back in the 1970s, before the Dutch influence began, in response to the OPEC oil boycott. America Could Have Been Building Protected Bike Lanes for the Last 40 Years But as is normal with things being done for the first time (integrating bike infra with motor vehicle infra) Sturgeon’s Law raised its ugly head, and instead of throwing out the crap 90% they threw out everything.

And while we are on the subject of US infrastructure, here’s Portland trying to get Dutch style residential streets. City says diverters possible on SE Clinton Street this summer Again had they read the CROW manual this would have already been done.

Speaking of consequences of bad infrastructure, a cyclist gets hit because the stop signs were facing the wrong direction. Troopers: Cyclist hurt after crashing into SUV Notice the completely blind intersection where the cyclist was hit? The cyclist could have come to a complete stop and not being able to see oncoming traffic pulled right in front of the SUV. Not saying that is what happened, just that that’s how it could have happened. That’s why the CROW manual puts the stop/yield signs on the motor vehicle side of the intersection with a bike path, because cars don’t fall down when they stop moving.

And WY starts enforcing a new law for cyclists this month. WHP enforces new “three-foot rule” for bicycle safety and Highway patrol to crack down on new bicycle safety law

A good bit of infrastructure news from NoCal. COMING TO CALTRAIN: MORE SPACE FOR BIKES ON BOARD Solving the “first/last mile” problem.

And a sad update on the cyclist hit by a dump truck making a close pass in CO. Cyclist Killed By Dump Truck It must have been a long, painful death to have taken this long. Pity his killer won’t take that long to die as well, but the Constitution forbids that, cruel and unusual punishment.

NYC is still having a gender discrepancy in their bike counts. Why Do So Few Women Bike In NYC? Infrastructure is a big part of the problem, followed closely by jerk drivers trying to force their way into the bike infrastructure.

And this is a big reason also why women don’t ride bicycles in NYC. Driver Who Killed Park Slope Boy Has License Suspended For 6 Months Six months of “don’t get caught driving” for killing a kid playing at a park in a residential area.

Speaking of drivers not getting what they deserve, here’s another link to that texting driver in Jolly Olde getting carted off to the hoosegow. St Albans cyclist death: John Michell jailed for killing Mark Greenwood Less than 2 years for killing someone leaves me with less than schadenfreude, more like schaedenfrumpy?

And WTF?!? Cyclist suffers fractures to face in London Colney attack Punch someone in the head as the cycle by in the street? What are you, a Daily Mail commenter?

Last link is a Canuck grump. Develop regulations for memorials “Don’t leave reminders of how deadly the thing I use to get around really is!”

Sorry this is going up so late but I had to stop and elevate my foot because of the sudden swelling after mowing the lawn.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

These links will thrill and sicken you, watch out for the third paragraph

I’m going to use one of those clickbait “you’ll never believe…” headlines after I get the post composed, but at the moment it just says “snarky title”. You know the kind of thing I’m talking about, “10 famous people that killed someone, number 7 will chill you to the core” and it turns out they were in the same building that someone died in their sleep. Today was grocery day and I didn’t get enough money out by about $10 so we had to put a loaf of bread back and skip the planned outing tomorrow that Mrs. the Poet really didn’t want to go on in the first place. We would have had to walk more than a half mile in the rain if the forecast is to be believed, and her tolerance for walking in the rain with me is pretty low any more. Her tolerance for walking in the rain with or without me pretty much evaporated the day after she retired.

The Big Story today seems to be the doctor killed on his way to work in Oz. Cyclist killed in collision with truck in Rose Bay and Devoted doctor Henri Sueke killed in Rose Bay cycling to kids’ ward also Devoted doctor Henri Sueke killed in Rose Bay cycling to kids’ ward That last link changed as I was trying to create it. The headline literally changed as I was trying to copy/paste. From the pictures it looks like the truck passed too closely to the cyclist and forced him into the parked cars there being scrape marks that look like they were caused by a turning pedal on some of the cars. That’s too damn close, as the cyclist’s mangled bike and body attest.

Back in the states, I can’t remember if I cursed this guy or not. State reports 2 Southern Nevada inmate deaths What is not in the headline any more since the second death is this was the guy that killed a cyclist while driving drunk on the sidewalk after jumping the curb with his light armored vehicle. He was driving under the influence of booze and prescription drugs. I have to admit I had a flash of schadenfreude when I saw the first headline, but after that flash, not so much. Am I glad he will no longer be a threat to cyclists in NV? Yes, but as long as he was in prison he was alive and still not a threat to cyclists, the only time he was a threat was when he was driving under the influence. Keep him out of motor vehicles and he’s still not much of a threat to anybody. Did he deserve a long prison sentence for killing another human being? Yes and he got it. Did he deserve a chance to contribute to society after he completed that sentence? We will never know because he died long before his first parole date. The reason I even mentioned the “curse” is I have a vague memory of being very angry about this wreck back in 2009 because the cyclist was dragged a significant distance under the SUV before he died. I think I was still mad, or got angry all over again, when he was convicted and sentenced. So, I may have pronounced a curse that he would die in prison.

Update on the victim of a Boston pinball wreck. Teen killed while riding bicycle; family hopes for Haiti burial If any of y’all can shake a spare buck or two that direction I know I would appreciate it. For the family, because the cyclist is long past knowing one way or the other.

Ugghh! Really? Ghost bike memorial for killed cyclist stolen again The first time it was stolen by a scrapper looking for metal he could sell. Who knows the culprit this time. That anyone would desecrate a memorial to the dead of any kind…

Our Daily Ted. Bike rider killed after swerving across traffic on Oceanside highway

Salmon CA cyclist misses train crossing signals, and just misses the train. Sacramento bicyclist escapes serious injury in brush with light-rail train

Cyclist left-crossed in OR. Driver cited in crash that left bicyclist seriously injured I’m glad to see that the driver was found at fault for hitting the cyclist riding under the speed limit…

Apparently there are some seriously blind drivers in AL also. Vestavia Hills cyclist dies, another one recovering after an accident in Gulf Shores and Bicyclist Hit By Car At Gulf State Park Dies Hit one cyclist, it could have been a blind spot, but hit two means either you are not looking where you are driving, or you did it on purpose. Either answer deserves serious prison time in my book.

Dear NY Post editors: Die in a fire after a big meal of five star (us) pad thai. Killer cyclist gives son a lesson in how to break the law “But Opus, how can you be so mean to the nice NYP editors?” Because they never do this kind of followup on any drivers who run over pedestrians in crosswalks, this is harassment, pure and simple. Because for some reason the NYP has it in their tiny brains that cyclists are some kind of terrorists (they actually had an article online a few years ago stating such). Pedestrians killed by cyclists in NYC since 2001: eight. There were more dead pedestrians a month by motor vehicle just since the start of the year. So why the hate-on for cyclists, NY Post editors?

A little upstate from NYC. Father sues RGRTA over cyclist’s death This is another SWSS wreck, but for some reason nobody saved the forward video view from the bus cameras… That tells me exactly the same thing retaining the video from the SoCal marine base bus wreck told me, the bus driver didn’t see the cyclist until impact and then swerved left.

And over in CT. Woman nearly killed riding bike in 2011 will speak in Milford Saturday Sounds like it should be inspiring.

More on the KY driver charged with murder in the death of the Horsey Hundred cyclist. Man charged in cyclist’s death ‘a really good guy’ who may have drinking problem, wife says Yes he might be a “really good guy” when he is not drunk and stoned behind the wheel, but the charge of murder still stands. And now we know he tested 0.3 in a previous drunk driving incident? That is near the 50% fatal level of BAC%. And I just looked to see how many drinks it would take for a man that looks to weigh about 220 to get up to 0.3, but the chart doesn’t go that high, interpolating put it about 20 drinks of hard liquor or about 10 Fl Oz of pure ethanol…

More on NC infrastructure. Death of cyclist highlights cost of making roads bike-friendly The left the word “not” out of the headline. “Death of cyclist highlights cost of not making roads bike-friendly” Because a dead cyclist is too high a price to pay for drivers to drive unhindered in speed without having to pay attention to what or who they might be sharing the road with.

More on the CO cyclist murdered by a gunshot instead of a motor vehicle. Windsor police ask for help investigating cyclist’s fatal shooting You know why they are investigating this so hard and hit-and-runs against cyclists so poorly? Because anyone could get shot and killed even driving a car, while fatal hit-and-runs tend to happen to cyclists and pedestrians only. I mean I’m sure someone could get killed by one light armored vehicle getting hit by another light armored vehicle, but when that happens neither light armored vehicle can leave the scene in the majority of cases. So getting shot and killed is something that could even happen to the LEO investigating, or the people reporting the news. Hit-and-run happens to “other people” not driving cars…

I fail to see how the cyclist “caused” this wreck, as reported he was still in the same lane when the motorcyclist wrecked behind him. Bicyclist sought in hit-and-run motorcycle crash

Over in Jolly Olde they are discovering that putting trams in the old bike lanes without putting in new bike lanes leads to problems, not the least of which is getting someone to keep a record of the wrecks caused by the tracks. Lawyers warn of cyclists’ tram risk People are getting seriously injured and hauled away by ambulance, but there are no records of the injuries outside of the hospital?

Back in Oz, bicycles and trams don’t mix well, the infrastructure for trams tends to cause bicycles to wreck. Cyclist trapped under tram after Flemington crash There was a report the cyclist might have been forced into the tram, but not confirmed at the time of this posting.

Put this one in the “I’m not surprised” bin. HGVs failing to fit hi-tech cyclist savers

Next stop on the worker’s comp bicycle protest ride in the Great White North. Injured Workers Stop in Oshawa During 600 km Bike Ride to Draw Attention to a Compensation System Being Dismantled by the Liberal Government

Legal infrastructure in West Canuckistan. Ormiston v. ICBC: yet another case for recognizing paved shoulders as lanes of travel for cyclists?

And I think I’m outta links (checks) yep, all gone.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Yucky weather on Grocery Day, and the Feed

Yep, things are kinda slow around Casa de El Poeta today. All that has happened was really bad weather and buying groceries. And since we just dropped more than $2K paying the taxes on the joint, we were a little short when it came time to buy groceries so I don’t have any salty snacks this week. Eh, I will live, and it will give me a chance to see if my theory about excessive amounts of salty foods is contributing to the swelling in my leg that has been causing me to bleed from my scar line. This is NBD as I have been dealing with this pretty much ever since the wreck, just a touch more recently.

Up first is a link that brings me no real joy as the killer of a MD cyclist and bike builder is hit with more than a dozen charges in the DUI death. Episcopal bishop indicted on 13 charges, including homicide, in cyclist’s death There is no schadenfreude in this, there is only one life ruined and another ended prematurely. There is a slight satisfaction that the crime was treated appropriately but nothing else. More Episcopal bishop indicted in Baltimore crash that killed cyclist and Bishop Heather Cook indicted in Thomas Palermo death

More hit-and-run charges this time in CA. 20-year-old man charged in fatal Laguna Beach hit-and-run that killed cyclist and Driver charged with hit-and-run, manslaughter in Laguna cyclist’s death last year The windshield of the weapon vehicle was “smashed in” by the impact and the driver still continued on. Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot?

In contrast we get this UK story. Driver “blinded by sun” found not guilty in cyclist death I’m still trying to figure out how someone could be blinded by a low sun at 1430. Even on 1/16 in England the sun should not be that low, according to this site the sunset time was 16:22 or nearly 2 hours before the wreck, or halfway between zenith and sunset. And looking up sun angles on Wikipedia I find the sun angle to be about 22° at noon so roughly 18° (22*sin(45)) at 1430, makes this a “possibly true”. I do these things in sorta “real-time” so you can see my thought processes as I find things out.

And while we are on the “drivers are killers” tack, here is what one LEO found in the UK about a driver who was unconscious when she drove into a cyclist. Stricter driver checks ‘would not have prevented’ cyclist death, sheriff rules Apparently she had just had only one such episode before and had not yet determined that any more were forthcoming… I’m sorry but how many times do you have to drive in an unconscious state before pulling a license for being unfit to drive?

And this tidbit from the UK shows drivers are still just as bad as they always were, if not worse. Sharp rise in cycling casualties revealed by latest road safety statistics – Government safety record slammed The UK uses the statistic of KSI (killed or seriously injured) to account for motor vehicle casualties so as to “weed out” the effect of the NHS on reducing fatalities, so when there is a change in KSI as opposed to just “fatalities” they know they are moving in the right or wrong way depending on the direction desired.

Still in the UK you would think the cyclists were the ones riding around inside the light armored vehicles weighing nearly 2 tons and killing or injuring people willy-nilly. Taxi leader says cyclists are the “Isis of London” I wonder how many taxi drivers have died after being run into by a cyclist on a bike, oh yeah that’s right, ZERO!

Lots of links from London today for some reason. Biggest danger to cyclists in London is themselves, says TfL board member as ‘Crossrail for bikes’ is approved Gee and all this time I thought it was all those cars and particularly trucks going around only semi-guided by the loose nut behind the wheel. 😛

Update on the most critically injured of the 20 cyclists hit by a stoned driver in CA. CYCLIST INJURED BY WRONGWAY DRIVER THANKS YMCA FOR HELPING HIS RECOVERY

While we are in CA let’s take a look at the Daily Ted. Morning Links: CD4 Livable Streets forum tonight, and the OC Register gets it very wrong on bike funding

And still in CA, a local police chief gets it wrong on helmets, but mostly right on the rest of it. From the Chief: It’s time to think bike safety

A stark reminder that the most dangerous thing in NYC is the motor vehicle. [UPDATE] California Man Killed By Hit-And-Run Driver In Queens He might have survived the first impact, but no way he could survive two.

Bicycle lifestyle in AZ. Third annual Arizona Unity Tour charity bicycle ride on Feb. 28

UK bicycle lifestyle ride. Memorial bike ride for two cyclists killed in Berkshire crash

I guess when something saves your life or your best buddy’s life you want to make sure it will be there for someone else if when needed. Cyclists raise over £100,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance

At least one city not in favor of assisted bikes. Bike lanes no place for motorized bikes Someone needs to look at the federal regulations that say e-assist bikes are bicycles, not motor vehicles.

And I’m out of links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Practically an all-infrastructure Feed today after taking a long trip to pay 2/3 of my taxes

Yep, I spent most of the day on the road and on my feet today standing around in lines to pay 2 out of 3 tax bills. I managed to cover the City and County taxes in about 2 hours plus travel time including walking between the two offices. I still have to hit GISD to pay those taxes, which will be a slightly quicker trip as I have to drop by the bank first to transfer money from the savings account we use to accumulate the money for taxes and insurance to the checking account so the check won’t bounce first, then walking 4 blocks to the tax office, and probably standing around in line for at least an hour if the lines today were any indication.

Up first, this is one of the main reasons why nobody likes the NYPD. Bike Cop Tickets Bicyclist For Biking On Bike Path The cyclist was ticketed for ignoring a sign and riding on the path while 10 feet away from a sign (caught in the picture the cyclist took of the officer writing the ticket) telling people that they were on a bike path. And yet even with photographic proof that the cyclist was riding on the bike path and not a pedestrian path this case will go to trial. The only thing I can think of is the judge has a deal to split the overtime with the cop.

A drunk driver is on trial for killing a cyclist in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike. Trial continues for man charged in fatal crash with cyclist There are many reasons why FL kills more cyclist per capita than any other state in the US, the high rate of DUI is just one of them.

And along those lines come these thoughts. Florida Cities: “Unsafe at Any Speed” for Cyclists, Pedestrians? and South Florida roadways not just dangerous for cars Physical infrastructure, legal infrastructure, education, all are deficient with FL. The legal infrastructure is being addressed on the law side of the equation, but where it really falls down is on the LEO side when wrecks that were recorded by the cyclist and prove the cyclist was not at fault end up with no enforcement against the driver. Some of that failure is a result of the long-term failure in the education side. People just don’t know the laws, and LEO are people at the end of the day.

More of the same in MO. Man arrested for fatally striking bicycle rider in St. Louis County Fortunately there was nothing on the mode of the wreck.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: LA considers hit-and-run alert, Pacoima Wash Bikeway meeting, Glendale surrenders to traffic

More on the London glorified bike lanes. London is building Europe’s longest bike superhighway As far as the longest actual “superhighway” for bikes, I think that would be the recent 27 km or so long highway opened in Denmark might have that title. And it is a real superhighway, basically a divided highway in bicycle scale. More Cycling in Central London set to get safer with new superhighways

Why this is needed is illustrated in this infographic. How London’s streets became a death trap for cyclists: Every bicycle accident mapped All that money and they are still decades behind the Dutch.

And I’m fresh out of links.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

I can haz schadenfreude, and the Feed

Filtering the Feed today was an exercise in controlling my schadenfreude as I got more and more links to killer drivers getting theirs. Then Mrs. the Poet decided that we needed to get out of the house (and I needed to get away from this computer) so we went to a book store to spend her gift card, and also dropped by a home improvement store to peruse tile for the upcoming bathroom remodel/repair. My major concern was being able to use the same tiles on the walls and the floor for a price break, and tiles that had enough texture to not be a slip hazard when wet, Mrs. the Poet mainly didn’t want tiles that looked like boards or were too dark, too light, or too beige. I picked up a car magazine at the book store and we split a triple chocolate brownie and had iced tea for our snack.

I mentioned schadenfreude in both the headline and the opening paragraph, and here are the first links. Md. Bishop Accused of Hitting, Killing Cyclist is Asked to Resign and Md. diocese calls for bishop who killed cyclist to resign They can’t fire her until the criminal complaint is complete, so she is being “asked” to resign.

More schadenfreude from just down the road a piece. Woman Charged For Alleged DWI Crash That Injured Cyclist I have noticed a sharp increase in the severity of charges filed in TX against killer drivers in recent months, with manslaughter and simple murder charges not being out of range, and I’m expecting a Capital Murder charge against a drunk driver at any time.

Double dose of schadenfreude from NYC. Cops Arrest Unlicensed Driver A Month After Killing Pedestrian Note the picture of something people claim never happens accompanying the article, there is a cyclist waiting at the red light for a pedestrian. And Cops Nab Inwood Hit-And-Run Driver After Finding Him Crying In A Parking Garage

More on the London infrastructure protest that I was invited to but could not attend. Cyclist killed in lorry crash – just months after sister died during childbirth and Hundreds stage “die-in” protest over death of cyclist in Stamford Hill

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: A sad goodbye to Long Beach’s Octavio Orduño, and it’s up to you to Bike the Vote this spring

A Canuckistani cyclist was buzzed by a bus and fell under a dump truck, but the local cyclist community is fighting back for him. Community rallies around Vancouver cyclist who was side-swiped by bus, run over by truck

In the UK a permanently disabled cyclist had good lawyers. Injured cyclist receives £2m compensation payout from driver’s insurers He was 65 at the time of the wreck, which would make him 68 or 69 now so the £2m should last for the little time he has left, but only just barely. He is not to the state that moss for his north side would be a thoughtful Christmas present, but that state is probably not too far away at any time.

More on the nonsense Volvo cyclist avoidance scheme. Bloody Volvo drivers – now they’re keeping cyclists safe To reiterate, the scheme depends on cyclists having special helmets and compatible phones with the right version of the Volvo app loaded and running which means that if your phone shuts off because of a dead or dying battery you become invisible to Volvo drivers depending on this scheme to “see” cyclists around them. And cyclists not having the right phone or buying the right helmet are right out of luck from the get-go.

And I seem to be out of links today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet