#1
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Ride safely
Sad photo he http://twitpic.com/1d47y
Warm Regards, Claire Petersky Home of the meditative cyclist: http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/ See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky |
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#2
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Ride safely
--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA "Claire" wrote in message ... Sad photo he http://twitpic.com/1d47y Warm Regards, Claire Petersky I can only imagine how his daughter feels. That note is truly heartbreaking to read. You can see the best & worst of humanity in the blog below, where people remark about the incident. http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/arc...this_morning_s --Mike Jacoubowsky Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA |
#3
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Ride safely
In article ,
"Mike Jacoubowsky" writes: --Mike Jacoubowsky Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA "Claire" wrote in message ... Sad photo he http://twitpic.com/1d47y Warm Regards, Claire Petersky I can only imagine how his daughter feels. That note is truly heartbreaking to read. You can see the best & worst of humanity in the blog below, where people remark about the incident. http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/arc...this_morning_s I read your above-provided link. It's a fairly comprehensive compendium of the attitudes riders have to deal with. I wonder if motor vehicle operators are admonished as much as cyclists are, to proceed in a predictable manner. The gist I get from the hearsay accounts is that the van driver moved rightward to prepare for a U-turn, and the cyclist attempted to pass to the left of the van, which in the cyclist's view was possibly preparing for a right turn. Taxicabs and police cars are renowned for making impromptu U-turns. It's good to be alert to their presence. Taxicabs are also renowned for making impromtu, screeching stops in the middle of the street. And traffic-side doors can suddenly fling open. I know there's an impetus to get to the front of the line, to be ahead of everybody else. But sometimes it's better to hang back and see what transpires up ahead. Another thing to look out for is cars parked facing the wrong way, 'cuz they might pull out, and necessarily have to make a U-turn. friendly regards, Tom -- Nothing is safe from me. I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca |
#4
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Ride safely
Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
--Mike Jacoubowsky I can only imagine how his daughter feels. That note is truly heartbreaking to read. You can see the best & worst of humanity in the blog below, where people remark about the incident. http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/arc...this_morning_s Those comments pretty well sum up the scope of feelings citizens have about bicycles mixing with traffic. I didn't read any nasty comments like they are glad the guy is dead or his daughter in tears. Even the ones which would mostly be taken as 'anti bike' are not so much anti bike as wishing to suppress bikes so this sort of incident doesn't recur. One observation I made upon reading about the incident and others also made on the 'slog' is that the bicyclist was going 35 mph. Even if the turning van saw the bike, he'd not suspect such a great closing speed and/or the bike was too far away when the driver looked to be seen. This isn't to blame the bicyclist, but to observe that this may be close to a unique situation - sad for the family and probably sad for the cager who must be suffering as well. Not every sad incident has a lesson embedded in it. Sometimes bad things just happen. |
#5
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Ride safely
On Feb 9, 9:09*am, slide wrote:
One observation I made upon reading about the incident and others also made on the 'slog' is that the bicyclist was going 35 mph. Even if the turning van saw the bike, he'd not suspect such a great closing speed and/or the bike was too far away when the driver looked to be seen. This isn't to blame the bicyclist, but to observe that this may be close to a unique situation - sad for the family and probably sad for the cager who must be suffering as well. From what I can tell, the "35 mph" was a casual guess from someone off to the side. I wouldn't put any stock in that number at all. The bicycle was going downhill, and probably going faster than most motorists would expect - but that's the fault of motorists, not cyclists. If the cyclist was not literally speeding, his downhill speed should not be used as an excuse. - Frank Krygowski |
#6
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Ride safely
On Feb 7, 11:18 pm, (Tom Keats) wrote:
The gist I get from the hearsay accounts is that the van driver moved rightward to prepare for a U-turn, and the cyclist attempted to pass to the left of the van... U-turns are one of the toughest moves for a bicyclist to anticipate. A few times I have been surprised by oncoming vehicles whipping sudden left-turns at me in the middle of the block across double yellows where no driveway exists -- trying for a u-turn or 3-point turn and did not see the bicyclist. This van driver was apparently parked on the right side of the road before flipping her u. Contrary to eye-witness statements, the police report said that the van was in the center of the road preparing for a left when the victim attempted to pass on the left. |
#7
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Ride safely
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#8
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Ride safely
Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Feb 9, 9:09 am, slide wrote: The bicycle was going downhill, and probably going faster than most motorists would expect - but that's the fault of motorists, not cyclists. If the cyclist was not literally speeding, his downhill speed should not be used as an excuse. Oh groan not this crap again. The 'fault' is with the motorist, eh? Well, who's dead and who's daughter is miserable? And who gives a **#*# that the at fault guy is right now roaming about and the innocent is dead? |
#9
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Ride safely
"Frank Krygowski" wrote in message
... On Feb 9, 9:09 am, slide wrote: One observation I made upon reading about the incident and others also made on the 'slog' is that the bicyclist was going 35 mph. Even if the turning van saw the bike, he'd not suspect such a great closing speed and/or the bike was too far away when the driver looked to be seen. This isn't to blame the bicyclist, but to observe that this may be close to a unique situation - sad for the family and probably sad for the cager who must be suffering as well. From what I can tell, the "35 mph" was a casual guess from someone off to the side. I wouldn't put any stock in that number at all. 35mph is a red herring anyway. There are plenty of times I'm riding 35mph perfectly safely, just like the cars around me. Would there be conditions where 35mph wouldn't be safe? Sure. Wet roads, poor visibility, too many unprotected intersections. But there are many times when it would be perfectly safe & reasonable. That reasonble thing is an issue here. Some just think a speed of 35mph on a bike isn't reasonable, thus the guy was doing something unsafe. --Mike Jacoubowsky Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA |
#10
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Ride safely
Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
35mph is a red herring anyway. There are plenty of times I'm riding 35mph perfectly safely, just like the cars around me. Would there be conditions where 35mph wouldn't be safe? Sure. Wet roads, poor visibility, too many unprotected intersections. But there are many times when it would be perfectly safe & reasonable. That reasonble thing is an issue here. Some just think a speed of 35mph on a bike isn't reasonable, thus the guy was doing something unsafe. --Mike Jacoubowsky Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA This is a real hard one to even try to call. I know that 55 MPH is fine with 'ZERO' traffic and good road, but even 25 is too much to smack the side of a van. I heard of a child being killed by running into his own garage door at under 10 MPH, so bad things can happen, even if unlikely. What I am getting at is the need to be aware that cars/vans/whatever don't or even can't always see you and even so they might be thinking that bicycles only travel at pedal speed of about 12 MPH if all they ever see is casual bicyclists. Drive defensively on the road. Drive **VERY** defensively when you can even 'see' cars. Bill Baka |
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