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

--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

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

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.

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

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.

wrote:
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.

It could have happened to any of us in the city. I driver about like the
guy in the van to make a big vehicle make the turn, otherwise you get
stuck half way and it is even more of a problem. On the flip side, once
I have peak velocity going down a hill I do */not/* want to give it up,
but a van in front of me would be a big motivator to lose the speed. On
a motorcycle it is no big deal, just gas it up to the speed you had, on
a bicycle you have to 'earn' that speed and don't want to give it up. If
it was two lanes and the bicyclist tried to pass on the left (turn
lane?), then it was probably a bad call.
I still have not seen the scene, so it is ???
Bill Baka
Same problem with school buses around here.

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?

"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

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