http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/20273123/microsoft-employee-killed-biking-home-from-work
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Another "Dear Cyclists, go f**k yourselves" news article. Sad.
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mantra to self
don't read internet comments on news sites
don't read internet comments on news sites
don't read internet comments on news sites
don't read internet comments on news sites
don't read internet comments on news sites
don't read internet comments on news sites -
The article is OK but there's a couple persistent numbskulls in the comment list. What else is new.
The wise man said follow me...and he walked behind. -
Only reflectors?!?!?!
It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. -
Really sad. Nothing in the article about lights, but that doesn't mean he didn't have them.
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There's a local hiking forum where the accepted custom is that when an article appears about someone dying in the backcountry, you remember the deceased but don't turn the thread into a debate about all the things he or she may have done wrong.
It may stifle debate in the short term, but creates a space for remembrance and keeps humanity intact. Every single bike collision article comment section devolves into a diatribe against cyclists being on the road. Yeah, it's a wake up call for all involved but there's a place for that elsewhere.
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Yeah, I had to reread the article, it did say "at night" and "dark". If indeed he was only using reflectors, he was being very cavalier with his safety. Very sad....
"To be free and to live a free life - that is the most beautiful thing there is."
Miguel Indurain -
"The Urge to Kill"
There used to be a cartoon comic with that title. I guess it wouldn't be tolerated in this age.
Was on an organized ride a few years ago in Southern Oregon ("Rogue Valley something other…")
Many participants, friendly locals, streets and highway sections made to be exclusively for the riders or at least cordoned safety lanes. Streamers, banners, prancing horses, and acrobatic clowns to make it a spectacle for all to participate in.
On one of the sections I was riding with others, all of us strung out as safely as we could hugging the edge of the shoulderless road. It turned out to be only a short stretch but there was no getting off the mostly deserted road, at least not without stopping and dismounting the bikes.
An old crusty "get off my lawn" fart in a buick (it was a blue buick) came up to the last rider as closely as he could and began to constantly honk his horn. He kept it up for at least 2 minutes as we progressed along the road. We were just hoping one of the motorcycle cops who were periodically surveying the scene would show up but before that happened crusty fart turned off into his driveway and that was that.
Knowing where he lived sure put evil thoughts in my head.
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Sad.
Now is an excellent time for all of us to review these:
http://www.3m.com/brands/scotchlite/nowhiteatnight/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OgKOcyHwu4Word--> Scotchlight and lights.
White clothing at night is not very visible, it has no reflective properties.
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Thanks,moc -- you should repost this every 3-months or so as a reminder.
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Sorry, I don't buy the "didn't see him" defense. I'm trying to remember ANY time I didn't see a runner or cyclist ahead of me on a dark road. Nope, NEVER happened. And I drive dark roads frequently that also regularly have runners, walkers and cyclists. I always see them even if they are wearing dark clothes. Sometimes I am close before I see them but I do see them. We have runners and cyclists (actually non-cyclists, laborers, etc who don't think too much before getting on a bike in the dark) who run and cycle with virtually no reflectors and usually dark clothing. The only time I have almost not seen someone is if they are coming from the side, have no lights and dark clothes.
The major factor in favor of runners and cyclists on the road in the dark when I am driving, or even cycling, is that I AM LOOKING FOR THEM.
I pay a lot of attention to what people are using on their bikes - curiosity about what, exactly, works and does not work. And even with NO lights you can see shapes, and less face it, all running shoes have reflective heels and you can see those if you are paying attention.
So, unless this lady was totally blinded by oncoming headlights, or the guy suddenly turned into her path, I believe she is lying. Most likely she was simply not paying attention.
Having said that, anyone who rides on the road should take the view that no one can see them so they better light the place up if they want to defend themselves from stupid drivers. What I have is overkill to some, but I am lighting up the bike for that one total idiot who runs into things just because there are things to run into.
"The stone age didn't end because the earth ran out of stones, and the oil age won't end because the earth runs out of oil" -- Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute, rmi.org -
I am with C2K. I walk my dog every morning for an hour, and here in the PNW it is still dark at 6:15 when we get home. If I am not flashing my flashlight into the eyes of oncoming motorists, they fly by at 10-15 (sometimes even 20) mph above the posted limit. It's good that they see me because of my light, but if I don't have the light on, the F***ING ASSUME NO ONE IS OUT AND THEREFORE THEY DON'T HAVE TO OBEY THE F***ING LAW. That is the part about this death that gets to me. Even though a driver is not distracted, it doesn't mean that they're driving in a safe, heads-up manner.
I think that once most drivers are in the comfort of their climate controlled leather-seated vehicles, they tend to disconnect with the idea that they're in control of something big, powerful, and heavy that can kill someone in an instant.
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I have never been hit from behind while riding and have only been on a ride when it has happened (it was close, door mirror got my riding partner) once. I don't have anything to go on other than you gotta make sure you get seen. I had my battery die on my rear light earlier this season and I was literally shaken by just the THOUGHT of how invisible I was on the ride home.
I have said it before, I feel safer riding in urban environments than I do out on country roads, no matter what time of day.
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GJanney, same thing here. In my neighborhood the speed limit is 20, and they recently installed speed bumps about every two blocks, but still, early in the morning and late at night, people routinely drive as fast as 50 thru there. When I walk my dogs when it's dark, I always have either my headlamp or my handheld flashlight with me, both 500 lumen blazers. The only thing that will slow those people down is a eye blast from my lights. Works almost every time.
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Why can't the posters in the comments section figure out the difference between something being a bad idea va "no right to be there".
It's simple. You drive your car, you hit anything you're overtaking, it's your fault. She should be charged. If she was passing a tractor driving on the shoulder and hit it, you can bet it would be her insurance paying for it.
If you couldn't see something you hit, you were overdriving the conditions. Your fault.Whether or not is was a good idea from the cyclists POV to be out on that particular road in those conditions is a completely different argument, but has no bearing on whose fault it was he got hit. He had a right to be there under the law. She was obliged under the law to be driving in a way that would allow her to be aware of his presence in time to react.
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I always find it absurd when people say that cyclists shouldn't be riding on public roads because the roads are too dangerous. And what exactly makes them so dangerous? Drivers of motor vehicles, of course! They don't seem willing to admit their own culpability, and blame us instead.
As for being seen, I've frequently found myself being out on my bike later than planned, so I carry a couple of small lights and a reflecting leg band under my saddle. Then I saw these and bought some for myself: http://www.brite-strike.com/APALS-AIR.html They stick to your clothes or whatever, are super-thin, and take up hardly any room in my pocket or seat pack.
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What % of those who drive cars also bicycle and or run on the road regularly?
We see cyclists / runners because we ARE cyclists / runners and the 'there go I' notion applies.
Pie-in-the-sky dream: road BICYCLE operation / pedestrian should be part of all Driver Ed classes, and ANYONE hitting a runner / cyclist should be forced by Law to experience life on the other side of the windshield firsthand.
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I had a guy in a Prius yell at me last night that it was too late to be riding a bicycle. I guess he could see me though.
CK2_Rider I have to disagree. Often on my evening commute, on what I consider a wide, well lite road while using a 650 lumens headlight I've been surprised by pedestrians stepping out of the shadows. I'm only traveling 20 mph, so I have plenty of time to react, but if they are beyond the scope of my beam they are invisible.
Jam Econo -
As a commuter, you just have to have eyes in the back of your head.
I am listening as intently as I am watching when commuting.
Oh yeah...for the bike commuter I cut off in traffic this morning in my car...SO SORRY bro. Been on the exact same street in the exact came location and had it done to me. Totally my bad. Driving with a sinus infection is no good for the ability to pay attention. Lo siento!
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i would like to carry a box full of blinky lights in my car and hand them out to the people i see riding lightless/reflectorless at night.
If you are not hallucinating, you are not trying hard enough -
I respectfully disagree c2k. I have had more than a couple instances at night for whatever reason(not distraction) I have come upon someone without really realizing it until right as I pass them or even after. Reflectors are not enough. Even the small lights with one LED are not enough. +1 skinny. I have stopped twice, once for a runner and another time for a biker and told them I didn't see them at all and asked them to do everyone in the neighborhood a favor and get some lights. They were thankful I did so
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"I would like to carry a box full of blinky lights in my car and hand them out to the people i see riding lightless/reflectorless at night."
Sorry,I would prefer to stop and dope slap them for being so stupid.
"Riding is about rhythm and flow. It's the wind in your face and the challange of hammering up a long hill. It's the reward at the top and the thrill of a high-speed descent. Biking lets you come alive both in body and spirit." -
I commute to work every day and I come home at night.
I have a front and rear flasher at all times, even in the morning during daylight.
After what happened to Levi, I just turn it on.
No excuses now that they have USB rechargeable lights. I can't use the excuse that I'm saving battery life. My front light is so bright I've actually had cars flash me their "brights" when traveling against traffic in the bike lane. Now I know I'm being seen! -
What others said, reflectors and lights are not enough. They are a must, but not enough.
The key ingredient is to ride on a road that is well travelled by cyclists. That puts you on drivers' mental radar screen, the singlemost important factor. But...when in Texas.
"(it was close, door mirror got my riding partner)"
This happened to me last year...mirror hit handlebars with car going ~ 80kph. I don't know how I stayed upright but I did, probably closest call I ever had. It was in the middle of day. If people are distracted...
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most people that ride at night w/o lights/reflectors just don't know any better. and the sad part is even if they had a light, they would probably throw it away when the batteries died.
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