Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 13:35:39 -0400
From: kml...@gmail.com
To: WCus...@aol.com
Subject: [MABRA-USCF] Re: Cyclist in Chicago killed by driver who ran a red light...
CC: mabra...@googlegroups.com
From: mabra...@googlegroups.com [mailto:mabra...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Karen L~
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 1:36 PM
To: WCus...@aol.com
Cc: mabra...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [MABRA-USCF] Re: Cyclist in Chicago killed by driver who ran a red light...
There is no telling what happened in this case however, I have been on a number of group rides lately where stop signs and red lights were blown and Hanes Point where we as a group swerve in and out of cars moving at the posted speed limit. I don’t think anyone deserves to get hit by a car however, if we expect the same rights as a motor vehicle then maybe we should follow the same rules. I am not trying to start a debate, I am just as guilty as most of you reading this, I am however suggesting maybe we should start to follow the rules a little closer and I would guess the number of incidents would go down.
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This (...same rights...same rules) is such a mis-characterization of what a safety standard actually entails. An average automobile has twice the momentum at 2mph that a cyclist has at 25mph, takes 10 times the space which doubles for about every 10mph increase, has no natural inhibitor to being used aggressively (i.e. little effort required, no fatigue), and isolates driver's senses from their surroundings. In order to simply allow automobile use on public roads, the innate notion of what is safe had to be seriously depressed.
While cyclists suffer from the same human flaws as drivers, the results of our actions are just not comparable and most laws exist to constrain the very effects of motor vehicles that are outside the realm of any cyclist.
(as is evident by the nearly non-existent traffic laws in areas where there's no motorized traffic)
James W. Wagner
There is no telling what happened in this case however, I have been on a number of group rides lately where stop signs and red lights were blown and Hanes Point where we as a group swerve in and out of cars moving at the posted speed limit. I don’t think anyone deserves to get hit by a car however, if we expect the same rights as a motor vehicle then maybe we should follow the same rules. I am not trying to start a debate, I am just as guilty as most of you reading this, I am however suggesting maybe we should start to follow the rules a little closer and I would guess the number of incidents would go down.
From: mabra...@googlegroups.com [mailto:mabra...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris G
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 3:37 PM
To: kml...@gmail.com; wcus...@aol.com
Cc: mabra...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [MABRA-USCF] Re: Cyclist in Chicago killed by driver who ran a red light...
Gawd, here's the quote from the article that just burns me up:
"Following the crash, Shakespeare District police urged city cyclists to follow all traffic signals and wear proper safety gear while riding."
Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 13:35:39 -0400
From: kml...@gmail.com
To: WCus...@aol.com
Subject: [MABRA-USCF] Re: Cyclist in Chicago killed by driver who ran a red light...
CC: mabra...@googlegroups.com
She was wearing a helmet. Until motorists realize that a car is not only a mode of transportation from point A to point B but potentially a murder weapon, will we see an end to fatalities. Whether you are a pedestrian, a cyclist or a motorist, the least we can do is drive, ride and walk responsibly.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/926089,teacher050108.article
On Fri, May 2, 2008 at 4:21 PM, <WCus...@aol.com> wrote:
man, that bites.
There was a helmet recovered at the scene, but police couldn't say whether she was wearing it.
Yeah, I'm sure she was carrying it. And I'm sure it helped a lot in the path of a car blowing through a red light.
It's the cyclist's fault, don't you know? It's always the cyclist's fault.
Although this time, because the driver wasn't insured, maybe the police won't be so worried about HAVING to blame the cyclist.
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This (...same rights...same rules) is such a mis-characterization of what a safety standard actually entails. An average automobile has twice the momentum at 2mph that a cyclist has at 25mph, takes 10 times the space which doubles for about every 10mph increase, has no natural inhibitor to being used aggressively (i.e. little effort required, no fatigue), and isolates driver's senses from their surroundings. In order to simply allow automobile use on public roads, the innate notion of what is safe had to be seriously depressed.
While cyclists suffer from the same human flaws as drivers, the results of our actions are just not comparable and most laws exist to constrain the very effects of motor vehicles that are outside the realm of any cyclist.
(as is evident by the nearly non-existent traffic laws in areas where there's no motorized traffic)
Fellow MABRAns,
I've read the thread thus far and James W. is on to something.
If you just want to rage about the violation of cyclists' road rights, the seemingly illogical perspective of police and the media when a cyclist gets hit or killed, or you agree with the term "murder" being applied to the unfortunate situation in Chicago, then read no further. The reality is that with millions of daily motorists in this country and tens of thousands of daily cyclists, a handful of accidental deaths each year is astoundingly low. If you want to know a few tips about riding more safely in traffic, then seek to understand the motorist's mindset, manage their negative emotions, and read on.
Let's understand the American motorist mindset - why are cars revered, and why do people seemingly get angry at the slightest hint of a cyclist on the road with them? The real reason they get angry is not what you or they think it is.
From the mid-1920s to the present, motorized vehicles in this country were considered an indispensable appliance of modern life. Owning and operating a vehicle within the law is an American right and privilege. I believe most of us would confess to being very dependent on our cars to earn a living now. Even those with the lowest paying jobs require a motorized vehicle to get to work, whether or not they own a vehicle.
NASCAR is the largest spectator sport in the USA by a very, very wide margin -- not baseball, not football, not basketball, and certainly not all forms of cycling combined. Compare the name recognition of Greg LeMond or Lance Armstrong to that of Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt across the USA and you'll understand. It's the difference between who and Elvis. Even this author has a direct blood-line to idolized NASCAR racers of the 60s, 70s and 80s. But don't try to figure out why curling is the most popular spectator sport in Canada - not hockey, not figure skating and not ice fishing. The irony is that at the turn of the 20th century, indoor track cycling was the most popular sport in America by far. When Ford introduced the Model T, that was that.
A Federal tax on gasoline was established to pay for highways, bridges and the interstate system. The Federal Highway Administration was born by this tax, and is the only Federal agency that has operated in the black ever since. What a novel idea, to operate within one's own tax budget. This is what the Secretary of Transportation meant when she unfortunately stated that cyclists have no right to our roads. What she meant to say was that cyclists are not paying for roads when they are cycling on them, and she would have been correct had she so stated.
Every commodity for day to day living was and still is brought to us by a motorized vehicle using public paved surfaces. Bicycles are still considered toys for kids and basic transportation for the absolute poorest, most destitute of adults by the majority of our population, including recent immigrants trying to live the dream. In public, our very status in society is judged by what we drive.
With this history, it's not hard to understand why Americans have this phenomenal psycho-socio-economic burden of owning, fueling and maintaining motor vehicles, not just for subsistence, but as a public proclamation of who we are and where our place is in society. Most of us have no sentience of this burden, or how to shed it. Go watch "American Graffiti" if you're still having problems with the place of the automobile in American society. Our love of and dependence on the automobile is so strong that we completely ignore the fact that there are more than 10 times the number of vehicle-related deaths in the US each year than all the deaths of Americans caused by the Iraq war to date, but the media reminds us of the cost of Iraq on almost a daily basis.
Given this deeply ingrained cultural mentality, the average American driver, who is already stressed out beyond belief, sees adult cyclists as overgrown kids endangering themselves and challenging a 100-year-old way of life. We are viewed as not having a right to the road because we're not paying the gas tax that pays for the roads and bridges. On top of it all, they are paying the state and local taxes for bike trails to GET US OFF THE ROADS. We're impeding the progress of road-going cars and trucks that made this country the economic Titan that it is today, that get us to work on time, and that deliver all the commodities of life and happiness that our forefathers paid for with their very lives. Most of all, motorists view cyclists as threats, similar to drunk drivers, because our behavior is UNPREDICTABLE; and herein lies the secret to riding safely in traffic.
Hit a cyclist and there is no telling what the consequences will be to your insurance, to points on your license, legal defense fees, etc. God forbid if you kill one or cripple one for life there will be no end to the remorse, guilt, depression and embarrassment that will hound you for the rest of your days and possibly into the next life. Kill a cyclist, and you will be psychologically stripped of your right to enjoy life for one minute more.
All negative emotions have their roots in fear. When a car driver becomes irrational, angry or aggressive at a cyclist, the subliminal root cause is that they are scared to death of hurting us or killing us because they do not know how to drive with us. Women tend to be more conscious of this anxiety produced by fear of hurting someone, while men usually channel most negative emotions into an anger response, but don't understand the root cause. The bottom line is motorists are scared and fearful of hurting us. I know I get this way when I'm driving and see kids on bikes weaving on and off the road every time they run out of sidewalk, or popping out from between parked cars. I'm not angry because they are impeding me. I'm angry because they are endangering themselves at my potential expense. I have kids of my own. And hey, isn't this how you feel when a Cat 5 rider gets squirrelly in a club training event?
The most common perspective of a uniformed, Lycra-clad cyclist by the average heartland NASCAR fan commuter is of an elitist snob who is placing their safety in the hands of the underclass plebes and serfs, who are stuck in their cars in traffic. At the same time, motorists feel they are being inconvenienced and put out by having to wait until this line-butting superior jerk takes another road. Oh the arrogance and the impudence, especially at $4.00 a gallon!
So, if we deal with and manage their fear, we will be safer, and the car, truck and bus drivers will feel better about us being in mixed traffic (see there, you thought they were just mean people, and mean people really do suck).
O.K., you've been patient, here it comes. The single-most principal of riding safely in traffic is to ACT LIKE A CAR! This is perhaps the least intuitive aspect to safe riding because we are all programmed to avoid the 2.5 tons of killing machine in the hands of someone who hasn't the foggiest idea how lethal is the object they are controlling. But at the expense of irritating motorists even more, you just might save your own life and those of your riding partners.
Some aspects of ACT LIKE A CAR include:
1) Ride five to six feet from the curb, well into the lane, and far enough out so that motorists behind you must slow down and figure out a safe way to pass. At first, this may give you the heebee jeebees, and drivers will inevitably honk or yell at you to get off the road, but this is EXACTLY what you want them to do. Only now are you being recognized as a road-going vehicle that commands the same attention (if not respect) as another car or truck. Accidents occur most often when cyclists are in a perceptual limbo between another car and a pedestrian. Hold your place in the lane and they'll eventually find a way to pass you safely. Yes, pissing them off is actually safer because they know how to deal with you as a vehicle in the same lane of traffic as other vehicles.
2) Obey the traffic laws the same as a motorized vehicle. If you want to lose respect and become a target for aggression, then skirt by cars stopped at red lights and run those lights and stop signs as if you are exempt from the law. When you see a light turn red ahead, pull into your lane and wait your turn to proceed the same as you would in your car. Every time you scoff the laws and enter that limbo between vehicle and pedestrian, you endanger yourself and you reinforce the anti-cyclist mentality of the very people who's perceptions we are trying to change.
3) Use copious hand signals and facilitate passing when safe. If motorists are being patient while driving behind you, reward them by signaling when it's safe to pass and give them a bit more room, especially if they have to cross a double yellow to get by you.
4) Take your place in a left-turn lane and while executing a left turn in an intersection the same as if you were a car.
5) Avoid riding abreast while in a group on a busy road. It's illegal.
6) Light yourself up like Parliament and the Funkadelics at a 70s disco concert when riding at night. At the very least, a bright headlight and red taillight are required by law after dark. I find the ET alien spacecraft landing look most effective if you commute regularly.
7) Know the law and know your rights. Most police are horribly ignorant of traffic laws concerning cyclists. This author has had more than a few lively discussions with local constables and state troopers that avoided a trip to the pokey, when the motorist was actually at fault, if not chargeable with vehicle assault, and taken away instead of me. Nothing gains more immediate and lasting respect by police than knowledge of the law. DC, Virginia and Maryland have similar laws governing cycling on public roads. For a long time, I kept a paper in a baggie with the top 10 points in a rear pocket as part of my kit. I stopped when I had them memorized. If you recite code by paragraph number, most police will believe you immediately. All police have the ability to look up the code in their cruisers. WABA and LAB have easy access summaries f or all 50 states and territories.
As a long-time roadie, long-distance commuter, bike safety instructor, and student of cycling law, I've learned that the safest way to ride in traffic is the least intuitive and the least practiced by racing club members - Act Like A Car!
Wishing safe riding for all,
Russ Allison
NCVC/Inova Health System
sent from mobile
So, at least sometimes, the system works.
Jim
wha?does this mean that I should, or should not, stop at the sign?you are complicating this beyond recognition. I think I know what you're saying, which is that predictability, even without parity in obeisance to rules, will bring enlightenment.I think you're giving way too much credit to drivers. drivers don't have respect for cyclists because they think that cyclists don't have respect for them. screw them begets screw them. and the lack of respect for drivers is true enough, even as we cyclists, or most of us anyway, spend a fair amount of time behind the wheel.
In a message dated 5/5/2008 8:40:50 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, james....@yahoo.com writes:The notion of respect relies just as much on the question of what two things are comparable as does the question of safety. Since The Golden Rule is about treatment of other people it should always beg the questions of what behaviors are similar. It certainly doesn't mean a bicycle can treat a car as the car treats the bicycle.When I am driving, I certainly don't feel I am being respectful to cyclists when I (accidentally) add to the effort they're already making by causing them to act as if they're the threat my vehicle is. Far from it, I am always struck by how disrespectful driving is, to subject cyclists (and others) on the roadway to the danger, pollution, and congested roads it creates. All of which cyclists have no part in producing.Maybe, as someone alluded to, the area where cyclists need to make improvements is really in the matter of predictability, being consistent and uniform (group cohesiveness), in their divergence from the motorist's pattern of behavior, as opposed to pretending to be a motor vehicle. (since even safe, defensive riding can be achieved without dropping to that level).Additionally, I am always struck by the big difference in impact between riders just single-mindedly blowing around/through traffic versus actually making indications to drivers of their intentions. Maneuvering in a forthright and thoughtful way seems to help underscore that it is not meant to be subversive or unfair, even if the drivers might disapprove of it all. And in the general public's eyes, riders having a better chance at avoiding the hooligan label.
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Do we really think they care about us when they system doesn’t even care about the ones that protect and serve?? And then this happens…………………………………..
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354402,00.html
What a joke……………………………………this person is free to keep on going. So people living in Howard Co beware……………………………………..
From: Jeff Via
[mailto:jlv...@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 7:49 PM
To: 'kml...@gmail.com'
Subject: RE: [MABRA-USCF] Re: Cyclist in Chicago killed by driver who
ran a red light...
Do we think that they care about cyclists when they don’t really care about the ones that protect and serve and let this happen……………………………………….
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has a "Justice for All"
campaign aimed at enhancing penalties for right-of-way traffic
violations that effect pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. I
know of no bicycling advocacy group attempting such nationwide change in laws.
Get behind the AMA (yourself personally or your club)
http://www.amadirectlink.com/justice/index.asp
or one of the other groups that support increased penalties for
right-of-way violations
http://www.amadirectlink.com/justice/groups.asp
Shawn Downing
Shawn Downing
King Pawn - Chesapeake Wheelmen, vice-president
P.O. Box 9372
Baltimore, MD 21228
Established 1946, one of America's oldest cycling clubs
http://www.chesapeakewheelmen.org
King Pawn
http://www.kingpawn.com
Without discouraging anyone from supporting these kinds of
national efforts, I would *encourage* all of you to focus
your advocacy in this area on your state and local
authorities. That's where the real legislative action
happens on rights of way, penalties for infractions, bike
lanes, and the like.
For example, just this past session, Maryland's legislature
considered a bill that would have required motorists to give
bicyclists at least 3 ft. of space when passing. That's on
the books now as a recommendation, but this bill would have
given that recommendation the force of law. Now, I know it's
not like the police are going to start throwing tickets at
drivers who brush by riders, but it would be another
leverage point for riders trying to exercise their rights to
the road.
Probably the most important first step in this direction for
all of us is to get informed about what current local and
state law is, and then to think about how it could be
better. WABA does exactly that kind of thing on a regional
level, and they deserve our support for that work, but
individual citizens can make a difference, too.
It probably sounds crass, but I think state and county
officials are especially likely to be moved by calls to
action from riders who've been hit or threatened by
motorists. I get the sense that your advocacy will be most
effective if you can tie the action you'd like them to take
to personal experience and avoid diatrabes and polemics
along the way.
Regards,
Jay U.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shawn Downing - CTY / Johns Hopkins University"
<shawn....@jhu.edu>
To: <mabra...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 9:40 AM
Subject: [MABRA-USCF] Re: Cyclist in Chicago killed by
driver who ran a red light...
>
If everyone on the list started bugging their representatives stuff
would get done. Its really funny how minority views become MAJORITY
views just by the amount of noise they generate. (Think I'm wrong on
this? Look at the Moral Majority- who was really a minority, but they
came out in force while the rest of us were out riding...)
Karen
-----Original Message-----
From: mabra...@googlegroups.com [mailto:mabra...@googlegroups.com]