[Brad Cannon]

Mtb time trial Tuesday afternoon at 5:30! Meet at the whirlpool gate at 5 for a pre ride.

[iteach...@aol.com]

Another cyclist hit on the bridge where Patrick Ytsma lost his life. Fortunately, this cyclist survived, and quick-thinking witnesses blocked the fleeing driver's attempted escape.

Interestingly, this driver will probably be the first driver charged with violating Pennsylvania's new 4 foot safe passing law. As I've maintained on several occasions, rather than being disappointed that police are not 

tailing cyclists looking for buzzing violations, this enhanced ability to charge a driver post-crash is one of the real benefits of the safe passing laws.

http://bethlehempolice.blogspot.com/2012/04/another-expert-cyclist-hit-by-car-on.html 

Rick 

Jerry Wexler,lmt/nct

iteach...@aol.com

[iteach...@aol.com]

7. HOW MANY CYCLISTS ARE KILLED AND INJURED EACH YEAR?

In 2001, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 728 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles and 45,000 were injured. These numbers represent 2 percent of the total number of people killed and injured in traffic crashes. In 2000, the number of fatalities dipped below the 700 mark for the first time in the past decade. Recent data also shows that there has been a 14% reduction in fatalities among cyclists between 1997 and 2007.: Source : National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (PDF)

Year	Fatalities	Injuries
2007	698	43,000
2006	772	44,000
2005	786	45,000
2004	727	41,000
2003	629	46,000
2002	665	48,000
2001	728	45,000
2000	690	51,000
1999	750	51,000
1998	760	53,000
1997	814	58,000
1996	765	59,000
1995	833	61,000
1994	802
1993	816
1992	723
1991	843
1990	859

Jerry Wexler,lmt/nct

iteach...@aol.com

[Paxton Little]

This is the video of the hit and run from the traffic cameras.

http://coolbikevideos.com/bethlehem-car-v-bike-crash-hit-and-run/

[iteach...@aol.com]

One would have to have full leave of one's senses to bike on that crowed bridge----legal or not!

Jerry Wexler,lmt/nct

iteach...@aol.com

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[Trigger]

So does the law in that state not require the cyclist to ride as far
right can be safely done?

[Robert Garrett]

I agree, crazy place to ride.

Lane sign said...."Cyclist may take entire lane."

[Chris Lee]

[GREGORY J LOVE]

As a forum for cyclists, I would appreciate it if we stopped blaming victims.

This was a hit and run accident as the video clearly shows--and the guy was clearly in his right to ride there and in that manner (4' law in Penn).

________________________________________
From: oxford...@googlegroups.com [oxford...@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Robert Garrett [rgar...@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2012 7:09 PM
To: oxford...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [OxfordCycling:11583] Re:

[iteach...@aol.com]

Sometimes the law is an ass. Logic and reason can keep you alive and out of harms way. I bet most of those divers never even saw the damn sign. They were probably too busy texting and looking at the GPS. Look I am not blaming the cyclist, but no law can protect us completely. We as bike riders need and should use our best judgement especially in situations where there is narrow overcrowded roads with no shoulder and heavy traffic. These cars had poor visibility of the cyclist ahead even if they were paying some attention. The only motor vehicle that could truly see the bike was the one directly behind him plus it was an over hill. I am with you, but whomever came up with that law of full lane and 4 feet on that bridge needs to seriously rethink it. 

I notice the runners and pedestrians had a totally sheltered walk way. I wonder why.......they didn't give the bikers one. We would not be having this conversation if they had.

Your life comes down to it's your responsibility.

Please take care.

Jerry Wexler,lmt/nct

iteach...@aol.com

-----Original Message-----
From: GREGORY J LOVE <gjl...@olemiss.edu>
To: oxfordcycling <oxford...@googlegroups.com>

[Robert Garrett]

I wasn't blaming the cyclist. I agreed with another post that I would never ride there, but if you looked at the next sentence in my post I stated that the cyclist had the right to the entire lane as stated by the sign on the road. He was not in the wrong but I thought common sense showed (me at least) that the bridge he was riding on was dangerous.

Robert

Sent from my iPad

[Trigger]

I'm not blaming the cyclist either, but in this particular case, I'm
not gonna feel sorry for him either. There's the law and then there
is common sense. Just as we demand respect and courtesy from drivers,
they should expect the same from us. Just because we have the right
to the road doesn't mean we have to make asses of ourselves. If you
have the right to the whole road and you go up a hill in the middle of
the lane and back up traffic for half a mile, then your within your
rights I guess, but you're also an ass and certainly not helping the
cause of cyclists. Of course, this is just my personal opinion, you
may not agree.

On Apr 10, 7:11 am, Robert Garrett <rgarre...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I wasn't blaming the cyclist. I agreed with another post that I would never ride there, but if you looked at the next sentence in my post I stated that the cyclist had the right to the entire lane as stated by the sign on the road. He was not in the wrong but I thought common sense showed (me at least) that the bridge he was riding on was dangerous.
>
> Robert
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Apr 9, 2012, at 9:16 PM, GREGORY J LOVE <gjl...@olemiss.edu> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > As a forum for cyclists, I would appreciate it if we stopped blaming victims.
>
> > This was a hit and run accident as the video clearly shows--and the guy was clearly in his right to ride there and in that manner (4' law in Penn).
>
> > ________________________________________

> > From: oxford...@googlegroups.com [oxford...@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Robert Garrett [rgarre...@gmail.com]

> > Sent: Monday, April 09, 2012 7:09 PM
> > To: oxford...@googlegroups.com
> > Subject: Re: [OxfordCycling:11583] Re:
>
> > I agree, crazy place to ride.
>
> > Lane sign said...."Cyclist may take entire lane."
> > On Apr 9, 2012, at 7:04 PM, Trigger wrote:
>
> >> So does the law in that state not require the cyclist to ride as far
> >> right can be safely done?
>
> >> On Apr 9, 6:00 pm, Paxton Little <paxtonlit...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> This is the video of the hit and run from the traffic cameras.
>
> >>>http://coolbikevideos.com/bethlehem-car-v-bike-crash-hit-and-run/
>
> >> --
> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Oxford Cycling" group from Oxford, Mississippi USA.
> >> To post to this group, send email to Oxford...@googlegroups.com
> >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to OxfordCyclin...@googlegroups.com

> >> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/oxfordcycling

>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Oxford Cycling" group from Oxford, Mississippi USA.
> > To post to this group, send email to Oxford...@googlegroups.com
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to OxfordCyclin...@googlegroups.com

> > For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/oxfordcycling

[Rael64]

Either one agrees with the idea of a bicycle being a vehicle just as a car is a vehicle, or not.  It's a choice, just as it is a choice to drive a car or not.  But the law says that a bicycle is a vehicle just as any motorized vehicle is a 'vehicle'.  That of course doesn't make me 'safe' on my bike, but the only reason I am more safe in my car is that I'm am better protected.

As a cyclist, though, I don't particularly want special treatment; simply the same respect that all other vehicles and their drivers receive and give one another (or at least, the theoretical respect given and received - but that is another issue entirely).  I've even kept my mouth shut about the bike lanes being built here in Oxford, but were I to vent a bit, I'd say they are a waste of money, and they actually make it more dangerous for the cyclist.  In short: does anyone really believe that a stripe down the road separating a bicyclist from a moving car will protect the cyclist any better?  Toss in (literally) debris, garbage cans, parked cars, and all the other trash that naturally accumulates on the side of the road, and a bike lane is nothing but a hazard.  To travel in one is to be expected to *stay* in one, i.e. become even more invisible than usual; and when you need to whip out into the 'car lane', you'd better be prepared to stop to be let in, lest you get smacked for changing a lane abruptly.

And find me that bike lane that is free and clear, like the nice big ones on campus...unless there is a game; the ones on Molly Barr...unless there is a truck parked in one, discarded lumber, or mounds of runoff.  Bike lane = gutter.

I am the most safe out in the road where I can, again, theoretically, be seen.  And that is where I ride, albeit towards the right.  I do play nice; I stop at signs and signals; I use arm signals when possible, but I take up the lane too when, as in the video, on a tight bridge.

As for the bridge vid, to designate it as 'unsafe' is to say it is unsafe for a bicycle, which is simply wrong, is to discriminate against a certain type of vehicle.  It is only unsafe when the cars behind do not slow down for the extra 15 seconds it will take them to cross.  Is it the best route for a cyclist?  It depends mostly upon how fast one can pedal.  At 15-20 mph, again, it may slow traffic, but a speed limit is a *maximum*, not a minimum.  Cars have no right to pass another car if it is doing 15 mph, which leads into that gray area of why is it okay to pass a bicycle when the road striping says otherwise.

Suffice it to say, if a person does not want to bike on a road, then don't.  But don't force me to ride in the gutter.  And don't make my bike anything less that what it is: a vehicle.

Don M.

---

From: "iteach...@aol.com" <iteach...@aol.com>
To: oxford...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, April 9, 2012 11:27 PM
Subject: Re: [OxfordCycling:11586] Re:

[iteach...@aol.com]

well said. 

Jerry Wexler,lmt/nct

iteach...@aol.com

[Bart Ryan]

What a senseless fool. The biker was in the middle of the lane on a crowded bridge. There is even a section on the side for pedestrians. Come on people, use common sense. Victim or not, cyclists and car drivers should respect each other both ways. Just because there is a "law" protecting cyclists, doesn't mean that you have a protective force-field around you and you're supposed to be some invincible badass. As a road cyclists for 8+ years, I've seen plenty of this avoidable crap, and it needs to stop. Ride on the side of the far side of the road at all costs. Riding in the middle of the road in a situation like that is just asking for it.

[Rael64]

So it is disrespectful to ride a bicycle in a legal manner?  Granted, bicycle accidents could be avoided completely...if cyclists just stayed off the road.  And to ride in the center of the road - which is not illegal, mind you, depending upon the circumstances, i.e. "as close as practicable" - do you really consider this "asking for it"?  That's shameful, man.  It's outrageous.  That is exactly the kind of attitude that leads to cyclists getting run down.  "Had it coming."  "Shouldn't have been on the road."

Again, the law states otherwise.  Whether that law is being enforced or not is an entirely different issue, but the law (a main one being: Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-1307  (2012)) says the cyclist has the right to ride in the center of a lane when "of a substandard width", which when you've a concrete wall to your right and no escape, riding to the left of center may make some sense.

And while I'm griping, if you look at that video again, notice from the first view the bus coming up behind the cyclist.  The bus moves into the left lane to pass.  Now note the white vehicle and the black vehicle behind it.  The white vehicle ends up behind the cyclist because the black vehicle quickly moves over behind the bus.  The camera angle changes, during which we can pretty safely theorize that the bus continued on by, the white car had backed off the wheel of the bicyclist, and the black car decided to whip back around into the right lane to pass the bus, or at least not get "stuck" behind it (we all hate being behind those slow vehicles, don't we?), and BAM, he smacked into the bicyclist he didn't see.

In other words, it probably wouldn't have mattered much where the cyclist was.  And the black car can rather safely be said to be operating in an erratic, if not illegal (multiple lane changes) manner.  Fortunately, the cyclist looked okay, and fortunately as well, the driver of the bus saw the whole thing and stopped the guy.  One can only hope they pull the hit-and-run driver's license for, oh, life, fine him about 25K, and take his car (but buy him a bicycle).  Jail time would not do much good, imo.

But "asking for it"? Man, that is just so screwed up.

Don M.

---

From: Bart Ryan <drum_...@hotmail.com>
To: oxford...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 9:03 PM
Subject: [OxfordCycling:11601] Re:

--

[iteach...@aol.com]

It's them damn "black cars" you have to look out for.

Jerry Wexler,lmt/nct

iteach...@aol.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Greg <gcs...@yahoo.com>
To: Oxford Cycling <oxford...@googlegroups.com>

Sent: Fri, Apr 13, 2012 12:11 pm
Subject: [OxfordCycling:11607] Re:

Thanks for the video.

Some of you guys think that that bridge is crowded?!  You guys need to
bicycle commute in the Los Angeles area.

The video never shows a single car in the left lane except when they
are passing the cyclist.  Did you see what happened?  There was the
bus - silver car - black car.  The bus passed the cyclist right as the
black car went to pass both the silver car and the bus.  The black car
moved back into the right lane to overtake the bus on the right and
rear ended the cyclist.  The silver car was able to stop short of the
black car.

From what I see, the black car was DRIVING RECKLESSLY.  Every single
other vehicle in that video was able to uneventfully pass the
bicyclist.  The video was captured at 3 pm, not rush hour.  Except for
the concrete barrier on the right, that would be a great road to ride
on -- it is completely underutilized with a wide open left lane to
safely pass the cyclist.

On Apr 9, 6:00 pm, Paxton Little <paxtonlit...@gmail.com> wrote:
> This is the video of the hit and run from the traffic cameras.
>
> http://coolbikevideos.com/bethlehem-car-v-bike-crash-hit-and-run/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"Oxford Cycling" group from Oxford, Mississippi USA.
To post to this group, send email to Oxford...@googlegroups.com

[Greg]

Thanks for the video.

Some of you guys think that that bridge is crowded?! You guys need to

bicycle commute in a large city or suburban area.

The video never shows a single car in the left lane except when they
are passing the cyclist. Did you see what happened? There was the
bus - silver car - black car. The bus passed the cyclist right as the
black car went to pass both the silver car and the bus. The black car
moved back into the right lane to overtake the bus on the right and
rear ended the cyclist. The silver car was able to stop short of the
black car.

From what I see, the black car was DRIVING RECKLESSLY. Every single
other vehicle in that video was able to uneventfully pass the
bicyclist. The video was captured at 3 pm, not rush hour. Except for
the concrete barrier on the right, that would be a great road to ride
on -- it is completely underutilized with a wide open left lane to
safely pass the cyclist.

It looks like there are 3 bridges relatively close to one another. By
the maps and highway numbering, this bridge is the LEAST crowded of
the three.

Apparently this bridge itself has some history. Another local avid
cyclist was killed on it in December. 30 years ago it had dedicated
bicycle lanes. There used to be a sidewalk and a shoulder, but the
city closed the sidewalk, added jersey barriers to the shoulder and
created a new sidewalk. To access the sidewalk, a bicyclist would
need to stop and lift his bicycle over the jersey barrier. That
sidewalk is narrow. (1) The cyclist would have to ride up to the
bridge, STOP on the bridge, and move his bike over the jersey
barrier. The alternative is to ride down to the water and carry his
bike up 4 flights of stairs. (2) The cyclist would have to deal with
runners who are seen passing shoulder to shoulder. And (3) the
cyclist would be breaking the law by riding on the sidewalk.

On Apr 9, 6:00 pm, Paxton Little <paxtonlit...@gmail.com> wrote:

[iteach...@aol.com]

I had several people tell me that today there was a cyclist(female) on hwy 30.  One of them(male) was behind 10 other cars who could not pass the biker. He was angry. He said she obviously is on her leisure and  the people behind her are trying to get to work. She should have at least pulled off and let the congestion relieve, but she did not. This kind of behavior, even though it is legal, is not going to do us any good. The driving public will pass laws to keep us off of some roads if they get pissed off enough. 30 is not a good road to ride leisurely on a work day or any time for that matter.

I don't know what to do about these errant  cyclists. Whatever we're doing is not working.

Jerry Wexler,lmt/nct

iteach...@aol.com

[Rael64]

I'm curious as to why a car could not pass a bicycle on Hwy. 30.

But if you think she shouldn't be on Hwy. 30, that it's "not a good road to ride...any time for that matter," then you already believe there are some roads bicyclists should not be on.  You should be happy errant cyclists are going to get themselves banned, right?

So, are you complaining or just trolling, looking for attention?

Peace...

Don M.

---

From: "iteach...@aol.com" <iteach...@aol.com>
To: oxford...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Friday, April 13, 2012 4:37 PM
Subject: [OxfordCycling:11611]

[Chris Mogridge]

Heck, let's go for a ride tomorrow instead of talking about it!  9 am from the square.  40 miles at a steady pace, not too fast.

Sent from my iPhone

[iteach...@aol.com]

Why are you so defensive? You are damn correct there are some roads that cyclists should not be on! You believe it is ok to hold up a line of traffic of people trying to get to work. It is a narrow road and no shoulder. Cars could not pass because the road is winding and hilly with on coming traffic. 

Errant cyclists are going to get themselves run over not banned or have you not been paying attention.

Are you a moron or just pretending?

Jerry Wexler,lmt/nct

iteach...@aol.com

[Bart Ryan]

Let's look at this from a metaphorical perspective:

The law says that murder is socially unacceptable and punished by law. Does murder still happen? Yes, it does (even in the sense of bikers being killed on the roads, unfortunately). And, if you knowingly and provokingly walk into an area with a known high rate of crime (specifically a high murder rate) and start trouble, you better believe something bad is bound to happen.

Also, if the law made it legal for you to go jump off a bridge, would you do it? Or would you use common sense and not wander there. Yes, a little sarcastic, but you get my point?

I'm just saying, don't expect the law to protect you from cars riding on the road; whether it be a wide open country road, or a busy metropolitan street during rush hour.
Use. Common. Sense.
Move over, be aware of your surroundings, and USE GOOD JUDGEMENT. We will NEVER achieve a mutual respect between cars and bikers until we begin to hold up our end of the deal. I think all can and should agree on this. If not, you really don't need to be riding on the the road, because you are endangering the lives of others, as well as yourself. Take care and be safe.

Bart Ryan
CPhT, Baptist Hospital
The University of Mississippi

To unsubscribe from this group, send email to OxfordCycling-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

[iteach...@aol.com]

Well  said. Finally, the voice of reason..........................

Jerry Wexler,lmt/nct

iteach...@aol.com

To unsubscribe from this group, send email to OxfordCyclin...@googlegroups.com

[Paxton Little]

A role model all Oxford cyclists can learn from...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3nMnr8ZirI

[Eric Dahl]

first time I've laughed at a post from OC in months...thanks for the comic relief, Paxton...ouch

On Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 8:53 PM, Paxton Little <paxton...@gmail.com> wrote:

A role model all Oxford cyclists can learn from...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3nMnr8ZirI