how not to get hit by a car...

[the weiner posse]

hello...

i saw this and thought it'd be appropriate posted here...

bicyclesafe.com/

[cootie]

This is very cool... not the usual useless, redundant, or otherwise generalized pulp floating around out there. How you ride should be determined by the situation of the road, not simply by what the law states... even though it might be nice if more motorists were familiar with cyclists' rights. Anyway, this information is well-thought-out and smart.

Thanks, the weiner posse!!

[cootie]

I keep thinking about the Bicycle Safe website, so I have to add to my previous post.

I was very recently discussing with the weiner posse how disheartened I feel when I have a conflict with a motorist, whether it be on city streets or on a quiet backroad in the sticks. I've been feeling that it has a mild cumulative effect in that when I hear a motor vehicle approaching me from behind, I immediately brace myself for something bad... verbal abuse, finger gestures or maybe just someone carelessly passing too close.

When I read the information on the website linked above (and browsed some of his many bicycle-related links), it was grounding to realize there are many people dealing with this reality... and sharing what they learn. For better or for worse, cyclists are bonded by the risks we take in this transportation/recreation of choice. We are a subculture that permeates the mainstream, and because we are not embraced, we have to be smart and demonstrate a cohesion or sense of community. That whole power in numbers thing... it's empowering to know you are not alone.

[Timmy]

Hmm, so it was a number 6 that I was involved in...

I like how the tips spread the responsibility among both bicyclists and motorists. It is just frustrating to see morons on bicycles in Iowa City who violate traffic laws, don't use lights at night, ride on the sidewalk, etc. as it is to put up with an imbecile behind the wheel of a car.

The more responsibly bicyclists exhibit, the less ammunition drivers will have against us.

[themostlyreverend]

so i read the article linked, prepared to get po'd, AND WASN'T!!!

the moral of the story: RIDE A BIKE AS YOU'D DRIVE A CAR. occupy the same place in the lane, and DON'T be a dummy. rules 1-10. the cliff note version.

[i'm gonna get me a second star in NO time. who smote me, btw?]

[david]

Hmmm some say the bicycle has distinct performance characteristics: so we should drive our bicycle as if it's a vehicle, just as dumptruck drivers and schoolbus drivers drive their vehicles as vehicles, not as "cars."

For example cars often turn right on red after stopping and slipping past a car waiting to go straight, right? So on a bicycle it's possible to do that even when the space left by the waiting-to-go-straight car(s) is narrow enough that no car could do it. (not offering advice, but it is something I do at times).

OK maybe it's all just semantics. Just ride alive everyone!

[david]

How not to get hit by a car:

Keep girls gone wild out of town. My cousin said he saw a ggw RV that had hit and killed? a bicyclist downtown. Anybody else hear about this?

Talk about sexism, autocentrism, and alcohol abuse all rolled up into one. (yeah a fairly recent post of mine notwithstanding, I haven't hit the bar scene here to speak of.)

[cootie]

Apparently the cyclist who got hit by the Girls Gone Wild bus was pinned underneath the vehicle for 20 minutes. Here's what the Press-Citizen relates via bikeiowa.com:

Police identify cyclist hit by Girls Gone Wild bus
(posted 7/27/2006) By the Press-Citizen

Iowa City Police have released the identity of a cyclist injured when a Girls Gone Wild bus struck him on Tuesday night in downtown Iowa City.

William Ralph Perkins, 61, was turning right from Burlington Street onto Linn Street when he was hit by the bus. He remained pinned under the bus with the right front wheel on top of his torso and legs for about 20 minutes while the fire department used two box cribs and air bags to lift the bus about four inches to get him out.

Police have identified the driver of the charter bus, who was not injured, as Richard David Tyner, 33, of Intercession City, Fla.

Perkins remains at University Hospitals in critical condition. No charges are pending at this time.

An Iowa City Police Department collision reconstructionist continues to investigate the incident and police are asking anyone with information and who has not already spoken with investigators to call the department at 319-356-5275.


I've heard the ICPD is still working on the reconstruction. I'm not into reactionary activism, but there needs to be some accountability here. How ridiculous is this situation? I mean, really, it's ennui at its worst.

Oh, and I love how newspapers always mention the condition of the motorist in a car/bike collision. I realize it's necessary in order to be "unbiased," but I think we could've guessed.

[red]

It is just frustrating to see morons on bicycles in Iowa City who violate traffic laws, don't use lights at night, ride on the sidewalk, etc. as it is to put up with an imbecile behind the wheel of a car. - Timmy

I am sorry to frustrate you, Timmy, but I am one of those bicyclists in Iowa City, who ride on the sidewalk and whom you call "morons."

May I ask what is wrong with riding on the sidewalk?

I do it when I am too tired to ride on the street, when my level of concentration is too low to ride on the street or when I simply want to go slowly and enjoy the weather and the ride.

It is no more dangerous than jogging on a sidewalk, provided that you ride at about the speed of a jogger, yield to pedestrians, and stop at intersections to check the streets for cars and make yourself visible to them. It is also perfectly legal in this city.

And I, certainly am not a moron.

-

[gpickle]

Well words are an unfortunate byproduct of language and sometimes they can hurt feelings. I am as guilty as anyone but have never been convicted.

My thoughts on folks riding on sidewalks are complicated. I ride 30 yards of a sidewalk every day I go to work so I can avoid riding 3 blocks around the one way street tangle I must traverse and it goes okay. I jump on sidewalks if I must, but I ride in the streets 99.8% of the time. I am aware of an incident where a cyclist made eye contact with a motorist at a stop sign and proceeded through the intersection and was then hit by the car which apparently was piloted by someone with a lazy eye or something. The ICPD said that because the rider was RIDING through the cross walk he had no rights. If he had been walking his bike the driver would have been at fault but since he was riding, no dice, no money, sorry about the bruised shoulder and bent frame, have a nice day and oh yeah, pay for that scratched hood while you are at it. I only point this out as a bummer situation that can arise from riding sidewalks. Of course had he been riding in the street the car may have not seen him and cut him off proper, sent him flying and the ICPD would have had to inform him that he was dead but that at least the motorist was going to be charged with failure to yeild! The bottom line is always be careful, look out for #1 and floss your teeth!

gpickle

[Timmy]

Well, I make no apologies for the language I use. My feelings are what they are and I will state them.

As far as I'm concerned, it's right there in the name: sidewalk. The structure is intended for use by pedestrians. Sure, you may have to coast onto the sidewalk to make those final few yards to the bike rack, but adult riders belong on the street. If you feel the street is too crowded, pick one with less traffic.

[Mark Wyatt]

Sidewalks (wide or narrow) become dangerous for bicyclists and pedestrians because of their design implications. Just as Timmy simply explained, they are not designed for the speed and sight distance of the bicyclist, but rather the pedestrian.

A pedestrian has close to 180 degrees for their field of vision and can stop almost instantly (well if there is no ice). Because of the speed of a bicycle, their field of vision is much more narrow and to stop motion, they must activate their brake (even if that means to stop pedaling in the case of fixies). Remember those braking distance graphs in driver's ed?

The braking distance and ability of a bicyclist is exemplified in the door zone problem. It takes about 3/4 of a second to open a car door. A bicyclist cannot react and squeez the brake in that amount of time. Sidewalk issues can happen just as fast or faster.

Good discussion....