https://www.bicycling.com/news/a28324202/phil-gaimon-cyclist-safety-video/
Poignant today for me after this morning’s ride with a monster truck driving on the wrong side of the road towards me.
Saw that a few days ago. I follow Phil’s adventures and mis-adventures. Truly sucks about the track racing incident.
I do think there’s a problem these days of the “everyman’s crime”. If you could imagine the soccer mom down the street doing it, pretty much no matter how bad the consequences for victims…the lesser the penalties.
Could be speeding, distracted driving, killing cyclists and pedestrians, white collar vs. ghetto drug use (powder vs. crack coke), white collar monetary fraud or theft, etc…all that stuff gets a huge break in the judicial system.
But, God forbid a hungry drug addict steals a TV while on probation. Going to prison for 10 to 15 years.
Murder a cyclist/pedestrian AND try to conceal the crime…they may give you 10 years.
Just say the magic words “they came from nowhere” and actually stop? Probably next to nothing.
I think when a person dies of non-natural causes…someone needs to do prison time.
Hotfuzz movie quote: accident implies that nobody is to blame. I prefer “incident”.
Thanks for this-I’ve passed it to my wife half jokingly and somberly, half seriously also.
Reminds me of a ride I was on in Elfin Forest in San Diego when 2 teenagers in a large raised black pickup truck deliberately crossed over the yellow line and were playing around and aiming right for me heading in the oppo direction. They were not distracted…they seemed to want to play chicken. We made eye contact and they were laughing bc evidently this was fun for them. My heart skipped a few beats as I realized I was going to have to ditch into the gully on the side of the road since there was no shoulder until they went back into their lane and we passed each other. The rest of that ride was tense as I didn’t know if they were going to come up from behind me at any point and who the hell knows. Ugh. That ride is a large reason why I do a lot of rides indoors now.
Be safe out there. Cars are not our friends and people do dumb shit.
I always wonder why people shoot their spouse, they should just run over them with their car and say they didn’t see them because the sun was in their eyes.
https://www.bicycling.com/...yclist-safety-video/
Poignant today for me after this morning’s ride with a monster truck driving on the wrong side of the road towards me.
This is awesome. Because it’s true.
I’m just like Phil - no, not remotely as good a cyclist, just an avid one, who likes to ride outdoors.
And - even though I like to MTB, and occasionally ride very technical, potentially dangerous stuff -
I know that’s how I’m going to buy it one day, will be by getting hit by some dumbass driver.
I’ve had the “oncoming car passing illegally on wrong side of double-yellow” scenario on several occasions.
It’s terrifying.
Mostly because it’s then almost just up to luck if you’re able to move far enough over in the milliseconds you have to react, before they hit you head-on at an insane speed.
I’m like Phil and ML (except not even remotely close to either in the cycling skills department), except mine will read:
Second time’s the charm, cyclist took two hits from asshole fuckwhit drivers before he was killed.
First time only buggered his back for life, and left him in 24/7 pain. Even with this impediment he still continued to ride his steeds, knowing that someday his number would be up. Sure enough, today was that day. Whilst riding on road ABC, he was hit from behind/head-on/t-boned by a jackass who wasn’t paying attention.
https://www.bicycling.com/...yclist-safety-video/
Poignant today for me after this morning’s ride with a monster truck driving on the wrong side of the road towards me.
SO TRUE. I hardly ride outside anymore. Too many unsafe, reckless, road-ragey and distracted drivers. No wonder why Triathlon as a sport is declining (who wants to sit on a trainer for hours or risk becoming flattened on roads these days???) This is is what I see (at least, in the US):
- people driving 10-20 mph over speed limits, on a REGULAR basis
- people using cell phones constantly while driving
- cars are bigger, faster, smoother, so people don’t realize they’re speeding and are higher, so they have limited peripherals
- people are opting for longer commutes in general = more traffic and congestion and less patience for pedestrians and cyclists
- more traffic and congestion = road rage at cyclists and pedestrians “slowing everyone down”
Here’s my last road-riding story to show at least a few of these at work: I’m going along on a Saturday at about 11AM, bright sun and good weather. I’m riding pretty much as far to the right of the road as I can be (no shoulder on 99% of the roads near me). Person in a Tesla comes up behind me, never brakes at all going 50 on a 35 mph street. He swerves way LEFT to give me space (thanks for that), and accelerates, which puts them almost in the opposite lane on a road that is curving left with stand of trees blocking on-coming traffic view. Well, guess what, another car IS coming from the opposite direction, sees the Tesla going 50++ mph almost entirely in their lane, so this car swerves into my lane to avoid the Tesla. They avoid a last minute head-on collision when the Tesla screeches swerve to right to avoid them. Speeding+No Patience for anyone else on the road+poor driving = almost a dead person
I know that’s how I’m going to buy it one day, will be by getting hit by some dumbass driver.
That seems a little dramatic from both you and Phil. Phil even states he’s never been hit and he’s been riding all over the world for 20+ years. The fact is most of us are going to die from something other than being hit by a car. There are dangers but this isn’t wingsuit flying of free soloing.
Hello j p o and All,
to your shooting spouse comment …
Needed more time at the shooting range to improve her aim … or not?
https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-shoot-road-rage-incident-ends-shooting-husband/story?id=64213597
Earlier in the week, a Nashville police officer in his car was killed by a 17-year old who, driving triple the speed limit, ran a red light. Within four hours, the 17-year old was arrested and charged CHARGED with vehicular homicide. That was good.
But why do they treat car/pedestrian and car/bicycle fatalities – often hit-and-run fatalities – so differently? The going rate for killing a cyclist in Tennessee and leaving them for dead (in the unlikely event they pursue you and catch you) is about 3 years, with all but 60 days suspended. (For everyone but the legal profession, that’s a 60 day sentence for murder. You can get more time for killing a bird or a deer without a license.)
A couple years ago, a well-known local cyclist was killed by a hit-and-run driver. His body was left on the side of road for a couple hours before they noticed he hadn’t returned from his ride. There was never any arrest. But even worse, the incident never made the local newspaper. The death of a husband / father / businessman wasn’t sufficiently significant to be noticed by the newspaper. It’s as if riding a bicycle makes you fair game. Open season.
By the way . . . in the event that I die after getting hit by a car, I have left instructions with my training partners. I have decreed that, if any of them say at my funeral, “He died doing what he loved” I will rise from the casket and punch them square in the face.
See, if she had just run over him she’d be sleeping in her own bed tonight.
…I think when a person dies of non-natural causes…someone needs to do prison time…
Which “someone”?
Do you not think the US already has enough people in prison, without an arbitrary rule like that?
State sanctioned revenge for the sake of it serves no justifiable purpose except perhaps a minor influence as a disincentive. But generally, in most countries, larger prison populations are self perpetuating and have the exact opposite effect to that desired. As much as we might want to, we can’t fix things after someone is killed. We can only look to reducing the chances of it happening again. Education/awareness, infrastructure, and to some extent technology can do this, but are rarely given the attention they deserve. I can’t see mandatory prison sentences making a comparable difference, while also being just.
Earlier in the week, a Nashville police officer in his car was killed by a 17-year old who, driving triple the speed limit, ran a red light. Within four hours, the 17-year old was arrested and charged CHARGED with vehicular homicide. That was good.
But why do they treat car/pedestrian and car/bicycle fatalities – often hit-and-run fatalities – so differently?
Has nothing to do with it being a bike scenario or not. It has everything to do with it being a cop and the US having this defacto policy that a police or other “offical’s” life is worth more than joe public’s life.
Think about this…all the “move over” laws for first responders and cops…nothing in the law about moving over for joe public changing a tire or sitting there waiting for the first responders to arrive. It took a LOT of effort for most places to get totally unenforced 4-foot pass laws enacted for cyclists.
I’m not saying take it away from them, I’m saying give the same respect to everyone.
god its strange to have this thread without h2ofun lecturing us about his velotron!
to your comment, i find i’ve adjusted my riding habits a lot because of distracted drivers. i demand total patience from myself with traffic. i do my intervals on boring loops with no or little traffic, i’m very fussy about roads i ride, and very committed to visibility. since making these changes, all of my close calls (that I know about) have been in situations where I was bending my own rules by riding on roads that are not on my ‘OK’ list, or being impatient (trying to make a turn, or make a light, or whatever), or racing on a group ride. i’ve started to give up on the racy group ride. i love them, but i’ve lost my tolerance for the objectively risky shit we do on them.
all this, and i wonder if i have really reduced my risk exposure meaningfully, or just soothed my fears. its really hard to know.
I myself fully expect to be pancaked between 2 vehicles at a stop sign or at a red light one day when the texting driver fails to stop. I just hope it doesn’t hurt…
I myself fully expect to be pancaked between 2 vehicles at a stop sign or at a red light one day when the texting driver fails to stop. I just hope it doesn’t hurt…
This is my biggest fear in traffic. I feel like such a sitting duck when I’m stopped at a light. I put two bright flashers on the back of my bike and helmet.
A few years back I heard a car lock up it’s brakes behind me as I was sitting at a light. The driver had the nerve to then throw their hands up at me and yell “What are you doing?!? Get out of the road!!”
Reading your post and also Scotthb reminded me of questioning myself where to better position myself from a safety point of view reaching a red light or a traffic stop when riding solo.
Coming from an European country to US few years ago I noticed cyclists stopping behind a car in the middle of the road, like if I understand correctly you do, waiting for the green light or the right to go.
I would never normally do that. I always position myself, if realistically possible, on the right of the first stopped car, slightly ahead of it, making eye contact with the driver and possibly let the driver understand if I have to go right or straight (never left, in that case I would stay on the left). I know that in US it is slightly different because you can go right on most red lights so the dynamic is different.
I’m not saying that it is better this way but just the way I have done for 40 years in my life (the last 10 in US) and wondering if it is the safest way.
100% this. No reason to stop behind a car unless you’re turning left. I’ll usually stop on the right side of the road near the right rear wheel of the car ahead of me though, that way they have room to turn and it won’t be an issue, even if they don’t use a signal.
I was turning left.
If I’m going straight I skew my self right so that I wouldn’t be smashed between the cars. If Possible/safe I pull up next to the car in front of me. Not always the best option though.
I know that’s how I’m going to buy it one day, will be by getting hit by some dumbass driver.
That seems a little dramatic from both you and Phil. Phil even states he’s never been hit and he’s been riding all over the world for 20+ years. The fact is most of us are going to die from something other than being hit by a car. There are dangers but this isn’t wingsuit flying of free soloing.
I have been hit by a car.
Was in HS, I was only like 15, riding up thru our quiet little village, past the local FD.
Some Volly fireman backed out of a parking spot, never looked at all, and right into me - pushing me backwards for about 10 feet, until my shouting and banging on his trunk awoke him to the fact that I was back there, about to slide under the rear of his car and get squished.
He yelled at me for “getting in the way, and not looking where I was going”.
Then, since the F wheel was totally destroyed, he grudgingly gave me a ride home, berating me the whole way for “causing the accident, and not being careful where I was riding”.
I also got hit once while riding a moped, but since that’s a motorized bicycle, that probably doesn’t ‘count’ for this discussion.
I still ride on the roads, but a lot less miles/time than I used to.
In large part due to not wanting to deal with dumbass drivers.
If I’m gonna die on a bike, I’d prefer it to be a result of my own dumbassery, and not theirs.