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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: When we were young - history written by the survivors
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
If we're doing anecdotes. I have been in 3 significant cycling accidents over the past decades. What I have learned is that cyclists always lose with cars even when they're in the right. The second thing is that pedestrians are softer than cars and it is better to hit one of those when one or the other jumps in front of you.
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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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hatless
Shipmate
# 3365
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Posted
I wonder how fast you can cycle with your hands in your pockets. 12mph tops is my guess. If you fell you wouldn't go under the wheels of a bus, but a bus's wheels might go over you, but at 12mph, if the bus couldn't stop in time I think it must have been going far too fast or been far too close.
Poor cyclist, and poor bus driver. A helmet, of course, would have made no difference in a crushing accident.
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My crazy theology in novel form
Posts: 4531 | From: Stinkers | Registered: Sep 2002
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mdijon
Shipmate
# 8520
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Posted
I've seen guys doing a lot faster than 12mph but I don't know the specifics here and it didn't seem wise to probe in that way.
I doubt a helmet would have made a difference, but my point was that one can't simply say "it's my life" regarding safety issues that appear to be a risk only to you. None of us are islands.
Of course it is another leap from there to go to legislation and I'm not sure that is the answer.
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mdijon nojidm uoɿıqɯ ɯqıɿou
ɯqıɿou uoɿıqɯ nojidm mdijon
Posts: 12277 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2004
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hatless
Shipmate
# 3365
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Posted
Yes, it's probably daft to speculate, but I react to victim blaming. A collision from behind is almost always considered the fault of the vehicle behind. Is it relevant that the cyclist had his hands in his pockets? Does it mean he was reckless and partly at fault? It certainly means that he didn't use his brakes, and can't have stopped very suddenly. 'Going under the wheels' is a common enough phrase, but if doesn't describe what actually happens.
It's a long time since I've cycled with my hands in my pockets, but I'm sure I never went much faster than 12mph.
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My crazy theology in novel form
Posts: 4531 | From: Stinkers | Registered: Sep 2002
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cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338
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Posted
I understood the relevance of the hands in pockets to be that when he hit a pothole he was unable to stay on the bike, whereas he might not have gone airborn otherwise. I think the point was well made simply that it's not just "at your own risk"-- the choices/ risks we choose for ourselves also impact others
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mdijon:
I knew a bus driver who was driving behind a cyclist who had his hands in his pockets. The bicycle hit a pot-hole, he came off and went under the bus wheels and died. The driver has that with him for the rest of his life and has anxiety attacks 10 years later. He probably was too close, but it was a busy road in rush hour traffic.
I'm a non-helmet-wearer myself but I can see the arguments for enforcing safety standards for everyone's benefit. Although I'm not convinced that helmets make an important enough difference to worry about.
The relevant bit is that the driver was following too close. Drivers are often impatient when a cyclist has no choice but to take a full lane. Everyone always asks if the cyclist was wearing a helmet or some other victim blaming piece of info. Of course the real problem is that cycling lanes should not be drivable at all by busses or cars. But it is a car centric world.
A second issue is lack of patience. I think people were more patient in the past. A driving journey or commute needs to be considered a part of the day to be enjoyed, not an inconvenience and annoyance. If it is annoying then this is either an attitude thing, a failure of transportation design or both. I think the enjoyment of a journey is something needing rediscovery.
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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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