Four Cyclists Killed in Wales

"wafflycat" wrote in message
...

"Bob" wrote in message
oups.com...


While I disagree with his conclusion for the reasons you point out,
since the OP specified that in some conditions- "during wintertime
(with) icy conditions (in) freezing weather"- he prefers to ride on
bikepaths, I think it's a little unfair to disregard those qualifiers
and simply accuse him of "very worst kind of victim-blaming". There are
conditions that make it foolhardy to ride on the road just as there are
conditions that make driving a car on the road foolhardy. The level of
risk he considers foolhardy is just lower than yours or mine.
BTW, it's very "un-PC" but I think victim-blaming has gotten a bad rap.
Sometimes- heck, a LOT of the time- victims *deserve* some blame and
blame, unlike liability, is not a zero sum game. There is always plenty
to go around. How many of the people killed in crashes on the road were
totally blameless in their crash and how many were driving either
almost as badly or just as badly as the other person in the crash?
Becoming a fatality statistic shouldn't be grounds for canonization.
Sometimes it's simply a matter of who is lucky and who is not.

Regards,
Bob Hunt


Let me put it this way... The cyclists in question were doing nothing
wrong.

Yes, they were. They should not have been out there on the road when it was
icy.

The cyclists did not lose control of their bikes. The driver lost control
of his car and as a result, several people died.

The driver lost control of his car because of the icy road. No one will
blame him much for that.

How on earth can that be the
fault, in any way, of the victims?

They should have stayed home in bed, and that would not be a bad place for
you either. Why are you running all over the place making a bloody nuisance
of yourself?

It matters not that the victims were
cyclists, they could have been other motorists, pedestrians, people out on
a horse ride.

Nonsense! Only cyclists are stupid enough to go out on an icy road with
motor vehicles. There has got to be something wrong with the way your little
brain works. Please try not to think at all. It just confuses you and it
plagues the rest of us.

In this case they happened to be a group of cyclists going about
their business and a third party lost control of his car and as a result,
people died and people were injured. How can this be the fault of the
people he hit?

Since you repeat yourself, see my answer above.

It is *wrong* to blame them.

No, we can blame them for being stupid enough to be out there on an icy road
with motor vehicles. It is 'right' as rain to blame them, you left wing
liberal kook!

They were not, for example, jumping of
a mountain attached to the end of a bungee cord that was too long or
untethered and they hadn't bothered to check their equipment. No, they
aren't being canonised, but to blame them for their own deaths and
injuries is crass.

No, we can blame them for being stupid enough to be out there on an icy road
with motor vehicles. It is 'right' as rain to blame them, you left-wing
liberal kook!

Certainly what happens in the UK is that whenever someone is
killed or injured on the roads, the drivers in question are extremely
lightly treated in law. It's almost as if it is acceptable... almost as
'collateral damage' if you will.

Well, that is the freaking UK for you. The Brits are certainly screwed up,
no doubt about that.

The mind set *must* be challenged where it
is deemed 'acceptable' or 'one of those things' when someone is killed
when a driver loses control of his or her vehicle.

Maybe cyclists will get some smarts and not go out on the roads when they
are icy and there are motor vehicles about. What is there about this that
you do not understand? I mean, did you have to work at being so dumb or were
you born that way.

No, it isn't always the fault
of the motorist, but in the majority of cases it is and death/injury by
motorvehicle is treated far too leniently by the judical system over here.

Probably the vast majority of Brits do not want to share the road with
cyclists or has that thought never occurred to you?

To blame the Rhyl cyclists for their own injuries/demise is like blaming a
woman for being raped if she happens to go out on her own. Victim-blaming
where the victim is going about his/her lawful business and someone else
stuffs up is wrong - period. Nothing PC about it at all.

"Women who go out at night should be with a male escort. Also, women should
dress conservatively if they do not want to be raped. And most importantly
of all, a dating couple should always be chaperoned by a prudish elderly
person, such as myself, who will not permit any hanky panky. If everyone
followed these few simple rules, there would be far fewer rapes in the land
and Helen would be a far happier person." - Ed Dolan the Great

I urge Helen to get a brain if that is possible. Once you have a brain you
will be able to think better about most things. Also, try to get back your
female hormones. We men do not like women who are aggressive and behave like
we do. You do not want to be thought a bitch, do you?

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

PS. It would also be nice if you jerks would break up your messages into
bite size paragraphs instead of just rambling it all together like
kindergarten kids.