Being **** off at a cyclist I almost ran over!

I almost ran over a cyclist this AM on my way to work and I am **** off
at that cyclist.

This happen before daybreak and the cyclist was using a dark unlit bike
with dark clothes and on top of that the man happen to had dark skin.
He also happen to be cheerfully cycling not with traffic but facing it!

I was turning into the road he was using on a turn arrow and looking in
the direction of oncoming traffic when out of the corner of my eyes I
saw this idiot crossing in front of my van. The lord must had been
kind to me because somehow my 57 years old reflexes was enough to keep
from running over the man.

Now I happen to cycle the same route four or more times a month, at the
same time of day, when I feel up to cycling the 17 miles to work
instead of using my van. However I happen to make a habit of wearing
light clothing and have my trek touring bike lit up like a moving
Christmas tree with LED flashers and strobe lights and a powerful
headlight and I move with traffic not facing it!

It would had ruin my whole day to had hurt or kill a fellow cyclist,
even one lacking completely in common sense. I see far too many such
cyclists both when I am driving and when I am cycling. Of course the
problem is not the cyclists I see but the ones I don't happen to see.

Bill M

"Bill from Miami" wrote in message
oups.com...
I almost ran over a cyclist this AM on my way to work and I am **** off
at that cyclist.

This happen before daybreak and the cyclist was using a dark unlit bike
with dark clothes and on top of that the man happen to had dark skin.
He also happen to be cheerfully cycling not with traffic but facing it!

I was turning into the road he was using on a turn arrow and looking in
the direction of oncoming traffic when out of the corner of my eyes I
saw this idiot crossing in front of my van. The lord must had been
kind to me because somehow my 57 years old reflexes was enough to keep
from running over the man.

Now I happen to cycle the same route four or more times a month, at the
same time of day, when I feel up to cycling the 17 miles to work
instead of using my van. However I happen to make a habit of wearing
light clothing and have my trek touring bike lit up like a moving
Christmas tree with LED flashers and strobe lights and a powerful
headlight and I move with traffic not facing it!

It would had ruin my whole day to had hurt or kill a fellow cyclist,
even one lacking completely in common sense. I see far too many such
cyclists both when I am driving and when I am cycling. Of course the
problem is not the cyclists I see but the ones I don't happen to see.

Bill M

Amen, Brother...

"An unseen Fred is a Dead Fred"

Brian.

"Bill from Miami" writes:

I almost ran over a cyclist this AM on my way to work and I am **** off
at that cyclist.

This happen before daybreak and the cyclist was using a dark unlit bike
with dark clothes and on top of that the man happen to had dark skin.
He also happen to be cheerfully cycling not with traffic but facing it!

We get that sort of thing around here too, more frequently in poorer
communities that could never afford to cover bicycle-safety education
in school. If they don't learn as kids, they probably won't learn
as adults.


--
My real name backwards: nemuaZ lliB

That wasn't a cyclist, it was a person riding a bike.

--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"You American workers haven't seen an increase in real wages since the
1970s... But are you rioting? No. You're voting for Republican
candidates who give people like me tax cuts. You know what? I think
that's your way of saying 'Thank you.'" - Stephen Colbert

I hate seeing that. The other night my headlight ran out of juice, and
I had to do a 14-mile commute without it. I still had the battery
powered flashing reflector on the rear, but I sure felt vulnerable. I
took every intersection very slow, and even stopped at a few with
waiting cars, to make sure the drivers saw me.
Jim
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/

In article , Bill Z.
wrote:

"Bill from Miami" writes:

I almost ran over a cyclist this AM on my way to work and I am **** off
at that cyclist.

This happen before daybreak and the cyclist was using a dark unlit bike
with dark clothes and on top of that the man happen to had dark skin.
He also happen to be cheerfully cycling not with traffic but facing it!

We get that sort of thing around here too, more frequently in poorer
communities that could never afford to cover bicycle-safety education
in school. If they don't learn as kids, they probably won't learn
as adults.

Let's grant those invisible the benefit of the doubt, and assume that
maturation into adulthood did not diminish their cognitive abilities.
Where it concerns visibility, one wonders why 'bicycle-safety
education' is required where one simple sentence is sufficient in
expressing the essence of the issue. To wit, one can't avoid what one
can't see. All one has to do is walk, ride, or drive to understand this
axiom - no classroom instruction needed!

So why muddle the debate by casting this as a socio-economic issue? LED
blinkies, reflective strips and reflectors can be had around here for
less than the cost of a pack of smokes. Also around here, the law
requires that a bike be equipped with a light if ridden at night, but
its blasé enforcement almost certainly contributes to the tendency of
the more fatalistic to ride unseen.

Luke

Luke writes:

In article , Bill Z.
wrote:

"Bill from Miami" writes:

I almost ran over a cyclist this AM on my way to work and I am **** off
at that cyclist.

This happen before daybreak and the cyclist was using a dark unlit bike
with dark clothes and on top of that the man happen to had dark skin.
He also happen to be cheerfully cycling not with traffic but facing it!

We get that sort of thing around here too, more frequently in poorer
communities that could never afford to cover bicycle-safety education
in school. If they don't learn as kids, they probably won't learn
as adults.

Let's grant those invisible the benefit of the doubt, and assume that
maturation into adulthood did not diminish their cognitive abilities.
.....
So why muddle the debate by casting this as a socio-economic issue?

Because said low-income communities are also noted for a relatively
large number of unlicensed, uninsured motorists?

What I was pointing out is that education and training do make a
difference, and that the poorer communities get shortchanged in
that department.

BTW, in some of these communities, dark clothing and a lack of lights
at night may have some survival advantages, at least if the cyclist is
a member of a gang on bad terms with other gangs. If they can't see
you it is much harder to shoot you (and one of these nearby communities
once had the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita murder
rates of any city or town in the U.S.)

--
My real name backwards: nemuaZ lliB

In article , Bill Z.
wrote:

Luke writes:

In article , Bill Z.
wrote:

"Bill from Miami" writes:

I almost ran over a cyclist this AM on my way to work and I am **** off
at that cyclist.

This happen before daybreak and the cyclist was using a dark unlit bike
with dark clothes and on top of that the man happen to had dark skin.
He also happen to be cheerfully cycling not with traffic but facing it!

We get that sort of thing around here too, more frequently in poorer
communities that could never afford to cover bicycle-safety education
in school. If they don't learn as kids, they probably won't learn
as adults.

Let's grant those invisible the benefit of the doubt, and assume that
maturation into adulthood did not diminish their cognitive abilities.
....
So why muddle the debate by casting this as a socio-economic issue?

Because said low-income communities are also noted for a relatively
large number of unlicensed, uninsured motorists?

The issue here is visibility as it relates to cycling. From your posts
I don't understand why a) this topic need be included in a formal
school curriculum to be grasped - this is not integral calculus. b)
that the capacity to grasp the benefits of high visibility - i.e., that
the cars can see you - is commensurate with income and/or quality of
formal education and c) that the cost of making oneself visible is
prohibitive. Your contention contradicts my direct experience and
introducing immaterial tangents is not convincing.

This from a cyclist that has never had a cycling related class in
school and StatsCan deemed to have a borderline poverty level income
through much of his 20s. The above facts were never an impediment to my
comprehending the advantages of, and gaining, visibility as a cyclist.

Indeed, since the bicycle is often the only mode of private
transportation available to the financially challenged - still is for
me!, I should expect a greater awareness about its hazards among them.
Often it's the platinum card bearing status seeker, riding infrequently
for leisure, that constitutes the greater peril.


What I was pointing out is that education and training do make a
difference, and that the poorer communities get shortchanged in
that department.

Noted. And as a general observation, I agree. The extent to which it
applies on this specific topic is what I contest. My impression is that
North American culture and institutions (including the education
system) at all levels are generally oblivious to cycle-centric matters;
rich and poor alike are ill served.


BTW, in some of these communities, dark clothing and a lack of lights
at night may have some survival advantages, at least if the cyclist is
a member of a gang on bad terms with other gangs. If they can't see
you it is much harder to shoot you
....
snip

Anybody want to tackle that last paragraph?

Luke

"Luke" wrote in message
...

He also happen to be cheerfully cycling not with traffic but facing it!

Where it concerns visibility, one wonders why 'bicycle-safety
education' is required where one simple sentence is sufficient in

Because wrong-way riding, sidewalk riding, sudden swerves and weaving in and
out behind parked cars are a high percentage of bike/car collissions. I am
always amazed that some people don't know that it's not safe to always be in
the bike lane. Education really helps.

bjorn

"oilfreeandhappy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I hate seeing that. The other night my headlight ran out of juice, and
I had to do a 14-mile commute without it. I still had the battery
powered flashing reflector on the rear, but I sure felt vulnerable. I

Don't know what bike yuo have, but if it's a commuter/touring or simialr
bike, I would look into getting a generator light (Schmid SON hub generators
are great). No recharge hassle, no worrying about taking off lights and
carrying them around.

bjorn