Accidents happen, but deaths due to aggressive driving should be treated like someone aggressively using a firearm in a populated area.
[0]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_homicide#Washington
- the DUI guy killed 4 year boy - 6months
- the mom of the boy who were walking across the road with her 3 children - 3 years
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/mom-convicted-son-jaywal...
That man, Jerry Guy, admitted he had been drinking and taking prescribed painkillers the night of the accident, and had been convicted in two earlier hit-and-runs. He served six months in jail for the crime.
Additionally, as someone noted in the linked story, the bus stop was nearly a mile away from the crosswalk.
They ask people to use public transportation, but make it as inconvenient as possible to do so.
This is where "jury of your peers" can be pretty useful. Apparently none of the jurors had ever ridden in a bus before.
I really also want to put the city planner up for trial, because the reason she jay walked was that the nearest legal crosswalk was half a mile away from the bus stop. In suburban Atlanta, however, I've never seen any evidence that city planners even exist.
That's a "jury of your peers" alright.
(As a cyclist, I think people drive a lot better than they are made out to, however. I can't think of any time anyone's endangered my life.)
The ones that ride smack-dab in the middle of the lane on a 2-lane highway can be counted on to shake their fist at you any time you don't use the entire other lane for passing.
If there are parked cars, you have to move into the lane or risk getting doored. Near intersections, you have to move into the lane or people will cut you off and turn right in front of you when you're going straight. If the road has no shoulder, you have to move into the lane to dissuade people from running you off the road by trying to pass with insufficient space (and to give yourself some margin in case someone tries). The same holds if the shoulder is full of debris. If you're descending a hill, you have to move into the lane so you can maneuver around turns.
Any safe cyclist will spend some time taking a lane of traffic.
When it comes to 2-lane highways, I realize I am a little biased but I expect some co-operation on the part of cyclists. It doesn't have to all be about "me-me-me", but I expect cyclists to work with me to allow me to pass safely, same as I do for cars when I'm cycling on a 2-lane highway.
Lately I've started riding farther to the left, and I've found it to prevent a lot of annoying situations. One situation that is made much easier is where a there's a traffic light with a lane to the right, but where that right lane becomes parking after the light. Instead of stopping in the right lane, it's much easier to just stop behind the cars. Then you don't have to merge in when the light turns green and you go across the intersection; you're already merged in. And, cars can pass you and turn right on red, which people seem to like to do.
I'm convinced that staying to the right is what kills cyclists. There are doors there, there are pedestrians jumping out in front of you, there are cars turning right. Ride confidently and you avoid all that. You have as much right to a full traffic lane as any other road user.
Don't get killed because you don't want to make someone late for their meeting.
edit: I should clarify that he said it as a warning...
Right, it's almost as low as the worst killing spree in Norway. Move along, nothing to see here.