How long until the stolen lives of bicyclists are treated with the same respect as pedestrians and drivers?
You've provided a perfect example of the cognitive dissonance that immediately manifests when cycling, traffic, and law are discussed. These are easy points to grab onto, based on one's own frustrated anecdotes. Unfortunately, its selection bias at its least. Cars are everywhere and almost hit you every 10 minutes you're behind the wheel. You know how to look for them, you're forced to when you are being evaluated for your license. Suddenly a cyclist comes along, the first one you notice that is, and once they act even a little sketchy you get to tick another box in your selection bias.
Were he to be 'hit by a police car' while driving in his motorcycle or compact car, and likely killed, would we be discussing the validity of his death and its relation to the traffic habits of other cars/motorcycles/Ferrari drivers? I dare you to tell us yes.
Meanwhile, this is completely independent of the issue of legal respect for life. The disproportionate number of charges dropped or DA's not charing offenders for incidents that involve cyclist deaths.
Yes. More people die every day and year in motor vehicle<>motor vehicle collisions than in vehicle<>bike collisions. On top of that, criticizing a cop's behavoir is something HN (and many other places) loves to do.
Stunning work.
Also, you still are equating Failure to Stop's (which sure, could maybe someday cause some sort of fatal whatever someday whenever)... with the actual, real, actual loss of life.
Insultingly vile.
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2013/08/15/107079/Chris-Bucche...
I hate the pedantic bullshit of elitist cyclists like yourself
But I might be a pedantic little shit. ;)
Equating cyclists running stop signs to drivers killing cyclists in bike lanes is ridiculous, especially given that the cyclist in the example pled guilty to homicide and drivers are - literally - never prosecuted for killing cyclists.
Don't be so quick to demean yourself in the face of asinine attacks.
So we'll see this cop sentenced to vehicular manslaughter? Let's see if that happens. I'd love to be wrong.
What you are saying about cyclists applies equally to motorists, so I really don't know what point you are trying to make. The _vast majority_ of both groups are law abiding people.
For example: when a bike is curb-hopping and ignoring stoplights, I become frustrated at their wanton disregard for their own safety. When I see a bike riding on the side of the road in their lane, focused and stopping at lights, I don't complain and comfortably wait until there's space for me to pass him with a wide berth and then do so.
It's the same with pedestrians. I don't get upset if they're walking on the road. I get angry because I'm scared for their safety when they think it's okay to j-walk across 6 lanes of traffic in rush hour at night while wearing black because "I'm a pedestrian and if you hit me, I'll sue." No. If I hit you, you'll probably die because I'm a ton and a half of metal and you're 150 pounds of water and carbon.
Cars are big and they are very dangerous. I may love my car and I love driving it. I love biking and I love walking as well and in some places in the world, we've designed it so that all of these activities can be done in close proximity with relatively high safety and everyone needs to do their part to keep it a safe environment. When cars don't respect bikers, people get hurt. When bikes don't respect cars and predictability (by staying in their lane, going WITH traffic, stopping at traffic lights, or staying on the sidewalk, etc), people get hurt. When pedestrians think they're God and don't pay attention to cars OR bikes, people get hurt.
I have no idea what happened in this single instance that the article itself is talking about; but frustration with a certain kind of biker does not automatically result in believing "it's okay to not treat cyclists who are killed in traffic accidents as human beings".
However, it suffices to say that using a thread lamenting the death of a cyclist for venting about improper cyclist behavior isn't a considerate thing to do. Let alone quoting a line that correctly suggests that motorists who kill cyclists are not treated similarly to motorists who are at fault in other fatal accidents.
Accidents between vehicles and cyclists are not often the cyclist's fault (in <10% of accidents is the cyclist at fault)[1]. Bicycling organizations "do not know of a single case of a cyclist fatality in which the driver was prosecuted, except for D.U.I. or hit-and-run,”[2].
[1] http://www.sharetheroad.ca/what-are-the-dangers-in-terms-of-... [2]http://www.sharetheroad.ca/what-are-the-dangers-in-terms-of-...
That said, yes, it was perhaps a poor time to bring it up; but, during these bad times, people are more likely to bring it up, since it's how they deal with the issues at hand.
Try this out sometime, and see how far it gets you. Take up a full lane of traffic, as is your right as a vehicle, and see how long it takes before someone tries to run you down, because risking arriving at the office thirty seconds earlier is worth risking bodily harm to another human in a fit of road rage.
When cycling, you should only do this when you can keep up with traffic. Which is especially difficult when you have to slow down or stop often since you can't accelerate as quickly as a car.
'They' make you sick with 'their' bullshit. 'They' break laws, while of course 'we' are wonderful, and our law breaking is justified. 'They' think they enjoy special privileges, while 'our' special privileges are unquestioned. And of course anyone defending 'them' must be one of 'them'. 'They' are remorseless killers, look I have proof!
If only 'they' weren't so different and stubborn. If only 'they' behaved good like 'we' do. We should probably put a stop to 'them'.
Yes. Making sure that every bicyclist obeys the traffic rules is so much more important solving the problems of people dying because cars hit them. Rule and order is way more important than people's lives. Let's get angry about it.