March 14, 2009
Two wheels beats four
Blogger Kevin Baker posted this video, saying that whenever he gets the urge to buy a bike he takes a nap until the mania passes.
I'll second that.
Even though I spent a year on crutches and endured reconstructive knee surgery thirty years ago, every so often I get the urge to get back on a bike and hit the road.
Videos like this remind me why that's a bad idea. It doesn't matter how good a rider you are -- some idiot ignoring the red light staring him in the face is still going to kill you.
Posted by Mike Lief at March 14, 2009 11:45 AM
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Comments
And exactly the same thing can happen to a pedestrian walking or riding a bicycle through a cross walk--happens every day in fact. It's the idiots driving cars who kill people--not the form of transportation of the victim.
Posted by: Schmedley at March 14, 2009 03:10 PM
You are 100% correct. Back when I was an insurance adjuster for work comp, it always seemed that we had at least one quadriplegic disabled motorcycle cop in the caseload. NOBODY is more skilled on motorcycles than the police. It was always somebody making a left turn, who did not see the officer coming at normal speed, in his proper lane, with no time for the officer to react. Life is changed - irreparably damaged - in an eye blink. Seeing this video of the red light being run and the rider flung about like a rag doll just makes me shudder.
Posted by: ecmarm at March 14, 2009 03:15 PM
Schmedley --
You're right -- and you're wrong.
Right: "It's the idiots driving cars who kill people".
Wrong: It's "not the form of transportation of the victim".
My collision thirty years ago would have resulted in barely a scratch to my Chevy Malibu, rather than the surgery, rehab and more than a year of recovery I endured because I was on two wheels instead of four.
The mode of transportation carries with it substantial risks, when the driver isn't protected by bodywork, airbags, seatbelts and four-wheel anti-lock brakes.
Your point about pedestrians is well taken, but manages to overstate the risks of hoofing it; it's easier as a pedestrian to watch what traffic is doing and essentially stay out of traffic until you're certain it's safe to do so.
I pretty much stopped riding my bicycle on city streets shortly after several cyclists were killed in a short timeframe, one of them riding to work in the morning, another out for a recreational ride in a marked bike lane.
We also had a couple of joggers killed by drivers who simply weren't paying attention.
I hardly think it's an unreasonable risk assessment to try and limit one's recreational activities to a time and place that minimizes one's exposure to zombies behind the wheel.
Posted by: Mike Lief at March 14, 2009 03:29 PM
You just cured my desire for a motorcycle.
Posted by: Red at March 15, 2009 01:31 PM