My reaction to a post on one of the blogs I frequent:
Jeff- Thanks for posting about this article. I'd heard about it before, but hadn't taken the time to read it. Like many other media accounts it's blatantly slanted against the cyclist. From the article: "Everything about that route -- frequent big-truck and semi traffic, two narrow lanes, an uneven gravel berm, 40-mph speed limit and no sidewalks -- conspires against them and the bicyclists with whom they share the road." The road doesn't need to be shared simply "because that's just about where the bus route ends"; it needs to be shared because that's the law and because cyclists have a right to use the road. Also, mentioning that there are no sidewalks is not particularly helpful, as it is often illegal and less safe to ride on the sidewalk.
"Dressed all in black and without a helmet, his sole source of safety is his head, which he turns to look behind him when traffic approaches from the front. If it's coming from behind, too, the 45-year-old French knows he must steer onto the gravel to avoid a collision, one that almost surely would kill him." The article briefly mentions French knows he needs better gear, but can't afford with his $7.50/hr income. I was going to say that he ignores "his sole source of safety" by neglecting his visibility. Heck a white tee shirt would go a long way to increase his visibility.
However, I think it is irresponsible journalism to include this description of French's riding in an article referring to Tracey Corbin without saying the following. (From: an earlier Dispatch news article) "He had lights on the bike, front and back - reflectors, too. And he always wore an orange safety vest to stand out in the early-morning dark." The article you link to further implies that Tracey Corbin wasn't taking adequate precautions here:
"Since Corbin's death, the 50-year-old Nimmo has installed two blinking red lights and a yield-shaped sign on his bike. Reflective letters that spell out Don't Kill Me are affixed to the sign, which faces the traffic behind Nimmo. He centered a 3-foot dowel along the top edge of the sign to give passing truckers and other drivers a notion of how much room he needs in the darkness of his own morning commute."
Corbin had done his part for safety. For Ann Fisher's commentary to imply otherwise is disgraceful.
I would say that instead of a bicycle lane, a road signage reminding motorists to share the road or watch for cyclists might be a good stop-gap measure. I love Nimmo's comment about the stripper law though: "The strippers got 6 feet," Nimmo said, referring to the legislation that, until it was amended in the Ohio House, required strippers to stay 6 feet from strip-club patrons. "We're only asking for half of what the strippers got." HB 390 was killed in the OH Senate. If it had passed, the driver who killed Tracey Corbin would have likely been charged with violating it. As it is, I don't think he's been charged with anything.
And because I can't post something cycling related, w/o posting something political, read this post to see why I'm a little worried (as is a lot of the rest of the World I'd imagine) come November 4th.
Re: Why rednecks may rule the world.Read the rest of this insightful commentary over at pinchflatnews
You know, I'm pretty fucking sick and tired of being put down and dismissed and disrespected for being educated and living in a city and having values that run a bit more esoteric than how to fucking field dress a goddamn moose. Fuck these people and their stupid fucking values. Fuck guns and hunting. Fuck "self-sufficiency" and flannel and ATVs and jet-skis. You want a goddamn culture war, you got it. I'm tired of you selfish petty assholes ruining every goddamn election and running this country to ground, all because you want a president you can be comfortable drinking a Bud with.
4 comments:
C'mon guys, let's give ATV's a break at least. Without them, this country would have a lot less mtb trials. And PBR would likely go out of business.
As for jet-skis, how are we males supposed to pick up hot chix if our mating rituals can't begin by us showing off our bad-ass jet-ski tricks to impress the ladies.
ds- thanks for chiming in; you know I always find your opinion and wisdom valuable. The blog post on pinchflatnews is pretty inflammatory and I think the excerpt I took from it captured that well. It is a reaction to the BBC Feature / Comment 'Why rednecks may rule the world' (by the author of Deerhunting With Jesus). While the content of both was pretty edgy, I think they highlighted some of what the GOP seems to be driving for. I've also seen numerous comments from our friends up north in Canada that indicate even though they obviously understand where Sarah Palin comes from, they don't see her as a good leader for America. (not that it matters what the rest of the world thinks of us or anything like that)
Remember the wedding I told you about? I went to a small rural UCC church growing up, and I will return there for the ceremony and go to the fairgrounds community center in Attica, OH for the reception. I grew up riding 3-wheelers and 4-wheelers on the family farm, taking Vo-Ag, and belonging to FFA and 4-H. I own guns, although I haven't hunted.
I should be the 'type of person' that the GOP message appeals the most to, and I was a staunch Republican until about 1/2 way through Bush's current term. But this election is different for me. I feel very bad now for the way I mindlessly bashed democratic candidates in the past election and parroted GOP talking points to my democratic friends. At the time I had been fooled into thinking that the Iraqi War was justified (WMD) and that Kerry wouldn't be able to lead us during the conflict.
Four years later and I really see more and more how wrong I was. The cost of Iraq in both our soldier's lives and taxpayer's $$ is not justified. It's also caused us to lose focus on Afghanistan. That and among other things the poor prep/response to Katrina, the mortgage crisis, and the energy problems we're facing have been contributed to by Bush's policies.
I think it's time to give democrats a chance, and there will be less issues caused by partisanship if the House, Senate, and Whitehouse are democratic. I'm pissed off enough now and I don't want to wait another 4 years to fix the problems we're facing today and will be facing if changes aren't made.
Here's a link to a similar article over at Alternet.org. I don't think America wants or needs these political and socioeconomic divisions. While it clearly isn't just the GOP that is trying to divide us, I do think that it is a large part of their current campaign strategy.
Ann did not mean to imply Tracey neglected a reasonable effort at safety. What she meant was that in the conditions there, even a reasonable effort at safety is not enough to keep you alive. The bit about no sidewalks was not meant to imply bikes should use sidewalks, it was to show pedestrians are endangered in that area as well.
Ann was shaken, and insisted French put his bike in the back of her station wagon and drove him to where he was going. Her readers offered donations of safety gear for French, and she has been trying to get a hold of him so he can get his safety gear.
MORPC has told me that plans are in the works for bike lanes on Alum Creek that will go from Williams Rd to Frebis. They said that it would be at least two years before anything happens, though. That could be a lifesaver, if sidewalks are also added. If not, you can bet bike lanes will be used by pedestrians...
The last time I biked Alum Creek, a Franklin County Sheriff threatened to ticket me if he caught me biking on Alum Creek again. I keep a copy of Ohio law concerning biking in my backpack and tried to share that with the sheriff. He had no desire to see the law, and reasserted the threat of a ticket. I am not sure how to handle the sheriff.
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