NY Times: Is it OK to kill cyclists?
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well, if a bike gets in a collision with a car the rider is going to usually take the brunt of the damage as they arent protected all that much. so what i meant was if the bikers are careful and not making bad decisions while on the road they are less likely to get run over.
FWIW i look for bikers when im driving because i do see them and i try to give them as much room as i can because obviously i dont want to peel one off the grill of my silverado. what im saying is the bikers i see in my area are usually the same ones that i usually see and they seem to pay good attention to me and other cars i assume because they dont want to become a hood ornament either.
The research that exists on this suggests drivers are at fault in the majority of bike-car accidents. It's not the bikers breaking the laws that result in these tragedies, it's the drivers. I guess your comment, and the presumption that seems to live behind it, just reinforces the premise in the article I posted.
As a driver, it's your responsibility to look out for others on the road. The existing laws should reinforce this, but the lack of enforcement of the laws just encourages a lack of attention and your perception that bikes should really be looking out for you. It's sort of like speed reduction through school zones. One significant reason people pay attention to these is the large-ticket fines that are assessed for violations. If significant penalties for violations of laws related to right-of-way for pedestrians and cyclists were similarly assessed, the assumption is that this would help increase awareness of and compliance with these laws, as well.
That said, rest assured none of your community cyclists would want to put you through the tedium of peeling one of them off the grill of your Silverado.
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We are rural but close enough to the city that several make the daily commute by bike. I tip my hat to them, considering they do this rain or shine.
Werner Herzog did a documentary on texting and driving.
Here is a short news video on it:
You can find the whole video online too.
As roads get more congested, and drivers attentions are distracted by more and more communication electronics, the trend is to more senseless accidents.
Maybe the future is sensors in cars that avoid crashes but they are still decades away from commercial development and implementation.
Here is a short news video on it:
You can find the whole video online too.
As roads get more congested, and drivers attentions are distracted by more and more communication electronics, the trend is to more senseless accidents.
Maybe the future is sensors in cars that avoid crashes but they are still decades away from commercial development and implementation.
Sadly that is needed up here too with far fewer vehicles on the road. Far too many seem to treat driving as job #8 when driving. Hardly a day goes by without a driver driving over someone & wondering what the thud was.
"Driving a vehicle while texting is six times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)."
(broken link removed)
Here's a write-up of a fun analog study sponsored by Car and Driver that concludes essentially the same thing:
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/texting-while-driving-how-dangerous-is-it
Sobering.
(broken link removed)
Here's a write-up of a fun analog study sponsored by Car and Driver that concludes essentially the same thing:
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/texting-while-driving-how-dangerous-is-it
Sobering.
i'd find that easy to believe , driving while intoxicated usually the driver is still trying to pay attention to the road, driving while texting the driver is trying to spell LMFAO while steering and looking at a small screen in their lap.
increased reaction times with either scenario but i'd bet the drunk would still react faster than the texter
more importantly, i bet younger, inexperienced drivers do more texting - a double whammy.
there is a stretch of parkway in Queens NY that becomes a race track weekend nights. kids zip in and out of lanes trying to race each other. the only way to stay safe is to drive defensively. it's a rush to see their bright LED headlights coming in the rearview mirror.
there is a stretch of parkway in Queens NY that becomes a race track weekend nights. kids zip in and out of lanes trying to race each other. the only way to stay safe is to drive defensively. it's a rush to see their bright LED headlights coming in the rearview mirror.
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