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Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

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Re: Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

#91

Post by [deleted] »

arethuza wrote: post #68
lemming wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was with my ex-girlfriend her little sister was knocked off her bike, also by a totally reckless driver doing over 80km/h in a 50km/h zone. She suffered serious head trauma, they didn't actually think she'd make it through the night. She did survive but had pretty serious behavioural problems after that, and died a few years later of a cerebral tumour which was almost certainly related. I'll never forget the s…

I'm pretty certain that I am only alive today because of a cycling helmet - I had an accident a few years back while mountain biking where I fell off and skidded along on my side (feet still in the SPD pedals) with my head hitting a gate post. I woke up a while later with the helmet completely disintegrated - if I hadn't been wearing it I'm pretty sure it would have been my skull.

[deleted]

Re: Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

#92

Post by verisimilitude »

dhimes wrote: post #81
jrockway wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, bikes are basically considered toys. If you're a kid, you ride one on your sidewalk to enjoy a sunny Saturday afternoon. If you're an adult, you buy one that costs $3000 to impress your friends. You put it on the back of your car, drive it to a fun location, and pedal around for a few hours once a month. It's way too dangerous to even consider thinking about maybe possibly riding it to work or something, b…

In the US, bikes are basically considered toys. You make excellent points, but in US law they are considered vehicles , and subject to the same rules of stop lights, stop signs, and waiting-in-line as automobiles. Many, many bicyclists don't understand this, however, and run red lights and stop signs seemingly at will. This never really bothered me until I had kids and was teaching them how to ride. I would always po…

I agree with you in condemning running red lights/stop signs and reckless behavior. However, I recently found out that statutes in my area state that bicycles may treat red lights as stop signs.

On my bike, I occasionally take refuge in cross walks in order to check cross-traffic. After reading your post, I'll look into the specific statues applicable to this practice.

Re: Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

#93

Post by jacquesm »

viraptor wrote: post #60
sliverstorm wrote: post #13

The comment on the article reveals completely the lack of intelligence and elitism of the commenter. It may be wonderful to think that the people who man lower-end jobs are somehow less deserving than you, and somehow should be executed. But without those people filling those low-end jobs, our world would fall apart. No matter what you think of them, you need them, whether you realize it or not. And on the other hand…

Or the commenter was simply a troll. You get them on almost every news site now. Commenting on every article with something that will most likely cause others to argue / start a flamewar. I'm not sure if that needed a response at all. People not used to internet commenters sometimes give in too easily and start feeding the trolls... it only wastes your time and gives someone more chance to have "fun".

Trolls and griefers are a real problem, there is not so much that you could construct that can not be destroyed by a small number of motivated people, online as well as in real life.

Creation takes time, energy, intellect and inspiration, destruction can be done instantly, requires much less energy, zero intellect and pigheadedness will do just fine.

Re: Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

#94

Post by jacquesm »

jrockway wrote: post #11

Police said that Mr. Smith was following bicycle safety recommendations such as wearing light-colored clothing, using reflectors and riding in the bicycle lane. This is a common misconception. Reflectors are worthless. Riding in the bike lane exposes you to great danger -- car doors flying open to the right, aggressive motorists passing too closely on the left. If you take the lane, you're out of the "door zone", and…

> If you take the lane, you're out of the "door zone", and motorists have no choice but to slow down and pass you like they would pass any other vehicle on the road.

Yes, but all it takes is one that doesn't and you'll be in the same position as the guy in this article. (dead).

Not getting 'doored' is easy, spot which cars have occupants when passing on the left and simply assume that any of them can throw open their doors at any moment.

Driving in a car lane in the middle of the lane is going to get you murdered by the first person that doesn't expect you to be where you are. Being right doesn't matter much when you have a ton-and-a-half of Detroit (or Japanese or German) steel on top of you.

In some countries the laws are such that if you injure a bicyclist or a pedestrian you are automatically in the wrong, this sort of legislation actually helps a lot.

Re: Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

#95

Post by jacquesm »

weaksauce wrote: post #59
jwerlin wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sad story all around. Both for the guy who was killed and as a commentary on our lack of civility as a people. On a separate and far less important note: As a relatively newbie bike commuter it would interesting to learn more about your set up and why you chose the accessories you mentioned in your post.

Not the op but a rack is used to carry a few items on the back of your bike, the dynamo is used to generate electricity for a light and the chain guard stops your pants from entering the chain-to-sprocket pants ruining area.

The chain guard will likely stop you from having a nasty fall too, it' s not just pants that get ruined that way, a fall in traffic could easily kill you.

Re: Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

#96

Post by Herring »

jacquesm wrote: post #93
viraptor wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or the commenter was simply a troll. You get them on almost every news site now. Commenting on every article with something that will most likely cause others to argue / start a flamewar. I'm not sure if that needed a response at all. People not used to internet commenters sometimes give in too easily and start feeding the trolls... it only wastes your time and gives someone more chance to have "fun".

Trolls and griefers are a real problem, there is not so much that you could construct that can not be destroyed by a small number of motivated people, online as well as in real life. Creation takes time, energy, intellect and inspiration, destruction can be done instantly, requires much less energy, zero intellect and pigheadedness will do just fine.

Trolls used to be normal people too .. http://i.imgur.com/wOY9d.png

I'm a recovering troll myself, so I understand the motivation. Most of them are really just looking for recognition.

Re: Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

#97

Post by blasdel »

Tichy wrote: post #27
jrockway wrote: post #11

Police said that Mr. Smith was following bicycle safety recommendations such as wearing light-colored clothing, using reflectors and riding in the bicycle lane. This is a common misconception. Reflectors are worthless. Riding in the bike lane exposes you to great danger -- car doors flying open to the right, aggressive motorists passing too closely on the left. If you take the lane, you're out of the "door zone", and…

I wonder about the blinking things that seem to have become fashionable. I rarely drive cars, but when I did, I always found blinking lights extremely distracting. They make it hard for me to concentrate, to an extent where I wonder if it is still beneficial to the person wearing them. It's fine if a driver notices me, but I want them to still be able to concentrate. People's perceptions may vary here, for example I…

In Germany you must by law have front and rear lights with reflectors on your bike, and most are sold with generators to power them. Blinking lights of any kind aren't even legal for sale, much less use. Headlights with round beams are only legal for MTB use, all lights sold have shaped reflectors that place the beam entirely on the road with the brightest portion at the horizon, and a sharp cutoff above that.

None of these things are normally sold at all in the US. All red LED rear lights blink violently by default, and even fancy expensive headlights have idiotic round flashlight beams. One man has a US monopoly on importing the German products: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm — but you can import for less than the wholesale price he gives to shops by buying direct from Germany: http://www.starbike.com/php/product_list.php?prodcatid=37&#3...

I own both generations of battery-powerd IXON lights, and a generator-powered IQ Cyo senso plus without reflector. They are amazing — these (and the Schmidt Edelux) are the best lights available by orders of magnitude. Everything else is a piece of shit for road use, even at 5x the price and with brief runtimes on proprietary batteries.

They are the best consumer products I own, and I own some fancy fucking shit. I am dead serious. I've ridden 2500+ miles in pitch black darkness in the last year — and these lights have saved my life dozens of times where nothing else would have.

Re: Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

#98

Post by yters »

Psyonic wrote: post #28
jrockway wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, bikes are basically considered toys. If you're a kid, you ride one on your sidewalk to enjoy a sunny Saturday afternoon. If you're an adult, you buy one that costs $3000 to impress your friends. You put it on the back of your car, drive it to a fun location, and pedal around for a few hours once a month. It's way too dangerous to even consider thinking about maybe possibly riding it to work or something, b…

A co-worker at my last job said she even had people go so far as to throw stuff out their windows at her as they passed while she was cycling... ever happened to you?

One night riding back in my military uniform someone threw a drink cup filled with ice at me. Since it was CA, I'm thinking it was some sort of anti-war thing.

Re: Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

#99

Post by yters »

BahUnfair wrote: post #37
sliverstorm wrote: post #13

The comment on the article reveals completely the lack of intelligence and elitism of the commenter. It may be wonderful to think that the people who man lower-end jobs are somehow less deserving than you, and somehow should be executed. But without those people filling those low-end jobs, our world would fall apart. No matter what you think of them, you need them, whether you realize it or not. And on the other hand…

As a student who worked in a fast food kitchen for 3 years, I can confirm that you can absolutely love a job that is bottom-of-the-pile.

Sometimes the reason jobs pay more is because they are less enjoyable.

Re: Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim

#100

Post by yters »

Sandman wrote: post #40
points wrote: post #34

Um Why is this hacker news?

I agree with you. I guess you're being downvoted because, according to the guidelines, a proper thing to do when you feel that an article isn't HN material is flagging it, not commenting that it shouldn't be on HN.

One way to learn from the repeated "why is this HN?" is to explain, nothing helps us learn like teaching.
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