Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident • Hacker News Board

Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident

#91

Post by betterunix » Tue, Jul 09, 2013, 6:30 PM UTC

JonSkeptic wrote: post #27

rufugee wrote: post #7

So very sad. I personally think the world would be a much better place if cars were relegated to intercity travel and walking/biking/public transit were the only means of intracity movement. The world would be cleaner and in all likelihood much healthier, and needless accidents like this would be avoided. RIP.

Unfortunately, this is not remotely feasible in many of the most populated cities of the US, nor many of the rural cities. [0] It's a nice thought, but not one that could ever happen. Till we learn to drive responsibly and be aware of our environment as a matter of course, these accidents will continue to happen. RIP. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/05/c...

How is public transit not remotely feasible in large cities? At one time, many US cities (large and small) had extensive streetcar systems that were far more efficient than cars. We are now left with just a handful of such systems, not because automobiles are technically superior but because of the intersection of business and politics:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...

The executive summary is this: car companies took advantage of stupid laws to destroy almost all American streetcar systems.

The sooner we undo that damage, the better. Cars make a lot of sense in rural areas and for a few very niche uses in suburban and urban areas, but they are a dangerous, polluting, and inefficient way for people to commute to work.

Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident

#92

Post by Zaytes » Tue, Jul 09, 2013, 6:30 PM UTC

clicks wrote: post #54

technotony wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Glass?

That is interesting, but probably not a viable solution for _today_. Something like an always-on dashcam [1] would be the way to go. I'm thinking there are some out there whose energy is generated by pedaling your bike. yum was good software. Vidal will be missed. Rob Levin, lilo (founder) of FreeNode, was another person lost to a hit and run accident while he was riding his bike. What can be done to make biking safe…

>What can be done to make biking more safer in the states?

Require more stringent testing to grant drivers licenses. It seems as though issuing DLs is treated too much as a revenue stream and not enough as an education/screening process.

Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident

#93

Post by ejs » Tue, Jul 09, 2013, 6:31 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #86

oinksoft wrote: post #64

The sad truth is that while bicycles should be respected as vehicles, they are given lip service at best in driver education and there is little attempt made at going after motorists who drive aggressively around them. As a result, you put yourself at great risk of life and limb when you ride on a road like this one: http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-LvU0mhA3 (Hillandale Rd, Durham, NC) I accomplish all of my…

I only ride my bike on dedicated bike lanes (by "dedicated" I mean those blocked from the main road) and bike paths. Everywhere else, I ride on the sidewalk. Fortunately, most sidewalks where I live are sparsely populated, and I make sure to slow down to walking speed or dismount completely when going through areas with lots of pedestrians. Someone told me I could get cited for riding my bike on a sidewalk. Fuck that…

People are often killed riding on sidewalks, I avoid riding on them because they are very dangerous wherever there is a driveway - cars move to the edge of the street without expecting a vehicle moving at 15mph+ on the sidewalk.

Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident

#94

Post by MartinCron » Tue, Jul 09, 2013, 6:31 PM UTC

bluepen44 wrote: post #72

JonSkeptic wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, this is not remotely feasible in many of the most populated cities of the US, nor many of the rural cities. [0] It's a nice thought, but not one that could ever happen. Till we learn to drive responsibly and be aware of our environment as a matter of course, these accidents will continue to happen. RIP. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/05/c...

"JonSkeptic"..not surprised by the sentiment of your comment. I think it is feasible..certainly not in all cities and maybe not in any established cities..but some small cities could implement such a solution. That or entirely new cities could be created with this design. Just require cars to be parked when entering city limits and traded for a golf cart or Segway or something of the sort. The boundaries could be exp…

An incremental alternative would be to impose a congestion tax for people who choose to drive their cars into the city. The tax would create an incentive not to drive and could be used to fund things like transit and bike sharing.

Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident

#95

Post by vanderZwan » Tue, Jul 09, 2013, 6:31 PM UTC

oinksoft wrote: post #64

The sad truth is that while bicycles should be respected as vehicles, they are given lip service at best in driver education and there is little attempt made at going after motorists who drive aggressively around them. As a result, you put yourself at great risk of life and limb when you ride on a road like this one: http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-LvU0mhA3 (Hillandale Rd, Durham, NC) I accomplish all of my…

I'm from the Netherlands, where separate bike lanes are the norm. The thought of having to share the road with cars, especially in a place where people aren't used to bike traffic, terrifies me.

Also, IIRC when a car hits pedestrian or bike, the car is always the "guilty" party because pedestrians or bikes are never a safety threat to cars (you can still be acquitted if it is clear that there's no way you could have prevented the crash). Does the US have something like that to promote cautious driving habits?

Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident

#96

Post by jlgreco » Tue, Jul 09, 2013, 6:32 PM UTC

bluepen44 wrote: post #72

JonSkeptic wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, this is not remotely feasible in many of the most populated cities of the US, nor many of the rural cities. [0] It's a nice thought, but not one that could ever happen. Till we learn to drive responsibly and be aware of our environment as a matter of course, these accidents will continue to happen. RIP. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/05/c...

"JonSkeptic"..not surprised by the sentiment of your comment. I think it is feasible..certainly not in all cities and maybe not in any established cities..but some small cities could implement such a solution. That or entirely new cities could be created with this design. Just require cars to be parked when entering city limits and traded for a golf cart or Segway or something of the sort. The boundaries could be exp…

Even if you start designing new small cities to accommodate no automobiles, you will not be able to eliminate automobiles outside those cities, nor will you be able to force everyone to live in them.

You'd basically just be building a car-less retirement community and hope that young people opt into it.

Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident

#97

Post by thwest » Tue, Jul 09, 2013, 6:32 PM UTC

jlgreco wrote: post #67

thwest wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personal consumption is a completely different realm than dangerous systemic infrastructure decisions. I'll give someone the right to die fat and drunk on their own, but I absolutely abhor how our roads make murderers out of us.

It's called addiction. People who drink themselves to death cannot be said to be "choosing" to do that in any meaningful way.

Drinking is a significant cause of death among non-addicts. Addicts are a small portion of consumers. Addicts are the exceptional case here.

Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident

#98

Post by Yver » Tue, Jul 09, 2013, 6:33 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #86

oinksoft wrote: post #64

The sad truth is that while bicycles should be respected as vehicles, they are given lip service at best in driver education and there is little attempt made at going after motorists who drive aggressively around them. As a result, you put yourself at great risk of life and limb when you ride on a road like this one: http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-LvU0mhA3 (Hillandale Rd, Durham, NC) I accomplish all of my…

I only ride my bike on dedicated bike lanes (by "dedicated" I mean those blocked from the main road) and bike paths. Everywhere else, I ride on the sidewalk. Fortunately, most sidewalks where I live are sparsely populated, and I make sure to slow down to walking speed or dismount completely when going through areas with lots of pedestrians. Someone told me I could get cited for riding my bike on a sidewalk. Fuck that…

You could also injure a pedestrian. Do you realize that you can hurt an elderly person on the sidewalk with a bike as much as a car can hurt you on the road?

Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident

#99

Post by aqme28 » Tue, Jul 09, 2013, 6:34 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #73

antr wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A camera mounted on the bike/helmet is the best solution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqSp4XZX0CU

It's not much of a solution. I'm at work so I couldn't listen to the video, but I watched it. It seemed like he managed to capture what the car looks like (kinda sorta), but what is really needed is something that can reliably capture the license plate . There was one frame in this video where the license plate was sort of visible, but not readible.

...it was intentionally blurred. If you watch through the video they explain that the police use the license plate to actually catch the guy.

Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident

#100

Post by preinheimer » Tue, Jul 09, 2013, 6:34 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #86

oinksoft wrote: post #64

The sad truth is that while bicycles should be respected as vehicles, they are given lip service at best in driver education and there is little attempt made at going after motorists who drive aggressively around them. As a result, you put yourself at great risk of life and limb when you ride on a road like this one: http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-LvU0mhA3 (Hillandale Rd, Durham, NC) I accomplish all of my…

I only ride my bike on dedicated bike lanes (by "dedicated" I mean those blocked from the main road) and bike paths. Everywhere else, I ride on the sidewalk. Fortunately, most sidewalks where I live are sparsely populated, and I make sure to slow down to walking speed or dismount completely when going through areas with lots of pedestrians. Someone told me I could get cited for riding my bike on a sidewalk. Fuck that…

As a pedestrian, you terrify and bully me.

As a driver managing turns, you're traveling at a very different speed than the people I'm expecting on the sidewalk which makes turning safely much more difficult.