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

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

#181

Post by [deleted] »

colanderman wrote: post #166
gamache wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's appropriate to consider bicycles as "first-class vehicles" in all situations, namely in the dangerous situations you list (speed limits >~25mph, multiple automobile lanes, etc.). Driving a motor vehicle on a road is a privilege. This privilege is represented by a motor vehicle operator's license, which may be revoked by the state for a variety of reasons. Riding a bicycle on a non-Interstate public…

> Riding a bicycle on a non-Interstate public road is a right. That's a bold claim. Citation?

[deleted]

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

#182

Post by oinksoft »

clarky07 wrote: post #162
oinksoft wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, there are lots of slow cyclists who seldom top 15mph. Nevertheless, the speed limit is a speed limit, and if I can manage 25mph on a 35mph road, I don't see the issue. Mixed-use roads that see cyclists clogging traffic should provide simple painted bike lanes if nothing else. So we should enforce traffic laws on cars but not on bicycles? That's fairly myopic... Fewer than 1000 people die in bicycle acci…

considering the amount of people biking vs the amount of people in cars, I'd guess that biking is the far more dangerous mode of transport. According to this site [1], biking accounts for 1% of trips, but 2% of traffic fatalities. [1] - http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/facts/crash-facts.cfm

You might find this interesting:

  UK figures show that it takes at least 8000 years of
  average cycling to produce one clinically severe head
  injury and 22,000 years for one death.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet#Health_benefits...

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

#183

Post by JeremyNT »

oddshocks wrote: post #46

The family wanted to keep this off social media for now. Unfortunate that you posted this.

Author of the blog post here.

My blog is intended for a small local audience, and I never intended it to "break" this story to the Internet.

I wrote my post for a couple of reasons:

- I wanted to add some context for my readers who might not be familiar with Seth's work; in the original WRAL.com article, Seth is mentioned only by name, with no other information about his accomplishments.

- I feel horrible about what happened to Seth, almost physically ill. A man I admired, an experienced cyclist, was killed on a road I have biked on many times myself. I just felt the need to write... something.

I sincerely apologize if my actions have caused grief to the family.

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

#184

Post by dllthomas »

jberryman wrote: post #165
baddox wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The sad truth is that while bicycles should be respected as vehicles, I tend to agree, but I can see both sides. There is also very little (and, as far as I know, zero required) bicyclist education, and many bicyclists make little attempt to drive predictably and safely either out of boldness or ignorance. Similarly, while stricter rules and enforcement for automobile drivers is warranted, I think the same goes for…

> but I can see both sides. This isn't a "on the one hand, on the other" issue. Even the most foolish and aggressive cyclist is almost never endangering the safety of drivers around him, even indirectly. Yet all it takes is a nudge, honk, door opening, unsignaled turn, etc. to kill a cyclist. Bicycle etiquette is for all practical purposes not a public safety issue, and IMHO responses of the "but bicyclists can be ru…

Unpredictable cyclists endanger other cyclists and drivers - not because they are likely to hit them, but because they train drivers to react inappropriately. Drivers that don't respect cyclists (or pedestrians, or other drivers, of course) should be ticketed; so should cyclists that behave inappropriately - legally they can be, by the way.

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

#185

Post by jowiar »

aroch wrote: post #128
oinksoft wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that a cyclist flaunting traffic laws should always be liable for accidents, but the last thing we need if we want to encourage bicycling is nanny-state policing of proper signaling and such. Any city that has resources for this ought to take a hard look at the size of their police force. Your idea of banning cycle traffic on >25mph roads is misguided. Most cyclists have no trouble traveling at a speed greate…

>Most cyclists have no trouble traveling at a speed greater than 25mph, even uphill I doubt that, maybe in burst/sprint but not sustained...Hell, the average top speeds in the Tour de France during the sprints is barely 25mph and those are top athletes. >but the last thing we need if we want to encourage bicycling is nanny-state policing of proper signaling and such. So we should enforce traffic laws on cars but not…

Be negligent on a bicycle and a vast majority of the life and limb you are risking is your own. Be negligent in a car and you're putting in mortal danger every other driver and cyclist on the road as well as every pedestrian in the vicinity. The difference between 25lb of metal powered by glutes and quads and 1.5 tons of metal with a tank of flammable liquid and a 200 hp engine is important.

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

#186

Post by enraged_camel »

aqme28 wrote: post #99
enraged_camel wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I understand, and I suspected that.

But still, I think the cyclist simply got lucky that he happened to catch the license plate on his camera. I mean, when you're falling off your bike, the last thing you're thinking about is to get a recording of the car.

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

#187

Post by sequoia »

colanderman wrote: post #166
gamache wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's appropriate to consider bicycles as "first-class vehicles" in all situations, namely in the dangerous situations you list (speed limits >~25mph, multiple automobile lanes, etc.). Driving a motor vehicle on a road is a privilege. This privilege is represented by a motor vehicle operator's license, which may be revoked by the state for a variety of reasons. Riding a bicycle on a non-Interstate public…

> Riding a bicycle on a non-Interstate public road is a right. That's a bold claim. Citation?

Not an explicitly enumerated right in the USA, but a "right" in the same way freedom to walk down the sidewalk is a "right": you're not endangering peoples' lives & it's not explicitly prohibited so you "have a right" to do it. If someone attempted to prevent you from walking down the sidewalk they would be denying you that "right."

Driving a motor vehicle does endanger peoples' lives, so we (society) decided you don't have the "right" to do it, but you can be granted the privilege to do so pretty easily provided you have the $$ for administrative fees & can pass a test demonstrating basic competency.

Your question is totally reasonable, but I think it's fair to say one has a "right" to bike on public roads (barring interstates) but not a "right" to drive on public roads as this requires a license & is subject to many strict regulations.

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

#189

Post by dllthomas »

oinksoft wrote: post #118
baddox wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The sad truth is that while bicycles should be respected as vehicles, I tend to agree, but I can see both sides. There is also very little (and, as far as I know, zero required) bicyclist education, and many bicyclists make little attempt to drive predictably and safely either out of boldness or ignorance. Similarly, while stricter rules and enforcement for automobile drivers is warranted, I think the same goes for…

I think that a cyclist flaunting traffic laws should always be liable for accidents, but the last thing we need if we want to encourage bicycling is nanny-state policing of proper signaling and such. Any city that has resources for this ought to take a hard look at the size of their police force. Your idea of banning cycle traffic on >25mph roads is misguided. Most cyclists have no trouble traveling at a speed greate…

"Any city that has resources for this ought to take a hard look at the size of their police force."

Aren't tickets usually a source of revenue?

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

#190

Post by jlgreco »

_delirium wrote: post #146
mh- wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in short: you're (incorrectly) extrapolating what you know about one midsized city to the rest of the US.

I could tell you about the years I lived in Houston or Los Angeles if you prefer. The situation for pedestrians there was not any better. I've also, more relevant to this article, spent a little time in Raleigh, though I haven't lived there. There is about a 2 block by 8 block area of downtown Raleigh that is reasonably safe for pedestrians. Maybe somewhere like Portland is different; I haven't been there.

All three of the cities you've lived in are notorious for sprawl. It would be reasonable to strive for improvement in those cities, but don't make the mistake of thinking that the problems those cities have is representative of the rest of the country.

It's like living in rural Idaho then complaining that America needs to learn how to pave roads because packed dirt just isn't cutting it.

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