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

#381

Post by driverdan » Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 12:04 AM UTC

malandrew wrote: post #117

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…

In San Francisco, according to CSC 21202, the bicyclist is allowed full use of lanes. The important clause to pay attention to is clause (c). The most important part of that clause is the use of the term "substandard width lane", which although not defined in the statute, has been established via jurisprudence to be approximately 14-15 ft. Many many rightmost lanes in SF are not 14+ ft wide, meaning that on most road…

Texas has the same laws. In Austin the police released PR with a video telling cars about it. They also said they will not cite drivers for safely passing a bicycle over a double yellow.

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

#382

Post by anigbrowl » Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 12:06 AM UTC

sequoia wrote: post #187

colanderman wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

you're not endangering peoples' lives

This is regrettably untrue. There are far fewer deaths from bicyclists, of course, but if you google you'll see that there's about one a year. Although I'm pro-cycling I have to say I particularly dislike that segment of cycling community which seems to have the attitude that they not only have right of way at all times against cars, but also against pedestrians; I have had far more near-misses from careless or rule-breaking cyclists than with cars.

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

#383

Post by mullingitover » Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 12:10 AM UTC

baddox wrote: post #238

vanderZwan wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I tend to agree, but I can see both sides. Like I said in the other comment: a bike is never a threat to a car. A car is always a threat to a bike. While your points are valid, saying that that is looking at "both sides" is an inappropriate way of describing the situation.

By that logic, pedestrians should be able to walk in the middle of roads, since they're not a threat to a car.

They can, at least in California: as a pedestrian, you're entitled to cross the road at any intersection (crosswalk lights must be followed, but in their absence you're free to cross at any time). By law, all drivers must come to a complete stop until you have reached the curb.

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

#384

Post by dllthomas » Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 12:13 AM UTC

alxndr wrote: post #365

dllthomas wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was being discussed was cyclists behaving recklessly. Imagine a cyclist blowing through a red light at the bottom of a hill, where they're going ~20ish. Cross traffic with a green light isn't necessarily going to see them until the last minute even if the cross traffic is moving at an otherwise safe speed. Pay attention in a city for a while, and you'll see things like this, and it rightly pisses off both driver…

I thought we were talking about whether or not bikes can be a massive threat to cars. I have been paying attention in a city for a while. I have seen the situation you describe, but it's rare in my experience, even with SF supposedly full of reckless fixie-riders. Dangerous driving is far more common in my experience.

Hmm, yeah, scrolling up, there was more than a little hyperbole on both sides at the root of this thread. I agree a bike is not a "a massive threat to a car"; this doesn't mean it's okay for people to ride recklessly, or that they're not endangering others when they do.

And dangerous driving is probably more common (certainly by number of instances), and it should be condemned as well.

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

#385

Post by xanderstrike » Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 12:38 AM UTC

danso wrote: post #231

xanderstrike wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone struck him with a car and killed him. I think leaving the scene after killing someone with a vehicle should satisfy any any standard of negligence.

This isn't about what should/shouldn't be, I'm talking about how the legal system views these things. Vehicular homicide has a requirement of negligence, because traditionally the justice system sees a qualitative difference between a grandpa who backs over a grandchild who runs behind the SUV and someone who chooses to drive despite being blind drunk. In terms of the hit-and-run == negligence...the two things correl…

Honestly, leaving the scene should instantly turn any accident into a crime. I'm sorry that you panicked, but you need to pull over and take responsibility.

I understand that accidents happen, but choosing to leave someone bleeding on the side of the road is not an accident.

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

#386

Post by mullingitover » Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 12:40 AM UTC

clarky07 wrote: post #276

oinksoft wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

So? From the cited article giving that stat - "a mile of driving is ten times safer than a mile of cycling". You might argue that cycling is safe. You can't argue that it is safer. It simply isn't.

Cycling on its own is very safe, it's the cars that are dangerous.

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

#387

Post by baddox » Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 12:53 AM UTC

mullingitover wrote: post #383

baddox wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By that logic, pedestrians should be able to walk in the middle of roads, since they're not a threat to a car.

They can, at least in California: as a pedestrian, you're entitled to cross the road at any intersection (crosswalk lights must be followed, but in their absence you're free to cross at any time). By law, all drivers must come to a complete stop until you have reached the curb.

I don't mean crossing the road. I mean traveling with traffic in a lane.

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

#388

Post by mpdehaan2 » Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 1:00 AM UTC

stevesalevan wrote: post #147

I had the opportunity to work with Seth on the Func project and knew him to be a seriously stand-up dude who cared deeply about the quality of his work and the people who used it. You just had to say 'skvidal' on #fedora-devel and, as if by magic, he'd appear and get you unblocked on whatever it was you were hacking on. It was just unbelievable, I've never known a developer that cared so much about making people's li…

Hi Steve (and fellow Func contributor!).

Amen.

The influence Seth has had on my career, in fact the way I look at so many things, has been so incredibly huge I don't know what to say. He's helped me so much in so many ways, influenced the way I think in so many ways, without Func my current company wouldn't even exist and who knows what I'd be doing.

If there's any advice here to take away that I might have learned from a lot of great memo-list posts from Seth, if anything at all, is go make the world a better place. Don't just write software. Care about stuff and making the world a better place. It's important. And take some time to let your yard get mowed by goats, because it's funny to watch :)

We will all miss you a ton.

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

#389

Post by bagels » Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 1:51 AM UTC

baddox wrote: post #373

vanderZwan wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way you describe it, my impression is that the real problem is that you are not considering bikes as participants of traffic, but obstacles in the way of your car.

I'm not considering automobiles as inherently more "valid" participants of traffic than bicycles. I just consider any road where two types of vehicles of very different sizes which behave very differently to be an inherently unsafe and inefficient road for all participants. Obviously, the occupants of the larger vehicles are much safer in collisions with the smaller vehicles, but that's not my primary consideration.…

I'm not considering big rig trucks as inherently more "valid" participants of traffic than passenger cars. I just consider any road where two types of vehicles of very different sizes which behave very differently to be an inherently unsafe and inefficient road for all participants. Obviously, the occupants of the larger vehicles are much safer in collisions with the smaller vehicles, but that's not my primary consideration...

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

#390

Post by droopybuns » Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 2:38 AM UTC

xioxox wrote: post #111

droopybuns wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I quit biking because I realized it was unsafe. I am not sure why ostensibly intelligent people would engage in any activity where you are one texting teenager away from crippling injury or death.

For goodness, stop this hyperbole. At least in the UK, the health benefits of cycling far outweigh the danger: http://cyclehelmets.org/1015.html

I do not think you understand the definition of hyperbole.

I live 40 minutes outside of Seattle, in a rural area that is considered a great destination for a full day weekend bike loop. Our highways are curvy, have very little shoulders and are regularly traveled by speeding logging trucks. I am a former biker. I know what I have seen and it is just not a safe hobby. Your disagreement with the reality of a 50 ton truck traveling blind corners at high speed will be of little solace to your family at your funeral.

Hyperbole is a word reserved for exaggerated claims. I am not exaggerating. It is a dangerous hobby here in the states, and the biking community might as well be shaking their fists at rain clouds.