Wait a minute. "A motorist accelerating to run a red light almost hit her because her music masked the sound of the approaching car."
Let me fix that.
"A motorist accelerating to run a red light almost hit her because THEY WERE RUNNING A RED LIGHT."
Not saying yay or nay on headphones. Just saying that the headphones didn't cause the car to almost hit her.
+1 pinky.
Both statements are correct. The near-accident had multiple causes (like most accidents).
Sure, the headphones weren't the most important cause, but they may have been the most important one the cyclist had direct control over. We can't do much about the jerk behind the wheel, or the road design, or maintenance, or weather, or time of day, or all the other factors that go into a typical accident.
Steven, I agree with you... but that isn't what was being stated in the quoted sentence.
Also regarding the phrase "on the rise." What study is he referring to? How does he know it's on the rise?
Pretty sure it must be on the rise because biking is.
@scott "on the rise." What study is he referring to?
Sometimes when I bicycle past attractive people I get distracted.
Just sayin'
Generally, Larry Walsh (who is a cyclist himself) is one of the friendlies. For instance, his column two weeks ago reminding people about hunting season was (to me) a good thing, because there's a lot of people aren't synced with the hunting schedule who just don't keep track of such things.
This more recent fluff article (to me, uninformed) seems like he had another column due for November and phoned it in from Confluence.
The first line is an absolute straw man that nobody ever presented: Motorists aren't the only ones guilty of distracted riding. Did I miss it? Has anybody claimed that, so that he could shoot it down?
This column really contains three items:
1. Larry Walsh read a magazine article and repurposed the content with attribution
Instead of writing anything himself about real things in this actual area, he rewords-copies-and-pastes somebody else's stuff into his column-inches. With attribution.
2. Larry Brock is running two bike tours in the $1000 to $1500 range
3. The Mason Dixon Line is very complex.
Not likely to reverse the crisis in print journalism. Not a big day in bicycle journalism. No mention of Lance. It's not the worst thing that could happen.
Total bs. Not happy with them trying to say cyclists are to blame in this manner. IMHO, they are trying to shift blame on accidents. I don't see cyclists riding in the city with total disregard and in their own world. If I did, I don't think they would be living long. The article is a joke.
I wonder what his thoughts are on deaf cyclists on the road.
I’ve never met this man, but from reading his articles over the years I believe he is strictly a rails-to-trails rider with minimal time riding on the street in traffic (he’s also a downhill skier). That’s quite ok, we can all enjoy ourselves in any way we wish.
The problem with this article is that it is uninformed at best, maybe just plain lazy at its worst. I don’t think he spent any time doing “the journalism” at all, and just wrote from opinion. Does the article set our community back? No. Is it a big deal? No. So maybe we should invite Larry out to our next Flock ride so he can get a little street seat time so his articles can have a more informed viewpoint. Who knows, he may start writing about bike commuting too.
(paging mr. Flock presidente)
With an increase in user ship, there is an
increase across the board.
"flat tires on the rise"
"women cyclists on the rise"
"anecdotal evidence on the rise"
@stefb, I personally know deaf drivers.
@Mick Sometimes when I bicycle past attractive people I get distracted.
That's what I call the 1959 DeSoto Effect. If, while gawking at an old car with huge tailfins, you cause a wreck, it's your fault, not that of the 1959 DeSoto.
I had to look- does not look like your typical off road vehicle.
http://ellingsoncarmuseum.com/active/gone/1959%20desoto%20firesweep/1959_desoto_firesweep_tn.htm
Make sure you are not riding or driving when you view this picture- sitting in a chair or at least standing still would be best.
@ steevo "anecdotal evidence on the rise"
golf claps.
1959 was an outstanding year for almost anything.
Start of the Vietnam war from the US's point of view.
"anecdotal evidence on the rise"
+1.000000 (please note the artificial precision)
