BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Oh damn, that's funny!

But he severely underestimates the weight of a truck (3,000 lbs., ha)

a prius weighs 3,000 lbs

Good video. Why do cyclists always seem to nitpick over some tiny part of the story like in this case the 3000 pounds? Who cares about that part of it. 2K, 3K, 6K, does it really matter if we get hit by one going 50mph?

we were joking, hence TDF's "ha"

I think the difference between a 2,000 lb car and a 6,000 lb truck is quite significant--if I have the coice between getting hit by a CRX and a Suburban, I will take the CRX every time. I also think it is quite important for the general public (bike-riding or not) to realize just how much automobile weigh in order to fully understand the power behind them.

I'm going to have to just say the rant works regardless of the accuracy of the car/truck weight. Most people will hear that and just think "ok, truck weighs a lot." Mission accomplished.

Nick - my gut reaction was that the mass of either vehicle is so out of proportion with your own mass that it doesn't really matter... but that sent me off on some googling.

indeed, that seems to be largely the case - this study says "curb weight is generally not considered a determinant of injury severity in vehicle-pedestrian crashes due to the overwhelming discrepancy in the masses of the pedestrians compared with almost any vehicle" - but even if the weight isn't a significant factor the design of the larger vehicle has a huge factor on risk for pedestrians (3.4x higher risk of dying from being hit by a LTV than a car!). Holy crap, I had no idea it was that bad... just in case anyone needed another reason to hate SUVs:

http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/10/3/154.full

A similar study, which contains this rather aggravating snippet: "Therefore, when car weight is reduced, the modest benefit

for pedestrians is far outweighed by the increase in most other types of crashes."

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/808569.pdf

In general, speed is way more important than weight. If there were one thing I could impress upon the world, it is that driving 40 in a 25 zone is far from the "victimless crime" most drivers appear to believe it to be (since they do it constantly) because it is associated with a huge (5x or more) increase in fatal injuries, on top of a decreased opportunity to avoid the crash in the first place.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/pub/hs809012.html

I think what's even more important is that the CRX is low enough that if you get hit, you'll most likely end up on the hood. Couple with some sort of roll, you'll dissipate a large portion of the kinetic energy.

If you get hit by the Suburban, you'll probably bounce off the truck, and have some internal organ damage because all that force will go into your body.

Exhibit 1a: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x1cMIwZzfI

Exhibit 1b: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGJ0fJN10YY

Exhibit 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCxc4SjpN6M

rr - I think that's basically the conclusion of the first thing I linked to.

FWIW, I'd have to imagine 1b didn't work out so well for the deer...

I liked the way the vlogger associated idiot-yelling-drivers with bullies.

^^^ that. Hearing someone else say that the whole "It gets better" thing doesn't help was good too. It's not just a video for cyclists, it actually made the 14 year old inside feel better when he said that he cried and hated himself. Not that I felt good because he hated himself, but I felt somewhat validated for being so mopey and emotional all the time.

@salty FWIW, I'd have to imagine 1b didn't work out so well for the deer...

That vid looked seriously fake to me, so i'm guessing no animals were harmed during its creation.

@RF, no need to cry. Feeling angry sure, sad no. I think most of the verbal abuse shouted out the windows of metal cages is because the drivers feel cheated out of all the money they spent on their car, insurance, fuel, etc. – and yet you are having a better time commuting then they are. Think about it, you can pedal as fast as you want or as slow as you want – they can’t. They are stuck following the bumper of the car in front of them & paying big bucks for the privilege of doing so.

Youthful hopey-changey exuberance, completely unrelated to any sort of reality condition. The car assholes forget about things in a minute. We try to be nice and end up dwelling for days pondering what-if's. Enough of this bullshit.

Curb weight of a 2000 Ford Ranger = 3068. Nah, nah, nah... nah, nahhh, nah. Guess the dude in the video technically could be correct in the 3K range(r).

2000 Ford Ranger, while technically a "pick-up" truck, is not a full-size pick-up. It is considered a "compact truck."

2000 Ford F-150: curb weight 5600lbs.

My original point was it would be beneficial to get people to to realize just how much a vehicle weighs, especially how heavy trucks and SUV's are relative to the average compact car.

Salty- +1 your 40mph victimless crime comment. Cburch screams at drivers flying down our street.

Gah, speeding in Morningside is especially obnoxious because there's a stop sign almost every block

@ALMKLM: 5600 lbs of curb weight usually translates to 5600 lbs of "I don't give a fuck about your rights, get offa my road".

Last Night I was driving my Honda fit off of the highland park bridge, made the right to head home toward the zoo. There is a yield coming off of the ramp. Someone driving an SUV behind me layed on his horn cause I yielded to traffic. Cburch noticed that when he drives my car, he has assholes riding his ass and honking. When he drives his Blazer, he gets assholes on his ass, but there is no honking. It reinforces the whole "thing more little than me, I am going to intimidate you" thing.

@quizbot: my Tundra acounts for 5330 lbs. of curb weight that mean you nor anyone here any harm.

My blazer on the other hand hates you all and it's all I can do to stop it from flying into a murderous truck-rage at a moments notice.

Is anybody going to say, "My pick up truck can beat up on your Blazer any day of the week?"

@ccdavey: only the guy with the trucknutz...

"2000 Ford Ranger, while technically a "pick-up" truck"

Correct and enough said. Bottom line is quick being a bunch of idiots and enjoy the damn vid for what it is. Goodness, if I get hit at 50+mph, I really don't car much about the weight. I am going to get hurt. The general concept of the vid is good and fun. Of course there are always small egos that want to pick it apart. Whatever. Get a life.

Who pooped in your Cheerios? You have a lot of anger issues don't you?

I don't know what hcurtis problem is. All his post are about how evil East Liberty is, or how you are a criminal if you wear a hood on a bike, or how much nicer his bike is than everyones, or how he rides a fixed gear better than anyone. I wouldn't worry to much about him, people like him pop up on the message board every once in a while and then eventually go away because this isn't the place for them.

@people talking about various truck weights

Regardless, the guy in the vid's point was that people in cars (of any weight) are less vulnerable than people on bicycles

@ALMKLM: I know you're not "that guy". Just saying that there's a lot of them out there.

@quizbot: Agreed.

yinz are funny.

cyclists pick apart things because that's what humans do. Maybe we're prone to it more than others (especially cyclists who spend time online talking about cycling), but... I have no idea where I read it but it made total sense to me: human beings look for distinctions and categorize things even when there is no meaningful reason to do it. Somewhere, there are two people who can vigorously debate the merits of one photo of Al Gore eating a sandwich versus the merits of another photo of Al Gore eating the same sandwich at the same time from the same angle. And if you put them in a room together, they may never come to an agreement.

Welcome to the interwebs.

(thank you for sharing the vid )

I think the second scene of the vid was very useful in terms of reinforcing to people, these traffic incidents are a form of bullying, you are doing nothing wrong, and it's not you it's them. And it is wrong.

FWIW, I was always one that defended the underdog. The person that posted that video isn't here to defend himself and what would he be defending? How much a pickup truck weighs? I just wanted to point out that the video maker could technically be correct. A Ford Ranger is a pickup and weighs about 3K pounds. I have no idea why people want to pick apart this fellow cyclist? Those that are complaining about me, might want to look at their own comments of negativity towards this video.

Good luck though. And yeah, if you are wearing a hoodie in 90 degree heat, I am profiling you. Been around the city too long not to. Just honest about it and not hiding the BS!