Archive for the 'safety' Category

Blonde wigs safter than helmets, study finds

Posted by Erik on October 3rd, 2008 filed in safety

My friend J pointed me to this fascinating article about bike safety. It’s old, but it showed up in Grist today.
The study first measured the average passing distance given to a cyclist wearing a helmet versus not wearing a helmet. It turns out you get more room if you aren’t wearing a helmet.
But [...]

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Badly injured teen cyclist improving

Posted by Erik on September 19th, 2008 filed in Uncategorized, safety

I had KGUN newsinterview me on Wednesday about another teenager in a bike accident. They didn’t know much except that he had life-threatening injuries. It didn’t seem too hopeful and I feared we would have two young bicycle fatalities in the space of a week here in Tucson. Apparently KGUN 9 ran [...]

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Would an “underrun” truck guard have saved Kevin Robinson-Barajas?

Posted by Erik on September 12th, 2008 filed in safety

Portland, anyway, has installed these guards on many city vehicles. As the numbers of bicyclists increase, it may be time to consider these life-saving devices. It can’t be easy as a driver of a long vehicle to always be aware of who is on their right-hand side. They need to be, and [...]

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Stolen Bike Recovered at Ronstadt Center

Posted by Lauren on September 4th, 2008 filed in safety

About 30 minutes prior to this week’s Tuesday Night Community Ride, our friend T had his bike stolen from the front rack outside of Time Market.  T had been sitting inside by the window and was keeping an eye on the bike, but a woman observed two young men steal it and run off when [...]

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Ha ha

Posted by Erik on August 28th, 2008 filed in safety

My friend E. sent me this article in the Ukiah Daily Journal by a fellow who says bicyclists should be rounded up and sent to Guantanamo Bay. He also advises his readers to punch bicyclists when they see one because bicyclists are “selfish, silly, immature people playing dress-up and make believe.” But it’s satire, [...]

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The tracks. The cursed tracks.

Posted by Erik on August 20th, 2008 filed in safety

I get a lot of calls and emails from people with shattered elbows and the like asking me if there is anything that can be done about the trolley tracks at 4th and University. I think more people go to the hospital from those tracks than ride the trolley.
I always sigh deeply, roll my [...]

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What is up with the parking on Seventh Street?

Posted by Erik on August 12th, 2008 filed in safety

See anything wrong with this picture? I took this photo just after the pickup on the right had pulled out of its space by backing into the opposite lane and turning hard, and just before the SUV on the left swung across my lane to park.
And of course this insane parking scheme occurs on [...]

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“Bicyclists Beware”

Posted by Erik on August 11th, 2008 filed in safety

The ominous above-the-fold headline on yesterday’s paper that warned Tucson bicyclists to “beware” led to a pretty good article about the most dangerous intersections for cyclists, along with a list. I’m not so sure about the overall message though, particularly given the odd choice of photos on the Star’s webpage.
The article also emphasizes how [...]

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It’s the infrastructure, not intractible cultural differences, that make bicycling safe and possible

Posted by Erik on July 31st, 2008 filed in imminent death of car-based culture, safety

Or so says this article (pdf).
In the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark, cycling levels are more than ten times higher than in the UK and USA. Dutch, German, and Danishwomen cycle as often as men, and rates of cycling fall only slightly with age. Moreover, cycling is distributed evenly across all income groups. In the Netherlands, [...]

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Seattle critical mass disaster

Posted by Erik on July 27th, 2008 filed in Tuesday night ride, safety

It’s reported all over but the best first-hand account I’ve seen is here at Checksum Arcanius. The short story is that during a critical mass ride a driver was blocked by the ride and ended up running over a cyclist and into several others before he was stopped by the riders who assaulted him, [...]

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