but why focus on the good papers when there are so many that suck?
the SF commical has "done some analysis" on bike and car accidents that involve fatalities with cyclists.
Aside from there being not much by way of "analysis" and generally weak generally generalizations about things, which ends up making the piece look like an opinion piece (and there are hundreds of not much better opinions added on to the article), it's just hype and bandwagon journalism. I expect more from publishers.
If anyone wants to focus on cyclists who obey laws, maybe they should ask cyclists who enforce them? just an idea.
As a personal aside, I know for a fact that there are cops out there that have it in for cyclists, because I've been screwed by them MORE THAN ONCE.
The best example I can give of this is the asshole cop in Chicago that gave me a ticket for getting hit by a taxi busting a u-turn in the middle of the block on lasalle street.
Chicago cops in particular seem to be averse to evidence collecting, or the actual laws they are supposed to be enforcing (I've got stories, believe you me) but this particular experience pretty much clinched it for me.
After letting out a fare from a double parked position in the middle of the block a cab busted a u-turn in the middle of the block causing me to strike the left front quarter panel and be thrown over the hood of the car. A police officer arrived and, rather than looking at the damage to the cab (which could NOT have been caused in any way by a glancing blow but only a direct hit - which would have meant I would have had to be traveling at speed across the street in the middle of the block to hit the cab if it were at all possible), piggy pulled out a ticket book and cited me for something absurd because "some cyclist flipped him off and told him to fuck off a block back." Well, that cab driver (who drives illegally, lies to police officers, and gets into accidents) is still driving (if you have a hard time with my opinion, I hope he runs over your child so that you may see things differently), my bike was damaged, I had no citation to be able to use to get the cab company to pay for my damaged bike (thank god I was not injured - I was wearing a helmet) and of course the cab driver and cop didn't show up to court and the charges were dropped.
People sometimes wonder why cops get shot. I don't. It's obvious - it's because once you've been burned by someone in a position of authority who is clearly being arbitrary, vindictive, or exploitative, you will never trust a person in a similar position again. If you have a chance to avoid being judged against by a system that is allowed to cheat when you are not, you're way more likely to bump up the stakes to avoid getting screwed. It's a real shame that good cops are lumped into the same category as bad cops, but like the cyclists who stop at stop signs and red lights, no one remembers the good cops when they're in the fight or flight moment. It's always the cyclist's fault and it's always the cop's fault. That's hard wired into our psychology as the flawed animals we are.
When Tommy McBride died the only reason anything happened is because there were witnesses and it made the news, otherwise they'd've blamed being maliciously run over on him too.
Aside from there being not much by way of "analysis" and generally weak generally generalizations about things, which ends up making the piece look like an opinion piece (and there are hundreds of not much better opinions added on to the article), it's just hype and bandwagon journalism. I expect more from publishers.
If anyone wants to focus on cyclists who obey laws, maybe they should ask cyclists who enforce them? just an idea.
As a personal aside, I know for a fact that there are cops out there that have it in for cyclists, because I've been screwed by them MORE THAN ONCE.
The best example I can give of this is the asshole cop in Chicago that gave me a ticket for getting hit by a taxi busting a u-turn in the middle of the block on lasalle street.
Chicago cops in particular seem to be averse to evidence collecting, or the actual laws they are supposed to be enforcing (I've got stories, believe you me) but this particular experience pretty much clinched it for me.
After letting out a fare from a double parked position in the middle of the block a cab busted a u-turn in the middle of the block causing me to strike the left front quarter panel and be thrown over the hood of the car. A police officer arrived and, rather than looking at the damage to the cab (which could NOT have been caused in any way by a glancing blow but only a direct hit - which would have meant I would have had to be traveling at speed across the street in the middle of the block to hit the cab if it were at all possible), piggy pulled out a ticket book and cited me for something absurd because "some cyclist flipped him off and told him to fuck off a block back." Well, that cab driver (who drives illegally, lies to police officers, and gets into accidents) is still driving (if you have a hard time with my opinion, I hope he runs over your child so that you may see things differently), my bike was damaged, I had no citation to be able to use to get the cab company to pay for my damaged bike (thank god I was not injured - I was wearing a helmet) and of course the cab driver and cop didn't show up to court and the charges were dropped.
People sometimes wonder why cops get shot. I don't. It's obvious - it's because once you've been burned by someone in a position of authority who is clearly being arbitrary, vindictive, or exploitative, you will never trust a person in a similar position again. If you have a chance to avoid being judged against by a system that is allowed to cheat when you are not, you're way more likely to bump up the stakes to avoid getting screwed. It's a real shame that good cops are lumped into the same category as bad cops, but like the cyclists who stop at stop signs and red lights, no one remembers the good cops when they're in the fight or flight moment. It's always the cyclist's fault and it's always the cop's fault. That's hard wired into our psychology as the flawed animals we are.
When Tommy McBride died the only reason anything happened is because there were witnesses and it made the news, otherwise they'd've blamed being maliciously run over on him too.
posted by aram shumavon at 12:47 PM
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