The Size of Your Car is Inversely Proportional to…

In the middle of a very cool comic was this gem.  You’re welcome.

Link [Virus Comix]

Bicyclist Injured After Hitting a Bear in Colorado

Normally, we hear stories about bicyclists having run-ins with vehicles while out on the streets. In this case, however, the obstacle that one cyclist unexpectedly ran into had claws and sharp teeth. Tim Egan, 53, was riding in Boulder, Colorado one afternoon and hit a speed of 45 mph when a bear suddenly appeared in front of him.

From Rocky Mountain News:

This bear looked at me with a look of terror on his face and sort of made a noise,” said Egan. “I looked at him with a look of terror and we went, ‘aaaahhhhh.’”

He cracked some ribs, suffered cuts on his head and had road rash. Egan said he and the bike flipped and flew over the bear, hitting the pavement hard.

The bear ran away after the accident when a deer appeared.

Afterwards, he got back on his bike and pedaled to a hospital.

I guess I’d rather hit a bear than a tree – it’s at least softer – though trees don’t chew on your foot after you hit them.

Link [Rocky Mountain News]
Photo credit Daquella Manera

Fewer Traffic Signals, Signs & Curbs for Better Safety?

Two European towns have proven that you don’t necessarily need road signs, curbs, sidewalks and stop lights to have safe intersections where motor vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists can share the road. Though this seems counterintuitive, for the Dutch town of Drachten and Bohmte, Germany, it has worked brilliantly to reduce accidents and provide an all-around safer atmosphere for everyone.

I first heard of the idea on NPR back in January, as Kyle James explained Bohmte’s reasoning for removing all traffic control implements in an attempt to manage a busy, often jammed intersection where 12,000 cars and trucks pass through on an average day. Drivers who pass through the area now that it’s been revamped say that traffic moves slower, but in a more orderly way as every person is more aware of those around them. Instead of a free-for-all where each person tries to cut in front of the other in order to get ahead, drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists actually communicate through eye contact and hand gestures to safely navigate the streets.

From NPR:

Advocates of this traffic-management philosophy, called Shared Space, say it works. Ben Hamilton-Baillie is a leading Shared Space advocate based in Bristol, England.

“If you’re faced with a traffic signal, you don’t have to think anymore. Whether you go depends on whether the light is red or green,” he says. “In the absence of such things, we’re perfectly capable of reading and understanding the situation so that if grandma’s in the road ahead of you, you don’t run her over.”

He compares the Shared Space concept to an ice skating rink. It might look chaotic, but people usually navigate the shared area pretty well. In a traffic context, it means cars, bicyclists and pedestrians are in much closer proximity than they usually are.

But common sense and courtesy, as well as drivers feeling more a part of the space they’re moving through, is supposed to cut down on accidents.

OntheCommons.org also explored this idea, citing the case of Drachten, where the main thoroughfare sees 22,000 cars per day. Once they adopted the ‘shared space’ approach, casualties at one junction dropped from 36 over the previous 4 years to only 2 in the 2 years following the removal of traffic lights. Traffic jams no longer occur at all.

From OntheCommons.org:

The idea is to return public spaces to people in order to encourage them to take greater personal responsibility. Monderman explained, “We’re losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior….The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people’s sense of personal responsibility dwindles.”

I think this is a great idea, in that it forces people to stop talking on their cell phones, daydreaming, fiddling with the radio and other things that distract them and actually, you know, DRIVE. Being aware of your surroundings is a huge factor in traffic safety. Navigating the streets of America, you’ll most often find that everyone is so engrossed in themselves and where they need to go that they hardly pay attention to everyone else – they weave in and out of traffic at will and expect everyone else to get out of the way. Removing traffic signs would certainly be one way of making sure people were alert.

One thing that I wonder, though, is how much the training of drivers plays into the success of these programs in the Netherlands and Germany. After all, both countries are known for the rigorous training periods that potential drivers must go through before receiving a license. Many drivers in Holland must take up to 25 two-hour driving classes before obtaining certification. In Germany, a license costs $1500-$2,000 and requires a minimum of 25-45 hours of professional instruction plus 12 hours of theory.

In America, you barely have to meet the low standards of DMV employees for 10 minutes and pass what basically amounts to a memorization test in order to get a license. It’s mind-bogglingly easy to get and retain a driver’s license here, opening the roads up to all sorts of half-blind idiots who don’t even grasp the concept that the left lane is for passing. So, I’m not sure that such a concept would work here without a retooling of the whole driver licensing song-and-dance.

It’s a great theory, though, and I’d love to see more cities adopt it all over the world so we can get a better idea of exactly how well it works. We certainly need some kind of push for drivers to be more conscious of bicyclists and pedestrians, so that the roads are safer for all of us.

Link [OntheCommons.org] + [NPR]
Photo credit: Khuê Pham for NPR

The French Won’t Bike to See Radiohead for Free

Radiohead, known for being an environmentally conscious band, had a previous free giveaway tactic meet with success – namely, their decision to release their most recent studio album ‘In Rainbows’ for whatever price the consumer wanted to pay, even if it was nothing at all. This time, though, they didn’t get as many takers.

From AOL:

… Radiohead were left with a row of empty seats at a recent French concert after a ticket giveaway backfired. The eco-friendly group announced 50 passes were available for their show at Paris’ Bercy Arena but fans could only get by cycling to their record label’s offices in the French city.

However, Parisians were not prepared to get on their bikes so 35 tickets went unclaimed. A source said: “Radiohead are using their current world tour to highlight their commitment to green issues. They advise all concertgoers to use public transport and are doing all they can to make their carbon footprint as small as possible. Unfortunately the French didn’t appear to share their noble intentions and roundly ignored the free ticket tactic.”

Strange – bicycling is fairly popular in this city, which even has a nearly one-year-old bike share program. Riding a bike, indeed, is one of the best ways to experience Paris, and as in Amsterdam, Parisians are often seen riding beach cruisers in full formal wear. Perhaps Parisians just aren’t that into Radiohead, or the giveaway wasn’t promoted widely enough.

Link [AOL]
Photo credit: Flickr user Joe Shlabotnik

Even Suave Obama Looks Dorky in a Bicycle Helmet

Wearing a helmet while cycling kind of sucks. It’s hot, sweaty, causes that ultra-attractive ‘helmet head’ hair phenomenon and just plain looks dorky. We all know that wearing helmets is necessary in the U.S. especially because of the fact that drivers here just can’t seem to process the idea of sharing the road with bicyclists. So, it’s good to know that as we put on these ugly brain protectors, even a suave gentleman like Obama looks like a dork with a bike helmet on.

Via [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Cyclist Killed by Car During ‘Bike to Work Week’

A 22-year-old cyclist participating in ‘Bike to Work Week’ was killed on Monday when the owner of an SUV opened their car door in his path. He was riding in the bike lane. Clinton Miceli was the fifth bicyclist to die in Chicago so far this year. WTF, people. Can we really not manage sharing the road with cyclists? Is it that hard to go a little slower, avoid going around blind curves at high speeds and give these people some room?

The Chicago Sun-Times has it:

Miceli, 22, was cycling in the bike lane on La Salle around 6:45 p.m. Monday when he slammed into an open SUV door, was thrown from his bike, then struck by a second car. The driver of the Nissan Xterra who opened the door into Miceli’s path was cited for opening a car door in traffic, police said.

A second rider collided with a CTA bus around 8:50 a.m. Tuesday at Broadway and Patterson in Lake View. That cyclist was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in serious condition, a Fire Department spokesman said. The CTA driver was cited for failure to yield and suspended without pay, authorities said.

First of all, it never fails to amaze me when people throw their car doors open without checking first to see if there’s anyone coming. Second, you would think that drivers would be a little more conscious, especially during ‘Bike to Work Week’. But everyone is so preoccupied with cell phone conversations, iPods, fiddling through their purses, putting on mascara, eating Big Macs or just plain zoning out. Wake up. Bicyclists have a right to safety on our roads.

Link [Chicago Sun-Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user borkur.net

Watch the Right Hand Turn Out of That Bike Lane, It’s a Wet One

Bike riders have it tough in this city.

Link [FrostFireZoo]