[*BCM*] this guy...

[Jeffrey Young]

Well,

I got hit by a car (first time) on my bike this evening.  I was  
obeying all laws and wearing a helmet.  I'm grateful to be alive.  I  
was riding north, in the bike lane, on Harvard St., coming out of  
Coolidge Corner in Brookline.  A car pulled into the street before I  
could react... Because of the on coming traffic, I couldn't go around  
him--I went right over his hood!!  I was in quite a rage when I  
stopped rolling.  I had sense enough to call the police--Brookline's  
finest was terrific.  The driver was cited, and he agreed to pay any  
damages...

But, the thing that gets me, the thing that's been eating me all this  
time, reading this thread, is that there's even a discussion.  As far  
as I'm concerned, the debate is over: Cars are awful.  In addition to  
killing people and destroying the atmosphere, we have to have an  
enormously large military, and sacrifice our nation's youth and  
treasure, to defend our 'right' to use it.  This is insane.  The  
automobile era is over--let's face the facts.


Cheers,

jy


On Jun 8, 2007, at 1:30 AM, Daniel Tepper wrote:

> Got this on myspace...
>
> (repost)
>
> I guess this was printed in the phoenix today:
>
> Two sides to every story
> Your in-memoriam piece on bicyclist Kelly Wallace said she was "hit by
> a car in a crosswalk." You didn't say whether she was obeying
> motor-vehicle laws at the time. That's key. Most bike riders in
> Boston, for example, run red lights. Did she?
>
> Many bikers ride against traffic, too, and in between rows of cars.
> They also whoosh by on sidewalks, treating people like inconvenient
> meat pylons on cement slalom courses. They're supposed to ride slowly,
> announcing their presence via bells, but few to none do. What do they
> care if mere pedestrians suddenly turn and get maimed by 200 pounds of
> rolling steel? Yet they expect the public to care about them. Perhaps
> they should stop caring so much about "global warming" and start being
> more courteous to their fellow humans.
>
> Unless and until cyclists start obeying current laws (for instance, by
> using reflectors and lights at night, and by discontinuing to ride
> without the use of hands) they shouldn't be surprised if "dooring"
> becomes a fine — and widely practiced — art. It's not enough to wear
> helmets; cyclists need to use what's inside those helmets, too.
>
> Robert A. Sides
> Brookline
>
>
> hey google! Thanks....
>
> Sides, Robert
>
> 1584 Beacon St, Apt A
>
> Brookline, MA 02446-2257
>
> (617) 232-1542
>
> Call this ding-dong.
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