Crashed today

[cheg]

Riding home from work in the dark and hard rain at about 5:00 on a well paved,
wide shouldered, but busy road. Ran into a heavy roadsign tripod laying flat on
the ground, spread out on the shoulder of the road. Fell pretty hard, tore up my
rainpants, broke a spoke in the front wheel. <%$^@*#!. Fortunately, the bike was
still mobile, and the wheel is probably repairable. I plan to contact the
construction company to ***** at them anyway.


Be careful out there.

 

[Cheto]

"cheg" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:awvtd.530726$D%.505999@attbi_s51...

I plan to contact the
> construction company to ***** at them anyway.

About what? It's you're responsibility to watch where you're going, not
theirs.

Just forget about it, fix your bike and get on with your life.

Cheto

 

[dgk]

On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 02:06:56 -0800, "Cheto"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"cheg" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:awvtd.530726$D%.505999@attbi_s51...
>
> I plan to contact the
>> construction company to ***** at them anyway.
>
>About what? It's you're responsibility to watch where you're going, not
>theirs.
>
>Just forget about it, fix your bike and get on with your life.
>
>Cheto
>

?? Leaving stuff lying around is irresponsible.

 

[Claire Petersky]

"dgk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 02:06:56 -0800, "Cheto"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >
> >"cheg" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:awvtd.530726$D%.505999@attbi_s51...
> >
> > I plan to contact the
> >> construction company to ***** at them anyway.
> >
> >About what? It's you're responsibility to watch where you're going, not
> >theirs.
> >
> >Just forget about it, fix your bike and get on with your life.
> >
>
> ?? Leaving stuff lying around is irresponsible.

I *hate* road construction signs that are placed on the bike lane/shoulder.
Is the trade-off of alerting motorists worth the hazard to me? I don't blame
cheg for being unhappy that they didn't pick up after themselves.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

 

[psycholist]

"cheg" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:awvtd.530726$D%.505999@attbi_s51...
> Riding home from work in the dark and hard rain at about 5:00 on a well
> paved,
> wide shouldered, but busy road. Ran into a heavy roadsign tripod laying
> flat on
> the ground, spread out on the shoulder of the road. Fell pretty hard, tore
> up my
> rainpants, broke a spoke in the front wheel. <%$^@*#!. Fortunately, the
> bike was
> still mobile, and the wheel is probably repairable. I plan to contact the
> construction company to ***** at them anyway.
>
>
> Be careful out there.
>
>

I'm glad you were essentially OK.

I was really ticked off about 10 days ago when I hit a campaign sign. It
was laying just off the road, but it had those thin steel prongs I couldn't
see and they were out in the road. One was bent way up. As I rode over one
of the prongs with my front wheel, the whole sign flipped up and the second
prong slashed my right calf muscle. Then the whole thing clattered around
in my drivetrain and rear wheel. No harm to the bike and my leg is fine.
But the candidates were supposed to have removed their signs as soon as the
election was over. It could have been much worse.

Bob C.

 

[Rich]

Claire Petersky wrote:

>>?? Leaving stuff lying around is irresponsible.
>
>
> I *hate* road construction signs that are placed on the bike lane/shoulder.
> Is the trade-off of alerting motorists worth the hazard to me? I don't blame
> cheg for being unhappy that they didn't pick up after themselves.

I agree that it's annoying when signs are erected in the bike lane, but
I figure the big-picture tradeoff is probably worth it. 1000s of
motorists are alerted to the consturction, only a few bikers are
inconvenienced. Probably not a popular stand here on this group, but
seems rational to me.

As for this instance, it's possible they just left it lying there, or
someone (punk teenagers, they're easy to blame) could have knocked it
down, or it could have fallen off a truck. It's hard to say who's at
fault for it lying on the roadway.

But the bike rider must surely assume some responsibility for riding in
the dark with inadequite lighting, as he didn't see the sign. I think
he should fix his bike (consider it "life tax"), get a light, and move on.

Rich

 

[Pat]

:
: I plan to contact the
: > construction company to ***** at them anyway.
:
: About what? It's you're responsibility to watch where you're going, not
: theirs.
:
: Just forget about it, fix your bike and get on with your life.
:
: Cheto

Yeah! Blame the victim!
:
:

 

[Jeff Starr]

On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 02:06:56 -0800, "Cheto"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"cheg" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:awvtd.530726$D%.505999@attbi_s51...
>
> I plan to contact the
>> construction company to ***** at them anyway.
>
>About what? It's you're responsibility to watch where you're going, not
>theirs.
>
>Just forget about it, fix your bike and get on with your life.
>
>Cheto
>
If it was negligence on the part of the construction company, they
should at least be notified.
He will be doing them a favor, if his call prevents someone else from
being injured.


Life is Good!
Jeff

 

[Stephen Lost]

In article <awvtd.530726$D%.505999@attbi_s51>, cheg wrote:
> Riding home from work in the dark and hard rain at about 5:00 on a well paved,
> wide shouldered, but busy road. Ran into a heavy roadsign tripod laying flat on
> the ground, spread out on the shoulder of the road. Fell pretty hard, tore up my

This wouldn't happen to be Vancouver would it? I narrowly avoided a sign
lying face down on the bike lane like that on Marine Drive yesterday. The
only reason I noticed it was I knew the construction company had dug up the
bike lane, and I was watching ahead to try and see where it was going to
make the transition from pavement -> loose dirt.

That section is a nightmare right now, there's about two blocks where the
bike lane has loose dirt and gravel strewn over it from construction,
with the roads slick to begin with and the section itself on the run-in
from a nice steady hill, it's just waiting for disaster.


--
"Divide by cucumber error, please reinstall Universe and reboot"
-- Terry Pratchett, _Hogfather_

 

[Cheto]

"dgk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> ?? Leaving stuff lying around is irresponsible.

So is not watching where you're going. If I hit an inanimate object,
especially something as big as a roadsign, I blame myself, not the roadsign.

Don't most states have a "Basic Speed Law" which says you can't drive faster
than road conditions allow, no matter what the posted speed limit? I think
the same thing applies here. If you decide to ride when it's dark and rainy
with obvious poor visibility, then you have to take the responsibility if
you hit something.

Cheto

 

[Cheto]

"Pat" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Yeah! Blame the victim!

What victim? The roadsign didn't jump up off the road and attack the guy.

Cheto

 

[David Reuteler]

Cheto <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Pat" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>> Yeah! Blame the victim!
>
> What victim? The roadsign didn't jump up off the road and attack the guy.

ffs, he said he was going to *CALL* the construction company, not sue them
for damages. do you think a sign placed in the middle of a car's traffic
lane wouldn't warrant (and get) the same response?

you're not allowed to just leave things in traffic lanes (bike or car).
--
david reuteler
[email protected]

 

[blazingpedals]

Sorry to hear of the crash. But it reinforces my opinion that shoulders are for breakdowns and traffic lanes are for traffic. We as cyclists shouldn't be relegated to shoulders simply to make life easier for cagers, especially if the shoulders are going to be used for other stuff like signs. I think the construction company should be notified. They left something in the right of way, something that was not easily seen, and it caused an accident. 'nuff said.

 

[dgk]

On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 08:11:12 -0700, Rich <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Claire Petersky wrote:
>
>>>?? Leaving stuff lying around is irresponsible.
>>
>>
>> I *hate* road construction signs that are placed on the bike lane/shoulder.
>> Is the trade-off of alerting motorists worth the hazard to me? I don't blame
>> cheg for being unhappy that they didn't pick up after themselves.
>
>I agree that it's annoying when signs are erected in the bike lane, but
>I figure the big-picture tradeoff is probably worth it. 1000s of
>motorists are alerted to the consturction, only a few bikers are
>inconvenienced. Probably not a popular stand here on this group, but
>seems rational to me.
>
>As for this instance, it's possible they just left it lying there, or
>someone (punk teenagers, they're easy to blame) could have knocked it
>down, or it could have fallen off a truck. It's hard to say who's at
>fault for it lying on the roadway.
>
>But the bike rider must surely assume some responsibility for riding in
>the dark with inadequite lighting, as he didn't see the sign. I think
>he should fix his bike (consider it "life tax"), get a light, and move on.
>
>Rich

No information given as to the bike light situation. We must wait for
more information prior to deciding the case.

 

[steve_wmn]

Riding home from work in the dark and hard rain at about 5:00 on a well paved,
wide shouldered, but busy road. Ran into a heavy roadsign tripod laying flat on
the ground, spread out on the shoulder of the road. Fell pretty hard, tore up my
rainpants, broke a spoke in the front wheel. <%$^@*#!. Fortunately, the bike was
still mobile, and the wheel is probably repairable. I plan to contact the
construction company to ***** at them anyway.

If it was a tree branch, would you have contacted the local forestry department for not clearing it before you rode through? Personally, I'd take direct action in both cases by picking up the obstructing item and heaving it off the bike lane. Stuff happens, and sometimes you have to clean up after it yourself.

 

[Frank Krygowski]

steve_wmn wrote:
>
>
> If it was a tree branch, would you have contacted the local forestry
> department for not clearing it before you rode through? Personally,
> I'd take direct action in both cases by picking up the obstructing item
> and heaving it off the bike lane. Stuff happens, and sometimes you have
> to clean up after it yourself.

If the tree branch were thrown there by the forestry department, they
_should_ get a complaint! In most places, there are laws against that
sort of thing.

If the tree branch was thrown there by a storm or other act of God -
well, my bet is God is used to getting complaints about such stuff. And
I don't think it's inappropriate.

But this sounds like another matter entirely. I've ridden in bike lanes
that have had construction signs purposely set up in them. In my mind,
this can't be justified unless something _very_ unusual is going on.
The signs are usually just as visible if they're on the curb. Sure, a
dozing motorist may be very slightly less likely to see the sign - but
is the small chance of that worth more than the greater possibility of
bicyclist injury?

I'd certainly complain, and in writing, and to several agencies,
including the local newspaper.


--
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com.
Substitute cc dot ysu dot
edu]

 

[Rich]

dgk wrote:

> No information given as to the bike light situation. We must wait for
> more information prior to deciding the case.

We have all the information about the light we need. His light (if he
had one) was insufficient to see the obstruction in time to stop. So
his light was insufficient for his speed. Biker error.

Rich

 

[cheg]

"Rich" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I agree that it's annoying when signs are erected in the bike lane, but
> I figure the big-picture tradeoff is probably worth it. 1000s of
> motorists are alerted to the consturction, only a few bikers are
> inconvenienced. Probably not a popular stand here on this group, but
> seems rational to me.
>
> As for this instance, it's possible they just left it lying there, or
> someone (punk teenagers, they're easy to blame) could have knocked it
> down, or it could have fallen off a truck. It's hard to say who's at
> fault for it lying on the roadway.
>

I don't mind signs set up in the bike lane because you can see them, but I do
mind this:
http://home.comcast.net/~a0000004/sign_stand.jpg

That was what I hit. Of course I cleared the path after I hit it. I went back
this afternoon and set it back out long enough out to get the picture. The sign
was exactly as shown and the stand was approximately as shown. It was not the
wind, not some punks, not God. The construction company told me that they take
the signs down when they are not doing road work, they just don't bother to
clear the shoulder. Should I just pick another route and let the next cyclist
eat it or should I call the company? What do you think? Lets let Cheto decide,
he's the freaking expert on personal responsibility.

 

[Rich]

cheg wrote:

> That was what I hit. Of course I cleared the path after I hit it. I went back
> this afternoon and set it back out long enough out to get the picture. The sign
> was exactly as shown and the stand was approximately as shown. It was not the
> wind, not some punks, not God. The construction company told me that they take
> the signs down when they are not doing road work, they just don't bother to
> clear the shoulder. Should I just pick another route and let the next cyclist
> eat it or should I call the company? What do you think?

I think your DOT sucks. But I am curious if you had a light on the
bike, although even with one it'd be pretty hard to see that rusty stand
on a rainy night.

Rich

 

[B i l l S o r n s o n]

cheg wrote:

> I don't mind signs set up in the bike lane because you can see them,
> but I do mind this:
> http://home.comcast.net/~a0000004/sign_stand.jpg
>
> That was what I hit. Of course I cleared the path after I hit it. I
> went back this afternoon and set it back out long enough out to get
> the picture. The sign was exactly as shown and the stand was
> approximately as shown. It was not the wind, not some punks, not God.
> The construction company told me that they take the signs down when
> they are not doing road work, they just don't bother to clear the
> shoulder. Should I just pick another route and let the next cyclist
> eat it or should I call the company? What do you think? Lets let
> Cheto decide, he's the freaking expert on personal responsibility.

I say the wind blew it over and for some reason you hit it instead of
(rather easily) avoiding it. Call the company if you must, but it's plain
old operator error IMO.

Sorry.
--
BS (no, really)