Bikes and Cars



Here is a "how-to" video for stopping those annoying and sanctimonious bike riders.
     Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 21, 2010
     Category: Accidents | Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles | Motor Vehicles | PSA’s





Comments
Friends of WU--

Here is what I just wrote to Stan off-blog, when he contacted me with his decision.

Stan--this is a very sorrowful thing to happen. I apologize for offending you, without however necessarily retracting my post. Is it shocking to propose Irish babies should be used as a food resource, as Swift did? Admittedly, he had high moral principles and a remedial goal on his side, whereas I was just making a stupid cruel joke. But they are both the low end (me) and the high end (Swift) of the identical humor spectrum.
Posted by Paul on 09/22/10 at 08:16 PM
wow, very sad.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/22/10 at 10:26 PM
ok, if anyone here who was offended by this post thinks that paul really meant for people to go out and 'door' bicyclists on purpose, i feel confident is speaking for him on this- NO HE DID NOT WANT OR ADVOCATE PEOPLE DOING THIS DELIBERATELY. that said, all my comments were made with the assumption that this happens accidentally because people do not pay attention before throwing open their car doors. therefore, bringing attention to it by any means would serve to make people be more careful when opening car doors thus reducing the incidence of this happening. anyone who would 'door' someone intentionally should be in jail. THAT is not funny at all. i wish stan would see this comment, maybe it would make a difference in his decision.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/23/10 at 12:33 PM
Bicycles can be dangerous too. Here is a video of one riding against and all through traffic and hitting a pedestrian:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghs3Cr2gWTQ
Posted by ANON in Nowhere on 09/23/10 at 06:14 PM
Darn, Paul, I was going to bring up "A Modest Proposal" next. 😠

As for doorers being held liable, absolutely, negligence is negligence whether you run a red, turn when there are oncoming vehicles or open a door in the path of another vehicle.

I've been knocked off a bike more than once in my life, by people backing out of driveways, by cars overtaking then parking up or turning; once I was even knocked down by another cyclist, pick the bones out of that!

But one such accident stands out.

Cruising down a hill at about 20-25 MPH, under clear skies and with the summer sun at my back, a secretarial type (pretty, heels, smart dress and stockings) steps out from behind a tree with two large shopping bags and straight into my path. Fortunately, I managed to (just) avoid running her down, but sadly could not make the turn around her shopping, which turned out to be full of office supplies. Consequently I went cartwheeling down the road, inextricably entwined with my Eddie Merckx 12-speed and closely followed by a cloud of 500 manilla envelopes. The over-all impression was of being in a snow-globe filled with brown snow.

Being that she was rather shocked (and, I think I mentioned, pretty), I actually helped her pick up as many of the envelopes as we could before making my way, slowly on foot, to the nearest accident ward to have the four inch gash on my leg sewn up and something put over the missing patches of skin on both hands and forearms.

To add insult to injury, she had agreed to meet me at a local bar later that week, but stood me up.

Now the thing is, people often laugh when I tell that story, particularly when I get to the bit about the envelopes, and at the end when she stands me up. Should I be upset at this? Or should I be upset at "ditzy secretary" gags, or blonde gags, or "dear john" gags, since it was a ditzy blonde secretary who both tagged me with her shopping bag and brushed me off like lint?

Even if I couldn't laugh about it, should I be offended that someone else can? Or that they laugh at a similar fictional situation? Or at the suggestion of one?
Posted by Dumbfounded on 09/23/10 at 06:23 PM
When I was a kid I had just gotten my brand new silver ten speed from the bike store. I had to save money from mowing lawns and delivering papers. The very first day I was out riding it a car came around the corner in the wrong lane and hit me head on. I bounced off the windshield. The front tire was pushed all the way back to the pedals. He gave me his name and info and I limped home. I had to play golf in my Jr. league at McMillen park that day. I got to the second hole and collapsed. I had a broken thumb, two broken ribs, and a punctured right lung.

But back then unlike today we didn't sue the driver. He paid all the medical expenses and bought me a decked out Blue Peugeot moped from the same store for my paper route.

Stuff happens ...
Posted by ANON in Nowhere on 09/23/10 at 07:02 PM
i rode my bike all over the place as a kid and never once got into an accident of any kind. and i am the doppiest person i know, go figure.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/23/10 at 11:51 PM
I'm a dedicated cyclist, and I follow all the rules of the road (though I tend to ignore speed limit, since I can't get much above 20 even in a sprint on my mountain bike). What pisses me off the most is people who drive, or worse yet park, in the bike lane on an otherwise unbikeably busy street.
The real problem here, both in cars and on bicycles, is self-important hipsters.
Posted by venomlash on 09/24/10 at 12:22 PM
if by self-important hipsters you mean total douches, i agree totally vl.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/24/10 at 12:30 PM
you are never too late to share your opinion honey.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/24/10 at 10:24 PM
fine, it wasn't meant as a threat. of course it was an accident, who would do that on purpose, or intend to encourage others to do it on purpose. people don't pay attention and just swing their doors open. i hope they read or hear something about it somewhere so they think about it next time and look first.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/25/10 at 07:38 PM
Just be glad it wasn't a DeLorean.

(I once saw some one walk into an open gull-wing door and they still left in an ambulance. Possibly the most stupid car design on Earth.)
Posted by Dumbfounded on 09/26/10 at 05:45 PM
so now you're on schwindlers list? continuing to be all huffy about this is like remaining stationary. i don't expect you to back pedal on your opinion but perhaps we could start to coast forward and shift up from there to an understanding. 😊
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/26/10 at 09:47 PM
have you ever heard of a joke jack, you sanctimonious ass? Paul DeFillipo is a well known author and a fine human being. so why don't you back the f off and step the f away.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 03/27/11 at 01:46 AM
Friends--I take no umbrage at being hauled on the carpet for this post. I realize that it was an edgy exaggeration of a serious topic. So I appreciate both the disagreement and the defensive support. Please continue reading ans supporting WU!
Posted by Paul on 03/27/11 at 11:27 AM
sorry if i went too far paul, but remeber i got your back honey.

scout, dumbfounded has been around here for a while and he is a pretty good guy. I am absolutely certain he meant no offence dear. perhaps dumbass would have been a better choice to refer to someone who has no disability save their own willful ignorance.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 03/27/11 at 06:08 PM
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