MD Senate Candidate Hit by SUV
#52
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It still bugs me how someone could drive three miles with a bike dragging along and not take a look at what's making all that noise.
BTW
UPDATE 11:16 a.m., Sept. 21: Maryland State Police say Pettigrew died last night from her injuries.
Per: https://www.tbd.com/articles/2010/09/...ent-12745.html
R.I.P.
BTW
UPDATE 11:16 a.m., Sept. 21: Maryland State Police say Pettigrew died last night from her injuries.
Per: https://www.tbd.com/articles/2010/09/...ent-12745.html
R.I.P.
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Prince George county police are not known for their professionalism.
This is the department the still defends its actions from a couple of years ago when they mistakenly raided the home of the mayor of one of the towns within the county, held his elderly mother at gunpoint and shot his dogs.
This is the department the still defends its actions from a couple of years ago when they mistakenly raided the home of the mayor of one of the towns within the county, held his elderly mother at gunpoint and shot his dogs.
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dobber I can't believe you're even trying to play devil's advocate in this case. This person died -- the heavy vehicle is to blame, no questions asked. On well-lit streets the rider, lit or not, would have been visible. Dragging a bike home for 3 miles without stopping from the sound or the sparks trailing behind you shows either complete and total lack of awareness due to being either drunk or high or willful ignorance thereof. Foul play or not, the victim deserves justice, not to be blamed for "not wearing reflective clothing". Outrageous.
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^ +1 chriswrong is certainly right in this case.
Even the media coverage is sympathetic to the victim and frankly doubting the driver's account. Note how on the ABC coverage the reporter tells the drivers' side of the story while the pictures show the front of the vehicle--they might as well put up a graphic saying 'She's lying.' And for good reason too, the drivers' account is literally incredible, it can't be believed.
Prince Georges' county does have a terrible reputation, but just because no charges have been filed yet and some deputy spouted off about no hit-and-run doesn't mean that serious charges will not be forthcoming. Among other things this young woman had a statewide network of supporters--few and far between perhaps but Greens are noisy out of proportion to their numbers. And the victim is about as sympathetic a figure as you could find. This one is not going to go away quietly.
What a horrible end to a promising young life. Ms Pettigrew was not likely to be elected Senator but she was going places. RIP Ms Pettigrew.
Even the media coverage is sympathetic to the victim and frankly doubting the driver's account. Note how on the ABC coverage the reporter tells the drivers' side of the story while the pictures show the front of the vehicle--they might as well put up a graphic saying 'She's lying.' And for good reason too, the drivers' account is literally incredible, it can't be believed.
Prince Georges' county does have a terrible reputation, but just because no charges have been filed yet and some deputy spouted off about no hit-and-run doesn't mean that serious charges will not be forthcoming. Among other things this young woman had a statewide network of supporters--few and far between perhaps but Greens are noisy out of proportion to their numbers. And the victim is about as sympathetic a figure as you could find. This one is not going to go away quietly.
What a horrible end to a promising young life. Ms Pettigrew was not likely to be elected Senator but she was going places. RIP Ms Pettigrew.
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dobber I can't believe you're even trying to play devil's advocate in this case. This person died -- the heavy vehicle is to blame, no questions asked. On well-lit streets the rider, lit or not, would have been visible. Dragging a bike home for 3 miles without stopping from the sound or the sparks trailing behind you shows either complete and total lack of awareness due to being either drunk or high or willful ignorance thereof. Foul play or not, the victim deserves justice, not to be blamed for "not wearing reflective clothing". Outrageous.
Upon viewing the front end of the vehicle, I also wonder how fast she had to be moving to create such incredible damage (and what the speed limit on that road is) .... particularly if the rider and her were moving the same direction (do we know if they were).
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Very sad story. I think the drive should be investigated more, now that there is a death I think the driver is going to go down. That being said.
I have lived in the DC metro area for 13 years now. I run and ride bikes quite a bit. I used to ride my bike to work at 5am. It is not twilight at 5am, it is dark. The people here hate bicycles. I have never lived in an area where the drivers are as mean and agressive as the DC metro area. It is the main reason why I did not buy a tri bike. I did not want to ride on the roads because it is flat out dangerous.
The road she was riding on is a feeder road to the main highway of the DC area. You would have to pay me hundreds of thousands to ride on any feeder road from 5-9 am at the peak of rush hour traffic in the DC metro area with the 2nd worst traffic in the nation. I do not care how many lights or reflectors you wear. Some of these feeder roads have speed limits of 40-50MPH. Dangerous. Look up the road on google maps. Landover road largo Maryland, do a street view and tell me what you think. Would you ride there at 530 am in the dark? With cars going by you at 50MPH? I know the bicycle has the right to do so, as I have the right to climb a mountain in the middle of the winter. Just because you are allowed to does not mean it is the smartest decision.
It is quite sad. This area has so many people yet the roads here are stacked against bikes. That coupled with the residents attitudes equals some pretty dangerous biking conditions. I wish it was different. I used to love riding my bike around town.
I have lived in the DC metro area for 13 years now. I run and ride bikes quite a bit. I used to ride my bike to work at 5am. It is not twilight at 5am, it is dark. The people here hate bicycles. I have never lived in an area where the drivers are as mean and agressive as the DC metro area. It is the main reason why I did not buy a tri bike. I did not want to ride on the roads because it is flat out dangerous.
The road she was riding on is a feeder road to the main highway of the DC area. You would have to pay me hundreds of thousands to ride on any feeder road from 5-9 am at the peak of rush hour traffic in the DC metro area with the 2nd worst traffic in the nation. I do not care how many lights or reflectors you wear. Some of these feeder roads have speed limits of 40-50MPH. Dangerous. Look up the road on google maps. Landover road largo Maryland, do a street view and tell me what you think. Would you ride there at 530 am in the dark? With cars going by you at 50MPH? I know the bicycle has the right to do so, as I have the right to climb a mountain in the middle of the winter. Just because you are allowed to does not mean it is the smartest decision.
It is quite sad. This area has so many people yet the roads here are stacked against bikes. That coupled with the residents attitudes equals some pretty dangerous biking conditions. I wish it was different. I used to love riding my bike around town.
#60
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I hear you. I live in Alexandria and it's brutal out there on the streets surrounding DC. Every time I take a vacation away frm DC and then come back I'm astounded how much DC drivers seems to loathe cyclists here.
Of course you can sit in Old Town and watch 50+ cyclists roll through the stop signs, not yielding the right of way, and basically pissing off drivers too - so maybe we all have something to learn.
The terrible death in MD stinks of driver error and cover up. And it sucks that they said they were going to investigate whether or not the cyclist was wearing reflective clothing. I was like - whaaaat?!?!? What about investigating the driver for alcohol, phone use, texting, negligence, etc. Sad.
RIP young lady.
Of course you can sit in Old Town and watch 50+ cyclists roll through the stop signs, not yielding the right of way, and basically pissing off drivers too - so maybe we all have something to learn.
The terrible death in MD stinks of driver error and cover up. And it sucks that they said they were going to investigate whether or not the cyclist was wearing reflective clothing. I was like - whaaaat?!?!? What about investigating the driver for alcohol, phone use, texting, negligence, etc. Sad.
RIP young lady.
Very sad story. I think the drive should be investigated more, now that there is a death I think the driver is going to go down. That being said.
I have lived in the DC metro area for 13 years now. I run and ride bikes quite a bit. I used to ride my bike to work at 5am. It is not twilight at 5am, it is dark. The people here hate bicycles. I have never lived in an area where the drivers are as mean and agressive as the DC metro area. It is the main reason why I did not buy a tri bike. I did not want to ride on the roads because it is flat out dangerous.
The road she was riding on is a feeder road to the main highway of the DC area. You would have to pay me hundreds of thousands to ride on any feeder road from 5-9 am at the peak of rush hour traffic in the DC metro area with the 2nd worst traffic in the nation. I do not care how many lights or reflectors you wear. Some of these feeder roads have speed limits of 40-50MPH. Dangerous. Look up the road on google maps. Landover road largo Maryland, do a street view and tell me what you think. Would you ride there at 530 am in the dark? With cars going by you at 50MPH? I know the bicycle has the right to do so, as I have the right to climb a mountain in the middle of the winter. Just because you are allowed to does not mean it is the smartest decision.
It is quite sad. This area has so many people yet the roads here are stacked against bikes. That coupled with the residents attitudes equals some pretty dangerous biking conditions. I wish it was different. I used to love riding my bike around town.
I have lived in the DC metro area for 13 years now. I run and ride bikes quite a bit. I used to ride my bike to work at 5am. It is not twilight at 5am, it is dark. The people here hate bicycles. I have never lived in an area where the drivers are as mean and agressive as the DC metro area. It is the main reason why I did not buy a tri bike. I did not want to ride on the roads because it is flat out dangerous.
The road she was riding on is a feeder road to the main highway of the DC area. You would have to pay me hundreds of thousands to ride on any feeder road from 5-9 am at the peak of rush hour traffic in the DC metro area with the 2nd worst traffic in the nation. I do not care how many lights or reflectors you wear. Some of these feeder roads have speed limits of 40-50MPH. Dangerous. Look up the road on google maps. Landover road largo Maryland, do a street view and tell me what you think. Would you ride there at 530 am in the dark? With cars going by you at 50MPH? I know the bicycle has the right to do so, as I have the right to climb a mountain in the middle of the winter. Just because you are allowed to does not mean it is the smartest decision.
It is quite sad. This area has so many people yet the roads here are stacked against bikes. That coupled with the residents attitudes equals some pretty dangerous biking conditions. I wish it was different. I used to love riding my bike around town.
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...it is flat out dangerous.
The road she was riding on is a feeder road to the main highway of the DC area. You would have to pay me hundreds of thousands to ride on any feeder road from 5-9 am at the peak of rush hour traffic in the DC metro area with the 2nd worst traffic in the nation. I do not care how many lights or reflectors you wear. Some of these feeder roads have speed limits of 40-50MPH. Dangerous. Look up the road on google maps. Landover road largo Maryland, do a street view and tell me what you think. Would you ride there at 530 am in the dark? With cars going by you at 50MPH? I know the bicycle has the right to do so, as I have the right to climb a mountain in the middle of the winter. Just because you are allowed to does not mean it is the smartest decision.
The road she was riding on is a feeder road to the main highway of the DC area. You would have to pay me hundreds of thousands to ride on any feeder road from 5-9 am at the peak of rush hour traffic in the DC metro area with the 2nd worst traffic in the nation. I do not care how many lights or reflectors you wear. Some of these feeder roads have speed limits of 40-50MPH. Dangerous. Look up the road on google maps. Landover road largo Maryland, do a street view and tell me what you think. Would you ride there at 530 am in the dark? With cars going by you at 50MPH? I know the bicycle has the right to do so, as I have the right to climb a mountain in the middle of the winter. Just because you are allowed to does not mean it is the smartest decision.
https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,0.008873&z=17
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.....I have lived in the DC metro area for 13 years now. I run and ride bikes quite a bit. I used to ride my bike to work at 5am. It is not twilight at 5am, it is dark. The people here hate bicycles. I have never lived in an area where the drivers are as mean and agressive as the DC metro area. It is the main reason why I did not buy a tri bike. I did not want to ride on the roads because it is flat out dangerous....
But I disagree with you on the rest. To me, this seems to be a generally bike friendly area.
I enjoy both roads and trails. Admittedly, I do most of my riding on weekends, but tonight I've got no qualms about commuting home on route 29/Lee Highway.
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But wasn't this at 5am on Sunday? Hardly any traffic at that time of morning, and that might have been a contributing factor. Driver zipping down the road, half paying attention, not seeing many other cars and not expecting anything else.
I think part of it is a Maryland problem. I've been biking around here for over 30 years, and generally find Maryland drivers to be much more aggressive than DC or Virginia drivers.
But I disagree with you on the rest. To me, this seems to be a generally bike friendly area.
I enjoy both roads and trails. Admittedly, I do most of my riding on weekends, but tonight I've got no qualms about commuting home on route 29/Lee Highway.
I think part of it is a Maryland problem. I've been biking around here for over 30 years, and generally find Maryland drivers to be much more aggressive than DC or Virginia drivers.
But I disagree with you on the rest. To me, this seems to be a generally bike friendly area.
I enjoy both roads and trails. Admittedly, I do most of my riding on weekends, but tonight I've got no qualms about commuting home on route 29/Lee Highway.
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I see, blame the victim. I don't see anything wrong with cycling on these roads:
https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,0.008873&z=17
https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,0.008873&z=17
I really really wanted to train for a triathalon. I could not stomach the way bikers are treated around here. Very sad.
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If I had to, I would. A cyclist (lighted and reflectored-up) is perfectly visible at night - for drivers who bother to look. 50mph roads are perfectly safe for cyclists 99.999% of the time. I am certainly not going to concede that cyclists should be banned from such roads simply because a very few cyclists are killed on them. What would be next - banning cyclists from 40mph roads? 35mph roads? Some of us have to commute on such roads - we don't get a choice not to.
A bicycle is a vehicle. It belongs on the road. If speed contributes to accidents, then the solution is to lower the speed limit and enforce it, not to remove the most vulnerable vehicles. 'Punish the victim' is hardly a workable transportation policy.
A bicycle is a vehicle. It belongs on the road. If speed contributes to accidents, then the solution is to lower the speed limit and enforce it, not to remove the most vulnerable vehicles. 'Punish the victim' is hardly a workable transportation policy.
Last edited by ianbrettcooper; 09-22-10 at 12:48 PM.
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Would you ride your bike on a 50MPH road at 5am? I trust my skills 150% as a biker. At 50MPH with or without lights and reflective gear you are almost invisable to a driver. Not blaming the biker at all. I would have hauled in the driver and impounded the SUV. Did a crash recunstruction of the scene.
At 5am, the traffic on those roads is nearly nonexistent. They are made for a crushing amount of traffic, but it isn't there that early in the morning on a Sunday. I'm guessing she didn't ride there after 9 am or so when the traffic really starts up.
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If I had to, I would. A cyclist (lighted and reflectored-up) is perfectly visible at night - for drivers who bother to look. 50mph roads are perfectly safe for cyclists 99.999% of the time. I am certainly not going to concede that cyclists should be banned from such roads simply because a very few cyclists are killed on them. What would be next - banning cyclists from 40mph roads? 35mph roads? Some of us have to commute on such roads - we don't get a choice not to.
A bicycle is a vehicle. It belongs on the road. If speed contributes to accidents, then the solution is to lower the speed limit and enforce it, not to remove the most vulnerable vehicles. 'Punish the victim' is hardly a workable transportation policy.
A bicycle is a vehicle. It belongs on the road. If speed contributes to accidents, then the solution is to lower the speed limit and enforce it, not to remove the most vulnerable vehicles. 'Punish the victim' is hardly a workable transportation policy.
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https://www.thewashcycle.com/2010/09/...l-planned.html
A candlelight vigil will take place at 6 p.m. Friday at the accident site, Henry said. Her daughter was an avid runner, swimmer and cyclist, and she had long complained about the lack of designated bike lanes. Henry said she hopes her daughter's death can draw attention to that need.
A candlelight vigil will take place at 6 p.m. Friday at the accident site, Henry said. Her daughter was an avid runner, swimmer and cyclist, and she had long complained about the lack of designated bike lanes. Henry said she hopes her daughter's death can draw attention to that need.
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Look who is at the bottom of the driver report from Allstate: https://www.allstatenewsroom.com/docu...tZXJpY2E%3D%0A
You guessed it, it's DC and Baltimore.
You guessed it, it's DC and Baltimore.
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look who is at the bottom of the driver report from allstate: https://www.allstatenewsroom.com/docu...tzxjpy2e%3d%0a
you guessed it, it's dc and baltimore.
you guessed it, it's dc and baltimore.
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Look who is at the bottom of the driver report from Allstate: https://www.allstatenewsroom.com/docu...tZXJpY2E%3D%0A
You guessed it, it's DC and Baltimore.
You guessed it, it's DC and Baltimore.
I love statistics.
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You have to be awfully inattentive to not know what you hit. I've hit deer and nearly hit deer at night and I knew they were deer. They are big and brown and look like deer. Confusing a deer and a cyclist should be an admission of guilt, not an excuse.
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I seriously doubt frequency of accidents for residents goes up the smaller the town, resort towns might be an exception and there might be a few other exceptions to displace DC and Baltimore from the ten worst but still near the bottom would be my guess.