chaadster

It doesn’t seem like much time has passed since the 2016 crash in Kalamazoo, Michigan that killed 5 and badly injured another 4 (IIRC), because this accident 2 days ago out in Ionia on the Make-a-Wish ride, which killed two and injured three more, seems all too familiar:

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...r/10200350002/

It’s particularly close to the bone for me, as I had many friends on that ride, and one of those killed was from my town, though I didn’t know him personally.

I don’t have any particular insights and certainly don’t have any answers, but I’m feeling blue and wanted to put up a post about this tragedy as a small way to memorialize it, express condolences to friends and relatives of the deceased, and as a tool to help me remember to keep my head up when on the bike and to always stay sharp.

base2 

Make cars feel dangerous again. Too often the design is to insulate & distract the driver from the task of driving. The better it does this the more expensive & luxurious the car is considered to be.

Add road noise back to the cabin, subtract big stereos, loosen the anti-sway bars, make brakes feel like they need 2 foots on the pedal, make the accelerator need a heavy foot just to get going...If a car feels like a dangerous POS the driver has to be engaged.

That being said, in no way should a car have actual performance deficiencies. Drivers today simply have no concept of the power they wield & design should place ready front the consequences of negligence or complacency by involving the drivers senses in the command process. I.è. Nudge the driver to safer behavior be stripping away feelings of security.

That car will never sell.

genec

Yup, that car just won't sell.

Nice idea, making drivers more aware. But heck, so many just barely passed driver's ed, and the licence test is easy... so clearly drivers feel entitled to the road and believe they own it, so cyclists best be on the alert for these rolling entertainment/couch cruisers... they don't care, so we have to.

Troul 

i was very close at joining that event this year. sad SMH.

Bald Paul

This is terrible, especially when I read that it was the drivers second arrest for DUI. IMHO, she never should have been on the road.

koala logs

My car is an old 2002 Toyota Corolla I inherited from my dad. You can definitely feel the road on that car with some of the shock absorbers leaking and gone bad and the isolating components from suspension hardened by time. I actually slow down or even swerve around bumpy sections on the road while driving that car!

I've been driving for over 20 years now and the only times I ever left skid marks on the road was driving a late model rental SUV and another rental full sized sedan with v6 engine!! (I'm supposed to rent a sub compact but it's all they have!!)I can barely feel the speed on the road with the quiet interior, very isolating suspension system, I under estimated my speed quite a few times coming up on an intersection or sharp turn exit!

Your idea is a good start! With a little tweak, it can be turned into a workable and feasible solution. Only big and heavy cars / SUV cause "excessive" isolation of the driver from the road.... So instead of possibly banning these vehicles from the road, we could raise taxes for ownership of these vehicles. The extra revenue from the taxes can then be used to improve bike infrastructure.

Modern subcompact cars are a lot less isolating from the road. But compare them to subcompact cars in the 90's, they still offer more isolation and ironically, stiffer suspension systems offer better handling than "mushy" setup.

tomato coupe

The cause of this tragic event was not the “isolation from the road” of modern cars, it was due to the driver being intoxicated.

base2 

& disconnected from the consequences of his/her/their actions.

Bearhawker

Remove all the modern safety equipment like ABS brakes, seatbelts etc and put a big sharp spike on the steering wheel and watch how carefully everyone drives all of a sudden...


lol

JoeyBike

I gave up highway cycling a couple of years ago. Couldn't be happier and more alive.

Sorry for your fellow statesmen. Just wanted you to know I'm doing well.

GamblerGORD53

Darn. I very seldom see drunk drivers weaving. Usually it's when I'm driving.
But anyway, I feel 99.99% safe while riding. It's NEVER been better where I've been. South California might be a different story.
I'm never in a group, so that helps a bunch. My lights are on all the time with the SA dyno.