Yet ... you keep riding? You disprove your own point.

This has gotten beyond ridiculous.

I ride my bike. Sometimes I drive my car. I have even flown in small airplanes.

I live my life.

People who find life too terrifying are welcome not to participate.

People who tell others not to do what they themselves do in an effort to "win" an internet discussion ....

Best not tug on Superman's cape? I have a better idea ... you be intimidated by reality. I know that Superman is a comic-book figure. He doesn't have a cape which can be tugged.

Later folks ... going out to ride my bike ... like the rest of you all do ... and going to come back, like we almost always do.

Wake up and face reality ... or don't.

Not my problems, .... Your problems. I am more concerned with deciding which bike to ride over which route tonight. You guys huddle in the corners hiding from Superman. I have a life to live.

Oh Puhleeze! Why not give the psycho-babbling about other posters and bicyclists, a rest?

Yesterday I burned my thumb on a hot skillet while cooking. If I hadn't been cooking that would not have happened. That is the irrational conclusion I believe he's implying some people are making.

Any place you have an accident is the wrong place at the wrong time. That would apply to any activity.

Let me put a finer point on it.

I was on a bike tour from New Orleans to Maine. Some old friends in Charlottesville, Virginia offered to let me crash a few days at their condo. I hit Charlottesville near 5pm rush hour on a weekday and they lived a few miles out of town. About one mile from the entrance to their cul de sac, the city to my back, I hit a long hill and huge curve in the road. It was a 2-lane, narrow, mountain road and 50mph commuter traffic was roaring up behind me heading to their bedroom communities, as well as traffic coming from in front of me to a lesser extent. I COULD HAVE held my ground and winched up that mountain at 4 mph, taken the lane, and continued on. It was only ONE MILE to my bud's house from that spot. One mile at 4mph would take 15 minutes right? I could have pedaled my entitled, rude, happy-go-lucky arse up that hill, and risked many close passes by irritated motorists. Instead, i pulled over onto a grassy front lawn, spread out my sleeping pad, and took a nap for an hour until rush hour traffic subsided. (My friend, also a cyclist, apologized for sending me up what he called "The Death Road", not knowing I would hit it at rush hour).

^^This is my most extreme example of situational awareness on a bicycle. I DIDN'T KNOW what was ahead or I would never have been there at the wrong place at the wrong time. So how did I handle it? I "disappeared" from that situation until conditions improved. This is the kind of situational awareness I am promoting. I probably would have survived, but why take the risk in a situation that was obvious (to me) to be high risk?

BTW...use an oven mitt. Or be careful. Or eat out. You are not helpless in most situations. (And no distracted/drugged second party CAUSED your injury. That was 100% on you). Would you cook breakfast standing in the middle of a freeway lane on an East-West highway, at sunrise, if it were legal? No? Why not? Would it be even more risky than your kitchen? Think about it and let me know.

I remove myself from situations when I feel unsafe. I will even do it at times just to help others out.

It's not difficult for some of us.

The story sounds like a misrepresentation. Mountain road steep enough that you had to ride at 4 miles per hour and yet car traffic was moving at 50 miles per hour? Those kinds of roads don't exist IME - name the road, I'd be curious to see it. A quick perusal of Charlottesville and the surrounds on RideWithGPS with the terrain feature doesn't seem to show much in the way of roads you are attempting to describe.

It's also somewhat humorous to suggest that one party can be "entitled, rude, happy-go-lucky" when using a shared public space in a legal way, as intended. And yet it's acceptable to trespass and actually fall asleep on a random plot of land? Entitled not to the road, but to the use of another's property.

Gonzo post for sure, perhaps falls more into the entertainment category than the bolster a position from which to argue category?

It is interesting as an example of how perception and social stigma are often used to force behaviors of others. Jaywalking was an invented concept to force behavior of people once automobiles because to large, fast and their operators saw no point in sharing in a way that didn't benefit them first. Cyclists can be rude and entitled for the same reason - cars and trucks own the public space and the behavior code has placed them at the top of the hierarchy. To be clear, I'm arguing against the sentiment of your post more than anything. It's the reason so much bicycle advocacy is ineffective and doesn't serve much purpose other than shuffling tax payer funds around.

The story was 25 years ago. You know how much Charlottesville has grown in 25 years. But I believe it was Rio Road, or in that area north of the city. They lived somewhere around Greenbriar. I could ride my bike from the entrance to their cul de sac, turn left to a larger highway, and coast downhill about a mile to Trader Joe's (or some similar "health food" store but not Whole Foods). Trader Joe's is still there but looks like a newer store in a big shopping center now. Here is a link to the spot that MAYBE where I took my break. It's a 4-lane now with a shoulder and a bike path. My fully loaded touring bike weighed in between 70-90 lbs depending on food and water. I always just dropped into my lowest granny on uphills.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.0618...7i13312!8i6656

^^This is my best guess as nothing looks familiar and Google Earth won't let me into the condo communities to find my friend's place exactly. They all look alike from above and development has occurred.

Haha! ^^This is quite a stretch. The house was an acre off the highway. Perhaps the spot I sat on was even city right-of-way. Don't know, don't care. "Trespassing" was safer than continuing. No doubt a judge would understand. It was a country road at the time, no sidewalk, with a shallow, grass-filled ditch at the road edge. It was slightly uphill to the residence. I remember that scene vividly.

1. "Entitled" means you KNOW you are allowed to be there. But SHOULD you be there at that precised moment in time? If the answer is "Yes", then you are acting out your entitlement. 2. "Rude" means tying up a long line of auto commuters unnecessarily, without any concern for fellow road users and human beings. 3. "Happy-go-lucky" means the cyclist hasn't even CONSIDERED the first two and put themselves in added danger without any thought or awareness. I guess we all know where you fall on this spectrum thanks to your commentary.

Would some one from the area please post when and what the driver is going to be charged with.

I'm guessing manslaughter (which is 1-10 years), but I'd like to know that too. I didn't see where they mentioned that she was charged or arrested.

Would an in-state driver with no outstanding warrants be arrested if sober at the time of a fatal car accident involving another motor vehicle? I doubt it.

I stopped commuting a few years ago, and most of my cycling is now on paths and separated bike lanes... So I am hardly disproving my point... If I were to tour, it would not be in the US where motorists seem to have no respect for other road users. Others too have modified their behavior to ride in a more sane/safe manner... Our own Joey, for instance.

BTW the superman comment was a metaphor... do you understand metaphors, or did you skip that lesson in life too?

Good luck with your life... just don't come whining here that you can't seem to get hit by cars... as has obviously happened to others.

Why not? Especially after she admitted she was negligent.

I predict no charges worse than a citation. Without going back up thread, I believe the police already verified no cell phone/texting, just seems any other distractions, eating, fiddling with dashboard controls, squirreling around in the right side floorboard, etc is just not thought of as felonious by presecutors these days. I would hope her insurance becomes prohibitively expensive though.

I just don't think that is the protocol for most jurisdictions. But I am not certain about Florida. The fact that news sources did not state she was arrested is our clue. And I doubt she used the word "negligent" rather than "distracted". You could be distracted AND negligent, or negligent but not distracted. Depends on the distraction? I really don't know how the law views that. Surely someone else will chime in on this.

1. Entitled ----- https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/entitled


2. Rude ------ https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/rude


3. Happy-go-lucky ------- https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/de...happy-go-lucky

There are given definitions and personal definitions and as with LAWS there are varying interpretations that opens the doors to events occurring not necessarily expected to happen when the laws were adopted. Charges Pending, Charges Files, Prosecution Undertaken, Defensive Argued, Summations, Judge's Instructions and jurors who at times do not follow the Rules Set Forth By The Judge and come to an inappropriate decision. BEEN THERE!!!!

Driving is a full-time job so when you get behind the wheel of a car you take on the responsibility to focus solely on your driving. You can't just get "distracted" kill someone and merrily walk away. What was she distracted by?

Anyway, the DA in that jurisdiction sucks. There's no doubt she should be charged. Is there any wonder why Florida has the highest fatality rate? You can just mow down cyclists and be home for dinner.

Hopefully, the family of the victim will get a good lawyer and take her to civil court and sue her for everything she's got. At minimum she should never be allowed to drive again.

And definitions that should be taken in context. Like my story about the roadside break during rush hour traffic.

I wouldn't bet my life on ^^this criminally speaking. An otherwise sober, upstanding citizen with proper ID and registration, with no criminal record, getting distracted behind the wheel happens every half second. Unless the negligence is gross resulting in a death, and there is no flight risk, why throw them in jail before a hearing? Big difference between a person who is a screw-up and one who is a criminal. Except to the victims of course.

A person in jail or dead pretty much guarantees no driving but other than those two, getting behind the wheel AND DRIVING does not require a license or special skills or even mental acuity.

I hope so.

After eight pages it would be nice.

I don't know how quickly the Broward County prosecutor's office works, but I wouldn't expect charges for at least a couple months.

That would reinforce what I have said for years. If you are so deranged you want someone dead, buy them a bike and simply run over them, and just say you didnt see them.