Bill Sweetman opinion on safety

[ginacico]

For your morning coffee rage….

Bicyclists don’t have all the answers on traffic safety. I should know — I was hit by one.

7 out of 8 comments (as of now) are negative.

[LeprosyStudyGroup]

That sucks for him.

The details are a little unclear to me, and not to victim blame, but it seems like he was walking on the left side of the MVT against traffic flow and should have known better, which is why he moved without looking and got run into. In the end this is a situation probably a lot of us regular commuters in the area deal with on a near daily basis and I’ve (luckily?)managed to not have it turn out badly in like 5 years of dealing with it. (save one old lady jogger pulling a crazy ivan into me after I came to a near full stop behind her and yes, had rung my bell before accelerating around her, neither of us were anything more than surprised by the collision)

In the interest of self preservation I ride around on the sidewalks rather than most streets on/near through the national mall. I have gotten into the habit of actually not ringing my bell around people there, no matter which side of the path/sidewalk they are on, because more likely than not they will either not respond or step into my path in reaction, so I just go slow and pass them more carefully than usual, expecting them to hold course if given no reason not to do so. It seems like the only thing that works, because I can’t expect tourists or others to know or adhere to the “correct” way to use public space. Do you guys think this is the right way to deal with the situation?

This article’s suggestion that any of this has anything to do with whether or not cycling advocates have worthwhile things to say about traffic safety in an autocentric culture is unappreciated.

[Subby]

Donate to WABA and score a blow against WHATABOUTism?!!

[huskerdont]

Every week there are more stories about pedestrians being killed by drivers, yet so many people like to get their undies bunched up on these articles about cyclists. It’s strangely misplaced aggression.

People, in general, are jerks, but the power of their jerkiness is in direct proportion to the weight they can use to kill or injure others.

[ginacico]

@Subby 184294 wrote:

Donate to WABA and score a blow against WHATABOUTism?!!

Preferably today to double your contribution.

[ginacico]

@LeprosyStudyGroup 184288 wrote:

I can’t expect tourists or others to know or adhere to the “correct” way to use public space. Do you guys think this is the right way to deal with the situation?

I think so. Those walkways on the Mall are wide enough that you can usually pass with a good amount of space. And if not, ringing like a fool seems to result in unpredictable behavior and alarmed reactions. I’m always prepared to just stop and wait for a gap, maybe one ding, and once they notice me they often step aside.

[Bill Sweetman]

That sucks for him.

Thanks for your sympathy, ENTIRELY APPROPRIATE EPITHET REDACTED

The details are a little unclear to me, and not to victim blame, but

But here I go victim-blaming, because smug biker.

it seems like he was walking on the left side of the MVT against traffic flow

What part of “when I walk the bike trails, I’m careful to the point of paranoia about hugging the right side of the path so bicycles and joggers can pass…. I was walking in a park within sight of the Washington Monument, using a footpath that didn’t seem likely to have many bicycles on it” seems to have overmatched your reading skills?

To be specific: I was in Long Bridge Park, which with one exception (connecting to Boundary Channel Drive to the Pentagon) is a dead-end at the north of Crystal City. And if you’re riding towards the Pentagon there are perfectly decent bike lanes on 12th and Long Bridge Drive.

This article’s suggestion that any of this has anything to do with whether or not cycling advocates have worthwhile things to say about traffic safety in an autocentric culture is unappreciated.

The hostile and ignorant commentary from much of the cycling community rather proves my point.

[creadinger]

@Bill Sweetman 184328 wrote:

That sucks for him.

Thanks for your sympathy, ENTIRELY APPROPRIATE EPITHET REDACTED

The details are a little unclear to me, and not to victim blame, but

But here I go victim-blaming, because smug biker.

it seems like he was walking on the left side of the MVT against traffic flow

What part of “when I walk the bike trails, I’m careful to the point of paranoia about hugging the right side of the path so bicycles and joggers can pass…. I was walking in a park within sight of the Washington Monument, using a footpath that didn’t seem likely to have many bicycles on it” seems to have overmatched your reading skills?

To be specific: I was in Long Bridge Park, which with one exception (connecting to Boundary Channel Drive to the Pentagon) is a dead-end at the north of Crystal City. And if you’re riding towards the Pentagon there are perfectly decent bike lanes on 12th and Long Bridge Drive.

This article’s suggestion that any of this has anything to do with whether or not cycling advocates have worthwhile things to say about traffic safety in an autocentric culture is unappreciated.

The hostile and ignorant commentary from much of the cycling community rather proves my point.

Just take a second to check out the ridiculous commentary you unleashed on the WAPO and then tell me if 4-5 snarky comments is really something to be concerned about. To quote yourself – “The hostile and ignorant commentary from much of the “NON-“cycling community rather proves ” the purpose of WABA.

I mean just for starters you got thousands of people complaining about bikes on the sidewalk and not on the road as well as drivers complaining about bikes on the road and not on the sidewalk…. and those are the comments not advocating for acts of aggression against cyclists. Seriously nice job, you certainly got a lot of clicks for your boss Bezos this week.

According to the WAPO’s own guidelines Analysis pieces must be an – Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events.
There is absolutely NO analysis here because for that you’d need data. You have an anecdote.

[huskerdont]

I am truly sorry you were hit, and it sounds like the cyclist was at fault. But I believe it is acceptable to point out questions or inaccuracies in the story (such as the statement that it was a hit and run when it appears the cyclist stopped and checked on your condition, and the implication that it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk–it is only illegal in the downtown business district). WashCycle did a good job of refuting some of these and other points, but I would not take it personally that people disagree. Disagreement is not necessarily hostility, although the Post article did serve as another possibility for commenters to vent hostile spleen against cyclists. https://www.thewashcycle.com/2018/12/actually-thats-not-hit-and-run.html#comments

Finally, WABA teaches safe cycling classes and encourages riders to obey the law, and they are working to improve the safety of all road users, so just because their focus is on cycling does not mean they don’t also benefit pedestrians. (This is just my opinion; I am not part of WABA though I do send them $.)

[Bill Sweetman]

Creadinger:

I don’t work for Bezos, and if you read the piece you will find nothing to suggest as such. Making stuff up reduces your credibility.

A subset of 778 comments is not “thousands” as is obvious to anyone who can count. Also, the most prolific commenter was a fanatical pro-biker.

There is absolutely NO analysis here because for that you’d need data.

I half-way agree with you. There is no data because accidents involving bikes and no cars seldom get reported to police, and usually avoid the gaze of the insurance actuaries. So neither you nor I have a clue about the incidence of bike-caused injuries (which as I showed can have major costs, and could be life-altering), let alone whether these are more or less frequent on a per-trip basis than auto-related injuries. Multiple comments in the WAPO bang on about how many auto-related deaths and injuries occur, but logic should tell you that the relative number of bike and auto trips (or vehicle miles, or whatever) is a factor.

And it seems from many comments that the bike community does not want to see changes that would allow such data to be gathered. It might be a bit awkward if it showed that “nudging” (i.e. coercing) people on to bikes would actually result in more injuries for the same number of trips.

[Bill Sweetman]

I am truly sorry you were hit,

I accept that. You’re the only one here who is.

I didn’t intend to imply that riding on the sidewalk is illegal, but to do so at speed shows poor judgment (of the kind for which car drivers can be legally liable).

And I checked the “washcycle” forum, and there’s Crickey, accusing me of “launching an unhinged anti-cyclist rant” here, when I was merely responding to an attack on my competence to walk anywhere, based on unjustified assumptions.

I think Crickey may be a false-flag who works for the local Caddy dealer, by the way.

[LeprosyStudyGroup]

@Bill Sweetman 184328 wrote:

That sucks for him.

Thanks for your sympathy, ENTIRELY APPROPRIATE EPITHET REDACTED

The details are a little unclear to me, and not to victim blame, but

But here I go victim-blaming, because smug biker.

it seems like he was walking on the left side of the MVT against traffic flow

What part of “when I walk the bike trails, I’m careful to the point of paranoia about hugging the right side of the path so bicycles and joggers can pass…. I was walking in a park within sight of the Washington Monument, using a footpath that didn’t seem likely to have many bicycles on it” seems to have overmatched your reading skills?

To be specific: I was in Long Bridge Park, which with one exception (connecting to Boundary Channel Drive to the Pentagon) is a dead-end at the north of Crystal City. And if you’re riding towards the Pentagon there are perfectly decent bike lanes on 12th and Long Bridge Drive.

This article’s suggestion that any of this has anything to do with whether or not cycling advocates have worthwhile things to say about traffic safety in an autocentric culture is unappreciated.

The hostile and ignorant commentary from much of the cycling community rather proves my point.

Thanks for clarifying the situation. Sorry I misinterpreted that part of this angry and unhelpful article that only damages relations between the public and groups advocating for improving safety for everyone using public spaces. Sorry I even read it. I hope you have a future free from further accidents and that you become uninterested in writing angry brain poison for strangers to read.

[Crickey7]

In my line of work, if I presented anecdote as data, blamed my own inability to obtain real data on others, misstated facts and then, finally, on the basis of such anecdotal “data” and misstated facts generated a set of policy proposals that even the most cursory cost-benefit analysis would show are unwise (and which in any event do little or nothing to prevent the purported problem), well, I’d get fired. This piece was objectively bad on many different levels. If pointing that out makes you defensive, I don’t know what to say. Perhaps you should be less thin skinned and take some of the criticism to heart.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

If you were in Long Bridge Park you should have said you were in Long Bridge Park.

[Bill Sweetman]

Seriously, Crickey, do you think that any of your comments (here or on WAPO) actually increase non-biker support for WABA’s policy and spending recommendations?

Because I would be extremely surprised if they did.

And Leprosy: Have a nice day.

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