Reckless, Willful And Wanton - The Chainlink2024-03-29T12:31:25Zhttps://thechainlink.org/forum/topics/reckless-willful-and-wanton?commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A1103849&feed=yes&xn_auth=no"What? You bike? On the city…tag:thechainlink.org,2018-08-11:2211490:Comment:11037452018-08-11T01:50:13.560ZFran Kondorfhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/FranKondorf
<p><em>"What? You bike? On the city streets? Are you crazy? You shouldn't be doing that! Others shouldn't be on the streets cycling either. It's TOO dangerous! Look what happened recently! And you, look, you hurt yourself. Stop already! People on bikes don't belong or need to be out there! Take public transportation. What's wrong with you? See, I told you that you shouldn't be cycling !"</em></p>
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<p> The subtext being, of course, "You must be nuts to ride a bicycle on the streets since…</p>
<p><em>"What? You bike? On the city streets? Are you crazy? You shouldn't be doing that! Others shouldn't be on the streets cycling either. It's TOO dangerous! Look what happened recently! And you, look, you hurt yourself. Stop already! People on bikes don't belong or need to be out there! Take public transportation. What's wrong with you? See, I told you that you shouldn't be cycling !"</em></p>
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<p> The subtext being, of course, "You must be nuts to ride a bicycle on the streets since I'm in my car usually speeding, staring at my phone, not signalling, blocking the crosswalks, eating, applying makeup, flinging open my door, etc.."</p>
<p> Which is then just a short stretch to the Cycling Scofflaw Menace narrative we read so much about all throughout comment sections after most bicycling articles.</p>
<p> The stupid, it burns.</p> Big trucks are poorly suited…tag:thechainlink.org,2018-08-10:2211490:Comment:11040102018-08-10T20:06:24.879ZJuan 2-3 or more mi.https://thechainlink.org/profile/JohnDominguez
<p>Big trucks are poorly suited and equipped to share the streets with all the regular traffic I'm realizing. On the highway I've seen these large machines cause many wrecks with their blind spots. On our streets this tragedy and many others even with pedestrians have occured. I read a heartbreaking story of a couple visiting our city. The wife got lost and tried to cross the street unaware of a big truck turning in her direction and got killed. The truck did not stop. The husband was wondering…</p>
<p>Big trucks are poorly suited and equipped to share the streets with all the regular traffic I'm realizing. On the highway I've seen these large machines cause many wrecks with their blind spots. On our streets this tragedy and many others even with pedestrians have occured. I read a heartbreaking story of a couple visiting our city. The wife got lost and tried to cross the street unaware of a big truck turning in her direction and got killed. The truck did not stop. The husband was wondering what the commotion was down the block as he went looking for his wife. He was destroyed when he found out it was his wife :(</p> I find it very alarming that,…tag:thechainlink.org,2018-08-10:2211490:Comment:11038492018-08-10T19:41:05.601ZAnne Althttps://thechainlink.org/profile/Anne91
<p>I find it very alarming that, in a bike lane/commute route situation altered to an unsafe condition by construction, even a very experienced cyclist like Angela Park didn't survive a close encounter with a truck. <br/><br/>With the huge number of current building construction sites in the Loop, River North, Wicker Park and other areas of the city (many of them on heavily used commute routes), we face a lot more hazardous situations than in a more average year (one with less construction).</p>
<p>I find it very alarming that, in a bike lane/commute route situation altered to an unsafe condition by construction, even a very experienced cyclist like Angela Park didn't survive a close encounter with a truck. <br/><br/>With the huge number of current building construction sites in the Loop, River North, Wicker Park and other areas of the city (many of them on heavily used commute routes), we face a lot more hazardous situations than in a more average year (one with less construction).</p> On the opposite side of the f…tag:thechainlink.org,2018-08-10:2211490:Comment:11040062018-08-10T19:38:59.452ZAnne Althttps://thechainlink.org/profile/Anne91
<p>On the opposite side of the fence, I had a positive conversation today with someone very sympathetic who heard the point I was making about our streets being SHARED spaces where we all need to watch out for each other, have some compassion, and recognize that other people on the road (regardless of their mode of transportation) are just trying to get somewhere in one piece. I feel like that basic point is completely lost in most of the discussions that come up after a bad crash or…</p>
<p>On the opposite side of the fence, I had a positive conversation today with someone very sympathetic who heard the point I was making about our streets being SHARED spaces where we all need to watch out for each other, have some compassion, and recognize that other people on the road (regardless of their mode of transportation) are just trying to get somewhere in one piece. I feel like that basic point is completely lost in most of the discussions that come up after a bad crash or fatality.</p> After the latest cyclist fata…tag:thechainlink.org,2018-08-10:2211490:Comment:11040022018-08-10T19:23:02.670ZTom A.K.https://thechainlink.org/profile/TomKrystyn
<p>After the latest cyclist fatality I've had the opportunity to converse with people I don't normally interact with because of my minor riding injury and come to the realization that there still is a huge amount of Chicagoans that are 'cycling naysayers'. "What? You bike? On the city streets? Are you crazy? You shouldn't be doing that! Others shouldn't be on the streets cycling either. It's TOO dangerous! Look what happened recently! And you, look, you hurt yourself. Stop already! People on…</p>
<p>After the latest cyclist fatality I've had the opportunity to converse with people I don't normally interact with because of my minor riding injury and come to the realization that there still is a huge amount of Chicagoans that are 'cycling naysayers'. "What? You bike? On the city streets? Are you crazy? You shouldn't be doing that! Others shouldn't be on the streets cycling either. It's TOO dangerous! Look what happened recently! And you, look, you hurt yourself. Stop already! People on bikes don't belong or need to be out there! Take public transportation. What's wrong with you? See, I told you that you shouldn't be cycling !"</p>
<p>Geez ! This was the typical crux of the 'cycling naysayers' comments while I was (and am) medicated and trying to recover. Of course they don't realize or state what they understand is the inherent risk in any situation or mode of transport. But perhaps they are unnecessarily concerned about my personal safety. That's OK. I guess? But what the naysayers don't understand is that no situation is ever remedied unless and until something is advocated for change and enacted to protect those that need those protections for their safety. That mission for us is now even more entrenched !</p>
<p><strong><em>'Cycling Naysayers'</em></strong> be aware ! We belong, and we are not going away ! We ourselves are going to work on being more alert and careful and we are going to especially express that you, as vehicle drivers, do the same. And we are going to continue to press for the proper, infrastructure changes for our safe travel ! Ride on !</p> ugh. hard not to feel powerle…tag:thechainlink.org,2018-08-10:2211490:Comment:11039012018-08-10T14:09:53.406ZKara Bhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/KaraBreems
ugh. hard not to feel powerless and hopeless in the face of seeing our worst/daily fears realized in the death of this woman who could have been any of us. Our laws are supposed to protect us, and they don't.
ugh. hard not to feel powerless and hopeless in the face of seeing our worst/daily fears realized in the death of this woman who could have been any of us. Our laws are supposed to protect us, and they don't. Completely understand your PO…tag:thechainlink.org,2018-08-10:2211490:Comment:11038932018-08-10T05:03:54.309ZYasmeenhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/YasmeenSchuller
<p>Completely understand your POV. Human life should mean more than it does. I'm tired of motorists being treated like their lives are of more value than cyclists. I've been sick thinking about this all day. </p>
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<p>So many points of failure - the driver, the company that didn't put in sideguards, didn't have adequate mirrors, and the infrastructure because there is NO accommodation for cyclists, just pedestrians and motorists when there's construction. In fact, bumping out that…</p>
<p>Completely understand your POV. Human life should mean more than it does. I'm tired of motorists being treated like their lives are of more value than cyclists. I've been sick thinking about this all day. </p>
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<p>So many points of failure - the driver, the company that didn't put in sideguards, didn't have adequate mirrors, and the infrastructure because there is NO accommodation for cyclists, just pedestrians and motorists when there's construction. In fact, bumping out that sidewalk eliminated the bike lane and became part of the problem. </p>
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