Category Archives: Crashes

Truck side skirts: reliable way to prevent cyclist fatalities?

No, not reliable, though some are better than others. Some are also supposed to confer an aerodynamic advantage. Some have a smooth surface which can deflect a cyclist. That is still no guarantee that the cyclist will escape serious injury … Continue reading

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Ian Cooper comments on the C&O Towpath

Cyclist Ian Cooper offers a report on the C&O canal towpath, which I have mentioned in a previous post. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas deserves a lot of credit for preserving the canal as a park, but as Ian … Continue reading

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Why this crash?

The fancy, expensive bicycles and racing clothing are not matched by these cyclists’ bike handling skills. If you play the video through to the end, you will see that the wheel touch broke 4 of the 8 spokes on the … Continue reading

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A Cyclist Signs Up for Advanced Driver Training

What was an avid cyclist doing in a place like this? Advanced Driver Training, September 25, 2011 from John Allen on Vimeo. I like to ride my bicycle but sometimes I have to drive. Over 40 years ago on dirt … Continue reading

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My September 11

My 10-year-old son Jacob’s school year hadn’t started yet on that brilliant, clear September morning. My wife had left for work. I  had a business appointment in Belmont, a few miles from our home. Jacob and I set out for … Continue reading

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Barrier features

The same barrier can have more than one of the characteristics listed below, and they may be different for different types of vehicles. Containment: The barrier prevents a vehicle from, for example, going over a cliff, or straying into oncoming … Continue reading

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When the marketing department plays traffic engineer

The photo shows “Cycle Lane” raised barriers, from the company Traffic Logix, on Long Island, New York, USA. Here’s a quote from a page on the company’s Web site promoting  the barriers. CycleLane is a smart, safe solution that provides … Continue reading

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Dr. Furth’s and his students’ plan for South Brookline

On March 14, 2011, I attended a meeting in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. At that meeting, Dr. Peter Furth of Northeastern University, and some of his students, gave a presentation on proposals for street reconstruction and bikeways in … Continue reading

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Traffic theory: improving traffic signals to reduce pointless delay

In theory, there’s no difference between theory and practice, but it practice, there is. attributed to: Yogi Berra Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut Albert Einstein An optimal traffic-signal system would never present anyone with a red light or a … Continue reading

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Alleycat racers

A British cyclist who goes by the online name gaz545 on YouTube has posted a version of one of Lucas Brunelle’s “alleycat race” videos, with voice-over commentary. Bravo gaz545! Lucas Brunelle is, or was, a bicycle courier, but he distinguishes … Continue reading

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