Monty Hill

I agree that there is a bias in the media as well as the average person, cyclist included. On my commute I see AT LEAST 10 infractions by motorist. Half of which could potentially cause harm to another. And 2-3 for the cyclist I see. None of which would cause harm to another.

And my first question is why did the motorist feel it necessary to drive a car today? Was their bicycle busted? Did the bus break down?

From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On Behalf Of J.Michael Manning
Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 8:59 AM
To: masessa@charter.net; OBRA
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Eugene cyclist killed today

When the story reports that the cyclist was wearing no helmet, it paints a certain picture of the cyclist. One that I do not identify with. As well, I typically make the false assumption that a cyclist without a helmet is not a "real" cyclist, and is therefore just one of those knuckleheads out there that make us all look irresponsible. But the truth is that I do sometimes see racing cyclists who still wish to defy the odds and ignore good commonsense by riding in traffic with air blowing in the wind. Helmets are an issue and the statistics support the fact that the majority of fatal accidents for bicyclists and motorcyclists are due to head trauma.
Mike Manning

________________________________
> Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2008 08:50:39 -0700
> From: masessa@charter.net
> To: obra@list.obra.org
> Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Eugene cyclist killed today
>
> It's not really just a bicycle thing to mention whether a rider was wearing a helmet. Most auto accident reports make a statement about the driver or passenger wearing a seatbelt or not. It's included because it's the first question people hearing about an accident ask. If it's not there you wonder "were they wearing a helmet/seatbelt?".
>
> ---- gschreckchat@comcast.net wrote:
> > They mention in in all bicycle injuries. When the woman was crished by a truck in downtown Portland this year, they mentioned that she was wearing a helmet, as if somehow if she had not been wearing a helment, she would have been at fault when the truck crushed her. They also mentioned it when a guy was hit at 50 mph, as if a styrofoam beer cooler on his head would have saved him when getting hit at 50 mph. Somehow it has become the mantra of all reporters when reporting on bicycle/vehicle collissions.
> >
> > --
> >
> > George Schreck
> > gschreckchat@comcast.net
> > (503) 502-0425
> >
> > -------------- Original message --------------
> > From: Erik
> > I like how they fail to mention any head trauma, but point out that he wasn't wearing a helmet anyway. As if that would've saved him from an impact that was hard enough to throw his bike 20 feet into the air.
> >
> >
> > > Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2008 19:03:20 -0700
> > > From: cdbrandt@gmail.com
> > > To: obra@list.obra.org
> > > Subject: [OBRA Chat] Eugene cyclist killed today
> > >
> > > http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=106879&sid=1&fid=7
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________________________________
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