As someone pointed out on a FB post, it is clear that the bicyclist ran the red. I have watched that video a number of times to try to figure out exactly what happened. In addition to running the red, I am fairly certain that the bicyclist did not have a light.
As a daily commuter to/through campus, I'm not surprised that the UWPD is trying to scare some sense into the pedestrians and bicyclists among the undergrad population. And I think that's who those news reports are aimed at, although local TV news seems a bad medium to deliver the message to the 18-22 year-olds. A combination of an underdeveloped sense of mortality, a possibly incomplete maturity <http://hrweb.mit.edu/worklife/youngadult/brain.html> of the pre-frontal cortex, distractions, impulsiveness, and maybe just selfishness (as in the consideration of oneself, and not others) mean that the campus area frequently experiences barely-controlled chaos on the street. In addition, Madison experiences an influx of new residents each year, many of whom have decided to bike for transportation (Yea!), but may not have ever been on a bike in a city. A few of them smack their heads on the learning curve as they figure it out (Oops!) At night, I am convinced that some people don't use lights on their bikes because *they* can see just fine by the streetlight, so they *think* they are visible to drivers. However, the drivers can't see them, or anything else as well as a bicyclist. Why? I'm not sure, but I have experienced this myself when biking home and then driving the exact same street at the same time of night. Something about driving makes bicyclists and pedestrians (and everything else on the street) much less visible from inside a car. (Anyone know enough about vision to explain this?) And age can also diminish our night vision, and you don't have to be on Social Security for it to happen. At age 50, you need twice as much light <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/health/13brody.html?pagewanted=all> to see the same thing as when you were 30! So, yes, the message is that everyone should watch out for each other; car drivers should slow down and be extra cautious in the campus area; and assume there is other traffic that may be going different speeds. But seriously, we have to acknowledge that some bicyclists to really stupid things too. Robbie Webber Transportation Policy Analyst 608-263-9984 (o) 608-225-0002 (c) [email protected] All opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer or any other group with which I am affiliated. On Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 9:01 AM, Patrick Lenon via Bikies < [email protected]> wrote: > It does inadvertently make the point I try to make to people criticizing > bikers for running or rolling stops. Which is, if a biker goes through a > red light, who's most likely to get hurt? And if a driver goes through a > red, who will get hurt? > > It gets Darwinian, because reckless bikers are a self-correcting problem. > > BTW, just to nitpick on Dave and Donna, the bike and cars didn't do > anything wrong. The rider and the drivers received tickets. It helps to > humanize. ;) > > ------------- > Patrick Lenon > > > ------------------------------ > Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2015 12:39:24 +0000 > To: [email protected]; [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Bikies] Pedestrians & bikes getting hit by cars is increasing > From: [email protected] > > The news said both bike and car were ticketed, yet the whole broadcast > focused on bikes being a problem! > > Dave > > > > On Monday, October 12, 2015 12:33 AM, Donna Magdalina via Bikies < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > Two different incidents of cars hitting people in Milwaukee also in the > news right now. One pedestrian is dead. > > UW-Madison Police release video of crashes, say bicycle and pedestrian > accidents are on the rise > Oct 09, 2015 > > In just nine days, five people were injured on the UW campus while walking > or biking. On Friday UW Police released surveillance video of two of those > crashes. > > > http://www.wkow.com/story/30227301/2015/10/09/uw-madison-police-say-bicycle-and-pedestrian-crashes-are-on-the-rise > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > > > > _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > >
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