"http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/10/13/miss.america.accident.ap/index.html"
Former Miss America strikes, kills cyclist (CNN)
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 9:30am
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 11:36am
#1
interesting, indeed
"Reading between the lines, the article is most telling. I'd wager the AP writer does not spend much time riding a bike (or for that matter a subway, e.g. is an urbanite).
""...Henry [the driver of a 1 ton+ vehicle] and her infant daughter were not injured....""
It's worth noting this ""fact"" (no way, really? duh!) preceded the mortal status of the bicyclist.
There's no mention of what specifically (in medical terms) is the cause of the cyclist death, which leads to....
""...She [the bicyclist] was not wearing a helmet, police said..""
How is this germane? The driver makes a turn striking the bicyclist crossing the roadway - a T-bone collision. At least that's how I interpet it. Does one _really_ think a helmet is going to help for this type of collision?!?
This article is just one more example to prove cycling is at the bottom of America's social caste system, the roadway."
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 2:15pm
#2
wow...
"...the damage to the lincoln navigator is getting more news than the bike! looks like the bike 'tire' that was 'ripped off the bike' was actually the whole front wheel:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2003/10/13ky/met-front-heatherm1014-5593.html
""After the crash, the front tire and seat were ripped off the bike. The Lincoln's grille was damaged in several places, and the vehicle's left rear tire was punctured.""
"
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 3:35pm
#3
Helmets Work
No argument with your main point, but for the record helmets work. I was recently on the trauma ward at Stoney Brook hospital as part of my training to become an EMT. They brought in a cyclist by helocopter that had been t-boned out in Montauk and was unconscious at the scene. I saw his helmet, which also had major trauma. Long story short, after exhaustive tests and treatment he walked out of the hospital by the end of the day. I doubt the outcome would have been so good if he hadn't been wearing a helmet....
Tue, 10/14/2003 - 8:34am
#4
work to a point AND not applicable to this story
Helmets do help, no question. I wear one myself. Your story is a testament to that. One problem with it though, you neglected to whether the bicyclist had crashed into the car or vice versa. There in lies the difference, a big one.
A simple physics formula will demonstrate this is so in greater magnitude. The force of impact may be measured using the principle of momentum. It is measured as mass times velocity, p = m * v.
A Lincoln Navigator weighs closer to 2 tons (4,000 lbs.) and a rough guess as to its speed at impact I would say is 20 mph. That equates to a momentum figure of: 80,000 units of force.
A 120 lb bicyclist traveling at 20 mph equates to 2,400.
The force of impact of a car hitting a bicyclist is 33 times greater than the other way around! (For simplicity, I substituted weight for mass and speed for velocity; the method of calculation is still valid). We do know from the 2nd article’s account, with the damaged grill, the impact in this case was a direct hit. Also the rear tire flatted, so I think my speed estimate is fair.
Sure, it’s just speculation on my part, but in light of the above I say “fat chance” a helmet would help. (I'd also guess that in your story, the bicyclist crashed into the car.) Your ANSI/Snell approved helmet has a little sticker with language stating something to the effect this helmet is not to be worn/provide sufficient protection while operating a motor vehicle – moped, motorcycle, etc. I reckon there’s a good reason why this is so. (One reason - 120 lb cyclists are not expected to travel at 666 mph)
Of course the helmet only protects one from trauma to the head, not the rest of the body. That comment in the article is still out of kilter.
Incidentally, the example I used above for the bicyclists is roughly the same metrics for pro rider Nicole Reinhart. She mortally crashed into a tree during a race a couple years back and yes she was wearing a helmet.
Sure helmets do help, but only to a point.
Tue, 10/14/2003 - 9:49am
#5
Check Physics
Good point but your physics are a bit off. You are talking about Kinetic Energy, which is equal to mass times velocity squared. In this case, it does not matter much, since velocities were assumed to be the same. In other instances, velocity is much more a defining variable than mass. We saw that with the WTC.
PS Lincoln Navigators are more like 3 tons!
Tue, 10/14/2003 - 10:29am
#6
1/2 off special on K.E. formulas
True. It can also be explained with kinetic energy, but momentum makes for a much simpler explanation and formulation, e.g. one associates collision more readily with momentum. I now rest my case as it's lost all of its kinetic energy. (bad pun intended)
3 tons - egats!
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 11:37am
#7
The motorist (former Miss A )is the wife of the KY Lt. Gov
"The motorist said ""the sun was in her eyes"" The car was turning at an intersection and the dead cyclist,a 43 year old female, was ""crossing outside the crosswalk"" according to AOL News 10/13 3:03 PM EDT"
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 8:24pm
#8
Crossing outside the crosswalk
I am confused by the crossing outside of the crosswalk statement. In NYC, bicycles are not allowed on sidewalks and must use the streets. In NYC, would it be against the law to cross the road riding on a crosswalk? I almost never use the crosswalk unless the intersection is uncrossable in vehicular traffic. I thought bikes were considered vehicles which is why a bicycle violation adds points to your drivers license.
My point, as if I have one, is that she should have been crossing outside of the crosswalk.
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 1:28pm
#9
More information
"See the Louisville Courier-Journal article.
""Asked how his wife was, Henry said: 'It's hard on anybody when you hit a person. It's very tough on people.' "" Yes, and especially on the person you hit.
The vehicle was a Lincoln Navigator, by the way."
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 2:57pm
#10
It's interesting...
"They, (the non-cycling community), make a big deal of the fact that the cyclist was not wearing a helmet and we make a big deal that the motor vehicle was a Navigator.
I think it IS significant that the cyclist was not wearing a helmet. Other than getting your torso crushed under the wheels, a head injury is just about the only thing that's likely to kill you in an accident.
On the other hand, Navigator or Honda Civic, It's a solid chunk of machine- I don't think a bare head has a chance against either.
What bothers me is the apparent assumption that the cyclist should have been in the cross walk. Also, if the SUV had the green light, the cyclist must have run the red light, but nobody is pointing that out. Maybe nobody wants to ""blame the victim"", but if you're going to run a red light, make sure you have a clear shot."
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 7:38pm
#11
Green Light, Red Light
If she had the green and was turning then the cyclist probably also had a green....
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 9:30pm
#12
not if you're going the wrong way :)
"http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=1479584&nav=4CALIUVB
""A police spokesman said the bicyclist was riding into the intersection against the light."""
Tue, 10/14/2003 - 3:36pm
#13
Only if...
they were traveling in the same direction. The way I understood it the cyclist was riding on the road the SUV was turning onto, which would mean the cyclist ran a red light or the light was not functioning properly.
Tue, 10/14/2003 - 12:29pm
#14
Assumptions
"""They (the non-cycling community), make a big deal of the fact that the cyclist was not wearing a helmet and we make a big deal that the motor vehicle was a Navigator.""
We get so used to the absurdities of our society that we accept them as normal. 120-lb. Miss America (with 3-month old baby) drives a 6000-lb. tank because it gives her a feeling of security. That makes perfect sense. A woman rides a 30-lb. bicycle at 5 m.p.h. without a helmet and is struck by the 6000-lb. vehicle. Well, she took her life in her hands, so she was at fault, at least partly.
""I think it IS significant that the cyclist was not wearing a helmet. Other than getting your torso crushed under the wheels, a head injury is just about the only thing that's likely to kill you in an accident.""
Internal bleeding? Crushed ribs and collapsed lungs or kidneys? By the way, when a person in a car dies of head injuries in a crash, -- not an uncommon occurrence-- why doesn't anyone propose that all car drivers and passengers should wear helmets? And when a person falls from a ladder, or slips in the shower, and dies, do people say, ""Serves 'em right -- they weren't wearing a helmet!""
""On the other hand, Navigator or Honda Civic, It's a solid chunk of machine- I don't think a bare head has a chance against either.""
The Navigator driver can be more oblivious of traffic than the Civic driver because the Navigator is built like a tank.
""Also, if the SUV had the green light, the cyclist must have run the red light, but nobody is pointing that out. Maybe nobody wants to 'blame the victim', but if you're going to run a red light, make sure you have a clear shot.""
Read the Courier-Journal report. Where do you infer that the cyclist ran a red light? From the information given, that's nowhere apparent. The cyclist may have been crossing Grinstead eastbound, in which case the cyclist had a green light. The cyclist may even have been struck from behind. The report, as it stands, is incomplete.
Miss America told police that she was blinded by the sun, i.e., she was facing westward. But she struck the cyclist after she had made a left turn, south of the crosswalk on Grinstead! That means that when she hit the cyclist, she was driving southward, and the sun should no longer have been in her eyes, if she made a proper wide turn.
I'm afraid that guilty or not, Miss America (married to Lt. Gov., and promoter of breast cancer awareness) will have no trouble in this case, for causing the death of a middle-aged German tourist."
Mon, 10/13/2003 - 11:26pm
#15
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE ...
... OR THE BICYCLIST. It's about a former Miss America, a gov's wife and an FUV - a Navigator. 2 tons of it! A luxury FUV at that. I'm sure it was covered in mud and hauling some sports utilities. Ha!
Navigators need the sun, right! The stars too. So what if you are blinded by the sun - keep going, FUV. Earn your name, FUV. I wonder if the GPS system was tracking a 20 lb. vehicle. NO. I wonder if wearing a helmet (a good idea) would have prevented the collision. No. I wonder if this incident would be reported if it were about a citizen riding a bicycle that was hit and killed by someone that that was not a gov's spouse, not former Ms.'Merica ? I wonder ?? NO!!!!!
THE ISSUE: How much damage did the FUV sustain?
Tue, 10/14/2003 - 5:39am
#16
risk
Let's face it. You can crunch the numbers looking at all the beasts in the forest that are out to get you, cellphone users driving SUVs on a bad day, psychopaths looking for an opportunity with a new victim, your average Joe or Jane who is not paying attention, or perhaps a bonehead move by you or someone in front in a paceline: road riding is an act of faith. But even runners get booted into the next world by cars and we are all capable of choking to death on a Mars bar while sitting on a sofa watching the Food Channel. As is common knowledge, nobody gets outta here alive. Might as well ride into the sunset...
Tue, 10/14/2003 - 10:34am
#17
cj once said...
"""i can see myself now, pinned under an 18 wheeler, saying to myself...'geez, and to think of all that bacon i passed up!'"""
Tue, 10/14/2003 - 2:37pm
#18
Cyclist identified
"Further news from the Courier-Journal.
""Charges are unlikely, police spokeswoman Helene Kramer said yesterday.
"" 'Heather French Henry was doing everything correct. This is simply a tragic accident,' Kramer said. 'If there was anything the motorist did incorrectly, we would certainly file charges.' ""
"
