Be careful my bicycle and motorcycle friends

[masonco]

Those of you who are bicyclists...be careful out there. Not sure if I know this person or not since I know several who ride their bikes. Every morning I see one on  Stiles who seems to have no awareness of cars and often swerving in the road.

http://www.masoncountypress.com/2013/04/25/bicyclist-injured-on-u-s...

While I am on the soapbox, as a former motorcyclist, be alert and aware of them as well. Today there are many women driving motorcycles too so give them a break too.

[XLFD]

That last realization would be super, but probably unrealistic due to the airport and fairgrounds reluctance to provide public land for it, even though they are subsidized by the people such a pathway would help. 

There is a lot of people that walk and ride bicycle to get to and from work or to go shopping out that way, and it's a wonder why there isn't more accidents with the current system.  Mr. Olmstead (the biker) was wrong on many levels, but drunk or not, whether he had a reason to take that route or not, with lights or without, with traffic or against, stupid or smart, he would have likely never entered the roadway if there weren't those curbs along the roadside path ready to crash him at a moment's lack of notice.  And so I point my fingers not only at Tim Olmstead, but also doubly at the idiots at MDOT who gave us that liability at road's edge.

[masonco]

XFLD

I agree with you.

I do travel a bit slower at night and watch the sides of the roads. Usually you can see a glint when your headlights shine on anything. Even the eyes of a deer. I am ready to take action with immediate slowing down if there is anything or anybody along the side of the road. AND if I can change lanes I will. On the back roads I tend to drive toward the center lane if no one is around to had a better chance if anything runs out on me. Slow down, stay alert and off the phone. Avoid eating or anything else that causes distracted driving.  Again what if that had been a child darting out into the road?

To me, it does not matter who is at fault. What can we do to avoid the obvious risk of any "unseen" item darting in front of us? #1 is be proactive and ready to stop on a dime. At 11 PM there is not that much traffic and what traffic is out there should indicate a need to be more alert.

[AQUAMAN]

I think in the earlier posts we saw a pro-active bicyclist trying to defend another non-pro bicyclist. That's trying to compare apples to oranges. This guy Olmstead was probably out of alcohol, and going to buy more because he has no license to drive a car. Or just go to the bar. He was reportedly hit at 11:43pm, near midnight, not the time pro-cyclists are out for exercise and practicing long distance riding. I'm seeing Willy's points being accurate to this particular situation as it fits all the surrounding information presented thus far. Did this guy go to jail yet? Or is he critical? Any tickets issued?

[XLFD]

I have a FOIA request out to the MCSO for the report and any investigations on this incident, and hope to talk with Olmstead too, but I've turned up nothing about him except info about this incident.  If anyone can give me contact info, send me a message. 

Before then, I am giving him some benefit of the doubt as to his part in the scenario, but he has a lot working against him from the reports. 

Thanks Masonco for also noting that an experienced, safe driver would have noticed the bicycle on the side of the highway plenty of time in advance on that flat stretch, and should have changed lanes-- just in case he came out in the road to avoid curbs. 

Like an onion, there are many layers of looking into even the simplest of accident scenes involving a bicyclist, motorcyclist, and pedestrian.  Too often, they're blamed for accidents even when the underlying cause (a better phrase than 'at fault') is not exclusively theirs, due to police and/or media bias.

[masonco]

I just got on here for a couple minutes since I am being sent out of town for work again. My point is I see people hitting deer who have the policy that if they honk their horn the deer will get out of the way and do not slow down. Yet if they had been watching the road and the sides of the road they would have seen there were several deer at the side of the road. (replace deer with turkey, dogs, people, child) yes child wandering at midinight.

Too many people think cause they are in a car, they own the road.

Would that boy that was basically pushed out of the van and stepped into the path of the off duty CO last year have had a chance if the driver had noted something amiss and either changed lanes or slowed down?

I've been driving from traverse back to mason co and see many teenagers walking all over the road. I've seen some close calls cause the kids were playing games and the driver did not slow down. I'm sure the kids and the drivers have no clue how close they were to someone being hit and possibly killed.

So my point is...when we get behind the wheel of a car STAY ALERT AND AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS EVEN ALONG SIDE OF ROAD.

[Willy]

Masonco

I guess you and I live in two different Worlds because when I travel at night on a dark road going 55mph I find it difficult to see every small detail in front of me that's not directly in my headlights. Add to that, a drivers reaction time at night is no where as fast as in the daytime due to the limited available light, so stopping distance is far greater at night. No offense but I think your exaggerating your night time driving ability because anyone who drives at night knows how difficult it is to see shadows on the edge of a road because that's what objects are like when not in the direct glare of headlights.

[masonco]

Willie

I hate to say this, but I had the same problem../then I had eye surgery along with early onset cataract surgery (ex smoker and growing up farmin). Oh and I had my eyelids lifted cause I also failed the peripheral vision testing at license bureau; Now I do see those glints of eyes in the shadows along the side of the road..along with objects and reflections along the side of the road. I also am no longer blinded by oncoming lights.  But they set me at 20/20 in one eye and 25/20 in the other eye.

[XLFD]

Masonco, I agree.  I see too many younger people walking with their backs to traffic in the colder months well into the road, thinking the cars behind them will see and react to them.  This causes accidents.  I see drivers zoom by younger pedestrians and cyclists without giving them much space.  This causes accidents.  I see younger cyclists not properly yielding to other traffic.  That causes accidents. 

I am willing to bet, that the driver in this instance saw (or should have saw) the reflectors on the bicycle in this case, and instead of playing it safe and moving into the left lane-- just in case-- stayed in the right.  Simple precautions save lives, and I am in Masonco's world:  pay extra attention at night.  Whether it's a swerving car, some odd reflections on/off the road, or some unexplained movement along your headlamps periphery, you may save your or someone else's bacon.

[Willy]

Masonco

Night blindness from oncoming headlights is a common problem with a lot of people. Several members of my family cannot drive after dark because they cannot see the road when headlights are focused on them.

[masonco]

I had that problem too until I had cataract surgery. Another thing that helps with night time driving is to wear the light yellow hunter type sun glasses.  An eye care specialist in Grand Rapids told my husband that years ago. For some reason it not only blocks the glare, but it clarifies shapes etc along the edge of the road. I notice a big difference in blizzard or fog too.

Kudos for those that recognize they are not safe driving at night.

[Willy]

Thanks for the tip on yellow sun glasses. I will pass it on and hope for some good results because some of these relatives want me to chauffeur them when the sun goes down.