• House arrest after killing cyclist in hit and run.

    From pH@21:1/5 to All on Fri Feb 28 19:49:57 2025
    From today's San Jose Mercury News (28 Feb 2025).

    https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/02/27/man-gets-house-arrest-for-killing-bicyclist-in-fremont-hit-and-run-crash/

    A paywall pops up fairly soon.

    I counter w/ a Ctrl-A as soon as the page loads to highlight all the text
    then switch to a terminal window with and open instance of 'jstar' (or use
    text editor or your choice), right click and "paste" and read the text
    there.

    I forget if I right click and 'copy' after I highlight the text...might have
    to play around.

    Anyway, the driver swerved over and hit the victim in the bike lane "for unknown reasons" then drove on. He eventually did call 911 however.

    pH in Aptos

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Catrike Ryder@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Fri Feb 28 15:47:42 2025
    On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 15:18:18 -0500, Frank Krygowski
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 2/28/2025 2:49 PM, pH wrote:
    From today's San Jose Mercury News (28 Feb 2025).

    https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/02/27/man-gets-house-arrest-for-killing-bicyclist-in-fremont-hit-and-run-crash/

    A paywall pops up fairly soon.

    I counter w/ a Ctrl-A as soon as the page loads to highlight all the text
    then switch to a terminal window with and open instance of 'jstar' (or use >> text editor or your choice), right click and "paste" and read the text
    there.

    I forget if I right click and 'copy' after I highlight the text...might have >> to play around.

    Anyway, the driver swerved over and hit the victim in the bike lane "for
    unknown reasons" then drove on. He eventually did call 911 however.

    I tried your trick, but didn't need it. I was able to read the entire >article.

    I'm amazed that the crime is classed as a misdemeanor. It's been said
    that if you want to murder someone, be sure to do it using your car.

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never, ever
    be allowed to drive again.

    Ted Kennedy?

    --
    C'est bon
    Soloman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Zen Cycle@21:1/5 to Frank Krygowski on Fri Feb 28 15:56:15 2025
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 2:49 PM, pH wrote:
     From today's San Jose Mercury News (28 Feb 2025).

    https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/02/27/man-gets-house-arrest-for-
    killing-bicyclist-in-fremont-hit-and-run-crash/

    A paywall pops up fairly soon.

    I counter w/ a Ctrl-A as soon as the page loads to highlight all the text
    then switch to a terminal window with and open instance of 'jstar' (or
    use
    text editor or your choice), right click and "paste" and read the text
    there.

    I forget if I right click and 'copy' after I highlight the
    text...might have
    to play around.

    Anyway, the driver swerved over and hit the victim in the bike lane "for
    unknown reasons" then drove on.  He eventually did call 911 however.

    I tried your trick, but didn't need it. I was able to read the entire article.

    I'm amazed that the crime is classed as a misdemeanor. It's been said
    that if you want to murder someone, be sure to do it using your car.

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never, ever
    be allowed to drive again.


    even if it's a legit accident?
    Say for example some dumbshit simply walks in front your car while
    you're driving along doing say, 40 mph in a 45 mph zone.

    --
    Add xx to reply

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Shadow@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Fri Feb 28 18:24:48 2025
    On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 15:18:18 -0500, Frank Krygowski
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 2/28/2025 2:49 PM, pH wrote:
    From today's San Jose Mercury News (28 Feb 2025).

    https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/02/27/man-gets-house-arrest-for-killing-bicyclist-in-fremont-hit-and-run-crash/

    A paywall pops up fairly soon.

    I counter w/ a Ctrl-A as soon as the page loads to highlight all the text
    then switch to a terminal window with and open instance of 'jstar' (or use >> text editor or your choice), right click and "paste" and read the text
    there.

    I forget if I right click and 'copy' after I highlight the text...might have >> to play around.

    Anyway, the driver swerved over and hit the victim in the bike lane "for
    unknown reasons" then drove on. He eventually did call 911 however.

    I tried your trick, but didn't need it. I was able to read the entire >article.

    I'm amazed that the crime is classed as a misdemeanor. It's been said
    that if you want to murder someone, be sure to do it using your car.

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never, ever
    be allowed to drive again.

    Far too radical. Check out what happened first, then decide
    how much fault each person had. Sometimes the victim is not a victim,
    he's a suicide attempt. In this case the driver was speeding AND he
    invaded the bike lane.

    The only part of the story I didn't understand is that he only
    returned to the crime scene AFTER he got a family member to drive him.
    Was he too drunk to drive? On drugs? Or just in a state of shock?

    " The car swerved and struck him for no apparent reason,
    police said at the time, then drove on."
    Strange that was not investigated. Might have had a minor
    epileptic episode...

    Could just be a very badly written report ...
    []'s
    --
    Don't be evil - Google 2004
    We have a new policy - Google 2012
    Google Fuchsia - 2021

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From AMuzi@21:1/5 to Frank Krygowski on Fri Feb 28 15:43:48 2025
    On 2/28/2025 2:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 2:49 PM, pH wrote:
     From today's San Jose Mercury News (28 Feb 2025).

    https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/02/27/man-gets-house-
    arrest-for-killing-bicyclist-in-fremont-hit-and-run-crash/

    A paywall pops up fairly soon.

    I counter w/ a Ctrl-A as soon as the page loads to
    highlight all the text
    then switch to a terminal window with and open instance of
    'jstar' (or use
    text editor or your choice), right click and "paste" and
    read the text
    there.

    I forget if I right click and 'copy' after I highlight the
    text...might have
    to play around.

    Anyway, the driver swerved over and hit the victim in the
    bike lane "for
    unknown reasons" then drove on.  He eventually did call
    911 however.

    I tried your trick, but didn't need it. I was able to read
    the entire article.

    I'm amazed that the crime is classed as a misdemeanor. It's
    been said that if you want to murder someone, be sure to do
    it using your car.

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should
    never, ever be allowed to drive again.



    Reader comments on items such as:

    https://nypost.com/2025/02/27/us-news/driver-claims-he-was-blackout-drunk-during-deadly-100-mph-crash-that-catapulted-college-student-into-air-his-birthday-and-the-victims-death-day/

    generally agree with you. That's a broad demographic and
    from all across the nation.

    --
    Andrew Muzi
    [email protected]
    Open every day since 1 April, 1971

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Catrike Ryder@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Fri Feb 28 19:03:24 2025
    On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 18:40:41 -0500, Frank Krygowski
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 2/28/2025 3:56 PM, Zen Cycle wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never,
    ever be allowed to drive again.


    �even if it's a legit accident?
    Say for example some dumbshit simply walks in front your car while
    you're driving along doing say, 40 mph in a 45 mph zone.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented in the U.S.
    But if it were, driver caution would increase many times over.

    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car" episodes actually >resulted in "no more driving" and were publicized, motorists might begin >slowing to non-fatal speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are within >walk-in-front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator killed someone
    in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed to operate the crane
    again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to motordom. Streets
    and roads were once the domain of pedestrians, of kids playing, of
    people interacting. Turning them entirely over to motorists was a
    deliberate campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking-afd48f994c05


    <LOL> Oh my. A big conspracy to keep bicycles and children off the
    streets?

    --
    C'est bon
    Soloman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From AMuzi@21:1/5 to Frank Krygowski on Fri Feb 28 19:09:05 2025
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:56 PM, Zen Cycle wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car
    should never, ever be allowed to drive again.


      even if it's a legit accident?
    Say for example some dumbshit simply walks in front your
    car while you're driving along doing say, 40 mph in a 45
    mph zone.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented
    in the U.S. But if it were, driver caution would increase
    many times over.

    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car"
    episodes actually resulted in "no more driving" and were
    publicized, motorists might begin slowing to non-fatal
    speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are within walk-in-
    front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator
    killed someone in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed
    to operate the crane again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to
    motordom. Streets and roads were once the domain of
    pedestrians, of kids playing, of people interacting. Turning
    them entirely over to motorists was a deliberate campaign
    goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking-
    afd48f994c05



    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice' and
    I was happy to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here. Extend that argument and
    we'll charge train operators with murder when jerkoffs drive
    around the gate. Or auto drivers who hit red light running
    cyclists for that matter.

    --
    Andrew Muzi
    [email protected]
    Open every day since 1 April, 1971

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Catrike Ryder@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Mar 1 04:01:58 2025
    On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 22:05:55 -0500, Frank Krygowski
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 2/28/2025 8:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never,
    ever be allowed to drive again.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented in the
    U.S. But if it were, driver caution would increase many times over.

    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car" episodes actually
    resulted in "no more driving" and were publicized, motorists might
    begin slowing to non-fatal speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are
    within walk-in- front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator killed someone
    in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed to operate the crane
    again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to motordom. Streets
    and roads were once the domain of pedestrians, of kids playing, of
    people interacting. Turning them entirely over to motorists was a
    deliberate campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking- afd48f994c05



    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice' and I was happy
    to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here.� Extend that argument and we'll charge
    train operators with murder when jerkoffs drive around the gate.� Or
    auto drivers who hit red light running cyclists for that matter.

    Given the legal system of the United States, I'd assume that if such a
    law were implemented, there would be gaggles of lawyers rushing to any >accused motorist to defend his right to run down anyone who impeded his >speed.

    So think of my position as an initial step in negotiations. Let it apply
    in, say, residential areas, where kids should be able to play in
    streets. Or in pedestrian heavy business districts.

    But as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see
    him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the
    wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for
    no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well respected >music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking across a
    street. About a week ago, another young man was killed crossing the >plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me
    - it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops said the latter
    was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so the motorist is off >completely free. And in a different city, a young woman I know well was >knocked to the ground and injured while crossing in a crosswalk with a
    green "walk" signal.

    (BTW, Ohio law has a virtual crosswalk at any intersection, whether it's >marked or not. Still, expecting pedestrians to walk an extra half mile
    to avoid being called a "jaywalker" seems unfair to me.)

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a
    pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."

    What a shame that you've come to hate cars and drivers so much. For
    many, myself, for example, driving can be fun. Here's the little
    former race car that I sometimes commuted to work in. Mostly rural
    with little traffic but lots of twists and curves. I made my first
    trip to Florida in it.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/j_soloman/54333895269/

    --
    C'est bon
    Soloman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Catrike Ryder@21:1/5 to All on Sat Mar 1 04:57:13 2025
    On Sat, 01 Mar 2025 16:39:27 +0700, John B. <[email protected]>
    wrote:

    On Sat, 01 Mar 2025 04:01:58 -0500, Catrike Ryder
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 22:05:55 -0500, Frank Krygowski >><[email protected]> wrote:

    On 2/28/2025 8:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never, >>>>>>> ever be allowed to drive again.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented in the
    U.S. But if it were, driver caution would increase many times over.

    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car" episodes actually >>>>> resulted in "no more driving" and were publicized, motorists might
    begin slowing to non-fatal speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are >>>>> within walk-in- front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator killed someone >>>>> in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed to operate the crane
    again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to motordom. Streets >>>>> and roads were once the domain of pedestrians, of kids playing, of
    people interacting. Turning them entirely over to motorists was a
    deliberate campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking- afd48f994c05



    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice' and I was happy >>>> to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here.� Extend that argument and we'll charge >>>> train operators with murder when jerkoffs drive around the gate.� Or
    auto drivers who hit red light running cyclists for that matter.

    Given the legal system of the United States, I'd assume that if such a >>>law were implemented, there would be gaggles of lawyers rushing to any >>>accused motorist to defend his right to run down anyone who impeded his >>>speed.

    So think of my position as an initial step in negotiations. Let it apply >>>in, say, residential areas, where kids should be able to play in
    streets. Or in pedestrian heavy business districts.

    But as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see >>>him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the >>>wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for >>>no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well respected >>>music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking across a >>>street. About a week ago, another young man was killed crossing the >>>plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me >>>- it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops said the latter >>>was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so the motorist is off >>>completely free. And in a different city, a young woman I know well was >>>knocked to the ground and injured while crossing in a crosswalk with a >>>green "walk" signal.

    (BTW, Ohio law has a virtual crosswalk at any intersection, whether it's >>>marked or not. Still, expecting pedestrians to walk an extra half mile
    to avoid being called a "jaywalker" seems unfair to me.)

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a >>>pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."

    What a shame that you've come to hate cars and drivers so much. For
    many, myself, for example, driving can be fun. Here's the little
    former race car that I sometimes commuted to work in. Mostly rural
    with little traffic but lots of twists and curves. I made my first
    trip to Florida in it.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/j_soloman/54333895269/

    Why Isn't there a law that makes bicycle riders think, "Holy shit,
    there's a motor vehicle, I'd better be really careful."

    There is. We call it common sense.

    --
    C'est bon
    Soloman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Catrike Ryder@21:1/5 to All on Sat Mar 1 06:44:59 2025
    On Sat, 01 Mar 2025 18:24:19 +0700, John B. <[email protected]>
    wrote:

    On Sat, 01 Mar 2025 04:57:13 -0500, Catrike Ryder
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On Sat, 01 Mar 2025 16:39:27 +0700, John B. <[email protected]>
    wrote:

    On Sat, 01 Mar 2025 04:01:58 -0500, Catrike Ryder >>><[email protected]> wrote:

    On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 22:05:55 -0500, Frank Krygowski >>>><[email protected]> wrote:

    On 2/28/2025 8:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never, >>>>>>>>> ever be allowed to drive again.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented in the >>>>>>> U.S. But if it were, driver caution would increase many times over. >>>>>>>
    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car" episodes actually >>>>>>> resulted in "no more driving" and were publicized, motorists might >>>>>>> begin slowing to non-fatal speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are >>>>>>> within walk-in- front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator killed someone >>>>>>> in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed to operate the crane >>>>>>> again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to motordom. Streets >>>>>>> and roads were once the domain of pedestrians, of kids playing, of >>>>>>> people interacting. Turning them entirely over to motorists was a >>>>>>> deliberate campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking- afd48f994c05 >>>>>>>


    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice' and I was happy >>>>>> to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here.� Extend that argument and we'll charge >>>>>> train operators with murder when jerkoffs drive around the gate.� Or >>>>>> auto drivers who hit red light running cyclists for that matter.

    Given the legal system of the United States, I'd assume that if such a >>>>>law were implemented, there would be gaggles of lawyers rushing to any >>>>>accused motorist to defend his right to run down anyone who impeded his >>>>>speed.

    So think of my position as an initial step in negotiations. Let it apply >>>>>in, say, residential areas, where kids should be able to play in >>>>>streets. Or in pedestrian heavy business districts.

    But as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see >>>>>him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the >>>>>wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for >>>>>no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well respected >>>>>music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking across a >>>>>street. About a week ago, another young man was killed crossing the >>>>>plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me >>>>>- it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops said the latter >>>>>was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so the motorist is off >>>>>completely free. And in a different city, a young woman I know well was >>>>>knocked to the ground and injured while crossing in a crosswalk with a >>>>>green "walk" signal.

    (BTW, Ohio law has a virtual crosswalk at any intersection, whether it's >>>>>marked or not. Still, expecting pedestrians to walk an extra half mile >>>>>to avoid being called a "jaywalker" seems unfair to me.)

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a >>>>>pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."

    What a shame that you've come to hate cars and drivers so much. For >>>>many, myself, for example, driving can be fun. Here's the little
    former race car that I sometimes commuted to work in. Mostly rural
    with little traffic but lots of twists and curves. I made my first >>>>trip to Florida in it.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/j_soloman/54333895269/

    Why Isn't there a law that makes bicycle riders think, "Holy shit, >>>there's a motor vehicle, I'd better be really careful."

    There is. We call it common sense.

    Well, that's what I'd say and I also apply it to doing a lot of
    everyday things. When my wife would say "Do you think this dress is
    pretty" , I'd assure her that I thought it must be the pettiest dress
    in the county... even riding a bicycle or (I know it's hard to
    believe) to driving an auto.

    I don't think much of the philosophy that you're a victim unless other
    people are looking out for you. If some moron steps out into traffic
    and get's mowed down, he's got no one to blame but himself.

    I look out for myself. I don't trust that a driver will think, "Hey,
    there's an old man on a tricycle, we better watch out for him."

    I hate it when I'm riding and come to a road crossing and a driver
    stops and waves me across. I know they're just being nice, but there
    are other cars coming up behind them that don't expect to have car
    stopped on a 55 mph road in front of them. It's dangerous for them,
    for me, and the cars behind them.


    --
    C'est bon
    Soloman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Roger Merriman@21:1/5 to Frank Krygowski on Sat Mar 1 12:40:18 2025
    Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 8:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never,
    ever be allowed to drive again.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented in the
    U.S. But if it were, driver caution would increase many times over.

    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car" episodes actually
    resulted in "no more driving" and were publicized, motorists might
    begin slowing to non-fatal speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are
    within walk-in- front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator killed someone
    in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed to operate the crane
    again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to motordom. Streets
    and roads were once the domain of pedestrians, of kids playing, of
    people interacting. Turning them entirely over to motorists was a
    deliberate campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking- afd48f994c05



    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice' and I was happy
    to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here.  Extend that argument and we'll charge
    train operators with murder when jerkoffs drive around the gate.  Or
    auto drivers who hit red light running cyclists for that matter.

    Given the legal system of the United States, I'd assume that if such a
    law were implemented, there would be gaggles of lawyers rushing to any accused motorist to defend his right to run down anyone who impeded his speed.

    So think of my position as an initial step in negotiations. Let it apply
    in, say, residential areas, where kids should be able to play in
    streets. Or in pedestrian heavy business districts.

    But as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see
    him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the
    wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for
    no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well respected music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking across a
    street. About a week ago, another young man was killed crossing the plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me
    - it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops said the latter
    was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so the motorist is off completely free. And in a different city, a young woman I know well was knocked to the ground and injured while crossing in a crosswalk with a
    green "walk" signal.

    (BTW, Ohio law has a virtual crosswalk at any intersection, whether it's marked or not. Still, expecting pedestrians to walk an extra half mile
    to avoid being called a "jaywalker" seems unfair to me.)

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a
    pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."


    Presumed liability with the hierarchy of users, ie the idea that larger vehicles bring the risk associated with travel, which seems fair enough,
    and thus they have to prove it wasn’t their fault.

    Seems to work, though I’ve not looked at it with details..

    Roger Merriman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From AMuzi@21:1/5 to Frank Krygowski on Sat Mar 1 08:06:30 2025
    On 2/28/2025 9:05 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 8:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car
    should never, ever be allowed to drive again.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be
    implemented in the U.S. But if it were, driver caution
    would increase many times over.

    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car"
    episodes actually resulted in "no more driving" and were
    publicized, motorists might begin slowing to non-fatal
    speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are within walk-
    in- front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator
    killed someone in a factory, I think they'd never be
    allowed to operate the crane again, no matter what their
    excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to
    motordom. Streets and roads were once the domain of
    pedestrians, of kids playing, of people interacting.
    Turning them entirely over to motorists was a deliberate
    campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking-
    afd48f994c05



    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice'
    and I was happy to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here.  Extend that argument and
    we'll charge train operators with murder when jerkoffs
    drive around the gate.  Or auto drivers who hit red light
    running cyclists for that matter.

    Given the legal system of the United States, I'd assume that
    if such a law were implemented, there would be gaggles of
    lawyers rushing to any accused motorist to defend his right
    to run down anyone who impeded his speed.

    So think of my position as an initial step in negotiations.
    Let it apply in, say, residential areas, where kids should
    be able to play in streets. Or in pedestrian heavy business
    districts.

    But as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I
    didn't see him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at
    most a slap on the wrist. And any imperfection in the
    pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for no motorist penalty at
    all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved,
    well respected music teacher, church organist killed by a
    car when walking across a street. About a week ago, another
    young man was killed crossing the plaza-infested five lane
    at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me - it sounds
    like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops said the latter
    was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so the motorist
    is off completely free. And in a different city, a young
    woman I know well was knocked to the ground and injured
    while crossing in a crosswalk with a green "walk" signal.

    (BTW, Ohio law has a virtual crosswalk at any intersection,
    whether it's marked or not. Still, expecting pedestrians to
    walk an extra half mile to avoid being called a "jaywalker"
    seems unfair to me.)

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit,
    there's a pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."


    No one discounts those or other tragedies such as that of my
    friend Jeff Archer:

    https://www.wbtv.com/story/32500249/popular-owner-of-local-bike-shop-killed-after-struck-by-car/

    But we have a few hundred years of statutes and tort case
    law (i.e., this is not new ground for humans), and although
    errors do exist, the system works fairly well in principle.

    We can agree that legal and criminal responsibility is all
    too frequently passed over by weak enforcement/sentencing.
    This is a significant and untoward trend but there are
    better remedies than punishing the innocent.

    --
    Andrew Muzi
    [email protected]
    Open every day since 1 April, 1971

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From AMuzi@21:1/5 to John B. on Sat Mar 1 08:14:50 2025
    On 3/1/2025 3:39 AM, John B. wrote:
    On Sat, 01 Mar 2025 04:01:58 -0500, Catrike Ryder
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 22:05:55 -0500, Frank Krygowski
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 2/28/2025 8:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never, >>>>>>> ever be allowed to drive again.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented in the
    U.S. But if it were, driver caution would increase many times over.

    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car" episodes actually >>>>> resulted in "no more driving" and were publicized, motorists might
    begin slowing to non-fatal speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are >>>>> within walk-in- front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator killed someone >>>>> in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed to operate the crane
    again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to motordom. Streets >>>>> and roads were once the domain of pedestrians, of kids playing, of
    people interacting. Turning them entirely over to motorists was a
    deliberate campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking- afd48f994c05



    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice' and I was happy >>>> to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here.  Extend that argument and we'll charge >>>> train operators with murder when jerkoffs drive around the gate.  Or
    auto drivers who hit red light running cyclists for that matter.

    Given the legal system of the United States, I'd assume that if such a
    law were implemented, there would be gaggles of lawyers rushing to any
    accused motorist to defend his right to run down anyone who impeded his
    speed.

    So think of my position as an initial step in negotiations. Let it apply >>> in, say, residential areas, where kids should be able to play in
    streets. Or in pedestrian heavy business districts.

    But as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see
    him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the
    wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for >>> no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well respected >>> music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking across a
    street. About a week ago, another young man was killed crossing the
    plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me >>> - it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops said the latter
    was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so the motorist is off
    completely free. And in a different city, a young woman I know well was
    knocked to the ground and injured while crossing in a crosswalk with a
    green "walk" signal.

    (BTW, Ohio law has a virtual crosswalk at any intersection, whether it's >>> marked or not. Still, expecting pedestrians to walk an extra half mile
    to avoid being called a "jaywalker" seems unfair to me.)

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a
    pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."

    What a shame that you've come to hate cars and drivers so much. For
    many, myself, for example, driving can be fun. Here's the little
    former race car that I sometimes commuted to work in. Mostly rural
    with little traffic but lots of twists and curves. I made my first
    trip to Florida in it.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/j_soloman/54333895269/

    Why Isn't there a law that makes bicycle riders think, "Holy shit,
    there's a motor vehicle, I'd better be really careful."

    A few thousand years of human interaction (with laws, rules,
    customs, and case records) has resulted in some widely
    accepted general rules and this is one.

    For example, one application of that:

    https://everything2.com/title/Law+of+Gross+Tonnage

    "The heavier vessel always has the right-of-way. There is no
    explicit directive in maritime regulations or law for the
    the Law of Gross Tonnage other than it is common sense that
    giving way and being alive is usually better than forcing
    one's right-of-way and being dead. "

    For example:

    --
    Andrew Muzi
    [email protected]
    Open every day since 1 April, 1971

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Roger Merriman@21:1/5 to John B. on Sat Mar 1 17:10:13 2025
    John B. <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 1 Mar 2025 12:40:18 GMT, Roger Merriman <[email protected]> wrote:

    Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 8:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never, >>>>>>> ever be allowed to drive again.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented in the
    U.S. But if it were, driver caution would increase many times over.

    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car" episodes actually >>>>> resulted in "no more driving" and were publicized, motorists might
    begin slowing to non-fatal speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are >>>>> within walk-in- front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator killed someone >>>>> in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed to operate the crane
    again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to motordom. Streets >>>>> and roads were once the domain of pedestrians, of kids playing, of
    people interacting. Turning them entirely over to motorists was a
    deliberate campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking- afd48f994c05



    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice' and I was happy >>>> to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here.  Extend that argument and we'll charge >>>> train operators with murder when jerkoffs drive around the gate.  Or
    auto drivers who hit red light running cyclists for that matter.

    Given the legal system of the United States, I'd assume that if such a
    law were implemented, there would be gaggles of lawyers rushing to any
    accused motorist to defend his right to run down anyone who impeded his
    speed.

    So think of my position as an initial step in negotiations. Let it apply >>> in, say, residential areas, where kids should be able to play in
    streets. Or in pedestrian heavy business districts.

    But as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see
    him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the
    wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for >>> no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well respected >>> music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking across a
    street. About a week ago, another young man was killed crossing the
    plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me >>> - it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops said the latter
    was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so the motorist is off
    completely free. And in a different city, a young woman I know well was
    knocked to the ground and injured while crossing in a crosswalk with a
    green "walk" signal.

    (BTW, Ohio law has a virtual crosswalk at any intersection, whether it's >>> marked or not. Still, expecting pedestrians to walk an extra half mile
    to avoid being called a "jaywalker" seems unfair to me.)

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a
    pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."


    Presumed liability with the hierarchy of users, ie the idea that larger
    vehicles bring the risk associated with travel, which seems fair enough,
    and thus they have to prove it wasn’t their fault.

    Seems to work, though I’ve not looked at it with details..

    Roger Merriman

    Here, and I suspect in most countries, heavy trucks are the "safest"
    thing on the highway. Or at least they have the least "accidents". By
    the same token small motorcycles - 100 - 125 cc have the most.


    Safest for who? Such vehicles are apparently safe to use, but disproportionately cause injuries/deaths hence European regulations particularly around cities, safe they are not!

    Or rather due to their size they struggle to be safe particularly mixing
    with pedestrians/bikes and so on.

    Thailand seems to have horrific road safety issues even compared to neighbouring countries, so I’d suggest that they certainly need to change something.

    Roger Merriman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From AMuzi@21:1/5 to Roger Merriman on Sat Mar 1 11:53:46 2025
    On 3/1/2025 11:10 AM, Roger Merriman wrote:
    John B. <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 1 Mar 2025 12:40:18 GMT, Roger Merriman <[email protected]> wrote:

    Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 8:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never, >>>>>>>> ever be allowed to drive again.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented in the >>>>>> U.S. But if it were, driver caution would increase many times over. >>>>>>
    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car" episodes actually >>>>>> resulted in "no more driving" and were publicized, motorists might >>>>>> begin slowing to non-fatal speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are >>>>>> within walk-in- front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator killed someone >>>>>> in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed to operate the crane >>>>>> again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to motordom. Streets >>>>>> and roads were once the domain of pedestrians, of kids playing, of >>>>>> people interacting. Turning them entirely over to motorists was a
    deliberate campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking- afd48f994c05 >>>>>>


    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice' and I was happy >>>>> to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here.  Extend that argument and we'll charge >>>>> train operators with murder when jerkoffs drive around the gate.  Or >>>>> auto drivers who hit red light running cyclists for that matter.

    Given the legal system of the United States, I'd assume that if such a >>>> law were implemented, there would be gaggles of lawyers rushing to any >>>> accused motorist to defend his right to run down anyone who impeded his >>>> speed.

    So think of my position as an initial step in negotiations. Let it apply >>>> in, say, residential areas, where kids should be able to play in
    streets. Or in pedestrian heavy business districts.

    But as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see
    him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the
    wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for >>>> no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well respected >>>> music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking across a
    street. About a week ago, another young man was killed crossing the
    plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me >>>> - it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops said the latter >>>> was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so the motorist is off
    completely free. And in a different city, a young woman I know well was >>>> knocked to the ground and injured while crossing in a crosswalk with a >>>> green "walk" signal.

    (BTW, Ohio law has a virtual crosswalk at any intersection, whether it's >>>> marked or not. Still, expecting pedestrians to walk an extra half mile >>>> to avoid being called a "jaywalker" seems unfair to me.)

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a
    pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."


    Presumed liability with the hierarchy of users, ie the idea that larger
    vehicles bring the risk associated with travel, which seems fair enough, >>> and thus they have to prove it wasn’t their fault.

    Seems to work, though I’ve not looked at it with details..

    Roger Merriman

    Here, and I suspect in most countries, heavy trucks are the "safest"
    thing on the highway. Or at least they have the least "accidents". By
    the same token small motorcycles - 100 - 125 cc have the most.


    Safest for who? Such vehicles are apparently safe to use, but disproportionately cause injuries/deaths hence European regulations particularly around cities, safe they are not!

    Or rather due to their size they struggle to be safe particularly mixing
    with pedestrians/bikes and so on.

    Thailand seems to have horrific road safety issues even compared to neighbouring countries, so I’d suggest that they certainly need to change something.

    Roger Merriman

    Well, as always F=MA and large trucks (British = HGV
    lorries) can make spectacular crashes when they crash.

    That said, their crash rate per mile is much lower than
    other vehicles.

    Couldn't quickly find a mileage to crash incidence number
    for UK but I did come across this, for another consideration:

    https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/94780/britain-s-most-dangerous-roads-revealed-50-per-cent-of-fatalities-occur

    --
    Andrew Muzi
    [email protected]
    Open every day since 1 April, 1971

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Catrike Ryder@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Mar 1 13:18:22 2025
    On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 12:59:56 -0500, Frank Krygowski
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 3/1/2025 9:14 AM, AMuzi wrote:

    A few thousand years of human interaction (with laws, rules, customs,
    and case records) has resulted in some widely accepted general rules and
    this is one.

    For example, one application of that:

    https://everything2.com/title/Law+of+Gross+Tonnage

    "The heavier vessel always has the right-of-way.

    That obviously is not the case on roads, neither legally nor practically.

    That's absolutely practical from my perspective. That's an issue I've
    no intention of arguing.

    --
    C'est bon
    Soloman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Catrike Ryder@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Mar 1 13:20:07 2025
    On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 13:03:19 -0500, Frank Krygowski
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 3/1/2025 7:40 AM, Roger Merriman wrote:
    Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 8:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never, >>>>>>> ever be allowed to drive again.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented in the
    U.S. But if it were, driver caution would increase many times over.

    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car" episodes actually >>>>> resulted in "no more driving" and were publicized, motorists might
    begin slowing to non-fatal speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are >>>>> within walk-in- front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator killed someone >>>>> in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed to operate the crane
    again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to motordom. Streets >>>>> and roads were once the domain of pedestrians, of kids playing, of
    people interacting. Turning them entirely over to motorists was a
    deliberate campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking- afd48f994c05



    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice' and I was happy >>>> to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here.� Extend that argument and we'll charge >>>> train operators with murder when jerkoffs drive around the gate.� Or
    auto drivers who hit red light running cyclists for that matter.

    Given the legal system of the United States, I'd assume that if such a
    law were implemented, there would be gaggles of lawyers rushing to any
    accused motorist to defend his right to run down anyone who impeded his
    speed.

    So think of my position as an initial step in negotiations. Let it apply >>> in, say, residential areas, where kids should be able to play in
    streets. Or in pedestrian heavy business districts.

    But as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see
    him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the
    wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for >>> no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well respected >>> music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking across a
    street. About a week ago, another young man was killed crossing the
    plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me >>> - it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops said the latter
    was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so the motorist is off
    completely free. And in a different city, a young woman I know well was
    knocked to the ground and injured while crossing in a crosswalk with a
    green "walk" signal.

    (BTW, Ohio law has a virtual crosswalk at any intersection, whether it's >>> marked or not. Still, expecting pedestrians to walk an extra half mile
    to avoid being called a "jaywalker" seems unfair to me.)

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a
    pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."


    Presumed liability with the hierarchy of users, ie the idea that larger
    vehicles bring the risk associated with travel, which seems fair enough,
    and thus they have to prove it wasn�t their fault.

    Seems to work, though I�ve not looked at it with details..

    When we visited Zurich, we were hosted by a young couple. The four of us >walked and biked around town a fair amount. During one of our walks, our >hosts said Zurich had recently passed a strict liability law, at least >regarding cars vs. pedestrians.

    I don't remember if it applied to cyclists or not, and I never heard the >details. But they said it had transformed the experience of walking
    around the city, making it much better.

    I go for walks most mornings before breakfast. I don't know how it
    could be any easier.

    --
    C'est bon
    Soloman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From AMuzi@21:1/5 to Frank Krygowski on Sat Mar 1 12:29:38 2025
    On 3/1/2025 11:59 AM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 3/1/2025 9:14 AM, AMuzi wrote:

    A few thousand years of human interaction (with laws,
    rules, customs, and case records) has resulted in some
    widely accepted general rules and this is one.

    For example, one application of that:

    https://everything2.com/title/Law+of+Gross+Tonnage

    "The heavier vessel always has the right-of-way.

    That obviously is not the case on roads, neither legally nor
    practically.



    My point was that we do have a rich long history of statutes
    and both criminal and tort case law regarding
    responsibility, liability etc.

    While evidence and testimony can be unclear and court
    decisions can appear random if not pernicious, there's a
    good general body of law so nothing new need be invented.

    But in the moment, I am certainly not going to continue my
    legal right to cross an intersection riding through a green
    light if there is a speeding car about to enter on red.

    From link above:
    "This law is regularly invoked in non-maritime situations,
    such as when a bicyclist with the right-of-way invokes the
    Law of Gross Tonnage to avoid the Sport Utility Vehicle
    (SUV) that is about to cut them off. "

    --
    Andrew Muzi
    [email protected]
    Open every day since 1 April, 1971

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From AMuzi@21:1/5 to Frank Krygowski on Sat Mar 1 12:33:35 2025
    On 3/1/2025 12:24 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 3/1/2025 9:06 AM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 9:05 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    ... as we all know, the present situation is closest to
    "I didn't see
    him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a
    slap on the wrist. And any imperfection in the
    pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for no motorist penalty
    at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved,
    well respected music teacher, church organist killed by a
    car when walking across a street. About a week ago,
    another young man was killed crossing the plaza-infested
    five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me
    - it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops
    said the latter was "not crossing in a designated
    crosswalk" so the motorist is off completely free. And in
    a different city, a young woman I know well was knocked
    to the ground and injured while crossing in a crosswalk
    with a green "walk" signal. ...

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit,
    there's a pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."


    No one discounts those or other tragedies such as that of
    my friend Jeff Archer:

    https://www.wbtv.com/story/32500249/popular-owner-of-
    local-bike-shop- killed-after-struck-by-car/

    But we have a few hundred years of statutes and tort case
    law (i.e., this is not new ground for humans), and
    although errors do exist, the system works fairly well in
    principle.

    Our disagreement seems to be the definition of "works fairly
    well." I see the laws and attitudes as generating lots of
    societal harm. Examples are not just the count of non-
    motorist deaths and injuries, but the dissuasion of non-
    motorized travel. That leads to huge reductions in exercise
    and activity and their health benefits. It leads to fewer
    people out interacting socially, reduced community
    engagement, fewer opportunities for friendship, etc. It also
    contributes toward the promotion and construction of
    terribly designed segregated facilities for bicyclists, and
    occasionally to laws mandating their use.

    It's certainly not the only factor driving the motoring
    dependence, but I think its a central one.

    We can agree that legal and criminal responsibility is all
    too frequently passed over by weak enforcement/sentencing.
    This is a significant and untoward trend but there are
    better remedies than punishing the innocent.

    :-) I'm thinking of a parallel with your frequent complaint
    about enforcement of other laws. Legally and practically,
    "innocent" often means "We couldn't convict him because the
    judge wouldn't allow this important evidence" or "He could
    afford a lawyer who got him released on the third appeal" -
    even though "We all know he did it."

    Sometimes hundreds of years of statutes and tort case law
    put us in bad positions.




    We very much agree on present trends in outcome.

    But I still maintain that the statutes already are adequate
    in theory. Corrupt, inept or pernicious application is a
    different thing altogether.

    --
    Andrew Muzi
    [email protected]
    Open every day since 1 April, 1971

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Catrike Ryder@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Mar 1 14:09:25 2025
    On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 13:24:31 -0500, Frank Krygowski
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 3/1/2025 9:06 AM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 9:05 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    ... as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see
    him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the
    wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon
    for no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well
    respected music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking
    across a street. About a week ago, another young man was killed
    crossing the plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first
    are sketchy to me - it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but
    cops said the latter was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so
    the motorist is off completely free. And in a different city, a young
    woman I know well was knocked to the ground and injured while crossing
    in a crosswalk with a green "walk" signal. ...

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a
    pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."


    No one discounts those or other tragedies such as that of my friend Jeff
    Archer:

    https://www.wbtv.com/story/32500249/popular-owner-of-local-bike-shop-
    killed-after-struck-by-car/

    But we have a few hundred years of statutes and tort case law (i.e.,
    this is not new ground for humans), and although errors do exist, the
    system works fairly well in principle.

    Our disagreement seems to be the definition of "works fairly well." I
    see the laws and attitudes as generating lots of societal harm. Examples
    are not just the count of non-motorist deaths and injuries, but the >dissuasion of non-motorized travel. That leads to huge reductions in
    exercise and activity and their health benefits. It leads to fewer
    people out interacting socially, reduced community engagement, fewer >opportunities for friendship, etc. It also contributes toward the
    promotion and construction of terribly designed segregated facilities
    for bicyclists, and occasionally to laws mandating their use.

    It's certainly not the only factor driving the motoring dependence, but
    I think its a central one.

    We can agree that legal and criminal responsibility is all too
    frequently passed over by weak enforcement/sentencing. This is a
    significant and untoward trend but there are better remedies than
    punishing the innocent.

    :-) I'm thinking of a parallel with your frequent complaint about
    enforcement of other laws. Legally and practically, "innocent" often
    means "We couldn't convict him because the judge wouldn't allow this >important evidence" or "He could afford a lawyer who got him released on
    the third appeal" - even though "We all know he did it."

    Sometimes hundreds of years of statutes and tort case law put us in bad >positions.

    "I see the laws and attitudes as generating lots of societal harm.
    Examples are not just the count of non-motorist deaths and injuries,
    but the dissuasion of non-motorized travel. That leads to huge
    reductions in exercise and activity and their health benefits. It
    leads to fewer people out interacting socially, reduced community
    engagement, fewer opportunities for friendship, etc."
    --Kygrowski rant

    <LOL> Sorry, but the vast majority of USAians are not even slightly
    interested in going on their shopping trips on bicycle like you do.
    Bicycling is predominately recreational and that's not likely to
    change anytime soon.

    People are simply not going to do what you think they should do.

    As for <OMG> "fewer opportunities for friendship, etc."

    Get a life, Krygowski. Figure out how to live without having to remind
    other people that you exist.

    --
    C'est bon
    Soloman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Roger Merriman@21:1/5 to Frank Krygowski on Sat Mar 1 19:56:14 2025
    Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 3/1/2025 7:40 AM, Roger Merriman wrote:
    Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 8:09 PM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 5:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 3:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

    In my view, a person who kills someone with their car should never, >>>>>>> ever be allowed to drive again.

    First, let's acknowledge that rule will never be implemented in the
    U.S. But if it were, driver caution would increase many times over.

    After the first few "dumbshit walks in front of car" episodes actually >>>>> resulted in "no more driving" and were publicized, motorists might
    begin slowing to non-fatal speeds when pedestrians (or bicyclists) are >>>>> within walk-in- front range.

    As I've said here before, if an overhead crane operator killed someone >>>>> in a factory, I think they'd never be allowed to operate the crane
    again, no matter what their excuse.

    Humans have given up far more than we should have to motordom. Streets >>>>> and roads were once the domain of pedestrians, of kids playing, of
    people interacting. Turning them entirely over to motorists was a
    deliberate campaign goal of the car manufacturers.

    https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking- afd48f994c05



    I (naively?) assumed you meant 'by negligence or malice' and I was happy >>>> to agree with that.

    But I can't agree with you here.  Extend that argument and we'll charge >>>> train operators with murder when jerkoffs drive around the gate.  Or
    auto drivers who hit red light running cyclists for that matter.

    Given the legal system of the United States, I'd assume that if such a
    law were implemented, there would be gaggles of lawyers rushing to any
    accused motorist to defend his right to run down anyone who impeded his
    speed.

    So think of my position as an initial step in negotiations. Let it apply >>> in, say, residential areas, where kids should be able to play in
    streets. Or in pedestrian heavy business districts.

    But as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see
    him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the
    wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon for >>> no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well respected >>> music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking across a
    street. About a week ago, another young man was killed crossing the
    plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first are sketchy to me >>> - it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but cops said the latter
    was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so the motorist is off
    completely free. And in a different city, a young woman I know well was
    knocked to the ground and injured while crossing in a crosswalk with a
    green "walk" signal.

    (BTW, Ohio law has a virtual crosswalk at any intersection, whether it's >>> marked or not. Still, expecting pedestrians to walk an extra half mile
    to avoid being called a "jaywalker" seems unfair to me.)

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a
    pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."


    Presumed liability with the hierarchy of users, ie the idea that larger
    vehicles bring the risk associated with travel, which seems fair enough,
    and thus they have to prove it wasn’t their fault.

    Seems to work, though I’ve not looked at it with details..

    When we visited Zurich, we were hosted by a young couple. The four of us walked and biked around town a fair amount. During one of our walks, our hosts said Zurich had recently passed a strict liability law, at least regarding cars vs. pedestrians.

    I don't remember if it applied to cyclists or not, and I never heard the details. But they said it had transformed the experience of walking
    around the city, making it much better.

    To the best of my (limited) knowledge bikes are included ie folks traveling faster/larger need to take more care around others which seems fairly reasonable idea really.

    Roger Merriman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Roger Merriman@21:1/5 to Frank Krygowski on Sat Mar 1 20:13:13 2025
    Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 3/1/2025 12:53 PM, AMuzi wrote:

    Couldn't quickly find a mileage to crash incidence number for UK but I
    did come across this, for another consideration:

    https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/94780/britain-s-
    most-dangerous-roads-revealed-50-per-cent-of-fatalities-occur

    I'd be more interested in the "mileage to crash" number, i.e. the number
    of crashes per mile.

    Looking at the top 10 all look to be high traffic volume areas, it’s also quite few years old that article which is somewhat an opinion piece really.

    I'm reminded of the rather useless statement that "Most vehicle crashes
    occur within five miles of home." Of course they do! That's where people drive the most!

    Regarding British roads, I'd be interested in Roger's comments on what British countryside roads are like these days. We did some English and Scottish bike touring way back in 1976, and I was comfortable with the traffic levels on minor highways and roads. I was also fine during a
    short visit in 2001 (trapped there due to flight groundings from the
    9/11 attacks) when I did only a little cycling. But it's obvious traffic
    will have increased.

    What's it like these days out away from the big cities? Is the riding
    still pleasant?


    Plenty of nice lanes, even in Surrey which is within london in parts and
    just outside of it on others.

    As ever are big fast roads that aren’t wildly nice to ride on, I’m not a fan of lot of the roads near Windsor for that reason.

    Clearly traffic volumes are higher in England and in particular South East which his highly populated place, compared to Wales, bar perhaps North
    Wales Eryri / Snowdonia which is easy and has large busy roads that number
    of cities can use to access, which isn’t the case for the Brecon Beacons
    let alone mid wales, Scotland is more to the North Wales style.

    But yes plenty of nice roads, in general roads that roadies like aren’t the same as folks driving. Though in touristy areas can be same nice hill
    everyone rides/drives up. But in that case will be busy for everyone.

    Roger Merriman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Catrike Ryder@21:1/5 to All on Sun Mar 2 05:45:06 2025
    My bicycling projects are not high on her list.On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 21:10:28 -0500, Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 3/1/2025 2:09 PM, Catrike Ryder wrote:

    Get a life, Krygowski. Figure out how to live without having to remind
    other people that you exist.

    :-) Speaking of "get a life," someone should count up the percentage of
    my posts that Mr. Tricycle Rider snarks at. It's got to be over 75%.
    Does it hit 90%?

    It only takes a minute or two to respond to posts. That takes less
    time than it takes for you to snip out the parts of my post that you
    can't respond to.

    I was addressing your claiming that driving cars instead of bicyling
    offers "fewer opportunities for friendship etc."

    Get a life, Krygowski. Figure out how to live without having to remind
    other people that you exist.

    Ah well. I suppose that's what he needs to give himself some tiny
    feeling of achievement. But what a pity!

    I, like most people derive my feelings of achievement from what I've
    achieved instead of needing gossip sessions where I can boast and brag
    like you do.

    --
    C'est bon
    Soloman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From zen_cycle@21:1/5 to floriduh dumbass on Mon Mar 3 11:29:21 2025
    On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 19:09:25 +0000, floriduh dumbass wrote:

    On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 13:24:31 -0500, Frank Krygowski
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 3/1/2025 9:06 AM, AMuzi wrote:
    On 2/28/2025 9:05 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
    ... as we all know, the present situation is closest to "I didn't see
    him!" or "He came out of nowhere!" followed by at most a slap on the
    wrist. And any imperfection in the pedestrian's behavior is a coupon
    for no motorist penalty at all.

    Locally, about six months ago we had a young, well loved, well
    respected music teacher, church organist killed by a car when walking
    across a street. About a week ago, another young man was killed
    crossing the plaza-infested five lane at 6 AM. Details on the first
    are sketchy to me - it sounds like he was in a legal crosswalk - but
    cops said the latter was "not crossing in a designated crosswalk" so
    the motorist is off completely free. And in a different city, a young
    woman I know well was knocked to the ground and injured while crossing >>>> in a crosswalk with a green "walk" signal. ...

    I'd like a law that makes motorists think "Holy shit, there's a
    pedestrian. I'd better be _really_ careful."


    No one discounts those or other tragedies such as that of my friend Jeff >>> Archer:

    https://www.wbtv.com/story/32500249/popular-owner-of-local-bike-shop-
    killed-after-struck-by-car/

    But we have a few hundred years of statutes and tort case law (i.e.,
    this is not new ground for humans), and although errors do exist, the
    system works fairly well in principle.

    Our disagreement seems to be the definition of "works fairly well." I
    see the laws and attitudes as generating lots of societal harm. Examples >>are not just the count of non-motorist deaths and injuries, but the >>dissuasion of non-motorized travel. That leads to huge reductions in >>exercise and activity and their health benefits. It leads to fewer
    people out interacting socially, reduced community engagement, fewer >>opportunities for friendship, etc. It also contributes toward the
    promotion and construction of terribly designed segregated facilities
    for bicyclists, and occasionally to laws mandating their use.

    It's certainly not the only factor driving the motoring dependence, but
    I think its a central one.

    We can agree that legal and criminal responsibility is all too
    frequently passed over by weak enforcement/sentencing. This is a
    significant and untoward trend but there are better remedies than
    punishing the innocent.

    :-) I'm thinking of a parallel with your frequent complaint about >>enforcement of other laws. Legally and practically, "innocent" often
    means "We couldn't convict him because the judge wouldn't allow this >>important evidence" or "He could afford a lawyer who got him released on >>the third appeal" - even though "We all know he did it."

    Sometimes hundreds of years of statutes and tort case law put us in bad >>positions.

    "I see the laws and attitudes as generating lots of societal harm.
    Examples are not just the count of non-motorist deaths and injuries,
    but the dissuasion of non-motorized travel. That leads to huge
    reductions in exercise and activity and their health benefits. It
    leads to fewer people out interacting socially, reduced community
    engagement, fewer opportunities for friendship, etc."
    --Kygrowski rant

    <LOL> Sorry, but the vast majority of USAians are not even slightly interested in going on their shopping trips on bicycle like you do.
    Bicycling is predominately recreational and that's not likely to
    change anytime soon.

    People are simply not going to do what you think they should do.

    As for <OMG> "fewer opportunities for friendship, etc."

    Get a life, Krygowski. Figure out how to live without having to remind
    other people that you exist.


    wow, talk about needing to get a life without having to remind people
    that he exists....

    Of course, the irony of posting a message admonishing Frank for only
    posting a message to "remind people that he exists" with a simple snark
    having nothing to do with the topic under discussion completely escapes
    the narcissistic floriduh dumbass.

    Seek help for your daddy issues, dumbass, you aren't going to solve them
    by constantly yapping at Frank.

    --

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Rolf Mantel@21:1/5 to All on Wed Mar 5 16:00:34 2025
    Am 02.03.2025 um 01:28 schrieb John B.:
    On Sat, 01 Mar 2025 13:18:22 -0500, Catrike Ryder
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 12:59:56 -0500, Frank Krygowski
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 3/1/2025 9:14 AM, AMuzi wrote:

    A few thousand years of human interaction (with laws, rules, customs,
    and case records) has resulted in some widely accepted general rules and >>>> this is one.

    For example, one application of that:

    https://everything2.com/title/Law+of+Gross+Tonnage

    "The heavier vessel always has the right-of-way.

    That obviously is not the case on roads, neither legally nor practically. >>
    That's absolutely practical from my perspective. That's an issue I've
    no intention of arguing.

    The Gross Tonnage rule is based on the fact that a larger ship is far
    less maneuverable then a lighter, smaller vessel and momentum, also
    enters into the equation - 100 tons is obviously much more difficult (floating in the water) to stop, then 1 ton.

    The correct forumlation of the law on sea is "the less maneuverable ship
    has right of way". Normally the larger ship is assumed to be the less maneuverable ship unless one of the two ships in question is a sail ship
    or a human powered boat.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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