CNN - Boy hit by Prius - Couldn't hear it.

No one thinks of the person's parents when the guy making the dumb move is 40. We DO blame the parents when a 9 year old does something dumb, because at that point the parents are the ones who should have told the kid a million times to pay attention, look both ways, wash your hands, etc. etc. etc.. I had three boys, I KNOW how often they need to be reminded of that stuff at that age. Also, a good parent would not be in the house, away from the kid, if the kid is playing in the street. Why any child would be playing in the street is beyond me, but I personally never walked away from the kids playing outside unless they were in the fenced in back yard, where they would be safe.

 

What's with the name calling? Really not necessary. Plenty of people hate mountain bikers just as much as roadies.

 

Sorry, I've always been a little snobbish about preferring mountain biking. To this day I don't understand the draw of a skinny little bike that doesn't look strong enough to take a couple bumps.

 

L O N G before I blow past people like you, I can hear the knobbie whine, so you're safe from having my pansy nice person run you over with my skinny-wheeled road bike. You're safe because I can hear you, of course.

Please note: Smileys included. I'm a mtb'er as well.

 

There is a reason that we have the "Darwin Awards"! I have no sympathy for stupidity.

 

Was the Prius OK?

 

:fencing:

Fair enough- you may be faster than I am when you're on your road bike, but that would be about the ONLY time. LOL!

 

That I'm happy to concede. I ride my road bikes for speed - I ride my MTB to crash and burn. :rofl:

 

I guess they'll have to start making helicopters louder:

Freak helicopter death turns into an anti-iPod story | Hardware 2.0 | ZDNet.com

 

need more noise? ummm... how about a turbo whine? h34r:

 

Yes, but the whistle tip noise is even better. Just ask Darell. :evil:

 

There was a smear ... by the newspaper article.

Bob Wilson

 

Whistle tips ROCK, man. You know what I'm sayin'? Woo Woooooo!

 

Kinda grows on you.

 

The train horn rocks...

 

I suppose we should insist that if we have to install noise makers, the pedestrians must be forbidden to use cell phones or have conversations when walking. After all, what good is a hybrid noise maker if the pedestrians aren't using their ears to listen to us ... like the other 5,000 pedestrians and cyclists who die each year.

Bob Wilson

 

If you keep the pedestrians from talking, how will we hear them when we are driving? If you can't hear them, there is no way to know they are there.

Tom

 

I know I know, my failed logic spoke for me. I had actually been thinking that people should be responsible for themselves and their own safety, which could lead to someone actually looking before they enter a street. My failed logic tells me that if you SEE a car, it does not matter if it actually makes noise or not to know it is there. If you are just listening for a car, you run the risk of failing to "see" the quiet cars. And either way, my failed logic also tells me that in cases of car vs. person, the car pretty much always wins. Right or wrong, the law or not, a confrontation of car vs. human means the human pretty much loses every time. A mere matter of physics. Because of this, you'd think people would be more interested in protecting themselves when they decide to enter into a situation where they will lose if ANYONE makes a mistake.

Oh well, so much for my logic....

 

An old sailors' poem:

Here lies the body of Michael O'day,
who died defending the right-of-way.
He was right, dead right, as he sailed along,
but he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong.


I'm sure it applies to bikers and cars too.

Tom