All hit & run victims deserve a story like this

http://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/hit-and-run-victim-was-quie...

 

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Permalink Reply by BalloonBiker on October 1, 2010 at 4:13am
Thank you for sharing this.
Permalink Reply by milesperhour on October 1, 2010 at 7:04am
That was a very nice write up. Thanks for sharing.

It's hard to imagine someone could be so insensitive. The man worked and lived within his means. There is nothing wrong with that.
Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on October 1, 2010 at 7:36am
gets a lump in throat
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on October 1, 2010 at 7:41am
Wow. That's a really touching piece. I hope he's at rest.
Permalink Reply by igz on October 1, 2010 at 8:15am
If they dont have a ghost bike program down there...it might be nice to arrange that. i would take a weekend to deliver it.
Permalink Reply by mike w. on October 1, 2010 at 12:57pm
Damn.
Permalink Reply by thang van ung on October 1, 2010 at 3:13pm
i hope it is not a single piece and there will be a follow up with news of justice. there is a bizarre comment on the perpetrator's possible excuses for the not facing his/her crime -- a sentiment that is very much in the same (tasteless) vein of condescension that prompted the article. there is no personal shame in poverty but that is no reason or relation for justice being non-applicable and/or minimized responsibility because of lack of deep pockets. the fucked up things that people will say in hope of seeming generous... or just trolling... then again maybe just banal.
Permalink Reply by Vilda on October 1, 2010 at 5:58pm
I'm with ya on that iggi.



iggi said:
If they dont have a ghost bike program down there...it might be nice to arrange that. i would take a weekend to deliver it.
Permalink Reply by mike w. on October 2, 2010 at 10:16am
Six in Tampa area? For a smaller metro area, seems like a high number per capita- looks like a good place not to ride... Any stats on how many bike vs car related fatalities in Chicago and Chicago-area available for 2010?

H3N3 said:
I sent the author a simple "thank you" and he responded thusly:

We've now had six bicyclist deaths in the Tampa Bay area, including Mr. Smith's, in the last couple of months. Hope it helps, and thanks for writing.
Regards,
Andrew

Gives a hair more perspective on where he's coming from.
Permalink Reply by David on October 3, 2010 at 2:42am
Not sure about 2010, but you can find per-county totals for the last few years at

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/STSI/USA%20WEB%20REPORT.HTM.

In a nutshell, Cook County has ranged from 7 to 14 fatalities a year, or .13 to .27 per 100K. Hillsborough, FL has similar raw numbers, ranging from 4 to 11 fatalities a year, but that's a stunning .50 to .97 per 100K population. My sense is that even with the weather difference Chicago has many more cyclist-hours per year, but I don't know that for sure.


mike w. said:
Six in Tampa area? For a smaller metro area, seems like a high number per capita- looks like a good place not to ride... Any stats on how many bike vs car related fatalities in Chicago and Chicago-area available for 2010?

Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on October 3, 2010 at 4:39am
Man, I lived in Tampa and frequently drove this guy's commute since he lives near where my dad does. I know every place mentioned in the article. I didn't get into cycling until after I moved from Tampa, but even so its obvious the Tampa Bay area is terrible for cycling (except for some areas in central St. Pete). There aren't many cyclists in the Bay area and they are mostly cyclist by circumstance not choice. Gandy and 4th Ave are some of the worst streets to ride on. He could have avoided those entirely by taking backroads. Who knows.
Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on October 3, 2010 at 7:03am
Gandy is a divided highway, 50 mph+, lots of traffic pulling in/out of driveways. 4th Ave is a 6 lane arterial, narrow lanes, heavy traffic during the day. Probably not as bad during the night when he's riding, but with less traffic the cars go faster. Alternate route would be to take San Martin to 1st Avenue (which I've biked myself, but only in the daytime). San Martin is low-traffic but windy and narrow in places, maybe he didn't like it? Who knows, hard to tell unless you've tried it yourself.

St Pete is ridable because its got the old grid in place and you can take lesser roads to almost anywhere. I like taking my dad's Walmart MTB and tooling around when I'm there. Elsewhere the infrastructure is horrible, no way to get anywhere easily except by major roads. And people don't like bikes either, but the behaviour of most bikers doesn't help (i.e. teenagers in all black--no lights crossing Gandy at night nowhere near a crosswalk). Sucks the guy who gets hit is the responsible one.

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