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"The impact smashed the patrol car’s windshield, leaving the deputy with cuts on his arm and glass in his eyes." Clearly the peace officer was the victim of th

"The impact smashed the patrol car’s windshield, leaving the deputy with cuts on his arm and glass in his eyes." Clearly the peace officer was the victim of the cyclist's irresponsible road behaviour here!

jessaustin 13y ago
Clearly the automobile was moving quite fast when it struck the cyclist. I've seen similar damage when a car struck a cow at 55mph. I'm not familiar with the street in question, but it seems likely the speed of the automobile was not anticipated by the cyclist.
- hdevalence 13y ago
  Seeing as the cyclist was in his bike lane, it's unclear why he should have had to anticipate the speed of the automobile.
  - jessaustin 13y ago
    If as it seems the cyclist was rear-ended, it isn't actually relevant whether he was in the bike lane or not. Rear-ending is illegal and dangerous, period. Speed awareness is mainly important at intersections. Away from intersections, all vehicle operators are responsible for maintaining a safe distance between their vehicle and those ahead. My original point was just that the automobile was moving quite fast. Thanks for seeking clarity!
- votingprawn 13y ago
  I'm surprised, I would have thought that hitting 3/4 of a ton of cow 55mph would do significantly more damage than we can see here.
  - jessaustin 13y ago
    Yeah, it was weird. The car went under the cow, and the cow destroyed the windshield and damaged the leading edge of the roof. The driver did not require medical attention. The cow walked off but died within two days. I'm sure in other cases the driver and cow both might have been killed immediately.
laumars 13y ago
While I don't think that was the tone intended, I too read the sentence that way.
FedRegister 13y ago
That's okay. They'll just give that poor officer paid vacation, er, suspension with pay, until the incident dies down.
- voidlogic 13y ago
  Come on, while there are plenty reckless police officers, there also plenty of reckless cyclists, we don't even know what happened. It possible the officer hit him, but it is also possible he didn't see the car, misjudged its speed or merge from a side street. Let save judgment for when we know what happened. And poor officer is right, regardless if he was at fault or not, he has a heavy burden to carry. If the officer did wrong, I will be glad to see him pay societies price for such a mistake, but until then- I'll just be blown away by the continual lack of empathy and pragmatism shown here.
  - maxerickson 13y ago
    The video states they were traveling in the same direction.
  - darkarmani 13y ago
    > Come on, while there are plenty reckless police officers, there also plenty of reckless cyclists The standard is slightly higher when you are a police officer. For example, I don't think I've ever seen police cars follow at a safe distance. It's clearly a foreseeable outcome that if the car in front needs to brake hard there will be a collision, yet people would say it is an unfortunate accident if they happen to hit the car in front of them. Driving your car under control means exactly that. Give bikers a wide berth. Slow down if it is unsafe to pass. Stop tailgating. Slow down in general.
    - voidlogic 13y ago
      >The standard is slightly higher when you are a police officer. I never said the standard wasn't higher- Also, I'm glad I don't live where you live, the police tend to drive very conservatively where I live, unless there is due cause. >Driving your car under control means exactly that. Give bikers a wide berth. Slow down if it is unsafe to pass. Stop tailgating. Slow down in general. Did the officer have his siren and lights on? Where I live cars (and bicycles) are required to pull over to allow the police car past. I assume you are not suggesting that a police car responding to an incident should should "Give bikers a wide berth. Slow down..." because that is ridiculous.
theg2 13y ago
It's a vehicle accident, do we have to turn this into a "f the police" (censored, for the kids) discussion?
- rhizome 13y ago
  Not yet, but... http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/no-charges-opd-officer-accused-hitting-homeless-ma/ncDdm/ http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/no-charges-opd-officer-a...
- sp332 13y ago
  The discussion has been going already. For example http://copsinbikelanes.tumblr.com/ http://copsinbikelanes.tumblr.com/ (those are from New York city)
martythemaniak 13y ago
A pertinent Rob Ford quote: “My heart bleeds for them when someone gets killed. But it’s their own fault at the end of the day.” Sadly, it's a very common belief, hence why he managed to get himself elected.
freehunter 13y ago
I'm surprised that the biker was able to smash the windshield hard enough to cut the driver with the glass. Windshields are laminated so they don't shatter and splinter when hit.

jessaustin 13y ago

Clearly the automobile was moving quite fast when it struck the cyclist. I've seen similar damage when a car struck a cow at 55mph. I'm not familiar with the street in question, but it seems likely the speed of the automobile was not anticipated by the cyclist.

hdevalence 13y ago
Seeing as the cyclist was in his bike lane, it's unclear why he should have had to anticipate the speed of the automobile.
- jessaustin 13y ago
  If as it seems the cyclist was rear-ended, it isn't actually relevant whether he was in the bike lane or not. Rear-ending is illegal and dangerous, period. Speed awareness is mainly important at intersections. Away from intersections, all vehicle operators are responsible for maintaining a safe distance between their vehicle and those ahead. My original point was just that the automobile was moving quite fast. Thanks for seeking clarity!
votingprawn 13y ago
I'm surprised, I would have thought that hitting 3/4 of a ton of cow 55mph would do significantly more damage than we can see here.
- jessaustin 13y ago
  Yeah, it was weird. The car went under the cow, and the cow destroyed the windshield and damaged the leading edge of the roof. The driver did not require medical attention. The cow walked off but died within two days. I'm sure in other cases the driver and cow both might have been killed immediately.

laumars 13y ago

While I don't think that was the tone intended, I too read the sentence that way.

FedRegister 13y ago

That's okay. They'll just give that poor officer paid vacation, er, suspension with pay, until the incident dies down.

voidlogic 13y ago
Come on, while there are plenty reckless police officers, there also plenty of reckless cyclists, we don't even know what happened. It possible the officer hit him, but it is also possible he didn't see the car, misjudged its speed or merge from a side street. Let save judgment for when we know what happened. And poor officer is right, regardless if he was at fault or not, he has a heavy burden to carry. If the officer did wrong, I will be glad to see him pay societies price for such a mistake, but until then- I'll just be blown away by the continual lack of empathy and pragmatism shown here.
- maxerickson 13y ago
  The video states they were traveling in the same direction.
- darkarmani 13y ago
  > Come on, while there are plenty reckless police officers, there also plenty of reckless cyclists The standard is slightly higher when you are a police officer. For example, I don't think I've ever seen police cars follow at a safe distance. It's clearly a foreseeable outcome that if the car in front needs to brake hard there will be a collision, yet people would say it is an unfortunate accident if they happen to hit the car in front of them. Driving your car under control means exactly that. Give bikers a wide berth. Slow down if it is unsafe to pass. Stop tailgating. Slow down in general.
  - voidlogic 13y ago
    >The standard is slightly higher when you are a police officer. I never said the standard wasn't higher- Also, I'm glad I don't live where you live, the police tend to drive very conservatively where I live, unless there is due cause. >Driving your car under control means exactly that. Give bikers a wide berth. Slow down if it is unsafe to pass. Stop tailgating. Slow down in general. Did the officer have his siren and lights on? Where I live cars (and bicycles) are required to pull over to allow the police car past. I assume you are not suggesting that a police car responding to an incident should should "Give bikers a wide berth. Slow down..." because that is ridiculous.

theg2 13y ago

It's a vehicle accident, do we have to turn this into a "f the police" (censored, for the kids) discussion?

rhizome 13y ago
Not yet, but... http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/no-charges-opd-officer-accused-hitting-homeless-ma/ncDdm/ http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/no-charges-opd-officer-a...
sp332 13y ago
The discussion has been going already. For example http://copsinbikelanes.tumblr.com/ http://copsinbikelanes.tumblr.com/ (those are from New York city)

martythemaniak 13y ago

A pertinent Rob Ford quote: “My heart bleeds for them when someone gets killed. But it’s their own fault at the end of the day.” Sadly, it's a very common belief, hence why he managed to get himself elected.

freehunter 13y ago

I'm surprised that the biker was able to smash the windshield hard enough to cut the driver with the glass. Windshields are laminated so they don't shatter and splinter when hit.