OT Unintentional Newspaper Humour re bicycle accident

[Sir Ridesalot]

Hi there.

I saw a Kitchener, Ontario, Canada newspaper today that had a short
article regarding a transport truck/bicycle accident on Highway 6.

While there is nothing funny about the accident or the bicyclist being
injured their was some thing that made every one i have showed the
article to laugh.

The 2 nd last paragraph of the articles states:

"The truck driver, a 41-year old Burlington, man was not injured."

What every one I showed the article to found humourous is the idea
that a transport truck driver could be physically injured in a
transport truck/bicycle collision. Unfortunately the cyclist was
seriously injured but is in stable condition. He was wearing dark
clothing at the time of the accident which occurred shortly after 6:15
a.m. which means it was totally dark then with no street lights. There
is no mention if the cyclist was using lights of any sort.

Cheers from Peter

Since the article is fairly short here it is as it appeared in the
paper:
==============================================
"Cyclist struck by transport truck

RECORD STAFF

MOUNT FOREST

a 23-year old Palmerston cyclist is in serious condition in a London
hospital after he was struck by a transport truck Tuesday morning on
Highway 6.

The collision occurred shortly after 6:15 a.m. when the truck,
travelling north on the highway just past Mount Forest, struck the
cyclist who was also travelling north, Welington OPP said.

Adrian Joseph Evans, the cyclist, was transported to hospital in Mount
Forest and later airlifted to Victoria Hospital in London. He is
listed in serious but stable condition, police said.

The truck driver, a 41-year old Burlington man, was not injured.

Police said Evans was wearing dark clothing at the time. No charges
have been laid in connection with the crash."
==============================================
OPP is the Ontario Provincial Police

[Zoot Katz]

On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:50:03 -0700, Sir Ridesalot
<i_am_cycle_pathic@yahoo.ca> wrote:

>What every one I showed the article to found humourous is the idea
>that a transport truck driver could be physically injured in a
>transport truck/bicycle collision. Unfortunately the cyclist was
>seriously injured but is in stable condition. He was wearing dark
>clothing at the time of the accident which occurred shortly after 6:15
>a.m. which means it was totally dark then with no street lights. There
>is no mention if the cyclist was using lights of any sort.

How long had he been driving since his last rest before hitting
something he obviously didn't see in his headlights?

Judging by the time of the collision, my guess is that the bicyclist
was not drunk, drugged, distracted or asleep.

" No charges have been laid in connection with the crash."

Typical lazy-cop response.
--
zk

[Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 - Global Warming Edition ®]

"Sir Ridesalot" <i_am_cycle_pathic@yahoo.ca> wrote in message
news:1192744203.155667.36690@y27g2000pre.googlegro ups.com...
> Hi there.
>
> I saw a Kitchener, Ontario, Canada newspaper today that had a short
> article regarding a transport truck/bicycle accident on Highway 6.
>
> While there is nothing funny about the accident or the bicyclist being
> injured their was some thing that made every one i have showed the
> article to laugh.
>
> The 2 nd last paragraph of the articles states:
>
> "The truck driver, a 41-year old Burlington, man was not injured."
>
> What every one I showed the article to found humourous is the idea
> that a transport truck driver could be physically injured in a
> transport truck/bicycle collision. Unfortunately the cyclist was
> seriously injured but is in stable condition. He was wearing dark
> clothing at the time of the accident which occurred shortly after 6:15
> a.m. which means it was totally dark then with no street lights. There
> is no mention if the cyclist was using lights of any sort.
>
> Cheers from Peter
>
> Since the article is fairly short here it is as it appeared in the
> paper:
> ==============================================
> "Cyclist struck by transport truck
>
> RECORD STAFF
>
> MOUNT FOREST
>
> a 23-year old Palmerston cyclist is in serious condition in a London
> hospital after he was struck by a transport truck Tuesday morning on
> Highway 6.
>
> The collision occurred shortly after 6:15 a.m. when the truck,
> travelling north on the highway just past Mount Forest, struck the
> cyclist who was also travelling north, Welington OPP said.
>
> Adrian Joseph Evans, the cyclist, was transported to hospital in Mount
> Forest and later airlifted to Victoria Hospital in London. He is
> listed in serious but stable condition, police said.
>
> The truck driver, a 41-year old Burlington man, was not injured.
>
> Police said Evans was wearing dark clothing at the time. No charges
> have been laid in connection with the crash."
> ==============================================
> OPP is the Ontario Provincial Police
>


Another reason I don't ride at night.

[Zoot Katz]

On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:50:03 -0700, Sir Ridesalot
<i_am_cycle_pathic@yahoo.ca> wrote and quoted in part(?):
\
>He was wearing dark
>clothing at the time of the accident which occurred shortly after 6:15
>a.m. which means it was totally dark then with no street lights.
>There is no mention if the cyclist was using lights of any sort.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>Cheers from Peter
>
>Since the article is fairly short here it is as it appeared in the
>paper:
>==============================================
>"Cyclist struck by transport truck
>
>RECORD STAFF
>
>MOUNT FOREST
>
>a 23-year old Palmerston cyclist is in serious condition in a London
>hospital after he was struck by a transport truck Tuesday morning on
>Highway 6.
>
>The collision occurred shortly after 6:15 a.m. when the truck,
>travelling north on the highway just past Mount Forest, struck the
>cyclist who was also travelling north, Welington OPP said.
>
>Adrian Joseph Evans, the cyclist, was transported to hospital in Mount
>Forest and later airlifted to Victoria Hospital in London. He is
>listed in serious but stable condition, police said.
>
>The truck driver, a 41-year old Burlington man, was not injured.
>
>Police said Evans was wearing dark clothing at the time. No charges
>have been laid in connection with the crash."

The last paragraphs on the newspaper's web site now actually read:

"Police said Evans' bike was not equipped with lights or reflectors
and he was wearing dark clothing at the time.

No charges have been laid in connection with the crash."

<http://news.therecord.com/News/BreakingNews/article/257259>

I expect that no charges will be laid, but short of a confessed
attempted suicide by the bicyclist, I'd hope there's some serious
investigation into the truck driver's actions at the time.

Hopefully it's still too early to lay charges. I was perhaps hasty in
my previous condemnation of the police.
--
zk

[Sir Ridesalot]

On Oct 18, 8:17 pm, Zoot Katz <zootk...@operamail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:50:03 -0700, Sir Ridesalot
>
> <i_am_cycle_pat...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> >What every one I showed the article to found humourous is the idea
> >that a transport truck driver could be physically injured in a
> >transport truck/bicycle collision. Unfortunately the cyclist was
> >seriously injured but is in stable condition. He was wearing dark
> >clothing at the time of the accident which occurred shortly after 6:15
> >a.m. which means it was totally dark then with no street lights. There
> >is no mention if the cyclist was using lights of any sort.
>
> How long had he been driving since his last rest before hitting
> something he obviously didn't see in his headlights?
>
> Judging by the time of the collision, my guess is that the bicyclist
> was not drunk, drugged, distracted or asleep.
>
> " No charges have been laid in connection with the crash."
>
> Typical lazy-cop response.
> --
> zk

It does make one wonder considering that the truck was over-taking the
bicyclist. I wonder if this occurred at an intersection? I also wonder
why the bicyclist did not take evasive action. Highway 6 has a speed
limit of 80 kilometres per hour if I recall correctly.

I hope the cyclist has a full recovery.

Peter

[dgk]

On Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:58:10 -0400, "Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 - Global
Warming Edition ®" <bjit@bellsouth.net> wrote:

...
>> The truck driver, a 41-year old Burlington man, was not injured.
>>
>> Police said Evans was wearing dark clothing at the time. No charges
>> have been laid in connection with the crash."
>> ==============================================
>> OPP is the Ontario Provincial Police
>>
>
>
>Another reason I don't ride at night.
>

I love riding in the dark. I'm leaving the house a bit earlier than
normal because I get a bit more use out of my lights. And hey, they
cost enough so I should get some use out of them. Not really, my main
light is a Planet Bike 15W halogen and only cost $100 or so. Not like
some of the good ones, but suitable for me and it's fun riding along
with stuff illuminated by the beam. Most of my route (it's in NYC) is
never really dark, but some areas approach it.

Of course, I wear a highly reflective biking jacket, and have three
lights on the back: one on the seat stay, one on the back of the rack,
and one on my helmet. Once it starts getting and staying dark on the
ride home, which will be after the DST switch in a few weeks, I'll
mount the cold cathode (neon) tubes on the frame. I tend to mix the
colors but green and red predominate. (see
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Glow%3a-Ground-Effects-Lights-For-Your-Bike!
for the details or just google for Cold Cathode Bike.

I was just thinking this morning how much I like riding in the dark.
It's really peaceful.