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August 01, 2005
A Cyclist Was Struck Here... well... Sort of!
A group calling itself Ghostcycle has placed 40 bicycles around Seattle, painting them a ghostly gray, and hanging signs on them that say "A cyclist was struck here."
They are there to raise awareness of bicycle/automobile accidents, but at first glance they appear to be very misleading. Here are some of the horrific stories behind the GHOST cycles!!! We'll start with Ghost Cycle #1!
Approached intersection of 9th Ave. and Columbia, noted car in opposite direction signalling left turn. Car was at stop while in intersection, so I proceeded through. Car then rapidly accelerated to make left turn.... I locked up my brakes and slid into the front right fender-panel of vehicle and then flipped onto hood of car leaving bicycle. Vehicle also stopped immediately prior to impact. Driver paid for replacement wheel.
A ghost cycle gives me the impression that the rider is DEAD! But apparently not so. Still, at least this particular story is kind of scary.
But the story of Ghost Cycle #2 is even scarier.
the truck sped accross 8th, blowing off their stop sign. I didn't have one. Driver didn't see me and I had to swerve, causing me to wreck into the curb. Driver kept going so I caught him at the light and told him what happened and that he was at fault. He called me a 'pu**y' and drove away.
Horrific! The bicyclist hit a CURB. Apparently you don't have to actually be STRUCK by a vehicle, just scared by one, even if the sign says otherwise. And even worse, the driver of the truck was WUDE!
Ghost Cycle #4 didn't make any contact with a vehicle either.
heading down 45th. preparing to take a right onto roosevelt when a car behind me sped up and then pushed me off the road (almost hit me). i flew up onto the curb to avoid being struck by the car.
And listen to the atrocious behavior one automobile driver engaged in with Ghost Cycle #5!
i ran into the back of a car while going down the hill. the car in front of the car i hit was going to turn right, but then stopped, causing the car i hit to stop suddenly and i couldn't stop in time and there was no escape route, so i hit the car.
That's right. The car in front of this person STOPPED and the bicyclist HIT THE CAR! First off, my guess is that when push comes to shove, a 25lb bike is probably going to stop a lot faster than a 3000lb car. Plus, the car even has brake lights to warn you. But either way, whose fault is this? It's not the fault of the auto driver.
GhostCycle #22 actually has a story that doesn't involve a car whatsoever.
There is a very subtle curb that is rimmed with metal. Do not try to jump this curb, especially when it is raining and you are on a road bike
I applaud trying to improve road conditions for bikes (I guess) but what was the bike struck by? The problem here is that some people , especially members of the "reality-based" community, believe it's all right to stretch the truth in order to get a point across. Sometimes it's okay to outright lie. But see, when that happens, the point is lost. Instead of bringing attention to the plight of bicyclists, some of these people just end up looking like whiners. The site does have plenty of other actual accidents, even a few where people have to be taken to the ER. But I guess in today's world, being called a bad name is just as bad as fracturing a bone... we can't discriminate between them. Maybe we ought to though.
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Posted by March at August 1, 2005 10:38 PM