OT: NHL player Johnny Gaudreau dead
- Thread starter mikemarc1
- Start date
Agree this hurts. I got hit by a Philadelphia Police SUV. Combine speed was 50 mph and I was doing 5 mph. We lost a brilliant doctor in Philly this year, 30 year old Barbara Friedes a pediatric Chief Resident at CHOP. Saving kids from cancer. Driver was drunk driving up the bike lane for blocks.
This is why I stick to trails, if I get hurt it's high probability my own doing, not some knucklehead driver being drunk or aggressive.
No doubt, it was just the first I heard official statement that he was in fact intoxicated.
I don’t like driving in my car these days. The people drive like maniacs. I can’t imagine being on the road on a bicycle or motorcycle.
One thing to watch for when riding "with" traffic is what's called the "right turn of death."
When riding or stopped in intersections be careful of vehicles making right turns because they can turn right into you, or in front of you, or over you. Trucks can be especially bad because the body can stick out furthers than the wheels. Some trucks will be over the curb on turns. Don't stop even with larger vehicles in intersections - hang back some
Vehicles turning right pose a danger to cyclists and pedestrians
Last week I biked to Ace Hardware, just over a mile from my home, and when I came back I thought “Whoa, that was not fun.” There are some big four-way intersections on the way there, two lanes of traffic each way filled with impatient drivers. While the intersections are well-marked and have...
www.almanacnews.com
It was relevant as @zappaa posed a question regarding cyclists riding against traffic, so I answered him.
Much agreed. Run the trails. Ride the trails. Although I was in a Morris County park today on a trail run. Came out on a trail head and some dude not even half way stops at a STOP sign. Window open. I gave him an earful. He slowed and started shouting something. He got more explicatives multiplied thrown his way. Pickup truck dude driving on the outskirts of Pyramid Mountain, shame on you. I called you a f'in a-hole and you deserve it.
Especially on a holiday weekend.
I always stay home on Memorial Day, Labor Day and 4th of July
So many lives shattered. His brothers wife was expecting their first child too
the guy driving the car actually worked at a drug rehab center?!! During his court visit the judge told him he would have to sit in jail until Thursday, he had the nerve to look pissed and rolled his eyes.
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not only did the driver admit to drinking, he admitted to drinking while driving. Additionally, he's a field artillery officer with the NJ National Guard AND, ironically (not in a good way) he works at a rehab facility.
www.yahoo.com
New details on man accused of killing Gaudreau brothers
FOX 29 has learned new details about the suspected drunk driver accused of killing NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew on the eve of their sister’s wedding, while they were biking in Salem County last week.
Hmm.. would that have saved them here? Maybe. But I'd suspect that, depending on how fast you ride, reaction time for oncoming drivers who may be too close to the shoulder would increase risk a bit. But then again, you'd see someone coming on the shoulder in time to adjust.. and their reaction to coming across you should be to snap back toward center of road.
Yeah.. I think there's a case for that given what happened here... of course, cyclists coming that way with the traffic would also be an issue.
There's time. It might happen still if it can make money... fund itself... once funding for a proper facility is secured and it is built.. if ever.
Interesting comments about aggressive driving. Back when I used to do a lot of biking, I had some close encounters with either distracted or, sometimes, deliberately nasty drivers. I've had cars veer towards me for some unknown reason a few times. And one time I had a car almost hit me in Roosevelt Park in Edison. I had to intentionally wipe out over a log at the side of the road to avoid being hit.
I do a lot of pleasure driving across northwestern NJ and sometimes up into NYS a bit. But not so much rush-hour driving, which I work hard to avoid. I really don't see a ton of aggressive driving when and where I drive. So I'm guessing the aggressive and impatient drivers are mostly out during rush hour.
What I do see a ton of lately is just plain stupid driving. I'm seeing that pretty much everywhere these days. Not aggressive, just inconsiderate, unattentive and generally unsafe.
Double-parking on busy suburban town roads. Doing illegal u-turns on those same roads, where the roads are too narrow to do the u-turn cleanly. Not paying attention and driving partially on the wrong side of the road. Not using turn signals at all. Running stop signs and red lights, presumably due to distraction. People going the wrong way down one-way streets.
There are just too many cars on the road in central and northern NJ these days. The police can't keep up.
I do a lot of pleasure driving across northwestern NJ and sometimes up into NYS a bit. But not so much rush-hour driving, which I work hard to avoid. I really don't see a ton of aggressive driving when and where I drive. So I'm guessing the aggressive and impatient drivers are mostly out during rush hour.
What I do see a ton of lately is just plain stupid driving. I'm seeing that pretty much everywhere these days. Not aggressive, just inconsiderate, unattentive and generally unsafe.
Double-parking on busy suburban town roads. Doing illegal u-turns on those same roads, where the roads are too narrow to do the u-turn cleanly. Not paying attention and driving partially on the wrong side of the road. Not using turn signals at all. Running stop signs and red lights, presumably due to distraction. People going the wrong way down one-way streets.
There are just too many cars on the road in central and northern NJ these days. The police can't keep up.
I used to defend NJ drivers as some of the best. However over the last 10 years the drivers in this state are getting very bad. In regards to the bold, it seems the worst offenders are the Uber/Lyft drivers. Too many new to the business and rely on / are distracted by their smart phones/ GPS.
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I agree that, at one time, NJ drivers were better than drivers in many other states (particularly FL which I maintain has the worst drivers anywhere I've been in the nation). I still see plenty of considerate drivers out there. But the number of awful drivers is increasing steadily.
I drive a lot of single-lane county roads in mountains or along rivers. Where there's nowhere to pass anybody for miles on end. One thing that most people get, but there's always some who do not, is leaving a nice big gap to the car in front in such situations. There's no point whatsoever in getting close to a car because nobody's going anywhere - we're all limited by the car all the way up front. People who live in rural areas get it, usually. 'Cause if a cyclist is on the road, or a deer or fox or whatever run across the road, things that happen all the time, then everybody has tons of time to react and avoid hitting anything or anyone or getting into a collision with a car suddenly braking.
I could be a line of 6 or 7 cars, in a 45 or 50 mph county road, with everybody from me to the 6 or 7 cars ahead all leaving like 10 or more car lengths between them. And then I'll have this clueless moron riding my ass behind me, trying to get me to speed up and ride the ass of the car in front of me. I slow down right to the speed limit in those situations. Let them wear out their brake pads riding their brakes while they lose of few years off their life from their useless stress and I enjoy some nice music and sip some coffee.
What's ironic is that, absent any cars in front of me, and in safe conditions with good visibility to the sides, I'd be going way faster than 99.9% of everybody else on the road. But nope, they gotta ride my ass. Grrrrr. LOL
For 20 years I have ridden bikes regularly: over 6,000 miles per year on the road, then over 400 hours per year on trails. 10 years ago my rides changed from exclusively roads to predominantly trails. This change coincided with a second friend in the span of a year being hit while road biking and being confined to a wheelchair.
If you cycle on roads you can mitigate the risk:
0--- My preferred ride time was 10am after rush hour ended.
0--- I run at least two powerful blinking headlights and taillights.
0--- A group of riders is much more visible to drivers.
0--- Colorful jerseys are helpful, too.
0--- Route choices are important: I select multiuse trails, parks and quiet neighborhoods when available on my way to trail rides.
This is his driving record, I imagine that he did things that he wasn’t caught doing. He is a menace.
🚘 2021: Involved in an accident — No points
🚘 2016: Involved in an accident — No points
🚘 2014: Improper operation on a highway with marked lanes — 2 points
🚘 2009: Improper display with fictitious plates
🚘 2006: Speeding — 2 points
🚘 2003: Unsafe operation of a motor vehicle
Two other incidents were redacted. The record did not show where any of the incidents took place.
🚘 2021: Involved in an accident — No points
🚘 2016: Involved in an accident — No points
🚘 2014: Improper operation on a highway with marked lanes — 2 points
🚘 2009: Improper display with fictitious plates
🚘 2006: Speeding — 2 points
🚘 2003: Unsafe operation of a motor vehicle
Two other incidents were redacted. The record did not show where any of the incidents took place.
Can this story get anymore heartbreaking? His widow just announced she is pregnant.
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