Biking can be dangerous.

Biking can be dangerous.

I can't believe it but I agree 100% with Zorn on this one. From his blog:

The arrogant fatuity of hard-core bicyclists was on display last night on ABC-7 news when Chuck Goudie interviewed "longtime cycling organizer Alex Wilson " about the death of a Chicago man Sunday who ran a red light while engaged in an illegal cycle race through city streets and was struck by an SUV:

To blame the victim for dying such a tragic death I think is an injustice. It's an injustice that our culture is so embedded in auto use and the convenience of autos that we're willing to let our friends and loved ones be killed.

No, we are not "willing" to let them be killed. We think it's contemptible and odious that organizers and participants in such races are "willing" to risk not only their lives but the lives of all innocent people in their paths to participate in this "sport."

I'm sorry to report that Chicago Police and Cook County prosecutors are not planning to pursue charges charges against those who organized Sunday's race.

Listen, I bike. And often car drivers ARE assholes, but sometimes bikers need to take responsibility for their actions. Entering a race that encourages you to flaunt the law and race through red lights? That is not cool, and does not cement your status as a "cool dude" or as a card-carrying member of the counterculture. It puts you in danger, and that danger is a risk you willingly take on. It's a s simple as that. The man's death was a tragedy ... but it was an avoidable tragedy.

I'm reminded of the girl on a bike who, was it last year, got crushed by a truck that changed lanes without checking it's rear view mirror. THAT'S is an example of tragedy befalling the innocent, since she was following all the rules ... and it's an example of how motor vehicle driver really need to pay better attention and stop juggling the fucking cell phones and lattes. However, no amount of focus could help any reasonable driver to expect and avoid a collision with another person willfully entering an intersection against the light and unexpectedly.