<html><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div>That the car driver was not wearing a helmet seems absurdly beside the point. Do you really think helmets are optional? Preventing brain damage and death has always seemed rather important to me.<br><br><br></div><div><br>On Aug 2, 2009, at 11:56 AM, Matt Woolhouse <<a href="mailto:matwoolhouse@yahoo.com">matwoolhouse@yahoo.com</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><div>And<br>not everyone can afford one, even when they want one.</div><div><br></div><div>I just bought a helmet for $40.</div><div>I've been to many bike stores in the area and </div><div>they are relatively cheap.</div><div><br></div><div>-M</div><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><br><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Turtle <<a href="mailto:turtle@thewiseturtle.com">turtle@thewiseturtle.com</a>><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> Boston Critical Mass <<a href="mailto:list@bostoncriticalmass.org">list@bostoncriticalmass.org</a>><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Sunday, August 2, 2009 11:49:59 AM<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re: [*BCM*] grim scenes
saturday... any news?<br></font><br>
Another lesson in not hugging the right side of the road, unless<br>you're turning right. It's impossible to say if the car driver had<br>just passed the cyclist and cut him off, or if the bike driver was<br>trying to pass the car driver on the right. Either way, this kind of<br>thing is easily preventable (i.e. it's not an "accident") when<br>everyone follows the normal rules of the road of making a right turn<br>from the rightmost side of the road, and passing on the left.<br><br>Also, isn't it interesting that even cyclists feel it's important to<br>point out when others cyclists aren't wearing helmets. Presumably the<br>car driver wasn't either, but no one bothers to mention that. Helmets<br>are optional. And they don't stop cars from crashing into you. And<br>not everyone can afford one, even when they want one. And, even when<br>worn correctly (which the vast majority aren't) they can still cause<br>more problems than they solve
(limited visibility being one of them).<br>I do choose to wear one, but I don't believe it's particularly<br>important in the grand scheme of things (except when it comes to my<br>husband, because I'm kind of irrational around him, and because he's<br>sort of a car magnet, and gets hit far more than most folks).<br><br>Just my two cents.<br><br>Hopefully everyone will learn something from this unpleasant mistake.<br><br>Peace, Love, and Bicycles,<br>Turil<br>_______________________________________________<br>Boston Critical Mass mailing list<br><a ymailto="mailto:list@bostoncriticalmass.org" href="mailto:list@bostoncriticalmass.org"><a href="mailto:list@bostoncriticalmass.org">list@bostoncriticalmass.org</a></a><br><span><a target="_blank" href="http://bostoncriticalmass.org/list"><a href="http://bostoncriticalmass.org/list">http://bostoncriticalmass.org/list</a></a></span><br>To unsubscribe email <a ymailto="mailto:list-unsubscribe@bostoncriticalmass.org" href="mailto:list-unsubscribe@bostoncriticalmass.org"><a href="mailto:list-unsubscribe@bostoncriticalmass.org">list-unsubscribe@bostoncriticalmass.org</a></a><br></div></div><div style="position:fixed"></div></div><br>
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