Perceptual Reality
Ottawa has suffered more than its presumed share of tragic accidents of late. Occurring when blunt force meets up against soft, yielding flesh. A motorcycle driver ramming into the side of a SUV. An elderly driver backing out of his driveway directly into a pedestrian. No contest. (Backyard swimming pools insufficiently tended taking the lives of toddlers.) Cyclists in collision with vehicles. People not attuned to the dangers that surround them.
Still, we cannot live our lives constantly on anxious alert.
On the other hand, we have every reason to believe that people are reasonably able to detect when situations call for greater care. Drivers of great lumbering vehicles have a huge advantage in safety outcomes. They may end up in a shock of denial, but the other end of the argument between steel and flesh is generally a funeral for someone. And inconsolable grief for loved ones. Even likely enough a lifetime of guilt for the driver of the vehicle.
A mix of truly unfortunate circumstances; an NCC bicycle path latterly under rehabilitation so the anticipated route of safety is interrupted, sending cyclists onto city streets as an alternative. And there are inexperienced drivers of vehicles, at any given time on the roads. In this instance, a mix that proved to be dreadfully lethal. Taking the life of a 53-year-old man who was pinned under a SUV driven by a G1 class license holder.
The man suffered horribly. It was reported that he begged a woman who was a passenger in the SUV that destroyed him for help. "He said, 'Help me'. I touched his shoulder and said, 'God will help you.'" Did he find that comforting? One sincerely doubts it. The bicyclist had taken due care, he was wearing a helmet; just in case he had a bad fall, a slight collision with an immovable object. The helmet could not help him in this scenario.
Nothing could. His body was crushed, and his life simply evaporated, in excruciating pain. He might perhaps have heard the woman say to him "911 is coming". Not soon enough, but even so, there was nothing they could have done to help him. Ironically, the passenger in the driver's SUV was coaching her, giving her a 20-minute driving session, to enable her to take the G2 driver's license test with greater confidence.
The woman driver is the wife of a pastor of Britannia Baptist Church. She and her husband are the church founders. Church members have compassionately turned out to their home to pray, for both the driver of the SUV and for the dead cyclist. "Our faith was a key factor in providing that strength at a time like this. That support group and her faith in God are the bedrock of stability", explained her husband in an interview.
"Either the motorist misjudges the speed of the cyclist or doesn't look", commented the treasurer of Citizens for Safe Cycling. He most certainly should know. Cycling can be recreationally rewarding, a joy at times, and wonderful past time and at the same time a perilous undertaking, one with lethal consequences. Cyclists are all too aware of their vulnerability. There are been, altogether too many deadly accidents with unalert drivers and cyclists.
"Some of them are going as fast as they would on the bike paths", said the pastor of Britannia Baptist church, the SUV driver's husband, in musing over the number of cyclists temporarily riding on the residential streets close to where the bike path has been temporarily off limits.
Still, we cannot live our lives constantly on anxious alert.
On the other hand, we have every reason to believe that people are reasonably able to detect when situations call for greater care. Drivers of great lumbering vehicles have a huge advantage in safety outcomes. They may end up in a shock of denial, but the other end of the argument between steel and flesh is generally a funeral for someone. And inconsolable grief for loved ones. Even likely enough a lifetime of guilt for the driver of the vehicle.
A mix of truly unfortunate circumstances; an NCC bicycle path latterly under rehabilitation so the anticipated route of safety is interrupted, sending cyclists onto city streets as an alternative. And there are inexperienced drivers of vehicles, at any given time on the roads. In this instance, a mix that proved to be dreadfully lethal. Taking the life of a 53-year-old man who was pinned under a SUV driven by a G1 class license holder.
The man suffered horribly. It was reported that he begged a woman who was a passenger in the SUV that destroyed him for help. "He said, 'Help me'. I touched his shoulder and said, 'God will help you.'" Did he find that comforting? One sincerely doubts it. The bicyclist had taken due care, he was wearing a helmet; just in case he had a bad fall, a slight collision with an immovable object. The helmet could not help him in this scenario.
Nothing could. His body was crushed, and his life simply evaporated, in excruciating pain. He might perhaps have heard the woman say to him "911 is coming". Not soon enough, but even so, there was nothing they could have done to help him. Ironically, the passenger in the driver's SUV was coaching her, giving her a 20-minute driving session, to enable her to take the G2 driver's license test with greater confidence.
The woman driver is the wife of a pastor of Britannia Baptist Church. She and her husband are the church founders. Church members have compassionately turned out to their home to pray, for both the driver of the SUV and for the dead cyclist. "Our faith was a key factor in providing that strength at a time like this. That support group and her faith in God are the bedrock of stability", explained her husband in an interview.
"Either the motorist misjudges the speed of the cyclist or doesn't look", commented the treasurer of Citizens for Safe Cycling. He most certainly should know. Cycling can be recreationally rewarding, a joy at times, and wonderful past time and at the same time a perilous undertaking, one with lethal consequences. Cyclists are all too aware of their vulnerability. There are been, altogether too many deadly accidents with unalert drivers and cyclists.
"Some of them are going as fast as they would on the bike paths", said the pastor of Britannia Baptist church, the SUV driver's husband, in musing over the number of cyclists temporarily riding on the residential streets close to where the bike path has been temporarily off limits.
Labels: Human Relations, Ottawa, Realities, societal failures
posted by Pieface @ 5:01 PM
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