Woman cyclist killed in Mesa, AZ

[Bad JuJu]

That would be nice but... we all know they're thinking 'those stupid bicycles belong on the sidewalk, why are they riding in the road?"

That's what I'm afraid of. Too often I've heard of car vs. bike accidents where the driver or a passenger has been quoted as saying something like that--that the cyclist was responsible simply because she was THERE, on the ROAD, instead of somewhere else, off the road, meaning "out of my way and not slowing me down for all of five seconds." I've had to educate too many of my non-biking friends about bicycles being vehicles, traffic, having rights to the road, etc. etc. etc. It's exhausting, but of course, I continue trying to fight the good fight.

[Starfish]

that the cyclist was responsible simply because she was THERE, on the ROAD, instead of somewhere else, off the road

Kind of like, hey, she shouldn't have been at that party, hey she shouldn't have worn that dress, walked in that neighborhood, etc. Blame the victim.

On the other hand, we don't know if this cyclist veered into a lane on accident while grabbing a water bottle, or any of the other stupid things I have done now and again as a cyclist.