Monday, September 21, 2009

Deadly reminder

Another Ghost Bike in Amherst

This Ghost Bike marks the area on Montague Road in North Amherst where 21-year-old Blake Goodman was killed the night of September 12 by a hit and driver—the second such fatality this year. Police are still looking for a black Geo Prizm with passenger side damage.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ever a reminder that cars and bikes don't mix. You can be a great cyclist and still be killed by a hit and run.

The driver can run but can't hide. The car should show up somewhere if it's not out of state by now. Throw the book at him/her.

Ry Willey said...

My condolences to his family and friends.

Bicycles are everywhere, please drive responsibly.

Unknown said...

And get-well wish to the other fellow seriously injured in that accident.

Just last night another cyclist went over the hood
of a vehicle in an accident on Main at Whitney. No
serious injury reported, but Ryan is exactly right:

Cycles* are everywhere!

Please watch for them if you're in a car, and please
use good lights and reflective gear if your driving your cycle at night.

*not just Motorcycles, as the bright yellow sign by the North Fire Station announces

Anonymous said...

From:
http://www.amherstma.gov/index.aspx?NID=1142

The following is a list of motor vehicles laws, enforced by the Amherst Police Department, enacted in an effort to promote safety towards bicyclists.


• Motorists cannot “Door” cyclists. This means that before opening the doors to a vehicle, motorists must make sure that this doesn’t interfere with the flow of traffic, whether it be vehicles, pedestrians or cyclists. MGL C.90§14

• Motorists cannot “Right-Hook” cyclists after passing them. Basically, after passing a cyclists traveling in the same direction, motorists cannot make a right turn unless they are a safe distance away from that cyclists. MGL C.90§14

• Motorists cannot “Squeeze Out” a
cyclists. If a motorist cannot overtake and pass a cyclist at a safe distance in the same lane, a motorist must either use the adjacent lane if it can be done safely, or wait for a safe opportunity to do so. MGL C.90§14


• After overtaking and passing a cyclists, a motorist cannot return to the right lane until it is safe to do so. MGL C.89§2

These violations could result in a $50 fine

Anonymous said...

Looks like the detectives of the Amherst PD are getting the job done. This is simply hard work, and you have to have staffed the Department sufficiently to have someone (or two)free to do it. If everyone on duty is running to 911 calls, then there's no one to do this.

We take a lot of things for granted in this town, and the police are just one of them.

Please pay attention the next time a Town Meeting member tries to extract savings from the budget at the expense of the police. It happens every year, usually accompanied by non sequitur comments on the floor of Town Meeting about "the post-prison society" and analogies to military spending.

When it comes to town politics,
if you snooze, you lose.

Unknown said...

To Robert:

*not just Motorcycles, as the bright yellow sign by the North Fire Station announces

This ad campaign was thought up for a reason. Bicycle accidents are not any less traumatic, their have just been a lot more motorcycle accidents this year. If a huge neon sign would make the roads safer for both types of riders, I'd pay for one to be on my front lawn. Please understnad I am a motorcycle accidnet survior who is still pissed that I can't ride. Be safe everyone.

Anonymous said...

If the APD wasn't out harassing UMass students so much, they might be able to catch the illegal alien who did this.

Black mid-90's GEO Prizm - yep, illegal alien. From Springfield.

But it was only a UM student who died, and we already have a surplus of them...

Anonymous said...

Yo, some jerkoff biker messed up the side of my Geo Prism.