Bicyclist dies in collision with SUV in Newton

First off the whole concept of the reckless bike messenger is mostly a myth.

Sure messengers are often in a hurry. They get paid by commission only, and a pathetically small amount per job completed. And their clients demand they hurry, with nearly every job a rush.

But the idea that bike messengers ride recklessly as a group is completely false. For one thing most of them are intimately and alertly aware of their surroundings and unlike disconnected drivers and distracted pedestrians they become at one with their bicycle. They have the hours and the skills gained to be the best possible bike riders in the city. Just the fact that so many use track bikes (long before they were made trendy by hipsters) is an indication of that skill. When most 'civilians' (a term for non-messenger riders) put their bikes away due to inclement weather, couriers are riding in rain, ice, snow, and freezing weather. I myself can claim to have worked right through such events as the April Fool's blizzard of 1997. We kept delivering even during the Big Dig when the streets were more like dirt roads and one had to do battle with dump trucks and pot holes the size of Volkswagons.

And I should mention too that a large number of professional cycle racers got their start as bicycle messengers.

Pedestrians who have had close brushes with bike messengers or gotten a rude word towards them from one have almost exclusively been jay walking and not paying attention, something it is illegal for them to do.

Drivers who have had close brushes with bike messengers or gotten a rude word towards them from one have almost exclusively done something that almost killed said bike messenger and was illegal for said driver to do.

So if a bike messenger has ever said something discourteous to you guess what... It's YOUR fault.

They do in fact argue that if people were required to wear helmets to bicycle, they would be less likely to use a bicycle to take a trip for an errand or somesuch.

Every time I get on my bike, I have to put on a helmet, install and turn on two lights, and dress like a fucking traffic cone....all because drivers can't manage something as simple as paying attention to where the fuck they're steering two tons of metal. I have to distract them from their fucking blackberries, ipods, coffee cups, hamburgers, children in the back seat, radio stations, etc. I was doored by someone who hit me simply because she didn't take 2 seconds to look in her mirror before throwing open her door.

Getting more people to wear helmets is like fixing Boston's teenage homicide problem by strapping bulletproof vests onto every kid, or saying "hey, it's okay, we just need to do a better job of saving their lives after they've been shot."

PS:Your argument about your riding habits is about as intelligent as "It's freezing cold today, global warming must be bullshit." YOU != population.

Before we go about enacting laws enabling cops to pull over people who don't have their seat belts fastened, how about a law that allows the cops to pull people over for running red lights, or for blocking intersections, or for turning without signaling, or for following to closely, etc.?

most new cars have computers that know exactly when seatbelts were fastened when a car makes an impact and the belts themselves can be checked with impact points to see if someone actually was wearing a seatbelt after reconstruction tests. You need a warrant to get these computer results from most car makers however, and they are hard to get from what I have heard.

I wonder if any civil suits have resulted in settlements regarding seatbelt usage.