Gettin' a break...or did I?

On Thursday, I made a right turn on red. There was a cop behind me. Immediately after my turn, the cop turned out, pulled up beside me, and rolled down his window. I rolled mine down. He told me that right on red was prohibited there. I told him, "I must have missed the sign." He told me to be careful, and headed on his way. I said, "thank you."
On Friday, as I passed the same spot, I looked for a "no turn on red" sign, and seeing none, turned again on red.
Was I cut a break? Harassed by the cop? The victim of an honest mistake? I don't really know.

How's This For A Helmet Endorsement?

Biker's head run over by truck. He's OK, helmet needs replacement. Link

Not If, When

When I was riding my bike a lot, some people in the club I rode with made it a point to, when talking about helmets, say "when you crash" indicating that a crash was an inevitable part of riding. This lesson applies to lots of other safety gear as well.
This week, the governor of my state, Jon Corzine, got an up close and personal lesson in this truism. When you're in a car, accidents are almost inevitable. Corzine was not wearing a seatbelt. The result, 12 broken ribs, a fractured sternum, broken leg, and other injuries. Since it's not an if, wear your seatbelt!

Takedown

This evening, I had the misfortune to see a car strike a bicyclist. There was a stopped car in the traffic lane. I had just come around a corner, and a bicycle had made a turn from the opposing direction. He was wearing a helmet, had a headlight and a flashing taillight. In short, he'd done everything right, except one thing. He passed this car, well actually a crossover SUV, on the right. As he passed, the driver decided to pull into a drive area, I'm assuming to park or stand. He was beside the vehicle when it suddenly moved forward and to the right, he was knocked sideways, and down to the pavement. He seemed to be alright, but shaken. The driver called 911. (He got them while my phone wasn't going through.) After the accident, he acted quite responsibly. I left to park after the police began arriving. The cyclist chose to be transported, and I returned and described what I'd seen to one of the police officers.