Thank you Obie for clarifying some of the misinformation. Hawaii police have been looking pretty bad this year(2015) with so many assaults, family altercations, and now running tourists over. Long time police officers are having a hard time controlling their tempers of late, maybe they need to retire to spend quality time with their families instead of beating on them? This officer who ran over the biker was on duty to serve and protect the public. Puna Pono alliance led by a great man like Bob Patricci and other fine community members don't look nearly as bad now with their assumptions, accusations, and or altercations with (Bikers)that occasionally take place at their meetings.
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quote:
Originally posted by Obie
"This was not an inevitable chemical reaction, and the police chief (or the officer) making up a story about sun in the eyes when sunrise is at 6:39 just raises suspicions that a cover up is underway."
I don't see anywhere in any of the news reports were the officer reported the sun was in his eyes.It was actually a Fire Dept battalion chief and it was speculation.
Acting Battalion Chief Capt. John Whitman says that area is very treacherous for bike riders, especially during sunrise.
"It's kinda dangerous for a bicyclist to be riding in that area, being the sun rising and such, hard to see them. And there's no shoulder for those bicyclists to be riding on. They basically have to ride on the road, which is a pretty dangerous area," said Capt. Whitman.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/28232...n-waikoloa
But the sun is not rising yet, the accident was reported at 6:30, sunrise this morning wasn't until 6:39, and it actually rises on that side of the mountain even later. Capt. Whitman was blaming the victim and making excuses for the person who struck and killed a bicyclist. If the victim was my family member I would be furious that anyone, without a formal investigation even started yet, would be publicly blaming my family member and making excuses for why an on duty officer ran them over and killed them.
Capt. Whitman was speaking in an official capacity, not as a private citizen, and either the officer lied to him and said the sun was in his eyes, or he was making up excuses that don't hold water to protect the officer. Either way he should be reprimanded for publicly making an excuse that is a physical impossibility and blaming the victim before there is an investigation.
I have family members whose sole form of transportation is by bicycle, if one of them was the victim in this situation I would feel doubly victimized by those statements. Whitman was out of line and should make just as public of an apology to the victim's family.
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More safety-belt enforcement. Nothing to see here folks, move right along.
***Still can't figure out how to spell 'car' correctly***
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if the road is of questionable safety they don't have to bike there.
They can just not visit Hawaii in the first place. Problem solved!
Because our officers are not fully trained on how to operate a motor vehicle?
Specially trained and held to a higher standard, right?
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If you click on the link I provided you will hear that the Police Dept reported that it happened before sunrise.There are also pictures that show there is no shoulder in that area.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/28232...n-waikoloa
The fire chief wasn't there so I agree he shouldn't have said anything about the sun.
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i must say unfortunately it certainly smells like a degree of department nepotism creeping into the picture already. i really can't imagine a battalion chief choosing a similar choice of phrasing offering mitigating circumstances to publicly describe such an incident involving a random civilian driver. such a double standard would not be acceptable.
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they don't have to bike there.
They can just not visit Hawaii in the first place. Problem solved!
The number of tourists who visit Hawaii to bicycle is probably a fairly small percentage of the total.
If someone wants to take a biking vacation, Hawaii is probably (sadly) not their best choice due to the lack of dedicated bike lanes and highway shoulders.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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quote:
Originally posted by HereOnThePrimalEdge
they don't have to bike there.
They can just not visit Hawaii in the first place. Problem solved!
The number of tourists who visit Hawaii to bicycle is probably a fairly small percentage of the total.
If someone wants to take a biking vacation, Hawaii is probably (sadly) not their best choice due to the lack of dedicated bike lanes and highway shoulders.
For several months leading up to Iron Man there are cyclists all over this Island training for that race, there is also a highly publicized multi day around the island ride (or race, I'm not sure which) every year. Hawaii county makes a lot of money off Ironman, it promotes that race all over the world, so pretending almost no one come here to ride a bike is not realistic.
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Hawaii county makes a lot of money off Ironman
How much?
Enough to pay for bike lanes?
If Ironman moves away due to "hazardous local conditions", what tax increase can we expect?
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pretending almost no one come here to ride a bike is not realistic
There are a fair number of visitors who bike on the island, especially during race events. The percentage of bikers as compared to the total numbers of visitors (millions) is small.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
