biker: a bittersweet sympathy

if there's one thing i remember from 8.01 (physics i), it is that inelastic collisions cause rapid deceleration and energy is not conserved

its so abstract when you learn it, but today it became concrete (for someone)

i just got off the shuttle. it was slightly drizzling. the cardboard box i was carrying was beginning to spot with rain drops. i was thinking about my hair and how there was an 80% chance of frizzy for the rest of the afternoon. the shuttle pulled off and just as i reached the benches in front of new house, i heard a scream. i looked down the street toward the shuttle and saw someone laying on the ground near the front driver's side.

she was on the ground screaming, like something was broken. by the time i called the police, they already knew.

i'd never seen anything like that in my life. sure, i had that crazy cousin who chased the ball in the street and was unfortunate to live with some scars on his legs. but i didn't see it.

i don't own a bike (and i hate bikers), but i would never wish what happened today on any of them. that being said, bikers should be more careful. they should realize that they are riding around at relatively high speeds and that they could get hurt (yes, even by that slow moving tech shuttle) or even hurt someone else.

i felt sorry for the girl when i got up to my room and i heard the ambulance sirens whirling. but i know the next time i'm in the car and a biker is moving slowly in my lane, i will still have the urge to gently push against their back tire (not that i would act on it).

i feel sorry for the girl and other bikers who get hurt, but believe that they incur most of what happens to them with their aggressive, inconsiderate, and careless movements around other people and automobiles.

after all that...

....i still hate bikers.