SALINE COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) — A Norwegian man attempting to rollerblade across the U.S. was killed in a hit-and-run in Kansas, officials said.
The Saline County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as 24-year-old Joachim Lanham.
Lanham was documenting his rollerblading journey across the U.S. on Instagram. According to a post from his family, he was hit by an SUV on day 22 of his journey from New York to Los Angeles
Fuck this sucks.
Here’s an article about him skating 5,500km across Australia:
I am too terrified to ride a bike 20km to the next town. I could probably do a quarter of it on paths. Perhaps a bit more bush bashing. But the highway sections seems like certain death. I envy places that are connected with paths. Huge respect for this guy.
Are you in australia?
I’ve done a bit of long distance riding here.
Bush tracks are ok, but be very, very mindful of snakes. Bush bashing is generally a bad idea. You’ll pick up ticks from foliage, and snakes can’t feel your vibrations and you can’t see them soooo…
Being on the road is generally ok, but a wing mirror is essential. You really need to be able to see traffic approaching behind you.
Cars can move around you but for road trains I just get off the road and stop on the shoulder. They’re too wide to leave any room for you, and the “bow wave” of air pushes you away, but then the void behind them pulls you on to be road, ready to be collected by the traffic following.
What’s a road train?
A truck with three trailers.
Welp, “bike touring Australia” is now officially off of my bucket list. Thank you for that
Actually funny thing I realized is that when I tried to go the next city over from the city I live in the safest paths were the forests and park paths . EVen unofficial paths were a better option, as in forests paths that shouldnt have a path but so many homeless people and drifters there go along thst path so often that the path has now been beaten into the ground and now its just there permanently.
Snakes are a real problem on narrow trails in Australia. On a bike they can’t sense the vibrations from your footfalls so they can’t get out of your way.
Also mobile / cell coverage is patchy. If you get bit then walking / riding is the worst thing you can do, but if you don’t have cell coverage then you’re cooked.
I guess we need municipal service for all towns, villages and cities that regularly keeps snakes, other venomous, and large carnivorous creatures off of these forest and unofficial paths.
I’m not sure how that could work.
Just take appropriate precautions.
You could just as easily fall and injure yourself and be in a similar situation.
For snakes, you have to be aware that they’re around, don’t ride through grass or foliage where you couldn’t see them, and if you do see one don’t stop next to it. I have a pressure bandage kit, and I have a personal locator beacon in case there’s no phone reception.
I was thinking maybe we have like designated ’ pedestrian highways’ or 'cyclist highways’that connects each municipality to another.
Roads that are often travelled by humans tend to be avoided by animals since animals have a fear of humans , rightfully so, and they typically do what it takes to avoid us. So all the people walking or biking down these roads will unconciously scare off most animals from them. I dont think there is currently a perfect solution for a problem like this but there has got to be a better way than whatever the heck we have now, right?
Honestly, I think the best solution for the time being is 2 part: for more people to ride bikes or be pedestrians, and a public awareness campaign to convince motorists that they need to be mindful of other types of road users.
Tracks between municipalities do exist, but not everywhere, they’re not used very much and often in disrepair.
You’re right that animals avoid well used tracks (in some cases) but where I live, the lack of people on bikes is the core problem.
No way in hell would I walk , bike (motor bike even) , scooter, any form of transportation other than in a tank a disrance of 20KM or over. Especially if Im going the next city over.
The problem is two fold cause the drivers in north america are inherently bad and they think theyre better drivers than they are. BUT THEN ALSO the infrastucture in most of north america is car centric so when you go to a dangerous a crossing or a dangerous path …that path was probably made for cars , large emergency vehicles, large constructiin vehicles or military vehicles… that path was not made for cyclisrs or pedestrians. So youre rolling a loaded dice against your favour any time you go near paths like this without a tank of your own lol
If I wanted to travel such distances? Unless there is a ‘no car policy’ there and its blocked off ffrom all sides by authorities or Im travelling via a city bus or a train? Im not going. Sorry.
I cycled across Kansas when I was a teenager, in 1971 (yeah, I know, that was a long-ass time ago). I had no problem with cars or trucks. Some curious locals did ask me “why are you doing that?” and once I had to wait 20 minutes for a herd of cattle to cross the road. But that was a long time ago, when cycling was less popular, Kansas politics were pragmatic, the locals friendly, and road rage unheard of. Now, when I go there, people seem pissed off all the time and the state and local governments are malicious. Also, meth and rabid fundamentalism.
One of the best things my parents ever did was leave that state.
I did that ride during a family visit back, training for a ride from Los Angeles to Sonoma County that I ended up not doing. Instead, I got into cycling in the San Gabriels. Now, well past 60, I’ve started bike touring in Europe, where drivers are generally less inclined to kill you, though it does still happen. Also, there are car-free (with a few exceptions) cross-European cycle routes.
🫂🥺Glad that you survived . Hoped it was enjoyable 🥺🫂
Also
Also, there are car-free (with a few exceptions) cross-European cycle routes.
What in the fuck!? Im jealous 😒
He wasn’t shot, so that’s a nice change. /s
Oof, why did I laugh at this? 'Tis America, I guess?
FUCK CARS…especially fuck that this asshole won’t suffer anything worse than a slap on the wrist for KILLING someone.
…i don’t give a fuck if she’s 82, that just means she shouldn’t have been driving in the first place.
Im gonna keep it 💯with you , you are able and within your right to think that it doesnt matter that she’s 82 .
But in my opinion I already know there’s gonnabe some landmark study or studies thst comes out that proves thst people at or around the ages of 70-75+ should not be driving at all since people of this age tend to lack coordination , reaction time, and awareness of many of the driving related events happening around them.
I wish I had compiled it but something Ive noticed is that in hit-and-run stories is thst you will find a disturbingly common trend of seeing that a very old senior ‘hit something or someone’ , ‘never noticed it was there before’, ‘and kept on going cause they thought it was nothing’ .
There comes an age when you just have to accept thst youre just too old to do some things. Not a single paid athlete in basketball anywhere in the world has been able to stay io that profession past the age of 50… there is a reason for this…
Never allow your ego to betray your understanding of humanity and your understanding of biology.
I have known plenty of 90 year olds who could drive fine, this woman hadn’t been physically tested for probably 20 years.
Regular testing should be mandatory for all ages IMO.
I agree with Germany, fuck me, right…
In Murica? How the hell is she going to the pharmacy 5km away to buy her 500$ prescription? Take the non-existing public transit?
Everything gets delivered in today’s gig economy. If you can’t tell if you’ve hit a full grown man while driving - trade your car in and take an uber to your appointments.
Ngl that’s what door dashing should be used for, not for lazy people to order a 5 dollar burger for 20 dollars
On the other hand, isn’t an 82 year old hurtling around in 2 tons of metal with only a vague idea of what’s happening outside that box… normal?
Why single out this woman, when there are millions just like her who are only different in that thus far, by sheer luck, they haven’t happened to kill anyone? This one won the murder lottery, millions more bought a ticket.
I would like to welcome you to America, where everything is made up and the points don’t matter. I wish this was funny
I’m assuming you don’t drive, and hopefully you never do.
I think you’re missing the point here. The individual is not the issue. The fact that any 82 year old is hurtling around in 2 tons of metal oblivious to the world outside is the issue (or at least part of it). Do you think this woman is some kind of exceptional case?
My gradfather drove far into his 90s, and only stopped when he became deaf. Never hurt anyone or did anything unsafe. The obliviousness really depends on the person.
I do favor frequent testing for older drivers, though. When things go wrong, it can happen suddenly and people are often in denial about their continuing fitness to drive.
I agree totally about the testing. Old people often drive until an accident or near miss demonstrates their inability to continue. When you live in a world where driving is a necessity, of course people will push themselves to do it until they reach a point of failure.
I’ve been yelling it into the void since the 90s - Mandatory Annual Testing After Sixty-Five. And not the book test. Get in a car and drive with a human who can gauge your ability and mark any decline.
Remember, people who don’t live here:
Our rails are almost all shut down, public transit is a joke in all but a few small areas, roads are dangerous to bike or walk on with many not even having a shoulder let alone a reasoable place for traffic that isn’t motorized.
You slmost have to have a car here, by incredibly shitty design.
And then the cars, now…
Between the fact that nobody makes a decent car anymore, they all fall apart just about the time your lease is up so you can’t even own one only sign eternal contracts for landfill bait, all of them spy on you, and have beacons that are tracked by countless parts of our surveillence capitalism infrastructure on top of sending their own reports on you to the automaker who then sells it to anyone ad everyone, insurance is insanely expensive, and now gas is nuts, as well… And if you have a diesel?
I don’t own a car anymore, and am not in an area with passable public transit. I have one chance a week, insanely early in the morning, to catch a buss for an eight hour trip that would take one by car to get to a hub… Which doesn’t even have decent local transit for the town, but does have a meeting of interstates so you can catch other busses to other cities. At leaast those city connections run at least once a day instead of a week.
The sweet spot for cars is early 2000s, like 2005. Still analog enough to be cheap to repair but with relatively modern luxuries. Thankfully I got rid of the truck and got a car it just sips gas. An 8 hour road trip takes like $50 in gas even at around $4 per gallon.
I prefer going back to the 60s and 70s, but when you do that fule efficiency drops my a huge amount, to have something affordable to drive regularly you’ll need a 4 cylinder from that time period.
Of course I only really use a vehicle for hauling things, so it has to be a V8, but on the bright side the big trucks that could haul massive loads from back then are actually smaller than the “Never leave the pavement, and if you carry more than groceries your warranty is void” trucks they sell now.
I was far below the average gas use when I had that big F-550 than the American average because I used it for what it was needed for, or to drive down the highway and park so I could pull out my bike and ride from there once I was past the “Oh god, oh god, we’re all gonna die!” stretch of road.
The fuel efficiency dips but so does the internal safety. Those old cars have a nasty tendency to crush your legs in a fairly mild collision, not to mention the head trauma from every surface before side and curtain airbags.
well, the other side of that, I’ve been hit by a full size modern truck doing about 30 in the driver’s side door and all I got was a dent ;)
Still benefiting from modern crumple zones in an unreliable prisoner’s-dilemma sort of way.
Other than crash safety back then I won’t disagree with you. But I’ve never owned a car from that time period so I don’t know what it’s like. 94 is as old as it gets for me, but the highest it gets is 2009. I will absolutely agree with your stance on modern trucks not actually being used for hauling or towing and how dangerously large they are. It’s more dangerous to not have a large vehicle these days. And I’m assuming that stretch of road was spine crushing with no load? Sounds like something you only do once or twice.
I have one chance a week, insanely early in the morning, to catch a buss for an eight hour trip that would take one by car to get to a hub
I know what’s that like. I was carless for two years in a suburb that had an express bus into the city that you could catch one of two times in the morning and one of two times home in the afternoon. If I had to work overtime I had to beg coworkers for rides.
Being near the streetcar was a big part of why I moved where I did when I had the chance, but not everyone has that privilege these days. (And lucky me, my parents have been “borrowing” my car for two years.)
Every time I visit the US, I travel by train and bus and bicycle and walking.
This is misinformation.
This is the same kind of “I KNOW BETTER!” fuckery Europeans call American tourists out on.
Remember that the United States is larger than the entierity of Europe if you don’t count Russia, and comperable if you do.
YMMV, and I’d wager most visitors are in ideal locations more often than not, so you see the best we have to offer… Unless it’s Florida, of course.
I also spend $100 a month for internet that often caps at 100k, that’s the speed of a dial-up shotgun modem from the 90s, tell me how your gigabit fiber in your hotel is cheaper and faster because the city you are in must reflect the conditions of the entire nation.
If you live in a shitty place, move.
Ofc its a fucking hit and run too like what the fuck. We remember people out here being like “ban cars? You don’t mean outright right? Haha” no we mean it, we hate cars, ban them we hate them so fucking much dude. Yeah there’s a time or place for them but there needs to be proper safe routes for pedestrians and bikers and cars need to be straight up banned in certain areas.
Ps: all our thoughts and care to the family, really sorry for your son. He was doing what he loved.
Cars need to be considered second class transport on the road, especially in urban areas.
Part of the reason surface transit sucks so much here in Toronto is that for some retarded reason they make it so LRTs have to wait for cars to pass at intersections, where it slows them down so much people can reach their destination quicker if they run.
Yeah in reality, pedestrians > bike’s/other small personal riders > public transit > small commercial riders (think mail couriers/small delivery) > mopeds/bikes (with heavily enforced legal noise and pollution limits) > cars (with heavily enforced noise and pollution limits) and most if not all residential streets: cars are not allowed or are maxed at 10km/h.
But in our heart, no cars at all thanks 💖 bring us trams, trains bikes and walking parks babyyyy
A train or a bus transports way more people than walking or biking and has less ability to stop.
Train>bus>commercial trucks>bicycles>ebikes>pedestrians> motorcycles>LSVs>>>>cars
Ah mb got the pedestrian mixed up, though bikes should watch out for pedestrians in mid use and pedestrians should watch out for bikes in mix lanes/bike lanes. Though commercial trucks should be in same place as normal cars imo (but sowed in mixed use areas only at certain times like early morning/night)
Trucks have less ability to stop and emit a ton of pollution when they need to accelerate again, its in everyone’s best interest that they are not obstructed.
True, but big trucks don’t need to be in city centers or in areas that are pedestrianized in the first place. They should be completely separate specifically for that reason yeah?
Are fewer commercial vehicles that only enter pedestrianized areas at low times good? Sure. But that may not be realistic, depending on the size and logistical needs of the pedestrianized zone. When there are commercial trucks in the city, they need priority so they can get out as unobtrusivly as possible.
Yeah it takes a legend to go on an adventure like that.
Vila i frid broder.
I don’t understand why people keep trying to achieve this. We have had several similar stories of people attempting cycling across the US:
It also seems that the major cause of death for American competitive cyclesports athletes are getting killed by car while training:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/may/19/gwen-inglis-cyclist-dies-fatally-struck-colorado
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/08/sport/ethan-boyes-death-cycling/
https://www.today.com/news/magnus-white-cycling-team-killed-rcna97356
Are you blaming the victims here? It sure feels like you’re trying to blame the victims.
It’s no different than, say, seeing a lot of people die climbing Everest and asking why people still do that. Cause of death, and fault, are irrelevant to the reaction of “hey this is dangerous, maybe don’t do it”
I think there’s a big difference between cycling and climbing Everest. One is something people might do every day just to get by, and the other is an exploitative ritual carried out by the wealthy. You think these cyclists died just because they were going so far? What happened to them could have happened to anyone in that time and place on any given day. We only noticed because they were doing something noteworthy at the time. How many others died similarly but didn’t get noticed because they weren’t on a publicity stunt? Should we not care about them just because of the stunters? About all the people who have to cross any given busy street on any given day?
The cathedral of St John does an annual “blessing of the bicycles”, where they read out the names of the people killed riding bikes in nyc that year. When I went it was like 90% Hispanic names, because yeah, most of the miles and therefore most of the risk is borne by delivery people. They don’t make national press.
It is different because Everest is Everest, but roads are not supposed to fucking be like that. Driving is a god damn privilege - it literally says so in any driving instruction manual. Walking is a right. It is absolutely every motorists responsibility to exercise the utmost caution to prevent these kinds of accidents, and the fact y’all so routinely fail in this basic fucking responsibility is why drastic reforms are needed, and the majority of people do not deserve to drive, period.
Ban the shit. We need to get the ugly monstrosities out of cities full stop.
dude how the fuck did terry fox run across canada ? canada is just as car-centric as the usa and Im guessing it was just as car centric back when he ran than it is now.
Canadians aren’t muricans.
when jt comes to our infrastructure in some parts of canada? TRUST ME we are MORE Murican thsn muricans lol
He didn’t. He had to give up about halfway through.
oh I didnt even know about that aspect of the story. Thank TIL.
Large chunks he was either directly followed by police cars or by his support team in a car. Plus once he really go going the media hype meant everyone knew.
0 chance that could be repeated today here.
Because people should be able to move freely? Why are you blaming the victim?
I ride my bicycle from one end of my rural state to the other every year, because I like gravel touring and it allows me to experience the world in a more direct and authentic way.
If some asshole in a truck kills me while I’m out doing this, please shut the fuck up about how I had it coming, 'kay?
Edit: The more I read about this, the more awful it is. He was hit by an 82 year old woman who left him to die in a fucking ditch.
She told police she “thought she hit something, turned around to check the area, and didn’t see anything so she went home.” How is that an acceptable defense? She probably won’t even face charges. It just makes me so angry.
Of course an suv. People and their big vehicles thinking they’re untouchable and in their private house with no one looking in.
Also, visibility is worse.
Guess they picked the wrong country to rollerblade in /s
As someone who travels on two wheels in the US all the time, they kinda did.
‘kinda did’ in one of thr most car-centric countries on the planet?
Or even visit
He would probably have been safer doing this in Afghanistan.
I heard of a dude who cycled from Ukraine to Nepal and the only thing that happened to him was that he was kidnapped by taliban (they released him when they realised he’s broke) no other major accidents
Say what you will about the taliban, but at least they have a ethos. American motorists? Nothin’!
I’ve been to Saline County, Kansas. That’s an especially shitty place to die.
The only thing I like about Salina is their roller derby team.
Ironic.
“Hey Derby Team! Just a heads up! The roller rink and parking lot is closed for renovations so we’ll be practising on a nearby street and- … youre all quitting at once?..Why?”
Did this guy really get from NYC to Kansas in 22 days? Dude was haulin’ ass. That’s about 64mi/103km per day.
When I was a teenager, I once rollerbladed 25 miles in a day and my feet were very unhappy about it. The constant, violent vibrations of the asphalt make it hard not to get blisters and stuff.
I assume they have touring blades
God… Like the fruit dude! Like the gad damn fruit! Orange 🍊. Dolly Parton was way not orange. But just focus on the color. You can do it. I know you probably want to meet other famous people and such. But right now we would love for you to meet with the orange guy. Cmon, please!
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We force them to drive. So long as we have a car-dependent infrastructure and few if any affordable alternatives, you’re advocating for elderly people to require family or money to be able to navigate the world around them, which is not really a great stance to take.
That does not require this situation to be the case of required driving, but a rule which prohibits elderly people from driving means that we have to anticipate how it will effect people that could not get around otherwise; disabled people deal with this all the time, and they’re pretty much abandoned.
It’s sad, but yeah they and their families need to suffer the consequences of car centric hell, taking away the licenses of people too old to notice they killed someone, and start taking meaningful action to remedy this situation. Unfortunately no one will change a thing of they don’t face consequences.
I think it is a very Lemmy response to say, “well yeah, but it’s more reasonable to punish innocent people who have few or no options so that people feel bad enough to fix things.”
As I said, disabled people are still often disqualified from driving, there are physical requirements for driving that disqualifies many elderly people. Guess what happens to people who don’t have family to support them.
You’re from Canada? This is from thirteen fucking years ago: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/for-seniors-losing-driver-s-licence-like-having-arm-cut-off-1.1346585
Is it fixed?
Oh, and before you act like that isn’t relevant: https://www.kslegislature.gov/li_2024/b2023_24/statute/008_000_0000_chapter/008_002_0000_article/008_002_0047_section/008_002_0047_k/
“The one who is always the most surprised is the one whose needs were met.”
I think you’re strawmanning a bit with that “punishment talk” and treating things like they are mutually exclusive when they are not.
I literally just read an old lady (article about upcoming municipal elections) commenting that the city went too far with bike lanes and bus stops. Society keeps catering to old people drivers, who in turn vote against better alternatives; fucking/running us all over.
Sure, could you explain how you read, “Unfortunately no one will change a thing of [sic] they don’t face consequences,” in response to “we should be considerate of the material needs of people before we ban them from driving,” as anything other than a punishment?
I also like, don’t care about what an old lady in your city said…? That doesnt change the fact that there’s a 100% chance that a ban on elderly drivers would lead to deaths and hardship of innocent people in a system that abandons them otherwise and requires access to a car to even exist in? Are you seriously suggesting that it is reasonable to do that to make sure these nasty ladies don’t drive?
Canadians are so brutal dude.
We have restricted licences in Australia, where through their GP reporting changes in circumstances or failure to pass an aged driving tests they can have a limited radius / areas they are allowed to drive (say supermarket, close relatives, gp, activities).
It does put a bit of a rock and a hard place for some folks, but it’s a much better option than having no licence.
The fitness to drive test scheme is well executed, is not required to be held at a service centre (via trained 3rd parties) and let’s most maintain their mobility.
In the US, they have golf carts, some communities plan for them, even giving thrm special roads, but they’re often banned on higher speed roads, which you need to get anywhere. Here in vietnam, 82 year olds mostly ride 49cc scooters.
I saw a video of a skateboarder who skates across the states the other day and all I could think is how surprised I was that he didn’t get hit/killed. Though in his montage he did get clipped
There was a Spanish actor who biked from Spain to Rome as part of some doc and he got hit pretty badly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvojIfdmSR8
In France, obviously.
“An 82-year-old female said she had been driving a 2013 Ford Edge SUV going west on Country Club Road. She stated that she thought she hit something, turned around to check the area, but didn’t see anything, so she continued her journey home.”
Well at least she was nice and safe in her rolling fortress.
And thank god we don’t ever test people again after giving them access to killing machines
The thing about cars is that they are a lethal weapon INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. .
So obviously outside you have this mostly iron thing that weighs over a tonne or more and it can easily reach speeds of over 250 km/hr if the deranged driver wants it to…
But If someone alters their car so that you cant get outside once theyve locked you inside… You better hope that theyve put you in the trunk cause thats the only place with the emergency opening. Also whst if theu alter the trunk to make it so that only they can open it?..
Also I was reading this one comment from a police shooting a couple yesrs ago aand it changed how I see the lethality of cars from the inside. And it basically said: “The main perpetrator was shot and killed by police but a person who was kidnapped inside the car were ALSO shot and killed by those police officers. But something that the news story conveniently omits about the officers’ response is that the car was travelling at insane speeds for most of the chase …So how could the kidnapped people inside the car escape if they couldnt jump out? They didnt deserve to also be shot as they had no route out of the car.”
82-year-old
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK
I’ve read horror stories told by acquaintances from Japan about old people there driving and usually finding themselves crashing into things, crashing into cars, cyclists, pedestrians, or worse. There’s been talk among Japanese about setting limits to drivers older than 60 or 70.
I hate everything about this story, fuck car culture so much
82 YEAR OLD? I think my grandpa died at around that age, they’re letting this person drive?
It’s Kansas. If she can’t drive she literally cannot leave her home…
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Tennessee city of 40k here. No taxi service for the last decade, and no uber drivers unless you get really lucky.
There’s a city van that will take elderly people around town. It requires three business days notice, the pickup time is an hour window, shopping trips are limited to three bags, and it’s not free.
in rural areas it’s pretty hard, but some small towns have basically on demand dial a ride type of services for the elderly, but still people really resist losing their freedom on that.
Calling a Ford Edge a “rolling fortress” is a bit of a stretch
most modern SUVs are. particularly compared to any bike.
It sure feels like it when it’s wooshing past you at highway speed on a bicycle.
Calling it a pollution powered people crusher is a pretty accurate assessment tho.
