I’ve been brushed by a truck while on a bike. When they stopped to park I caught up with the truck and yelled at the driver. He was horrified he’d almost hit and completely apologetic – I was stunned to realize he truly had not seen me at all – there was no denying how close I’d come to being smushed and how truly he was appalled he hadn’t seen me. Cyclists need to be ultra aware of what they are doing. I’m not blaming her – it’s just very sad.

Yes, DC is a giant target. But here’s the thing: that’s not new. There have been MIRVs pointed at this city for more than fifty years. Suddenly in the last ten years people are acting like it *is* new. (I mean, obviously I know why, but I don’t relate, is what I’m saying.)

Your point about large vehicles is certainly worth considering. But I think there are a few factors making this situation distinct: by all accounts these military trucks have abnormally bad visibility — spotters have to get out whenever they back up. It also seems safe to assume that their drivers have fewer hours behind the wheel of such vehicles than do most commercial drivers. Does the military’s certification program for using these vehicles include training and testing in an urban environment? I have my doubts. Certainly it seems unlikely that they’re taught to prioritize safety in the same way that commercial drivers are.

Plus, trash trucks benefit from multiple employees at various points on the vehicle to identify danger. And all of those vehicles follow predictable patterns — something that a security vehicle enforcing a roadblock cannot be counted on to do.

So yes, accidents can happen under other circumstances, and do. It’s hard to draw definite conclusions from a single incident, but I do think it’s remarkable that even during this brief summit, someone was killed by security forces. Ask a military analyst: putting troops in urban areas and asking them to be on defense comes with risks.

You can’t blame this accident simply on the presence of large vehicles. While I disagree with your premise that this just should not happen in DC (but it would be OK in some other city, it seems), the accident was an accident. There’s no reason to blame the convention (or the existence of such things, generally) for it. We in DC live with road closures, unusual traffic patterns, odd security configurations, and so on all the time. This one was a little different than a typical event, but so have been many other things in the past.

These sorts of things aren’t going to go away. There’s no point in focusing on the summit itself as the cause of the accident. Instead we should be focusing on the big picture – how can we improve safety for future events? What factors led to the accident? As far as I know, nobody’s really even said (in the press) exactly what happened here.

I also think you’re too easily accepting the idea that bigger vehicles and more closed streets equals more security. Why are SUVs sufficient for protecting the presidential motorcade, but we need multi-ton national guard trucks to protect the rest of the world’s leaders?

I’d add that the idea that killing world leaders would be a huge “get” strikes me as simplistic and juvenile. Terrorist organizations have specific grievances and specific aims. Simply killing leaders of democracies left and right is the sort of thing Lex Luthor might go in for, but it’s kind of a ridiculous way to look at the world and the security threats it contains.

but searching someone to get into their homes is a step beyond ‘protecting the world leaders’ don’tcha think?

they LIVE there which brings me to living in trinidad in NE during the height of the roadblocks.

that was intrusive and felt eerie and odd to be sitting on my porch after work with a corner full of police just sitting there, stopping black people and kids and talking on their damn cell phones.

i was never searched but saw people who were…cars only because while the cops were ‘trying’ to keep guns and drugs and riff raff out, they could WALK up trinidad ave…they are there to instill fear and that’s what keeps a country/a people complacent!

and seriously, when was the last attack on US soil?

i live in DC and i am aware of my surroundings. it’s a “target” city if you will.

do you realize how easy it would be to do something say on a metro train or perhaps the key bridge or anywhere else loads of people are?

think about it. how much security is there really?

pay attention, know your rights…..