EUC rider killed on freeway in Hawaii

[Bizra6ot]

8 minutes ago, shellac said:

This article mentions no helmet.

All in all a tragic event. Indeed it could be that this was simply a conservative rider who got lost and ended up in the wrong place. My condolences to everyone who knew him and was close to him. 

I see he was working on a custom rim for the Sherman, so this is a loss for the wider community as well. 

Same feeling as a tourist he was propably lost or following gps was 10pm so maybe he endend up on freeway by accident

[shellac]

23 minutes ago, Bizra6ot said:

Same feeling as a tourist he was propably lost or following gps was 10pm so maybe he endend up on freeway by accident

yeah even the more daring freeway rider videos i’ve seen the guy is generally wearing a helmet, so likely this wasn’t on purpose 

[Paul A]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/300+Rodgers+Blvd+%2310,+Honolulu,+HI+96819,+USA/@21.3366484,-157.9096094,3a,75y,283.07h,82.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s29EGpzlsW2Fv-WVc57OQag!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x7c006fa68fe82d35:0xa48ea55f8ea00c68!2s300+Rodgers+Blvd+%2310,+Honolulu,+HI+96819,+USA!3b1!8m2!3d21.3311188!4d-157.9200635!3m4!1s0x7c006fa68fe82d35:0xa48ea55f8ea00c68!8m2!3d21.3311188!4d-157.9200635

[supercurio]

3 hours ago, Paul A said:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/300+Rodgers+Blvd+%2310,+Honolulu,+HI+96819,+USA/@21.3366484,-157.9096094,3a,75y,283.07h,82.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s29EGpzlsW2Fv-WVc57OQag!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x7c006fa68fe82d35:0xa48ea55f8ea00c68!2s300+Rodgers+Blvd+%2310,+Honolulu,+HI+96819,+USA!3b1!8m2!3d21.3311188!4d-157.9200635!3m4!1s0x7c006fa68fe82d35:0xa48ea55f8ea00c68!8m2!3d21.3311188!4d-157.9200635

Ohh that looks like a scary place to ride on an EUC even during the day.

The lanes configuration, the surface on the ground, the gaps for the bridge, the fact it's above ground level.
Also, no lighting whatsoever: very little chance to be seen in case of crash.

Maybe it looked okay enough for someone who rode on a freeway before?

I don't know if anybody knows this area, but are there any alternative streets or bike lanes around or the freeway is pretty much the only option there? On maps, it seems like there are side roads although pretty residential.

Edited December 23, 2021 by supercurio

[Bizra6ot]

Is this the exact location? There are three cam on the back of the signs and one under the bridge

[houseofjob]

Guys, 

The family has setup a GoFundMe for Joel here, all proceeds go towards getting Joel back home from Hawaii, along with the funeral arrangements, thanks in advance on behalf of the family. (the $10K goal is an arbitrary one as the family doesn't know the full costs of all the arrangements yet, so please still donate if you are so inclined, any leftover monies will be donated to a cause in Joel's name)

Also, I'm not sure if there are others on the forums Joel has been in contact or helped, but if you have any remembrance type stories, you can PM them to me, as the family is collecting them.

Thanks.

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by houseofjob

[OldFartRides]

I figure he was the Joel who soldered my 16s circuit board last spring. Damn shame. 

[MadVlad]

It is a tragedy, one we dont want to happen to anyone else. Rules and regulations are often written in blood, that is the unfortunate reality of the thing. One of the best things we can do is use the information gained to try and save others from ending up in that situation.

There is an interesting video I saw a little while back. This is 18mph running, if you are in good shape you might be able to run it out at 10-15mph, maybe twist an ankle and eat it in a slide, past that you are going down hard, and if you are a tall, big guy you are going to hit with authority. Kinetic energy formula is E = 0.5*M*V^2 . Mass plays a big part in the energy you carry, your height will add to the potential energy of the fall, but the velocity squared part is the big kicker here. Kinetic energy increases in a geometric progression with the increase of the speed. The difference between a 20mph crash and a 40mph crash is not 2 times harder, its 4 times harder.

 

[GothamMike]

My deepest sympathy and condolences.

We need a protocol if you suddenly find yourself on a restricted Freeway/Dual-Carriageway/Parkway.  Cars are zipping along at 70+ MPH/115 KPH. Drivers will not have time to avoid you. 

[supercurio]

Depending on service TOS and pending consent from the family, if Joel was using @Seba's EUC World and either recording a tour or logging wheel data, this data could explain circumstances for the fatal crash.

For instance, if the data shows that the speed was beyond the safe maximum a Sherman can sustain at the voltage of the time, it would mean that the rider probably could not hear the beeps.
In that case, it would highlight the need for manufacturers to make safety alerts dramatically more effective.

GPS recording might explain what happened in traffic. If the crash was caused by a pothole for instance, or during a lane change.

This data might, if it even exists teach us nothing, or a lot.

Edited December 24, 2021 by supercurio

[Paul A]

Click/click and drag the mouse, to move forwards/backwards/rotate etc in street view.

Exit 16 is slightly further along.

So close to Xmas, just incredibly sad.

[.....]

1 hour ago, GothamMike said:

My deepest sympathy and condolences.

We need a protocol if you suddenly find yourself on a restricted Freeway/Dual-Carriageway/Parkway.  Cars are zipping along at 70+ MPH/115 KPH. Drivers will not have time to avoid you. 

Find the shoulder and walk... Theres already a protocol for that. If there's no shoulder, vacate travel lanes as quickly as possible. It sucks, but sometimes when you get lost and find yourself somewhere not designed for you to be, there is NO safe protocol to leave. Just being on basic public streets worries me, as the reality of someone running me over should I just merely fall off, is only too obvious. Being tailgated at 40mph is bad enough, I couldnt fathom much faster. Isnt Hawaii statewide speed limit no more than 45mph? If so, that means youre likely to be followed by cars doing 55-60mph.

Edited December 24, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Richardo]

Here is an obituary, he was a interesting guy with a lot of complexity to his interests. 
 

https://nyc2600.net/2021/12/23/rip-joel-dort/

that also includes a link to his family’s gofundme @Tryptych

[Ben Kim]

I've ridden with Joel and befriended him here in NYC; he is NOT what anyone would consider a reckless or aggressive rider.  It is much speculation on our end, but knowing him, there is no chance he entered a freeway on his own accord, and well, either the wheel or road conditions failed him.  I might have been one of the last people to see him in NYC (he was trying to extract my Sherman's v0 firmware for archival purposes before his trip to Hawaii) and he may have been the one guy in our community that was universally loved by all.  

Anyone trying to lump him in with the more aggressive NYC riders is doing themselves a disservice making an assumption about the man without ever having known him. 

[Paul A]

An elevated, above ground level highway, need to travel up a sloping ON ramp.

The emergency lane is separated by a solid line.

Entrance to the first ON ramp, straight ahead, right side, prior to Exit 16, Street View, July 2019.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/300+Rodgers+Blvd+%2310,+Honolulu,+HI+96819,+USA/@21.3334493,-157.88941,3a,75y,294.32h,73.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sF6VgKmoCmzYB0MIBeM2dwg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x7c006fa68fe82d35:0xa48ea55f8ea00c68!2s300+Rodgers+Blvd+%2310,+Honolulu,+HI+96819,+USA!3b1!8m2!3d21.3311188!4d-157.9200635!3m4!1s0x7c006fa68fe82d35:0xa48ea55f8ea00c68!8m2!3d21.3311188!4d-157.9200635

 

 

[GothamMike]

17 hours ago, Paul A said:

An elevated, above ground level highway, need to travel up a sloping ON ramp.

The emergency lane is separated by a solid line.

Entrance to the first ON ramp, straight ahead, right side, prior to Exit 16, Street View, July 2019.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/300+Rodgers+Blvd+%2310,+Honolulu,+HI+96819,+USA/@21.3334493,-157.88941,3a,75y,294.32h,73.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sF6VgKmoCmzYB0MIBeM2dwg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x7c006fa68fe82d35:0xa48ea55f8ea00c68!2s300+Rodgers+Blvd+%2310,+Honolulu,+HI+96819,+USA!3b1!8m2!3d21.3311188!4d-157.9200635!3m4!1s0x7c006fa68fe82d35:0xa48ea55f8ea00c68!8m2!3d21.3311188!4d-157.9200635

 

 

Looks like there was no way off. 

[Rehab1]

On 12/24/2021 at 12:01 AM, Ben Kim said:

I've ridden with Joel and befriended him here in NYC; he is NOT what anyone would consider a reckless or aggressive rider.

 

On 12/24/2021 at 12:01 AM, Ben Kim said:

Anyone trying to lump him in with the more aggressive NYC riders is doing themselves a disservice making an assumption about the man without ever having known him. 

Thank you for giving Joel D’Ort a voice. I didn’t know Joel but I’m sure his family would appreciate your kind words in his honor. 

[mkosterlund]

I never knew or met Joel - however I'm sad he's not with his friends and family anymore... It's just tragic

Edited December 25, 2021 by mkosterlund

[Paul A]

https://www.gofundme.com/f/funeral-memorial-for-joel-dort?utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

Funeral & Memorial for Joel D'Ort

• 

Carmen Ortiz is organizing this fundraiser.

Created 1 day ago

Funerals & Memorials

 

Hi this is Carmen, Joel's youngest sister.

 

Joel passed away in an unfortunate traffic accident on December 21st 2021.

 

Some people have reached out regarding donations, so I've created this page.

 

We will be using the funds towards getting him home from Hawaii where he passed,

 

as well as funeral services at home in New York.

 

It's obvious from all those who have reached out to my family & I that Joel touched a lot of lives.

 

He was well loved in his 2600, Buddhist & Electric Unicycle (EUC) communities.

 

Any funds raised, not used towards his funeral expenses, will go into a charitable trust/foundation in his name.

 

If you know any charities Joel would have wanted to support please feel free to suggest in the comments.

 

I am also collecting any stories, photos, video, etc. - you would all like to share in remembrance of him and to share with all those that loved him.

 

I will also update here about funeral services locations, dates & times.

 

Thank you all for the outpouring of love so far.

 

[mrelwood]

This, like the luckily so far very few other fatal EUC incidents are extremely saddening and tragic. No question about that.

 Descriptions of Joel’s riding style and the circumstances definitely leave a large gap of reasons that we do not, and might never know.

 However, IF indeed

On 12/23/2021 at 1:21 PM, supercurio said:

the higher risk of over-lean due to not hearing the beeps

was the reason for the accident, the dilemma has been solved long ago already.

On 12/23/2021 at 1:21 PM, supercurio said:

The only thing I can think that could help here is convincing Leaperkim to add beeper status in the bluetooth data

Do you think that Joel would’ve set up an earbud for 3rd party EUC warnings? Or that it could even be called a safety mechanism, when it’s reliant on human memory and winning the inherent laziness in all of us?

On 12/24/2021 at 3:45 AM, supercurio said:

For instance, if the data shows that the speed was beyond the safe maximum a Sherman can sustain at the voltage of the time, it would mean that the rider probably could not hear the beeps.
In that case, it would highlight the need for manufacturers to make safety alerts dramatically more effective.

”Dramatically more effective“ safety warnings have been in place since the very first EUC. GW (and later its descendants) still are and will forever be the only wheels on the market where you can remove these warnings altogether. As no surprise to anyone, most owners indeed do.

 When the dangers of this option are being discussed, time and time again a minority of riders (mostly the fastest US ones) fight for keeping their “freedom” to be able to do so. Despite being the #1 cause for countless serious and now possibly even fatal accidents.

Relying on the rider to hear the beeps played at one’s feet pointing away drink the rider is a non-mechanism beyond 25mph. And relying on remembering to set up a BT warning system wouldn’t solve much at all. The human element simply must be removed.

No matter how fast the future KS and IM wheels will be, “not hearing the beeps” will never be a cause for an overspeeding accident. And their warning system requires zero setup or 3rd party devices. It’s built into all wheels already, works extremely well, and can’t be turned off (on KS/IM).

How much more mindboggingly obvious would it have to be for the GW Group to catch up?

 

 My deepest condolences to Joel’s family and friends.

[.....]

TIltback and haptic feedback should be in all wheels. THe KS tiltback has saved my a** a time or two. A 3rd party app is not a viable solution as that relies on ANOTHER company and device, to pick up the slack. Ugh, hearing this really sucks, as we know it could have been easily avoided in many ways. I need to get off my *ss and find a hack solution to this, for my sherm. assap.

[Paul A]

Implementing tilt back would be a firmware/software fix or update?

If so, maybe Seba could write the code and charge/licence it to Gotway and Veteran.

[Mayhem]

Euc vibes included a tribute to Joel at the end of his latest yt video. Tribute starts at the 12:22 mark. 
 

 

 

 

[mrelwood]

6 hours ago, Paul A said:

Implementing tilt back would be a firmware/software fix or update?

If so, maybe Seba could write the code and charge/licence it to Gotway and Veteran.

No need. They already have it. But since it can be turned off, people turn it off.

[Silverfish]

On 12/23/2021 at 5:22 PM, GothamMike said:

My deepest sympathy and condolences.

We need a protocol if you suddenly find yourself on a restricted Freeway/Dual-Carriageway/Parkway.  Cars are zipping along at 70+ MPH/115 KPH. Drivers will not have time to avoid you. 

turn around and take a different route?