Comments on: Bicyclist dies in accident with garbage truck

By: Daddy Strong Legs

Daddy Strong Legs — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:26:06 +0000

Marked bike lanes are death traps. Do not assume that you have the right of way. Citing the law after you have been taken down still leaves you injured. Ride like a courier and screw the bike lane; ride where it is least likely for you to get hit.
Here in the Boston area, the bike lanes are some of the most dangerous spots to ride in. I usually forsake them, choosing sidestreets with less traffic, but no marked lane.

By: jb

jb — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 18:52:04 +0000

I live in portland, and know the hill, it’s a horrible tragedy. Outside of what the laws say, and the rights of way discussions, we really are speculating on the exact situation. We don’t know the speeds at which people were traveling, or the distances between them. Just because the rider was skilled and experienced doesn’t make him perfect, and just because the driver has a checkered past doesn’t make him simply in the wrong. Did he have a reasonable expectation of a safe turn? How much distance was between them? Was the rider off his game at that moment? How far in advance was the turn signal given? That’s one of the biggest problems, drivers not useing the turn signal properly. Let’s stop pointing fingers, and start trying to get everyone to be more aware.

But as always, it doesn’t matter how small the vehicle is, bicycle loses.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 23:03:03 +0000

M in SC,

You need to check your attitude. As a claimed rider yourself, I sincerely hope no driver ever runs you over and some prick argues with everyone behind the guise of the internet that it was your fault.

In most cities a bike lane is just like any other lane of traffic. If you are in the center lane you can’t cut over to the right in front of a car in the right lane just because “you’re ahead of him”. Just as you can’t cross a bike lane in front of someone just because you get a little bit ahead of them. The bike, being in an official lane of traffic, clearly had the right of way.

It disappoints me that whenever someone loses their life to a pointless and tragic accident, there always has to be some jack*ss coming online proclaiming how he would have handled the situation better.

By: Opus the Poet

Opus the Poet — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:40:27 +0000

M in SC, the law is different in Oregon because they don’t allow a bike in a regular traffic lane except to make a left turn if there is a bike lane on the street. Because of this and the fact that bike lanes are placed on the far outside of the street, the law in OR is that making a right turn across a bike lane is just like making a left turn, you have to make sure the lane is clear of oncoming traffic before you procede. It is entirely possible that the cyclist in this case saw the turn signal and was going too fast to stop in the space available (not exceeding the speed limit). This means the driver of the truck cut him off and did not follow the law to make sure the bike lane was clear before proceding. Aviolation of that law and also about 3 others pertaining to vulnerable road users.

Opus

By: bikesgonewild

bikesgonewild — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:59:53 +0000

…doesn’t change anything i said, but it certainly adds merit to the fact that most “authorities” don’t seem to give a rats ass…

…lotta ugly facts stated there…obviously biased against cyclists by virtue of the fact that we are the physically vulnerable ones in these confrontations…hey, we all knew that…

By: John

John — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:34:14 +0000

Try this on for size.

By: bikesgonewild

bikesgonewild — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:28:40 +0000

…john & m in sc…you guys are like the doublemint twins or miller beer…STOP, yer both right…less filling, tastes great…
…in a (reasonably) perfect world, both cyclists & drivers would have a better awareness & regard for each other & the laws, at all times…

…not likely to happen immediately, so ya, it’s incumbent on all of us as cyclists to not only pay full attention but to also never take anything for granted, traffic-wise…

…ain’t as fun & free as we might like it, but hopefully it ain’t gonna lead so many of us to die on our bikes…too much a’ that goin’ on…

By: M in SC

M in SC — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:46:00 +0000

Wow! Head in the sand…what more is there to really say…

Oh, there’s this to say. Riding a bike doesn’t make you immune from laws, be they ‘de facto’ or ‘de jure’. You can’t just ride around willy-nilly and blame everything on the evil car. As a rider, you have to take responsiblity for yourself and your actions. When you point a finger at someone, there are three pointing back at you.

By your warped rationale, if you ran into the back of a parked car, it would be the driver’s fault for parking it and somehow it would be parked illegally.

I’m walking away now, shaking and scratching my head simultaneously.

By: John

John — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:01:51 +0000

So it’s the truck driver’s responsibilty to look in his mirror to make sure the bike lane is clear before making a turn, even though he’s well ahead of the cyclist?

Uh, yeah.

It wasn’t a lane change either. Of course I look when changing lanes…! Your attempt to correlate the two isn’t even on the map. Do you look and wait everytime you pull into your driveway or a parking lot to make sure something isn’t coming up on your inside? If you say “yes”, you’re a liar.

I operate my bike in such a way to absolutely minimize the possibility that someone who shares your attitude about driver responsibility could injure me, and I operate vehicles in such a way that even the most clueless fuck on a bicycle can do nothing to make me injure him. If I’ve passed a bike recently you’d goddamn better well believe I want to know where he is before I make a right turn. That said, I’m pretty sure I’d have better luck trying to explain this concept to my cat. C ya.

By: M in SC

M in SC — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:21:08 +0000

So it’s the truck driver’s responsibilty to look in his mirror to make sure the bike lane is clear before making a turn, even though he’s well ahead of the cyclist?

The cyclist slid into the side of the truck. The truck did not take the cyclist down. Any other type of vehicle does the same thing, and it’s driver’s fault. They were traveling the same direction. Vehicles, including bicycles, must yield/slow down when another vehicle, in front of them, decides to turn.
Here’s a question…What was the speed limit on the road? If the truck was turning, he was well under. The road was a downhill and as stated above, it is quite easy to pick up speed on the descent. Was the cyclist speeding?
“Same Rules, Same Roads” sometimes bites you in the ass.

Again, I feel bad for the cyclist and his family, but he was, at a minimum, partially to blame here.

By: Sergio

Sergio — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:54:44 +0000

well said John. I believe distraction and carelessness sum up this tragedy. When my parents taught me how to drive they made it a point to have me understand the responsibility I was taking on. As they told me “It’s like having a gun in your hands”. Folks that’s the bottom line…I don’t give a rats ass about any other line of reasoning. Rest in peace Brett.

By: John

John — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:39:59 +0000

You are welcome to believe that an experienced cyclist attempted to “shoot the gap” between the curb and a truck that had signaled a right turn if you wish; that doesn’t even pass a test of basic reasonableness for me.

The cyclist bears responsibility for putting himself in a spot without a way to bail on short notice, but there is simply no way this tragedy could have occurred if the driver of the truck had exercised a reasonable standard of care. By your “the guy in front owns the lane” logic there’s no reason to look in your mirrors prior to a lane change – the last time I checked that’s not how it works.