Bicyclist killed in traffic accident

I don't know how you road guys do it, I am petrified to get on the road with a bike. It's not just the rich that drive that way, believe me. When I took my kid many years ago to the bus stop I was in disbelief that only 1 out 10 autos slowed down or moved further over. They just zoomed right by one of the most unpredictable road hazards (kids). I never let my kid go to the bus stop without an adult after that first day, I would yell and scream at all of them. This may piss people off but the majority of the inconsiderate were women (rushing their kids to school).

 

I was just at JensonUSA getting sized for a road bike, makes me think differently but I was just planning to use it on the santa ana river path.

 

truth be told, do you know "anyone" thatll pull over to when there kids are making a ruckus? i dont and i highly doubt most do. btw, this is just a general comment.

 

No not really, I have seen cyclists pop out of formation, cross yellows, go 5 wide ect .....
Its dangerous out on the roads and this is a big reminder to me as to why i dont like riding on the street
Also when i do i always ride opposite side so im going into traffic so if a car comes at me i atleast can react to it and not have a car enima surprise

 

Reminds me of a joke about BMW drivers . . . What's the difference between a BMW and a porcupine?

With a porcupine the pricks are on the outside.

As for the accident, I tend to ride mostly on the Santa Ana River Trail, Back Bay, Mountain to Sea, etc.

 

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did I read this correct...u ride against traffic on the wrong side of the road? Please tell me I'm reading that wrong. Unsafe for many reasons and illegal..bikes have to follow the same rules as cars

 

I ride in that area a lot, since it is the access point for the Quail Trail. Cars going to and coming from the Shady Canyon entrance tend to drive very fast. Be careful out there.

 

If i have to ride in the street yes i do that and lime i said i would rather see a car coming at me rather the surprise your a hood ornament
When was the last time?? .....prolly 10 or 15yrs ago

I just dont like riding my roadbike in the street

 

Sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. I know we hear about these things all the time, but I'm sure this one really hit home for you. Prayers to his family and friends.

I'm sure the woman who was driving the car is having a really tough time dealing with this as well, and if she was indeed on her phone, I'm sure it is making it much more difficult.

 

no offense Z...but cyclists going the wrong way in the street scare the hell out of me whether in the car or on the bike. I'm not going to call the police or anything, but being safe on the road means following the same rules, same direction. Be safe out there regardless. This recent tragedy prob won't be the last, but we don't need to to add more risk.

 

I was walking to my car yesterday and saw Santa Anas PD block off the street followed by a motorcade of marked and unmarked units pulling into the coroners office. We knew it had to be law enforcement related but were confused by the out of county vehicles. We stopped and paid respects with hands over our hearts and then headed to our cars. Listened to news radio on the way home but did not here anything. I saw this thread and had a sad feeling it knowing it was all probably related. It sounds like the cycling and law enforcement communities lost a great person. RIP fallen brother.

 

Horrible horrible story. Sucks for all involved regardless of what happened. I just rode these exact streets for my first time Sunday (going to LCWP trails from the back way) and there was tons of people out.

 

This happens WAY toooo often...I follow the the rule of the LAST bold statement...

I received this in an email this morning....

Subject: RE: Wednesday Ride


I saw the guy going down the hill not too fast. He was not even riding a road bike. He was on an old MTB. He got out of the bike path and went on the road, then we heard the "thud". When we looked back, he was laying down on the road with his face down. He was not moving at all. When I was calling 911, Jaffe approached him and noticed he was not breathing. After a while, he started breathing for a short time, but stopped soon. After that, I don't think he ever breathed again. We kinda knew it was too late when an ambulance came.

None of us saw how this happened, but looking at the speed he was going, the car just struck him for some reason. The piece of bumper or fender fell at the scene. The lady who hit him was in panic and kept screaming for a long time.

It was horrible...

 

Sorry to Ko and the family and friends of the cyclist lost.

Accidents happen and I'm just as often more afraid walking through the Costco parking lot than I am riding my road bike (same drivers I'm sure, oddly enough :\).

Riding the opposite direction of cars seems dangerous on a few levels - for those riders going the correct direction there's now 2-way traffic, and where I live, often on roads without shoulders to begin with. Also - keep in mind that when cars are turning right they aren't looking for you as they're looking to their left for oncoming vehicles, etc. so that always seems like it'd be sketchy to me!

Be safe everyone and enjoy the ride no matter what. There are distracted and angry drivers everywhere. I do sort of agree sometimes that the nicer the area the worse the driver's, but not always.

 

It's not safe the ride against traffic or on the sidewalk, that only increases the risk of an accident not only to you but to others as you are riding unpredictably as it's illegal--drivers and other riders won't know what you're going to do. The key to safety is predictability. That's no guarantee, but that's the best you can do. If you don't like riding on the road legally, I'd get rid of your road bike.

We don't know what happened here in this particular instance, and we may never know. Obviously, one of the two broke the law or they wouldn't have been in the same space at the same time.

Having ridden in the Shady Canyon area a lot, I made my best guess about who was at fault given what I've seen in the area--an above average number of aggressive, impatient and distracted drivers. But it's true, none of us know and probably never will know what happened here.

But I had a teenage kid in an Escalade at a stop sign on one of the roads that intersect Shady Canyon let his foot off his brake while he was talking to a friend stopped next to him and ease out into the intersection as I was riding in front of him to a point where I had to grab his hood and pound on it and yell at him. He still didn't notice me until I was almost off my bike when his friend in the passenger seat noticed me and hit him on the shoulder to get him to look forward and then he noticed me. I pounded on his hood again and tried to make the biggest dent I could and yelled at the kid, but he just looked at me like "What's your problem?"

There are bike paths in the area that you can ride that keep you safe from cars. I tend to stick to those in that area. The paths are a great road ride; I usually park at the trailhead there where Sand Canyon turns into Shady Canyon on the right side of the road after the shopping center on the left.

The area where this accident happened is a bit congested and there's a traffic circle there; in fact, this could've occurred IN the traffic circle itself based upon the description.

 

Same here. They should remove the trees/bushes by the crosswalk. They really impair line of sight between any oncoming cars and people crossing the road.

 

Ironically I read this as I was trading emails with friends about a road ride this weekend, and that area is one that I was looking at as I consider it relatively safe. I have ridden through or parked at the Quail Hill trail head several times to access the trails and off-street bike paths in either direction from there.

These stories happen way too often in Orange County. We have so many wide roads and well-marked bike lanes that there is just no excuse for this to happen. And riding on the wrong side of the road, etc., is no solution, for the reasons already stated plus the fact that it undermines the argument in favor of cyclists' right to the road. Perhaps the fact that the victim was an experienced law enforcement officer will create more pressure to find solutions to avoid future accidents and to create greater punishment for those who cause them. In the meantime, my deepest condolences to all who were affected by this tragedy.

 

Stories like this are why I'm so paranoid on the road....especially towing my kids in the trailer. With kids in tow I tend to ride on the sidewalk, but treat myself like a pedestrian at intersections and such. I'm not going across till I look around to know what's coming. Plus with 80+ lbs in tow I figure I'm about as slow as a jogger :lol:

Anyone notice on Tustin Ranch Road close to the Mountain to Sea there's a sign that says "Bicycles may use sidewalk"? What's the rule there? Do you still have to be on the right side of the road or what?

 

I'm being told he may have lost control of his bike for some unknown reason and crashed, falling into the path of the SUV so the driver may not have had time to react. Doesn't make it any easier but at least it looks like it was truly an accident. Just wanted to let people know this because alot of people(myself included) are quick to blame the driver.