Cyclists hit, 1 killed in Laguna Canyon

Your absolutely correct 9 out of 10 are female. Either they are putting on makeup while driving or on the phone chatting. It's frustrating to see people lose their life over tragedies like this. 41 tragedies in So Cal that's really sad there needs to be a corrective action for this. RIP James!

 

And almost 9 out of 10 arrested for drunk driving are men, so . . .

 

Or you just pick your route a litte bit better. I road ride just about as much as I mountain bike and know what roads and what times not be on them or some roads you just avoid all together.

 

That's a bold statement. You'd better knock on wood and throw some salt over your shoulder for thinking that your superior route and time selection will keep this from happening to you. If you ride where cars are allowed, you are at risk. Be careful, not smug.

These two riders were on a very wide section of road with a wide, clean shoulder and good visibility, just like the doctor who was killed at the top of Newport Coast last year.

 

I'm not saying that my route selection and timing is superior than anyone else that rides pavement. I was replying to fos'l's comment about road riding being a death-defying sport, that you can decrease the chances of death or injury greatly if you stay off the busier roads or avoid them at their peak usage. For example, I commute to work on bike about half of the year and I have different routes for different times of the day and year.

 

Laguna Canyon Road is considered a Class III bike route, which means you are sharing traffic lanes with vehicles. There is no dedicated bike lane on Laguna Canyon Road. There is a very wide shoulder, with a white stripe, but nowhere will you find the words "Bike Lane" painted on the ground, like you do on nearby El Toro Road.

A safer bet is riding a Class I bike route. Class I bike routes are bikes only, with no automobile traffic allowed. Class II bike routes are dedicated bike lanes on the shoulder of roadways, with the words "Bike Lane" painted on the ground. Class III routes are ones where bikes and cars share the same lanes, but bikers typically ride the shoulder for obvious reasons.

This map lets you view the various types of bike routes available in Orange County:

http://www.octa.net/Share-the-Ride/Bike/Riding-in-Orange-County/OC-Bikeways-Map/

Class I routes are the safest. Class II are better than nothing. Class III routes offer the least biker protection. Please choose Class I routes whenever possible. I drove by this accident yesterday and I'm still haunted by that crumpled white bike frame on the shoulder, surrounded by emergency services personnel and police investigators. Also haunting to me was seeing a wide-eyed young couple on their way to Laguna Beach pedaling their bikes past the wreckage as I sat in traffic.

 

I commented primarily to address distracted driving as it relates to road riding. Your pompous boast that you take superior routes is laughable.

 

Just a little perspective regarding the safety of different modes of transportation (Numbers are from 2009) http://www.ots.ca.gov/OTS_and_Traffic_Safety/Report_Card_2011.asp:

Traffic fatalities: 3081
Motorcycle fatalities: 394
Pedestrian fatalities: 563
Cyclist fatalities: 99

So despite the predictions of doom should you dare to venture out on the road on your bike by some of the people here on this forum and even with yesterday's tragic event, it would appear that you are more likely to die in your car, on your motorcycle, or just walking down the street than you are riding your bike.

 

what's the per capita for each? There are much more peds and motorcyclists than there are cyclists.

 

...this was my first thought. Waldo's message to the OC District Attorney needs more voices. In 2007, this young lady http://www.ocregister.com/articles/stearns-307620-prosecutors-judge.html killed a bicyclist in the street directly below my house. She got 6 years, probably out in 3 with good behavior. I'm sure she suffers the horror of her actions every day, but so does Jose's family. It just doesn't seem fair.........

 

Its never really been "safe" out there. We've just always counted on drivers paying attention.

One of my best friends and his buddy were riding to work on a wide road and they were well away from vehicles, but a guy fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into them (broken windshield, broken back, crushed trachea). Somehow they both survived, but how do you protect yourself from a car overtaking you 50 or 60 mph?

As for texting and using phones while driving, at some point, cell phone manufacturers, service providers and car companies ought to be sued back into the stone age for encouraging, promoting and even equipping cars with driver-distracting technology. It's equivalent to having a bartender buying the house "one for the road."

My sincere condolences to the Waller family.

 

That is a very true statement. Everybody else is being sued for silly things, but this one would really make sense.

 

Have you seen the dash board of the Tesla? It has a full on computer screen on it. I think that when the car is moving the electronics need to be disabled.

 

For the record, I visited Kevin today, he's a good friend. I knew Mitch as well. Kevin is recovering, actually walked a little, and should be released in a day or so. He has a broken shoulder and pelvis. He has road rash everywhere, but he's in good spirts and alive.

The driver will be facing some serious charges, I'll post up when I can about the details.

 

Why aren't there rumble strips on that highway? How much trouble would it have been to install them when they realigned it?

 

I was riding Colima yesterday and noticed that they had gouged out /roughened three foot long segments of blacktop between the shoulder and the slow lane. I don't recall seeing them there before, so it had to have been done after the road was paved. At the very least they could do something like that.

 

It just seems so obvious that we have a "distracted driver" problem. Increasing penalties might work but personally I doubt it. Well placed rumble strips just seem like a good idea. No matter what is distracting you, texting, putting on make up, unwrapping your burger, fiddling with the radio or pulling your underwear out of your butt, rumble strips will get your attention back where it belongs. I'm not suggesting that we put them everywhere but the 133 and certain sections of PCH would be a good place to start.

 

Maybe there haven't been enough fatalities on the 133??? Look at how many years and deaths before they took action on the Ortega Hwy. It's silly how it takes a certain number of people killed before they get the funding approved.

 

Three years ago I requested "Share the Road" signage on Modjeska Grade Road to access the STT. There had been close calls and I wanted to reinforce the legitimacy of cyclists and pedestrians on the road as it's a legal access point to the National Forest. The response went something like this (paraphrasing):

Warning signs are used to warn motorists of "unexpected conditions" and when bicyclists are using a roadway legally it is an "expected" condition. History of accidents on the roadway in question show no bicycle/motorist accidents in the last 5 years. Using signs as a way to warn motorists of bicyclists when they're an "expected" condition would make signs in areas where there are "unexpected" conditions less beneficial.

 

then why do they have those "look twice for motorcyclists" signs on the freeway message boards? :?: