Today a young female cyclist was hit and killed by a cement truck in Portland, Oregon. The cyclist was in a bicycle lane, and both were at a stoplight.
The truck was headed northbound on SW 14th Ave. and it came to a stop at a red light on W. Burnside. When the truck’s light turned green, the truck began to turn right (eastbound) onto W. Burnside. At that point, somehow a bicycle collided with the truck.
Kruger said they cannot tell what type of movement (if any) the bicyclist was making before the collision. He said there were no skid marks from the bicycle tire.
Oregonian reporter Stuart Tomlinson used to ride through that same intersection. He reports that witnesses in the restaurant directly adjacent to the corner say both the truck and the cyclist were stopped, but when the light turned green the cyclist went straight and the truck turned right.
Just a little over a month ago here in Seattle, a young man who had only been in the city for 3 weeks from Colorado died when hit in a similar scenario by a dump truck, while riding in a bike lane. A memorial was placed at the scene:
So, in light of these tragedies, and the many others involving bicyclist deaths around the country, just want to remind everyone:
If you're in a car and driving on a road with (or even without) a bike lane and you've come to a stop at a light, please always take a moment to make sure no one has stopped in your blind spot alongside before turning right.
For cyclists, please learn to ride your bike defensively... This site, bicyclesafe.com, is particularly helpful, and lists the top ten ways to avoid an accident. My personal rule of thumb is to remember to always assume the worst and the unexpected. One type of close call has happened to me a number of times:
A car passes you and then tries to make a right turn directly in front of you, or right into you. They think you're not going very fast just because you're on a bicycle, so it never occurs to them that they can't pass you in time. Even if you have to slam on your brakes to avoid hitting them, they often won't feel they've done anything wrong. This kind of collision is very hard to avoid because you typically don't see it until the last second, and because there's nowhere for you to go when it happens.
How to avoid this collision:
- Don't ride on the sidewalk. When you come off the sidewalk to cross the street you're invisible to motorists. You're just begging to be hit if you do this. Keith Vick was killed this way in Austin, TX in Dec. 2002.
- Ride to the left. Taking up the whole lane makes it harder for drivers to pass you to cut you off or turn into you. Don't feel bad about taking the lane: if motorists didn't threaten your life by turning in front of or into you or passing you too closely, then you wouldn't have to. If the lane you're in isn't wide enough for cars to pass you safely, then you should be taking the whole lane anyway. Lane position is discussed in more detail below.
- Glance in your mirror before approaching an intersection. (If you don't have a handlebar or helmet mirror, get one now.) Be sure to look in your mirror well before you get to the intersection. When you're actually going through an intersection, you'll need to be paying very close attention to what's in front of you.
Anyhow, thanks for reading. Love, peace, and safe travels to all of you....