Mayor Adams issues statement on fatal bicycle collision – Updated

I commute on a bike..cars belong in this city just as much as bikes do. We have no monopoly to the roads. I treat every car and truck with respect. I will not win if they hit me. I have no details as to what happen and sad at the passing of this young lady…Be careful out there.

personally i think it’s unfair to tell drivers they can’t go downtown.

the roads for cyclists here are incredibly safe. not perfect, but still incredibly safe. think of how few cyclist deaths in portland there are each year compared to auto accidents, lost hikers, etc, etc. what happened yesterday is incredibly sad but it is also incredibly rare and i dont think sensationalizing it or suggesting that one is too distraught to ride is logical. you still have a far greater chance of dying in an automobile, on a fishing boat off the OR/WA coast, etc, etc. i still feel very safe and i’m still aware that 99.99% of the drivers in portland are absolutely amazing and many times the cycling community in portland demonizes them as much as certain drivers like to demonize the entire cycling community.

Hi Amanda and browse,

I hear what you are saying about this term and the intentions of the guy driving the truck. I agree with you that he did not intentionally hurt Ms. Rickson. That being said, there are other issues, beyond his own, personal actions, that are important here. Specifically, I’m thinking of the design of the bikeway — if we had a different type of bikeway in this location would this have happened? Also, there are issues of the truck’s equipment — should we mandate better mirrors or perhaps side underrun guards? Or, should we consider not allowing 43-foot truck trailers in the urban core?

The definition of the term “accident” is, “anything that happens by chance without an apparent cause.”

What I am getting at is, I realize that the driver of the truck did not intend to hurt anyone. However, the result of what happened was preventable and therefore did not happen by some random chance.

I hope this helps you understand why referring to traffic collisions as “accidents” is not accurate or appreciated by traffic safety advocates. Thanks.

To add to what Jonathan said, “accident” implies there was no negligence. There very likely was negligence in this case. That will be decided later if there are enough facts uncovered. Or, it might never be known.

Negligence does not equal intent, but negligence should not go unpunished. People often say “accident” when negligence is present because they do not want to admit what really happened.

A-‘effin -men.

I, and many other people here, think you are wrong that more infrastructure will never be enough. That’s been proven in many parts of the world, but with better infrastructure than we presently have — true separated facilities with different surface materials and/or grade levels. We will never get more people to ride their bikes if “extreme caution” is the requirement, and “rude, agressive and obnixious” is the only attitude to take.

Cycling in this city should not be an extreme sport. It should be a routine behavior that you can do without any more care than you would take if you were walking. If the only way to safely bike in Portland is to take the preparations that skydivers take, we’ll be stuck with a tiny mode share forever.

I, and many other people here, agree with you that infrastructure can’t solve every potential conflict. Indeed is it possible to build infrastructure that allows every road user, be they large (but economically necessary) trucks or small (but environmentally responsible) bicycles to operate without regard to the presence and operating characteristics of any other user? I posit that it is not.

Bike lanes and bike boxes encourage cyclists to pass more slowly moving traffic on the right, and that’s clearly not always safe. I don’t think taking the lane through an intersection where other vehicles may be turning is the paranoid equivalent of clipping on a chest mounted emergency chute, I think it’s the mentally engaged equivalent of looking both ways before stepping into a crosswalk.

These right-hook “events” are always tricky. For me, instead of thinking about blame/fault, I always find myself thinking about the basic concept of bike lanes. For many drivers, it’s strange and counterintuitive to have a small bicycle lane to the right of the right-most car lane. For the first fifteen years of my driving career, I lived in places where I could safely turn right without ever having to consider the possibility of a vehicle to my right. I have no data to back this up, but I’m guessing that the large majority of US motorists live and drive in places without bike lanes. And then whey they come to visit us here in Portland….

Barney is correct in his statement on taking the lane. I am a former competitive cyclist and motorcycle racer, as well. I am also the child of a retired Teamster truck driver with a nearly impeccable driving record. My father has never been at odds about sharing the road, he has so much compassion for victims of horrible collisions such as this. He has seen so many horrors that you cannot imagine. We have both agreed for over thirty years, that infrastructure, proper policing of streets, in hand with a greater emphasis on education in regards to safety by all users of the road is needed to curtail the ridiculous amounts of fatalities that happen. This is a horrible occurrence. I am sick to my stomach over this. What a beautiful person for our community to lose. I send my heartfelt love out to everyone involved.

Has anyone been ticketed for for violating ORS 814.420?

I frequently ride outside of designated bike facilities to improve my safety when I feel its necessary, and have not once had any any problem with police.

That being said, condolences to both the family of the young women and to the truck drivers. What an awful day.

That is a ticket I have received multiple times, and I beat it in court every single time.

I keep seeing people say the above, and I don’t understand why this impression exists. Yes the language does say that you need to use the lane/path, but it does not say you can only use the lane/path. for example see section #

(3) A person is not in violation of the offense under this section if the person is able to safely move out of the bicycle lane or path for the purpose of:

(e) Continuing straight at an intersection where the bicycle lane or path is to the right of a lane from which a motor vehicle must turn right.

“The thing that disappoints me the most is that we are required by law (ORS 814.420) to use bike lanes, even if we know they can be unsafe.” Mark

Not true. Read the full text of the law and you’ll see it includes provisions for a vast number of reasons people traveling by bike would have to legitimately leave the bike lane for the main travel lane.

Often the streets are much to small for large trucks in Europe (and Japan, and elsewhere). Smaller “sprinter” vans are typically used for “last mile” deliveries.

Depends on the area. The large cities I’ve lived in Europe could not accommodate large trucks in the center and are not allowed. They pull into distribution centers on the edge of town and smaller trucks and vans deliver from there. Amsterdam is testing out cargo trams in the city center, similar to the trams that deliver parts to the VW factory in Dresden.

Although the Bike Gallery agrees with you, not everyone thinks it is the responsibility of the person on a bike or walking to be lit up like a reflector, especially during the daytime. The risk as you can probably appreciate is that this soon turns into a ‘she wasn’t wearing neon colors, I couldn’t see her.’

And getting from point A to point B should not require special gear, generally, not if we want bike transportation to be mainstream.

Further, the safer we all are, when more bikes are on the road, because drivers are more aware to watch for them. Some people have not tried biking simply because they do not want to buy special gear, or they don’t want to look like a clown wearing neon, and they see many people doing both these things, and think it is practically required, unfortunately.

Have there been any studies done on bright colors really helping, or is it perception? I have kits that are mostly black with orange/white accents, as well as several jerseys that are brighter colors such as red, light blue, and white. I have not noticed a difference between being spotted by drivers while wearing a dark kit vs. bright kit.

Also, my helmet is white which may help, and my arms/legs are VERY white. 🙂

It’s the same logic as an F150 painted charcoal grey: You’re supposed to make sure you don’t hit it when you’re driving. There are lots of moving hazards out there in camo, and not just the humans that don’t light up for the convenience of the operators of hurling machinery.

Yep, it’s an odds game, and I think bright clothes and wearing a helmet improve your odds of not getting hit, or sustaining brain injury if you are hit. I would certainly prefer a downtown where infrastructure is such that it’s not possible for cars to hit bikes, but given that pedestrians _on the sidewalk_ were hit by a cab this year (or maybe last year?), I think that attaining that point of perfection is almost impossible.

Wearing a neon helmet hasn’t stopped me from being clipped by a mirror, nearly right-hooked dozens of times, or forced up a curb. Sorry. Fashion logic need not apply where people are only looking for car-sized obstacles.

I had a coworker nearly rear-end me in the parking lot, then laughingly joke about how he didn’t see me despite the helmet. Needless to say, I didn’t laugh along.