UPDATE 5/28: The victim has been identified as 22-year-old Mark Angeles. Learn more about him in our follow-up post.
A man was killed today around noon when he was involved in a collision with a tow truck at SE Cesar Chavez (39th) and Gladstone.
Portland Police have not released any details, other than saying the tow truck operator is cooperating with the investigation.
Reader Tony Tapay lives a few blocks away and called us from the scene a few minutes ago.
He said the tow-truck is currently stopped in the northbound lanes of Cesar Chavez. The bike and the body are at rest in the northeast corner of the intersection in front of a Plaid Pantry store just beyond the bike box and green-colored pavement. Tapay tells us the tow-truck is operated by North Oregon Towing, which appears to be based in Estacada.
Reader Max C. also emailed us from the scene. He said patrons who were eating outside a cafe “were in shock.”
Another person on Twitter who claims they saw the collision happen says the tow-truck operator was driving east on Gladstone and made a left turn (north) onto Cesar Chavez. The bicycle rider, he says, was coming downhill on Gladstone traveling westbound prior to the collision.
Gladstone has a bike lane, a parking lane, and one standard vehicle lane at this intersection. It also has bike boxes on both sides of the intersection and green-colored pavement. Cesar Chavez has four standard lanes with no bike lane.
Ironically, just about one mile away, PBOT and the PPB are doing a crosswalk enforcement action at SE 26th and Powell where Alistair Corkett lost his leg in a collision with a truck driver earlier this month.
The police have the entire area closed off and we are waiting to find out more details.
If anyone saw what happened or has more information, please drop us a line.
This is the first fatal collision involving a bicycle rider in Portland in over a year.
UPDATE 12:02 pm on May 28th: The Portland Police has just released the following update on this collision:
The tow truck driver has been identified as 40-year-old Jolene Friedow of Estacada. Friedow works for North Portland Towing.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing. Investigators have learned that Angeles was riding his bicycle westbound on Southeast Gladstone Street, approaching the intersection with Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard. Friedow was facing eastbound, towing another vehicle, waiting to turn left (northbound) on Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard. Friedow turned left, colliding with Angeles in the intersection.
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Ugh.
Damnit.
ANOTHER tow truck driver.
love the blame game without knowing a single thing. lovely stuff.
If the witness is correct, this was failure to yield on a left turn – driver is totally at fault.
Witness only said he turned left. Witness did not say it was failure to yield. Failure to yield has not been established, but if true, then it will be.
There’s no protected left at that intersection. There’s no other thing that could happen unless neither of them had a green phase.
Right, both could have had yellow going to red – thus both may own some of the blame, although driver may be the one who actually broke the law.
Can you think of a way the cyclist could have helped to prevent the accident? See collision type # 8 – Left Cross:
http://bicyclesafe.com/
Let the attacks on my character begin in 3, 2, 1…….
Yes, the cyclist “could have” done something to prevent the accident… maybe we should all dismount and walk our bikes in the crosswalks at intersections?
The sad reality is if a clueless motorist (lots of these in town) fails to yield when you’re going straight through an intersection, there is very little you can do about it and almost no warning.
Cyclist may have been hidden by a car slowing to stop in lane opposite tow truck; yet cyclist decided to beat the red. In this scenario, tow truck driver would see only the slowing car, and assume it was safe to turn. Then suddenly the cyclist appears from beside slowing vehicle and can’t stop. That’s just one possibility.
The sad reality is that cyclists can prevent almost 100% of this type of accident by slowing thru intersections so they can stop if someone turns in front of them. BUT that isn’t as much fun. So you have to decide: Am I for vision zero, or am I for speeding blindly thru intersections assuming I am just as visible as any motorized vehicle? The choice belongs to YOU and you make the choice knowing that car drivers WILL make stupid, even illegal, choices.
what a sad world of fear you live in where you can’t exceed 4 mph for fear of getting killed by the illegal actions of others around you…
no thanks…
“The sad reality is that cyclists can prevent almost 100% of this type of accident by slowing thru intersections so they can stop if someone turns in front of them.”
Have you tried this and observed the results? Slowing for intersections is a double-edged sword. If you are in a bike lane or riding FTR, it invites right hooks, since overtaking traffic now believes either a) you are turning right, or b) they can beat you to the corner. If you are in a bike lane OR in The Lane, slowing at an intersection will invite the very behavior you are attempting to avoid, because impatient, left-turning drivers will now see confirmation that they can beat you through the intersection rather than waiting for you to enter and clear it.
Like weaving in and out of parked cars, as some feel is “safer” because they think getting “out of the way” at every opportunity affords some kind of protection, sudden slowing for no apparent reason adds confusion to the traffic mix because drivers don’t know what you are doing, but if you appear to be opening up an opportunity for them to blast through, they will take it.
My experience has shown that riding assertively (not aggressively) and decisively gives much better results than riding timidly and unpredictably. Lot’s of people like to assume drivers and cars are a force of nature, or are like sharks or wolves that just can’t be tamed, so best to stay out of their way. Well, one thing does seem to be true; they are apparently able to smell fear, and display a greater propensity for intimidation if they think you don’t know what you are doing.
Bravo on your scenarios that put the blame on the deceased.
He’s been doing it the entire day. The two or three stories about this death have been littered with this guy’s victim-blaming BS. You wonder why people decide to put this type of energy out into the world, and how they’re benefiting from it.
I knew the victim of this collision, and went to the ghost bike today. This comment was in my mind as I reviewed the intersection. The trajectory from which the cyclist approached contains a bike box, therefore, if any parallel (oncoming, for the tow truck) car was slowing for a yellow light, it should have stopped about one car-length behind the intersection. This means either the tow truck driver failed to yield, or the westbound driver failed to observe the bike box thereby obscuring the tow truck’s vision. Either way, motorist fault is an inevitable conclusion barring the unlikely (given the time elapsed for investigation so far) possibility that the cyclist was attempting to go through a flat-out red light.
there is no dedicated left turn lane here. if a motorist is hanging in the intersection waiting for an opening to make a left, s/he will execute the left when (a) there is no oncoming, apparently not the case here, (b) oncoming is also signaling a left, and/or (c) oncoming has stopped because the light is changing.
in either scenario (b) or (c) the motorist hanging in the intersection waiting to turn left is unlikely to see a cyclist approaching on the right side of the oncoming motor vehicle. a bicyclist pouring through the green lane and box at speed in this situation is making a mistake.
the city made a mistake putting in these boxes without making it clear the green box serves no function at all during the green signal phase. the only proper function of a green box is to queue cycists to the front during the red signal phase.
if the green lane tells a cyclist it is okay to pour through on the right of stopped motor vehicles without concern for what you might find in the intersection, the green lane is harming people. kathryn rickson being another example.
“…If the witness is correct, this was failure to yield on a left turn…” Allison
My guess is that one of the most likely conclusions from the police investigation, will be that the collision was largely due to failure to yield. Having no left turn lanes, this is a simpler intersection than the Barnes-Miller roads’ intersection, just up the hill from St Vincent’s Hospital.
With no left turn lane, or traffic signal for left turns, the tow truck likely was positioned right out in the middle of the intersection as the person driving waited for an opportunity to turn left. Will the investigation find that the truck’s turn signal was flashing?
Especially for people riding bikes, passing through intersections often is potentially very dangerous. Position of people riding in the bike lane, relative to motor vehicles traveling in the main lane to their left, can obscure view of the person on the bike, by left turning road users coming from the opposite direction.
The person riding, by lateral positioning relative to motor vehicles traveling in the main lane next to them in the bike lane, through the intersection, can counter some of this danger, but it’s far from a 100 percent proposition. This is using the adjacent motor vehicle as a shield against left hooks; although it requires very careful positioning in approaching the intersection in order to avoid the right hook.
These are good reasons why it can be safer to properly transition into the main lane before intersections, for passing through them. Not everyone can, or will want to do what’s required to make this work well though.
A little presumptuous, but how many times does the same type of collision have to happen before we’re allowed to make that assumption?
Never. Each of us has the right to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. Each case has it’s nuances and the facts must be investigated for each case. The cops will do that – not cyclists.
“…the facts must be investigated for each case. The cops will do that – not cyclists.”
You probably didn’t mean it this way, but you have summed up a large part of the post-crash problem right there.
Who’s applying blame? This is the 3rd incident involving a tow truck reported here that I can recall in the last couple of years. There was a left hook on Williams and a hit & run in SE previously. Maybe it’s a coincidence.
So sad for that cyclist’s family and friends.
I for one hope that when my end comes people will have the decency to refrain from referring to me as “that cyclist”.
We’ll use his or her name when we have the name. Before that can happen, the family will need to be informed first.
I would happily have used the cyclist’s name, or at least gender, except that I DID NOT KNOW either at the time I posted the comment.
And, to be fair, not knowing a person’s name or gender is a lot more mild than “not seeing” them. Especially when it leads to their death.
(I’m not referring to this collision specifically, but in general when people say they “didn’t see” a person on a bike)
Four blocks from my house… I’ve always considered that a pretty safe intersection myself: good sightlines, bikeslanes, long light cycle, all that. But this just terrible, arhghghg.
Yes. I use that intersection a lot and I agree regarding its safety.
Gladstone is pretty lightly trafficked by cars too.
Except at rush hour. Morning & evening people go charging up and down the hill. Driving way over the speed limit, weaving in and out of the bike lanes. For those couple hours a day it’s a terrible place to try and navigate. It doesn’t help that the sidewalk at 28th has been fenced off for months, forcing people to walk in the road. Don’t forget that just a couple years ago a couple people lost their life at 28th & Gladstone as well.
I’ve been hit by someone driving on Gladstone once myself. I’ve had 3 other near misses. All in the last couple years. I wear reflective clothing, I have lights on my bike, I obey traffic laws at least as well as the next guy. Why have I had so much trouble on this street?
I was talking with a friend at a BBQ a couple years ago, right after I moved to a place near Gladstone. The friend said they liked driving to work on Gladstone because there’s not as much traffic as Powell but you can still drive 45.
The City could have fixed this when they repaved and restriped the road. They could have placed the bicycle lanes against the curb, buffered them with parking, improved sight lines around intersections, encouraged better compliance with the speed limit, and – even using just paint – attempted a protected intersection at Chavez & Gladtone. Instead, we got more of the same: another tired, unsafe street where families get to ride bikes just inches away from people driving 45.
I live near Gladstone, I love to ride it, just not at rush hour.
I live a few blocks from this intersection and drive Gladstone when I don’t bike. It is crazy the line of cars that piles behind me as I do 20-25. I also stop for every pedestrian even if it’s the middle of the block to disincentivize the cut through drivers. Hopefully I’ve helped make your commute less shitty once or twice.
Overall, Gladstone isn’t that bad. This particular intersection has a big problem with drivers not respecting the bike boxes. Right hooks are a real danger – I was almost right-hooked here last week by a driver not paying attention. Left hooks (like this one) are also a danger due to cars masking the downhill bike lane, and the general busy-ness of the intersection. Most likely candidates for this collision:
– Tow truck driver was paying attention to oncoming car, which was masking the bike lane as the cyclist came downhill
– Tow truck driver was watching pedestrians in the marked crosswalk, and turned just behind them and into the descending cyclist. (highly likely scenario)
It’s terrible, and the potential for left and right hooks here is GREAT, which is why PDOT implemented bike boxes there in the first place.
This intersection is directly on my daily commute, and I see close calls there on a regular (but not daily, nor usually weekly) basis. This is a tragic collision, and I’d really like to see the city address it through enforcement, education and better engineering.
the green box is worse than useless during the green signal phase.
Problem is, “Rush Hour” gets longer and longer every year, eh?
Hello neighbor!
safe? hardly, people nearly hit there daily, and there was a accient last year on the south walk.
No such thing as a safe intersection. This one LOOKS pretty straight forward, but it’s a deception. We get complacent because we successfully negotiate intersections every day, until we don’t.
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810682.PDF
Who’s complacent?
I’d guess almost every one riding or driving.
Okay, who’s more likely to be complacent, a cyclist with their life on the line and the wind blowing in their hair or a driver in a cushy seat with the radio on and the A/C set just right? If you know the answer to that question, then perhaps you know where the problem is likely to be.
All the above. Lets throw in those who walk as well. Anyone is at risk when we do not have a sence of self preservation and feal entitled to push our “rights ” to our choice of transportation.
4 blocks from my house, a greenway with all kinds of green paint and traffic calming. I’ll be checking in with all my friends to make sure they’re okay until they can publish the cyclist’s name. It’s an intersection I use with my toddler in tow on a regular basis. So upsetting.
I know this will not be popular, but I would not tow a child in one of those trailers on busy streets. No, I have no children. Here’s just 1 thing that could happen – you bike thru an intersection in front of a big truck waiting to turn right – the driver is looking at his GPS – he looks up and sees your head pass (that’s all he sees) and thinks it’s clear so he goes. Your trailer is not clear and he didn’t see it but hopefully he missed it.
Those trailers are low and that can be a hazard. If you use it, use some tall flags. Don’t want to read any more horror stories here.
Gladstone is not a busy street. It’s a green way, a designated throughway for bike traffic. I cross busy streets all the time because I have to but I don’t ride on them.
I meant “tow” metaphorically as she’s generally in a Yepp but your point is not well taken. I’m not sure the last time you rode with a 25lb child in a trailer. You don’t move fast. You don’t accelerate with crap. So you don’t go for the close call. You sit at an intersection and you wait until there’s plenty of room. And if a car shows up unexpectedly (say, tearing out of the gas station parking lot), she would probably be safer in the trailer with a roll bar than without it on the back of my bike.
As a parent who has spent a lot of time thinking about this, who has actually spent a lot of time on the road with her child, who, I assure you, has more concern for her child’s safety than you do, I’m about as interested in what you would do in this case add to whether you would choose cloth or disposable diapers.
Be safe.
I think Charlie can say it better than I can:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmP4oJYjqNs
You should be able to ride with your child on almost any street in the city, or be provided with a protected bike lane or suitable alternative.
I happen to agree and I know that the fact of us being out there makes other families safer. But we’re pretty shaken this week, nonetheless.
Ah. But you would put kids into a car seat? You know kids are perfectly protected in a car seat—until they’re not.
These accidents really hit home when the location is part of your daily commute. My heart goes out to the victim’s friends and family. So terrible.
Not 3 months ago I was riding my daily commute home through Ladd’s Addition when a tow truck with car in tow I saw on Hawthorne decided to use Ladd’s as a cut through to Division instead of going down SE 11th. He wreckless came flying up to the round about crossing double lines pushing me into parked car, then yelled that I didn’t own the road. Is it just me, but it sure seems like threat with a deadly weapon? It’s not fair it’s no equal access and there is NO justice or much of anything to stop this behavior from auto traffic it seems. The number of car drivers doing illegal wreckless stuff through Ladd’s during rush hours is just crazy. The police stings are a JOKE!!!! and completely focused at bikes, they will actively ticket bikes not coming to a complete stop, but not even care about cars rolling through….cause I watched them do just that.
SE Ladd Ave needs a diverter… this should not be a motor vehicle shortcut… this should not be a 25 mph road…
Exactly. Right at the traffic circle would do it, on the SE end. Let through car traffic go east to 20th or south to Division. Need something similar in a couple spots on SE Clinton as well.
I’ve suggested this to certain people…working on it.
Yeah, I got missed by a few inches coming off the roundabout by a speeding driver who then had to brake hard to avoid ploughing into bikes in front of me before zooming off again. I kind of lost it when I caught up with him at the Holgate queue.. i always regret losing my temper when things like that happen 🙁
There is some terrible timing issue with the lights on SE 11th between Division and Powell. It is not uncommon to sit through two or three light cycles without moving. The city really messed up when they put in the light rail and until it gets fixed Ladds is going to get worse.
It’s the heavy rail that’s the problem there… the light rail isn’t even running yet. Just wait until service starts so the real traffic fun can begin!
That happened to my Husband, last year. Got cited for not coming to a complete stop, at Ladd Circle on his bike. And I see ridiculous stuff happening there all the time, too.
Is westbound Gladstone downhill leading to the intersection?
Yes
Yes. From the article it looks to me that the driver did not see the cyclists, who had the right of way assuming the light was green, turn and they collided.
I am only making suppositions on the direction of the turns and the lay out of the intersection, but cyclists can get pretty fast there going westbound particularly if they know the traffic light and how much time they have before the yellow. It is 30 MPH there though, so speeding is not an issue most likely.
Chavez is 30, but Gladstone, the direction reported for both road users involved in the crash, is 25 mph.
Ah, the cyclist COULD have been speeding then…but since auto drivers are never ticketed for five over, speed should not have been a factor.
should not have been a factor? ever hit a wall doing 25mph on a bike?
of course speed was a factor…
I was looking at legal culpability. A vehicle is a vehicle…
Yup – and it’s a very long light, so you’re motivated to try to power through it if you can. I’ve done the exact maneuver many times – the visibility is such that you can see a driver coming at you, but I have certainly relied on the on-coming traffic to follow the law and yield. The visibility is very good in the other direction, though, too – any driver actually looking for an on-coming vehicle (with or without internal combustion) would be able to see just fine. Especially at noon on a sunny day.
Ditto. It’s a long gradual grade which flattens out just before Caesar Chavez. A cyclist would need to work it pretty hard to get over 25mph generally, and Gladstone has 2 speed bumps on the downhill before the light which also extend across the bike lane.
As I mentioned up-thread, the most likely scenario is the driver was waiting to turn left while pedestrians were in the crosswalk, keeping an eye on them and turning across/into the cyclist. Otherwise it could have been a masking car or any other number of possibilities. It can be a very problematic intersection at times (mostly rush hour), though most of the time it’s perfectly safe.
if the deceased were a person on a motorcycle there would be no discussion about speed. why the #$%& do we fixate on this when its a person who bikes?
Sure, except I was arguing that speed *isn’t* an issue. When it *is* an issue on Gladstone, it’s usually cars traveling too fast both westbound and eastbound between 34th and 26th.
Yes, but not much. Much less so than Holgate, Steele or Woodstock.
ever so slightly- less than 3% (29ft over .2mi)
3% AVERAGE grade. It’s closer to 6% at the top of Gladstone, and easy to get some decent speed.
Yes
It is but it is not extremely difficult to judge speed there. I have made that left turn many times as I live on Cora Dr up the street. I have never even had a close call with a bicyclist there. I think basically you would have to not be looking at the bike lane across the street itself in order to miss oncoming bicycles.
Thank you for respecting the victim and not posting a her accident scene photograph.
you’re welcome CaptainKarma. I happen to have both a photo and a video from the scene but have decided to not use them.
Yes. The photos on Oregonlive were shocking and so very sad. I don’t need to see that to prove the tragedy this is.
Excellent reporting, Jonathan. I’m sorry you’ve had to report on so much tragedy lately.
And Michael!
Either they were both running a red light or he left-hooked her. Which is more plausible?
How in the world do you left hook someone? How far up your own ass do you have to have your head?
Failing to yield on a left is a relatively common crash.
Find out just how common it is:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810682.PDF
the A-pillar blocks visibility while you’re turning… you have to actively look around your own vehicle’s obstructions while you’re turning… some vehicles are worse than others…
Very true and one of many reasons why intersections are never safe (except when yours is the only vehicle).
Left hooks are the most common cause of collisions that result in cyclist injuries. It is the term for when someone illegally turns left in front of someone either hitting them or cutting them off in such a way that they are unable to avoid a collision. The person making the left turn has the obligation to yield the right of way to someone continuing straight from the other direction.
Turning is, but not sure if it is left in front of oncoming like this.
53% of injury crashes and 38% of fatal crashes involving cyclists.
In my experience, people driving use their autos to intimidate people biking and walking — in exactly this way (I’m not saying that’s what happened in this particular case, just replying to Dan M’s question about how this could even happen).
It happens all the time in my experience while I’m walking or biking and I have the right of way approaching an interesection, driveway exit, etc., and someone noses their auto in front of me in stages watching for whether I’m menaced into yielding. Or they just go for it while looking at me, knowing what little choice I have.
ALL THE TIME.
I came real close to getting left hooked Southbound on Naito. Wasn’t going super fast in the bike lane as I passed a bunch of stopped cars, light turned green, I started pedalling again and the left turning truck in on the other side of the intersection just went for it.
Super close call, and makes me incredibly skeptical of the “Ran into the truck” victim blaming that has happened lately. It just takes space to stop. In hindsight I suspect that the first stopped car to my left waved the truck through but I’ll never know for sure.
Yup. I’ve had this happen several times where drivers turning left will try to force me to yield right of way to them by trying to turn into me. Sometimes they’ll even cuss you out extensively for not yielding.
I love the passive aggressive lurch. Usually accompanied by a nasty look as you pass and try to get eye contact to confirm you’re not about to be under someone’s wheels.
And if we’re debating how serious an issue driving a car AT someone to intimated/menace them is, let’s just ask the PPB (or any Police Department in the country) what their position/response to it is when it happens to their officers.
Craig: “In my experience, people driving use their autos to intimidate people biking and walking … ALL THE TIME”
It happens all the time when I’m driving my car, too. Some people just drive like it’s bumper-cars. (And those same people are, I’m convinced, the ones who merge like they’re cats: if I fits, I squeeze in; no need for reaction times or following distance or your front bumper as I come into your lane.)
Not as far as yours is, apparently.
Personal insults not welcome on bikeportland comments. Granted, the OP is somewhat questionable as well.
not that it really matters
How many cyclists killed in Portland does that make for 2015 so far?
1.
It’s the first fatal collision in Portland for over a year.
We seem to have a lot of solid collision coverage this year. I don’t know if Portland is experiencing more or Bikeportland.org is managing more stories.
It seems to me that the bicycle rider injury and death statistic gap (versus FHWA’s thorough annual automotive fatality counts) is something that needs to be covered to give voice to the silent unrecorded injuries and deaths of pedestrians and bike riders.
It gets a little bleak some times but my guess is that it has always been that way.
Keep on keepin’ on.
Not really sure what you’re looking for, are you sure it doesn’t exist?
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812151.pdf
Here are crash maps for a few cities.
http://youarehere.cc/#/maps/by-topic/bicycle_crashes
Only if you’re going strictly City of Portland. Metro area’s had at least 1 other in the last 6 months.
Thanks for the reminder. I didn’t know your father, but I think of him regularly.
So,
146 days without a cyclist fatal crash in Portland.
It’s two blocks from my home and the rider was taking the route I do on almost every ride. I suspect the driver underestimated the speed the cyclist had built up on the downhill stretch. I suspect he’ll say “I didn’t see her behind the cars that were westbound” also.
Very sad.
My heart breaks for this person’s family and friends.
So sad. My thoughts go to the woman’s family and friends.
This sounds like a fairly common motorcycle collision situation: the left hook. Such awful news.
I equate right and left hook crashes to be the exclusive domain of bike lanes and people driving that cross those lanes (both vehicles going the same direction).
This crash is described as a left turn in front of oncoming traffic error (each vehicle going the opposite direction).
My heart and prayers go out to the family and friends.
Tragic
A tow truck driver is a professional driver. Professional drivers should be the best drivers.
This is too sad.
This is so heartbreaking. This intersection is along our school route but we avoid it. Crossing major thoroughfares is the most hair raising commuting event for my six year old.
If the tow truck is not independent, write the tow truck company and request they implement Fleet Telematics. These systems do real time monitoring and analysis of driver behaviors like excessive speed, excessive acceleration and breaking, high cornering speed, and excessive lane changes. This is a huge benefit to the fleet operator as they save money on insurance, gas, excessive vehicle wear, and liability. Its a no brainier for the business owner. The technology is advanced with many companies offering solutions.
Going forward the city should require Fleet Telematics for all fleet operators doing business with the city, as well as its own vehicle, as part of the Vision Zero program.
Also insurance companies should be allowed to require these systems for their worst drivers in general.
http://www.truckinginfo.com/article/story/2011/11/monitoring-driver-behavior-can-improve-safety-reduce-costs.aspx
For example….
http://www.teletrac.com/fleet-benefits/fleet-safety
This is something I once contacted Google about, after witnessing the behavior of one of their Google Shopping Express vans. I’ve confirmed with some friends there that, indeed, they do not monitor telematics in those couriers. (Detection and monitoring being two different things, that is). I couldn’t believe the irony!
I’m a data scientist. It’s not as ironic as you think. Having the data and having the algorithms/labor to monitor the data is the difference between having a library and reading all the books in it. It’s possible, it’s just not foregone
Excellent analogy, thanks Allison! (I’m a security architect working on industrial internet systems, so I totally get it).
And everyone under 25 in the same “punish the youth” spirit that restricts rental cars from people under 25.
“We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been Forced to live. We shall endure.”
Cesar Chavez
Rest in peace brave soul. We will not forget you, your sacrifice was not in vain.
So so so damn sad.
A ride of silence at rush hour this week? Friday?
Perhaps if the Ride of Silence was from 26th and Powell to CC and Gladstone? Sadly a route I ride twice a day.
I like the ride of silence proposal. This doesn’t feel like die-in material – doesn’t seem like the infrastructure is primarily at fault. Ride of silence around the courthouse, encouraging the system to actually prosecute such bad drivers?
I also like the ride of silence idea. Lets pick a route and do this.
Details can also be discussed here:
https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!topic/bikeloudpdx/2FEDXUO2C6w
S
Cool. Thanks Soren.
Oregonian reporting the cyclist was a man (according to PFB):
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/05/bicyclist_dies_in_collision_wi.html
already hundred of hate-filled victim-blaming comments…
If they can’t maintain some semblance of decency on their website, maybe they should disable the comments section. Why give voice to people trying to incite violence?
I was debating wading into that fever swamp… can feel my heart racing just by your description.
Gonna just not do that to myself tonight, and remind myself how much those people thoroughly hate everything about themselves.
That’s why I don’t read O-live. The big 3 local news channels disabled comments on their sites because of this sort of thing. I guess people are by and large just terrible people on the internet, when they wouldn’t be in real life.
“…I guess people are by and large just terrible people on the internet, when they wouldn’t be in real life.” kristen
Maybe, but there seems to be blogs and comment sections to them where people are exemplary in their conduct and in expressing their viewpoint.
It can take a lot of thought and effort to do that. Unfortunately, the editors and moderators of some sites cut way too much slack in allowing free wheeling comments to be posted. To support freedom of speech is important, but in service to that ethic, not obliging from people expressing themselves, at least some reasonable level of thought, and consideration for others, makes way for serious deterioration of potential for constructive discourse.
That’s what O-live’s mods have allowed to happen in their comment section. Occasionally, I browse quickly through comments to certain O-live stories, as I did at one of the stories about one of the recent collisions. Didn’t even pay attention to the obvious smack comments. Looked for any comments with some substance. Not many, though there were a small number out of the 100+ comments, and some of them were from the story writer herself, answering one of the decent comments posted by a reader.
fwiw, Oregonian is reporting that the cyclist was an adult male.
Another possible scenario: there was another left turning vehicle facing the tow truck, but blocking their view of the cyclist. This is just terrible, and it makes me so angry.
That’s possible. And still a failure to yield.
I think more probable scenario is the light for both turns yellow, car in opposing traffic to tow truck sees yellow and slows for the stop. Bike rider hidden on right side of slowing vehicle decides to beat the yellow. Tow truck driver sees approaching car slowing to stop so he gooses it to make the turn before red. Cyclist can’t stop in time and hits tow truck.
All speculation of course.
My heart sank after reading the details here. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the victim.
So incredibly sad. When will the death and the maiming and the tragedy end? When will it matter enough for tangible change?
RIP 🙁
As of an hour ago there was a black pick up truck, I will refrain from posting a license plate though we called it into PBOT, blocking the Green bike lane just east of the bike box ON CLINTON at Caesar Chavez.
They were not nice, and refused to move their truck blocking the bike lane. They are the re-modellers working on the former white house on NE corner. If you see it still there, call it in until it is towed. I even told them about this accident, they did not care.
PBOT doesn’t enforce. try the police.
Yes traffic division…..I would have edited if I could. safe at portlandoregon.gov as well.
They’ve been doing this a bunch. I reported them the other day via the PDX Reporter (?) app. They’re begging for someone to stop being nice.
Pickup tires can be really expensive.
Just pull the valve core. If you get caught its more of a prank than vandalism. A jury of drivers will not like a tire slasher.
But don’t do all four, just three of them. Or two on one side.
And they get to write it off/expense it, and now you have someone who definitely has an insane grudge against cyclists for the rest of their life, versus just passively disliking and being totally unconcerned with us.
One preventable death is too many.
All traffic violence is preventable, for instance low enough speed limits would make speeders visible to everyone, not just radar equipment. Pick two: safe, fast, cheap. The new rule is you have to pick safe.
Gotta get your rear to work to pay dem taxes. Can’t dawdle. Gotta move fast. PERS debt is mounting. Faster! Get to work! You peasants gotta pay up!
This was not “traffic violence”. Traffic violence is when someone gets in their car and intentionally runs people over on the sidewalk. This was most likely a case of a common traffic accident.
Let the assassination of my character begin in 3, 2, 1……
You’re a real trip. “Just an accident”? Unless you prove to me it’s 100% impossible to see an oncoming cyclist, then screw that. You’re BS hypotheticals involving both drivers “trying to beat the light” are just that–BS. If the tow driver really couldn’t see oncoming traffic–including a potential user of the bike lane–then he should not have proceeded. And if the light really turned yellow, he should not have proceeded. Period. It’s not an accident, it’s careless driving and failure to yield.
Edit *your BS* (started out going a different direction there)
In my theoretical scenario, the tow truck driver could see oncoming motor vehicle traffic very clearly – the traffic was slowing for the yellow soon to be red light – so the driver made a normal and reasonable decision to make the turn – but the bike was hidden by the motor vehicles. (I’m assuming bike is on the right, passenger side, of traffic that is slowing. The bigger the vehicles in that line, the more likely to hide the bike.)
I guess you don’t grasp the concept that a tow truck driver in the left turn lane might not be able to see a cyclist on the right side of a vehicle in the opposing straight-thru lane. What is the law of physics at play here? Is it because the molecules of the vehicle in opposing traffic lane are too closely spaced to see thru? Maybe that’s the one. Can’t remember if that one has a name or not.
It’s just one possibility, but we only have bits and pieces of info on this – the jury will likely get all the evidence.
Ever hear of a “violent collision”? “Violent explosion”? Perhaps a “violent earthquake”? Using the term “violence” does not necessarily connote intent, it describes intensity and conveys the extent of the sudden entropy that occurs when a 3-ton tow truck pulling a 2-ton car runs into a cyclist, however it happens.
I have a bad feeling the OBRA community will be affected. the bike shown on the Oregonian site was of race quality. two lives ruined in very different ways. tragic for everyone involved.
Bike looks like an aluminum frame, single speed, no rear brake, no visible brake levers on the drop bars (could be an inline lever on the bar tops, can’t see there), can’t see front fork or brake, impact has severed steerer at the fork crown, clipless pedals. Not a race bike.
good catch, I missed a few details on it. hopefully they ID the man soon.
I too noticed this. Not wanting to open Pandora’s box, especially at risk of coming across as disrespectful, but it takes some skill to stop a fixie quickly. I’ve witnessed two incidents through the years where unskilled fixie riders came close to some pretty bad results. It may have factored into the equation. 🙁
If a fixed gear bicycle has a front brake, with a lever that the rider can easily reach, then I consider it to have braking roughly equivalent to any other road bike. If a fixed gear bicycle has no (mechanical) brake, then . . . that would not be helpful for the rider’s (heirs’) case.
Looks like there was a front brake? I think this is the same bike. http://unofficialreed.tumblr.com/post/42438773553/humansofreed-mark-angeles-15-colorado
Yeah, looks it. The Oregonian pics didn’t show much perspective, but clear enough to show a lack of brifters. This just saddens me. 🙁
Yeah, first thing I thought of. Depending on gear ratio and speed, pedal resistance can be pretty useless in an emergency. That’s why bikes gained caliper brakes long ago: mechanical advantage. No piece of gear may have been able to prevent such an accident but if I’m gonna interact with traffic I want every advantage that budget can accommodate. Safety always trumps fashion.
“Ironically, just about one mile away, PBOT and the PPB are doing a crosswalk enforcement action at SE 24th and Powell”
Which is nowhere actually near where this happened, and on a totally different type and character of intersection with far different traffic volumes. It’s not ironic, just tragic.
Negligent driving must have been involved. How is it hard to “not smash into s__” when driving? That’s the rule right, don’t hit stuff, including people. This is absolutely terrible.
I for one am baffled how hitting someone with a vehicle isn’t de facto negligence. Somehow in our world, you have to be drunk or fleeing the cops for it to really stick. As I’ve said before, it’s easier to lose your right to vote than it is to lose your privilege to drive. There are our priorities right there.
Unfortunately, for most of the bad drivers, losing the privilege to drive does not stop them from driving. They keep driving and then without insurance. If they are picked up, 3 hours later, they are back on the road looking for someone to harm.
It’s only negligence if the driver was negligent. Hitting someone who unsafely gets in your path isn’t negligence. No facts have been established in this case yet, but just wait, they will be.
Weird, you seem to be willing to confer negligence to the riders in these incidents.
“Hitting someone who unsafely gets in your path isn’t negligence.”
Right.
If I step off the curb into the path of a speeding car that I can tell is obviously not going to stop, even if I am in a crosswalk, I am partially responsible. OR am I wrong?
A woman was run down with her 3 kids in the middle of an intersection. She didn’t ‘suddenly step into the intersection’. And you have tried to assign fault to her for using an intersection at all. Please stop with the victim blaming.
I know it seems like simple stuff to you and I, but one look at most lane markings around Portland and where they’re fading paints a picture of masses of drivers who routinely fail at maintaining their lane.
My personal favorite: http://imgur.com/wtEgNJU
That’s a bus stop…
This is my favorite. It’s on my regular route home. Click forward a few clicks and you can see how far the stripe is faded. I’m sure drivers think I’m “hogging the lane” when they see me here because the current state of the line is “completely gone”.
often it’s the buses that can’t maintain their lane…
we have narrow lanes for more cars, but it pushes the buses into the adjacent lanes…
ever seen a bus go down Hawthorne recently and stay in its lane?
I’d rather see a wider lane so buses can stay in it, and then convert the other one to a bike lane… on every 4-lane road…
Clearly, left turn yield situation. But, a good argument for ALWAYS using a flashing headlight, and more education for all parties.
I’ve stopped using flashing headlights and now use multiple solid headlights like 2 on the fork and 1 on the handlebar (yes, in the daytime.) This seems to lead to fewer conflicts from misjudged speed. I’ve noticed the same with tail lights. Whether it’s a bigger presence, being unusual, or the apparent distance between lights, it seems to change the character of oncoming and overtaking traffic.
“a good argument for ALWAYS using a flashing headlight”
i use a 600 lumen day light flash headlight and i still think your comment is obnoxious. the people hitting and killing people should be the ones that make the extra effort.
Exactly! Cyclists have no responsibility to make themselves more easily seen! We have rights!
But………glad you are making an effort to be safe with the big light. It may save you.
🙂
Eben Weiss: “They’re turning us into cars.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/15/dont-make-bicyclists-more-visible-make-cars-stop-running-them-over/
It was noon on a sunny day. Really?
Have you ever driven a car? Flashing lights do make you more visible – even in the day. Car drivers are busy distracted people just like bike riders – help them to see you.
The whole point is that they shouldn’t be busy distracted people. They should be focused on maintaining legal control of their heavy machinery, and there really is no excuse to not see things which are within your range of vision in broad daylight. I would like to know how you will feel when a driver makes a boneheaded move and hits YOU with no warning and through no fault of your own.
resopmok said: “I would like to know how you will feel when a driver makes a boneheaded move and hits YOU with no warning and through no fault of your own.”
Sounds like you think the cyclist made no errors. There is no evidence for that belief.
I know that intersections are dangerous so I have the choice to slow down enough to stop if I need to, but the choice is up to me – and I admit that is NOT a fun way to bike. This cyclist apparently did not make the choice to enter the intersection with caution – if he had then this probably would not have happened. Each of us has to decide: Am I REALLY a believer in vision zero or is that just a bumper sticker slogan? If you’re a believer you’ll be ready to stop when entering an intersection – but that isn’t any fun at all – so most of us will ride unsafely and continue to blame drivers when we get hit.
Maybe more details will emerge – probably in the courtroom.
Dude, if you are actually HIT by a left hook, your speed has nothing to do with it. Do you ride a bike?
Sounds like you think the cyclist made errors. There is no evidence for that belief, either. Get out of here with your wild conjecture and passive-aggressive double standards.
lights don’t keep you from getting hit by a motor vehicle… nothing seems to keep people from being hit by motor vehicle…
We are starting to put up more bollards around buildings these days. Of course, if they were painted fluorescent it might not be a problem.
Sad. This almost happened to me a couple weeks ago on terwilliger with a truck turning left up 7th and me going 20mph. I’m convinced that most drivers are incompetent and none of them can correctly judge a bike’s speed or recognize oncoming bikes (safe drivers know this and act accordingly.) Check your brakes, know your stopping distance, and stay safe folks.
There but bt the grace of God go you or me. My heart breaks for the families of each person involved in this horrendous accident…
Another possible scenario: tow truck was in the intersection waiting for the red so they could take the left when oncoming traffic had stopped (a legal move) and the bicyclist ran the red light (as they do often do). A rural driver might not expect such a brazen move.
Lots of possibilities, and this is certainly among them.
Thanks for going the extra mile to imagine how somone who lost their life today is to blame. You may be interested to know that he cave of heartless emotional dissociation that you live in borders on being pathological. However, it may seem normal to you if you spend too much time on the internet. You may want to get outside more. Maybe go for a bike ride.
Harsh.
I went for a bike ride today on West Union. No shoulder, high speed traffic. I survived. I agree with Micah – the scenario is one of many possibilities. Let’s see what the cops decide. That’s their job, right? Or is it yours?
If I read that exchange correctly, it sounds like SD is the one advocating for letting the police determine fault. The OP was speculating without evidence.
OP was just providing one possible scenario. OP did not say they thought that’s what happened – just that it was a possibility. I think it is a possibility also – if I had to bet using incomplete information we have now, I’d bet the truck failed to yield, but there is no evidence in the original story to support such a bet.
True, but “…(as they do often do)…” assigns a likelihood.
And placing the blame on the tow truck driver is a-o-k with you, when there’s no evidence yet.
Suppose the bike rider was at fault. How do you think that driver feels having been involved in their death?
You’ve gone the extra mile to provide one view of the incident, which is no more valid than the other view of the incident. Both are guesses until the facts are known.
Waiting in the intersection with intent to turn left on red does NOT appear to be a legal move at _this_ intersection. A 2011 change to the relevant law does allow waiting in an intersection _with a flashing yellow arrow_, but this intersection has no such signal. http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/811.260
You’re onto something, though: Especially when weighing two tons (or more like four tons for the tow truck), people misapplying rules from other states, eras, or circumstances pose a dire and even deadly threat to others.
stopping in an intersection violates ORS 811.550 (5)…
you have to keep moving, even if very slowly…
Are you sure? What about 811.560 (5)?
“Another possible scenario: tow truck was in the intersection waiting for the red so they could take the left when oncoming traffic had stopped (a legal move) and the bicyclist ran the red light…”
Turning left on a red (onto a two-way street) is not a “legal move”. In your scenario, BOTH vehicle operators would have been running a red light.
I cant read the comments in facebook news pages anymore. The people in there are just too disgusting.
I tried to go to the Oregonian, but they started having a feature where comments are appearing on the side, as they’re written. You can’t even choose to not look at them anymore. The comments sections, BP excepted, really are the cesspool of the internet.
I have adblocker just block all the comment elements from Oregonlive.com. I can’t even see the count. Its great. Minus the writing of the Oregonian, but that is another matter.
There’s not excuse — trust, the cyclist was not going so fast he/she couldn’t be seen.
I’m all for electronic keys and implementing a public transit like policy of suspension of privilege for any infraction. Given that an eye witness can identify any owner of any vehicle at anytime on a public road way, is there a legal argument for not forcing tracking on those who break-the-law (let’s call what it is).
Vision Zero is cute, but a person died today and our neighbors lives are changed everyday.
The only way to be going too fast to be seen is when one is exceeding the speed of light. That’s difficult to do on a bike.
Changes to current driving laws need to address the lack of skill and attentiveness of drivers. The laws and the requirements in the US are excessively lax compared to some european countries, probably due to the desire to put more cars on the road.
1. Driver’s license age is raised to 18 unless exception is made for hardship.
2. All professional drivers that operate in Portland are required to spend 24 hours on a bicycle per year.
3. Negligence associated with a serious injury results in loss of license for at least 2 years.
4. Test for driver’s license is a real test.
5. ….?
You wouldn’t need nearly as much skill if no one drove over 30 mph outside a restricted access highway
I could say the same thing for many biker riders with regards to skill and attentiveness.
Riding home yesterday I watch another rider run 4 red lights (yes I made up the time even though I waited for the lights), while reaching around to answer his phone and adjust the volume on his earphones.
There’s plenty of stupid on the roads to go around. And the only laws that matter are the laws of physics, a 3000lb car is going to win against a 20lb bike regardless of who has the right of way.
Which is why the standard of ability should be higher if one is going to be operating a 3000lb+ vehicle that is capable of such carnage. Cyclists and auto drivers are not the same. We have different licensing requirements, we have different laws, and we have different impacts on our community. Stop acting like we have the same levels of responsibility out there.
Why the difference?
An inattentive bike rider can cause as much “carnage” as an inattentive driver.
1. By being killed and leaving the driver with the image of that death.,
2. By the driver getting killed trying to avoid the rider.
There is no difference in responsibility.
Every user has the responsibility to follow the laws.
An inattentive bike rider can kill 3 children and barely notice? Or crash through a living room?
You are so wrong on this. Did you fail physics in high school, or are you just completely blinded by your bias?
This should go for cyclists too otherwise it’s a double standard… required to share the road but anyone on a bike can do whatever they want because there’s no requirements to get on one
You have the right to ride a bike.
And to suffer the consequences if you do it unsafely.
Or safely.
Rest assured, if you’re riding correctly and something bad happens to you, I’ll be the first to defend your actions.
Don’t doubt that at all. In fact even if I get on I-5 heading south in the north-bound lane and run head-on into an 18 wheeler, while shirt-faced drunk doing 60 mph, at night covered in blackout paint, and it’s caught on HD video, I KNOW you’ll be there to say: “The truck driver should have seen him and stopped. Throw him in jail and throw away the key!”
Am I right?
🙂
On a mode-share adjusted basis fewer cyclists die than drivers or pedestrians. And the common denominator when it comes to almost all fatalities on our roads is a person operating multi-ton heavy machinery.
Show us your statistics. My stats appear to disagree:
CDC: (see 2nd bullet under “Rationale”)
http://www.cdc.gov/transportation/docs/transportation-fact-sheet.pdf
Journalist’s Resource:
http://journalistsresource.org/studies/environment/transportation/comparing-fatality-risks-united-states-transportation-across-modes-time
i was referring to portland…obviously.
“but anyone on a bike can do whatever they want” – except no, they can’t – there are laws. The fact that those laws are not being enforced doesn’t mean they don’t exist, and in reality, most cyclists obey the law, we only tend to notice the ones who do not. (selection bias)
Motorists, likewise, can do whatever they want – until they get caught. The downside is that a bike is about 2 feet wide and 200lbs. (maybe 300 if I am riding it) A car is 6+ feet wide and 3,000+ lbs. (unless its a Smart Car) One of these things is far more likely to actually *hit* something rather than having a close call, and one of these things likewise is far more likely to kill or destroy the object it hits. The laws shouldn’t be equal – they should be in accordance with how damaging they are when misused.
i.e.
Pedestrians – least restrictive
Bikes – more restrictive than peds
Motorcycles – more restrictive than bikes
Cars/Van – more restrictive than motorcycles
Small Trucks (Delivery trucks, not light trucks) – more restrictive than cars
Road Equipment – more restrictive than small trucks
RVs – more restrictive than road equipment (because drivers are not pro)
“18-Wheelers” (large trucks) – more restrictive than everything else
The level of licensing should likewise be commensurate with the potential for damage. This should all be common sense, and it’s not.
The reason cyclists “get away with everything” is because police enforcement already applies this principle. They can’t prosecute every lawbreaker – so they (usually) go after those with the most potential to cause harm. Cyclists are far less likely to kill someone when they do break the law. That doesn’t make it right, but again – everyone can do *whatever they want*, and if you look around, you’ll see ample examples in every mode on the roadway.
I agree but good luck getting that implemented here. In Europe driving is considered a privilege and is unnecessary given the vastly superior bus and train networks. Would be better changing the laws and actually enforcing them. Like, if you do something stupid or illegal and kill someone then you’re on the hook for manslaughter.
Ugh, just heard 2 cyclists were injured when hit by a car in Vancouver this PM as well.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/Two-bicyclists-critically-injured-in-Clark-County-crash-305264501.html
CLARK COUNTY, Wash. — Police say an 80-year-old man who struck two bicyclists Wednesday afternoon in Clark County said he didn’t see the bikers due to a strong sun glare.
Can’t see, but doesn’t slow down enough to compensate…
Poor visibility can occur suddenly in shaded sections when driving into the sun – weird things happen particularly when wearing polarized glasses, etc. Not saying that occurred in this case, but it can happen.
From the top of a small crest at NE 132nd, to NE 128th, where the collision occurred, is a full 1/5th of a mile of straight, flat road. Assuming the driver was going 55mph, he should have had 13 seconds to see the riders at any point and adjust.
View from 1/5th of a mile away: https://goo.gl/maps/eyytH
Help keep the rubber side down motorists and cyclists! Look out for one another!! Thoughts are with the cyclist and the truck driver. Share the road!!
This is the first comment that expresses even a hint of compassion for the truck driver. Assuming the action was unintentional, he is most likely feeling pretty awful. This will be something he lives with the rest of his life. It is probably worse knowing he was at fault.
He’s also alive. He can choose to move on with his life. The cyclist is dead. His family and friends will never be able to get him back.
If the person killed were a motorist “cager”, there would be little to no compassion here.
Which is a real shame. These are actual people, with friends and families. The issues here are societal, not personal, and the first step is so realize that these are people and start working the PROBLEM, not the symptoms.
That claim is unsupported repugnant nonsense. Unsafe streets, poor infrastructure, and lack of enforcement contribute to the death human beings who walk, bike, and drive.
Exactly! It’s insane!
We are just neglecting to spend enough to solve our problems:
http://www.usadebtclock.com/
debt is not scary — it’s primarily just money we owe ourselves..
Take a look at some of the writings of former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. He’s basically argued that due to the incredibly low interest rates at which the government can borrow from the banks, we should currently be issuing more short-term bonds to fund improvements in our infrastructure and educational systems. The current thinking in the Fed and House and Senate is that we’ve over-borrowed and we need to start implementing huge cuts (and that thinking has driven a trend towards long-term bond issuance), but in the grand scheme of things (the way you and I see money and the way the US government sees money are radically different economies of scale), there’s never been a better time to borrow more to invest in our future.
2nd…
but I have a hard time feeling bad for the killer…
It’s not a zero sum game. Feeling bad for the driver does not in any way diminish the horror of what happened to the cyclist. Solving the problem does not require us to pit one person against another.
A recent post of slight relevance:
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2015/memoir-of-a-suicide-swerve/
This makes me mad, This mayor needs to wake the f— up, and address this. DRIVE DOWN POWELL NOT CLINTON OR GLADSTONE. Your not saving time.
the mayor needs to address people behaving badly on roads? how exactly would he do that? I don’t believe you get to choose where and when other people drive their cars. thousands of people pass down clinton and gladstone every day without incident…
He could start by riding the PPB about their abject disinterest and apathy in enforcing the texting ban…
That would be a nice little (revenue generating) start for vulnerable road users like us…
they could start by enforcing every violation they see instead of just the ones they’re looking for…
Speaking of texting. I thought that blacked out front windows were still illegal as no one can see the drivers or passengers. They should be receiving very hefty fines instead of warnings.
And if a car needs to be towed on Clinton or Gladstone?
Did anyone report the victim’s name? I have a friend who takes this route and I am concerned. Thanks.
http://www.reed.edu/reed_magazine/sallyportal/posts/2015/tragic-loss-of-beloved-alumnus.html
I drive a truck for work all day around town and I still don’t understand. MOST Byciclist regardless weather or not they have the right of way don’t pay attention enough to what’s going on around them I have seen two accidents one on sw 6th and sw harrison and one on Naito near the Steele bridge where the car has the green light heading east to west and the bike shoots across the road south to north and the car swerves to miss the cyclist and hits another car. I see cyclists run all over this town with not a care in the world because “The street belongs to the p
Cyclists and Pedestrians” Streets were made for cars that weigh anywhere from 2000 to 20000lbs or in this sad case 16000 or so lbs with a car on the hook. This is no place for a 200 lbs squishy human being to be on two wheels wearing nothing for safety but a lamp and a helmet .
I’m not saying don’t ride your bike it’s a great way to get around but if your going to run around without a care in the world and expect accidents like this not to happen then I don’t know what to tell you.
I both bike and drive every day around town and I still don’t understand. Most drivers regardless of whether or not they have the right of way don’t pay attention enough to what’s going on around them. I have seen many accidents; two in particular on SW Naito where a car ran through a green light to turn right, one of which seriously injured a woman in the crosswalk. I see drivers run all over this town with not a care in the world because “streets were made for cars that weigh anywhere from 2000 to 20000lbs.” Streets were made for transporting people around town. This is no place to let your attention fade while piloting a huge vehicle and imagining that safety is about you only.
I’m not saying don’t drive your car — it’s a great way to get around — but if you’re going to drive around without a care in the world and expect accidents like this not to happen then I don’t know what to tell you.
Mike, we can all do better.
I don’t know what to say about your opinions on the lawlessness of certain riders, except that I think drivers tend to notice the bad they see and ignore the good. Try counting the riders you notice who aren’t doing any wrong, and I bet you notice a lot more riders than you thought were out there.
We are just as guilty of noticing bad drivers and not good ones. The vast majority of drivers I encounter are paying attention and being courteous.
“MOST Byciclist regardless weather or not they have the right of way don’t pay attention enough to what’s going on around them”
Your anecdotal experiences do not carry any water here. Here, try this on for size: “The cyclist yesterday was run over by a truck driver. Therefore, all truck drivers like you don’t pay attention enough”
“Streets were made for cars”
I forgot about how there were no streets prior to the invention of and rise of popularity of the car in the 1920s. Check your entitled car-centric attitude, please.
“Streets were made for cars that weigh anywhere from 2000 to 20000lbs…” I’ve seen this sort of comment many times, but it’s incorrect. In particular, Gladstone has been in existence since at least 1894*, well before any cars were in Portland (though I bet some cyclists were using it then!). *See map: (see map:
)
I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t be driving a truck. Oh, for the advent of driverless trucks
“Streets were made for cars that weigh anywhere from 2000 to 20000lbs or in this sad case 16000 or so lbs with a car on the hook.”
Wow, hard to imagine a less truthful assertion. Are you saying no streets existed before say, 1910 or so? Look at some old photographs of… well any city on the planet. But we get your meaning loud and clear; “we motor vehicle users own the streets now, we have bullied all other users off them and resent any attempt to restore any equilibrium in usage”. Sorry Mike, but the age of motor vehicles dominating and deadening cities is over. You were born a half century too late. True, we in the US still cling to that fallacy more than many places, but that era has peaked and efforts to sustain it will fail. Perhaps the dim awareness of that in the back of your mind is behind your determination not to share roadways and leads to the idea that those challenging motor vehicle supremacy/monoploy even in dense human activity centers deserve to die. If you read, check out “Roads Were Not Built For Cars” by Carlton Reid
“This is no place for a 200 lbs squishy human being to be on two wheels wearing nothing for safety but a lamp and a helmet.”
Streets in the USA are unsafe because many have that kind of callous and enabling attitude when it comes to human road kill.
We can do better, much, much better:
http://img.medscape.com/fullsize/migrated/461/679/amjhp461679.fig3.gif
The truck driver obviously didn’t see the bike coming; no sane person would left hook a biker on purpose. On a bike, we’ve got to keep our heads up and assume nothing. That intersection at Gladstone and 39th, that for damn sure is one that I would never want to bomb through at any time of day. The biker assumed he or she was visible instead of making sure of it, and even though it’s not the biker’s fault for not being seen, it’s always a biker’s responsibility to themselves to ensure that they are seen.
My mom likes to say – you can be right, and you can be dead right.
“On a bike, we’ve got to keep our heads up and assume nothing.”
It is the primary responsibility of people driving machines that kill tens of thousands each year to keep their heads up and assume nothing. When I drive I assume that people make mistakes and this causes me to drive slowly and cautiously.
I live in the neighborhood and there are an amazing number of accidents for such small streets. I want to see all traffic laws tightened and strictly enforced. It would give cops something to do instead of chasing pot smokers and stopping people for driving while brown/black/ not white
According to this addition to the CommunityCam map back in 2013, there should be security cameras that may have footage out front of the Plaid Pantry:
http://www.videosurveillance.com/communitycam/map/?pv=portland
Select “Portland” then enter into the search window “4000 Southeast Cesar E Chavez Boulevard, Portland, OR, United States”.