LoriRose

Jacques-Cartier Bridge bike path crash kills 1 - Montreal - CBC News

I was on this bridge on my bike yesterday. Yikes. They even have barriers that you have to maneuver around to prevent you from going too fast. Seems you can never be too careful even when you're in a protected bike lane.

LGHT

Not surprised at the above statement in the article. Does that city have a helmet law?

Matariki

Horrible. At 4 AM I wonder if one or both were impaired.

I have more close calls per mile with other cyclists on MUPs than with cars on urban streets. Typical issues are speed (especially with other users present), passing when imprudent, not understanding the rules of road (i.e. travel to the right, pass on the left, peds and horses have ROW), and general lack of awareness.

SactoDoug

My recumbent is looking better every day.

alcjphil

I saw this early this morning and wondered how long it would take before someone posted a link. This has to be one of the rarest types of cycling deaths. I have experienced a head on collision on a bike path more than once, once with another cyclist( who wasn't wearing a helmet) and once with an electric scooter. Both times it was the other rider who had swerved over onto my side of the path. The cyclist rammed me with his head, I had a huge bruise on the left side of my chest and he had a bad concussion. I was luckier with the scooter rider,I had time to cross my arms in front of my chest and knock him off his scooter. Bicycle paths are tricky, there are lots of people on them who do not pay attention to what is ahead

Chris516

This is why I stay off MUPs. MUPs are only about a 1/4 the width of a garage door. Some cyclists' treat it like their Indianapolis 500. I have had suddenly slow down even more, than I already was. They are too dangerous.

That is another reason why I 'take the lane' on the road. So, Just like a MUP, I don't get sandwiched.

alcjphil

The section of path where this happened is quite wide, plenty of space for cyclists to pass each other safely. In this case, it sounds very much as if someone wasn't where they were supposed to be. This past weekend I encountered something similar on a bike path. I looked ahead and there was a cyclist ahead of me riding on my side of the path. As I approached he moved farther and farther to his left onto my side of the path. Finally he stopped hugging the right side of the path in front of me.As I passed I motioned that he should have been on his side of the path.He didn't seem to have any idea that what he was doing was dangerous as he looked at me, mouth gaping open. This also happened on a bridge incidentally

kickstart

Death, taxes, and now...........Chris516 posting "another reason why I take the lane"..............

baron von trail 

We had one here on the bike path last summer.


Area doctor dies 1 month after bike trail crash | Dayton, OH News | www.whio.com

B. Carfree

Bummer to win that lottery, and just as long odds as the state-run ones.

CrankyOne

Why? Do you know something about the injuries of the deceased that hasn't been reported? What caused his death?

LoriRose

I posted because it gave me a wake-up call. Rare or not (just like the dude who was struck by lightening on his bike in Montreal a few weeks ago), these things do happen and cyclists, IMO, need to sometimes be reminded that it's not just motor vehicles that can kill us. There have been a few times in the last couple weeks where I have thought to myself that I am going WAY too fast and it's probably not safe. Also, while I was on that bridge just yesterday I had a few cyclists pass me where I thought 'whoa, that was close.' There is not a whole lot of room to maneuver on the bridge. There is no grass off to the side, for example, to escape to. I completely agree with you though that there are many ppl on the bike paths here that have no ****ing clue what they are doing and are putting others in danger.

Chris516

I am glad you didn't have a similar accident.
Yes, Another reason why I 'take the lane'. Whether you like it, or not.

10 Wheels

Indianapolis 500 is One way Riding.

LesterOfPuppets

Seems like lights would be a more crucial safety device than helmets. But the lack of helmets is interesting.

kickstart

I don't care what you do, but constantly posting it has become a running joke. A joke that very often lacks value, content, or perspective.

indyfabz

Dang! So like a garage door is like 40' wide, cuz there is an MUP in my area that is 10' wide in places.

mr_bill

"A spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec said on Monday that neither speed nor alcohol were initially suspected to be factors in the accident on the bridge, but that an investigation is ongoing. The spokesperson did not know whether the cyclists had lights on their bikes."

-mr. bill

genec

Yup, time after time when bombing down some huge highway hill it would occur to me that all it would take is one small rock in the wrong place and I would be airbourn.

Funny thing is it did happen on an MUP when I was moving slow and hit a child's broken bead necklace scattered near a turn.

But bottom line, cyclists are killed more often by automobiles than any other cause.

vol

The picture from the above link shows a turn area. Not sure if that's the exact accident spot, but if it was, the curve could have played a part in blocking both cyclists' views.

(For another rare bike related accident: cyclist's bike handlebar impaled a jogger's hand on NYC's Hudson Greenway)

LoriRose

Right, but cyclists are at fault sometimes too. Just because we are more vulnerable doesn't give us a free pass to be reckless.

You are absolutely right, there are a few blind curves at points where one can easily have been going quite fast. And yes, that is where the accident occurred.

vol

That is why at night a be-seen front light is not enough. It's important to use a front light that has a beam which will light up the area in front of you, especially at intersections and blind curves.