Houston fatality

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xerocoma

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9662334/

Why wouldn't authorities file charges? There obviously isn't much info in the article....

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galen_52657

Riding at night without lights as dictated by the vehicular code. It's sad but not unexpected.

emilymildew

Caveat: obviously I don't know every single thing about this case, but...

from the article: "The truck's driver told authorities he did not see the rider in time to stop."

That alone should be enough to file charges. You are required to have control of your vehicle at all times. If he had rear-ended a car, it would have been his fault (depending on the state, I don't know about TX).

jabowker

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9662334/

Why wouldn't authorities file charges? There obviously isn't much info in the article....
The only reasonable reason would be if they felt that the cyclist was primarily at fault. The article mentioned headphones but doesn't say what if anything else the cyclist may have done. Poster above mentioned possible lack of lights (Not mentioned in article that I saw). Could be other things as well. There may not be any other witnesses either.

Keith99

There is a picture, one would assume of the accident site. It shows a bike down with a cop shining a flashlight on it. we are looking at traffic. There are 2 lanes coming toward us and there is what looks like a shoulder on our right (which would be the LEFT side the way traffic is going). The bike is in the left most lane. There is no evidence of lights on the bike (though they could have been knocked off or disabled). If the rider was in the fast lane of a 2 lane limited access road at night with no lights it hardly seems a drivers fault. Not to say this has to be the way it was, but it is consistent with what little we are told and can see.

kf5nd

Been up that way, riding at night with no reflectors, no lights, and no situational awareness (headphones) = suicide by car.

Keith99

I try to see both sides of things. There is nothing in the article that says no lights. My viewing of the picture does not show lights or reflectors. However it looks to me like the bike is now pointing away from us, seemingly the opposite of the way it would have been going. It so it also has no rear wheel. We can be pretty sure the bike had a rear wheel before the crash. It is still possible it had lights and/or reflectors.

dan828

From the Houston Chronicle:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3391258

Harris County deputies said the cyclist was wearing headphones and riding without reflectors in the middle of the northbound lane of the 20100 block of East Hardy shortly after 10 p.m. when he was struck in the rear by a northbound Chevy Silverado pickup.

That does seem to be pretty stupid behavior.

noisebeam

Did he really have no refectors or no required refectors? Where there reflectors on wheels, pedals, clothing, but not a legally required red one on the bike? Was he perhaps using a (hard to see) blinkie instead of a legally required reflector? Subtle details that don't really change the scenario of what I understand as not having the primary and very important rear red reflector.

Al

Da Tinker

Night-time riding without the required front white light & rear red light or reflector is violation of the vehicle code. Wearing headphones is also a violation under the Texas vehcile code. Should the operator of an illegal vehicle on the road expect protection under the law?

Do not overlook the fact that this in the same area in which a school bus driver who hit & killed a child riding her bike to school has had murder charges filed against him.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3390697

Peter called it - suicide by car.

slagjumper

xerocoma

Does a rear light ( I just installed Catseye LD1000's on my and my wife's bikes - man those suckers are bright!) replace the required red reflector?

Az B

Does a rear light ( I just installed Catseye LD1000's on my and my wife's bikes - man those suckers are bright!) replace the required red reflector?

Both are required because sometimes lights stop working and for the rear, you may not know.

Personally, riding at night even with lights seems to increase the risk factor greatly. I try to avoid it as much as possible, especially weekend nights.

Az

kf5nd

Sec. 551.104. Safety Equipment.

(a) A person may not operate a bicycle unless the bicycle is equipped with a brake capable of making a braked wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement.

(b) A person may not operate a bicycle at nighttime unless the bicycle is equipped with:

(1) a lamp on the front of the bicycle that emits a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet in front of the bicycle; and
(2) on the rear of the bicycle:

(A) a red reflector that is:
(i) of a type approved by the department; and
(ii) visible when directly in front of lawful upper beams of motor vehicle headlamps from
all distances from 50 to 300 feet to the rear of the bicycle; or

(B) a lamp that emits a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear of the bicycle.

But I always use both... batteries do die, electronics do crap out, just when you least expect them to. You need a backup.

Does a rear light ( I just installed Catseye LD1000's on my and my wife's bikes - man those suckers are bright!) replace the required red reflector?

kf5nd

Given that almost 100% of night-riders in Houston do not use lights, and the particular part of town where he was hit isn't an affluent place where you'd expect a capable cyclists to live (most of them are educated & middle-class), I would bet money that he had no lights, no reflectors, no reflective vest, no ankle bands. They mostly wear dark clothing as well.

If he had had lights, reflectors, reflective vest, ankle bands he would've been most probably a accomplished cyclist and/or cycling activist, and I would've heard about his death from the grapevine. But, nothing heard yet.

Just an anonymous victim who didn't have a clue what he was doing, and now there are two victims... the cyclist and the driver of the motor vehicle.

From the Houston Chronicle:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3391258

That does seem to be pretty stupid behavior.

xerocoma

Thanks for the info Peter... I'll try to find a place to hang a reflector as well... :))

dedhed

I wonder if they checked the driver's BAC. I've wondered what would happen to me if my blinky flew off in such an accident. Also how many here have the legally required reflectors still on their bikes? Not me. I guess I should put them back on as a legal defence if a drunken or otherwize negligent motorist hits me. Not saying that the dirver was drunk, but how do they decide to test? I know that my speech is not slurred at 1.0 but I am legally drunk at .8.

How do we know the cyclist wasn't legally drunk? After midnite, less than affluent section of town(as described by other posters), no reflectors or lights, middle of lane, headphones on. Doesn't sound like sober behavior to me. The driver probably wasn't charged because there wasn't enough evidence to warrant it or convict him. All my bikes have reflectors for my own safety not just to CYA if you get hit. Better to reduce the chance of a hit than have to say I should have had a reflector when your paralyzed.

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