Fifty Plus (50+) - Bicyclist killed

Bicyclist killed - 50+ - across town from me.

http://www.9news.com/news/top-article.aspx?storyid=90253

http://cbs4denver.com/local/postal.truck.death.2.704094.html

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_8988609

I really hate news like that. Not much detail in the 9News piece but it appears to be the drivers fault. Very sad.

One of my greatest fears is that I will hit a cyclist. I live along a very popular bike route and sometimes the riders make it difficult to miss them. Just today I approached a cyclist from behind, while another vehicle approached toward us. I slowed, allowed the other vehicle to pass, then pulled out to give the cyclist a wide berth.

About that time the cyclist, who probably hadn't heard me coming up from behind, turned their head to see if anyone was behind them (of course she didn't have a mirror). As she turned her head, she inadvertently wove to her left and nearly went straight in front of me. Scary moment as we both cut away from each other.

Really sad. Wrong place at the wrong time.

Follow up article

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_8995837

I wonder how they could tell she was a good employee after a month? As a former supervisor/manager/director of over 100 people, it usually took me about a year to make that determination and I was incorrect about 5% of the time.

So sad. I feel for his family, and everyone else concerned.

I wonder how they could tell she was a good employee after a month? As a former supervisor/manager/director of over 100 people, it usually took me about a year to make that determination and I was incorrect about 5% of the time.

New letter carriers are pushed hard, and if they are still around after the first month, they are pretty good at the job. We've lost over half of our new hires in my area by that time. She must still be on her 90 day probation period.

That story is just plain scary and really sad. The guy was really coming into his prime.

Makes me wonder... I live near an industrial park with a big UPS depot. That's where I do some of my after-work rides. All those drivers are coming in at the end of their day and are probably pretty tired. So far, however, they have all been attentive to my presence in their ball park. I'm trying to do a better job of signaling turns. I was a bit ashamed of myself this evening as one of the UPS guys waited at an intersection until I finally remembered to signal my turn.

I don't know how much it helps, but I now have to PB Superflashes, one on the seat post and one down on the left seat stay. I run them both during most rides now, and I wear really bright "safety color" jerseys.

Back to the OP, it's a tragic story and one that should restore some awareness to what we do.

Really sad. Wrong place at the wrong time.


Definitely. A sad, rare and unusual accident, it seems. Thankfully the vast majority of vehicles drivers actually don't want to hit cyclists. We do, though, need to be aware and watchful of what is happening around us.

A fellow engineer, a fellow avid cyclist, a fellow husband and father of two, within 5 years of my age ... this hits too close to home.

Definitely. A sad, rare and unusual accident, it seems. Thankfully the vast majority of vehicles drivers actually don't want to hit cyclists. We do, though, need to be aware and watchful of what is happening around us.

I always think of this when people go off so rabidly against the driver when a cyclist is hit. Of course drivers need to be aware and drive carefully, but people screw up, that's life. We all need to do our absolute best when driving, but who hasn't made a mistake driving? The difference is that my mistakes have only caused be a moment of panic (sliding through an icy intersection, e.g.), or damage to my car and other cars. Thank god I haven't screwed up and hit a pedestrian or cyclist. Plus, I'm a 1000000 % better driver now than when I was a teenager.