Advocacy & Safety - Fatal Hit And Run - Northern Virginia

Just after midnight, Tysons-Pimmit area where route 7 crosses the Beltway.

Not much known yet.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1108/573039.html

Yikes, completely black, and says nothing about lights ------

Yikes, completely black, and says nothing about lights ------

doesn't look like any lights were on the bike either. Still a failure of the motorist, I am able to see ninjas with enough time to spare to avoid them, if I ever stop with them at a light I'm yelling at them to get a light. Last thing I need is a momentary lapse in concentration and then bam some ninja is down...

I just recently started riding at night, 5am, and see a couple of people on bikes and then runners. The runners are usually quite visible because of reflective clothing but I don't see too many people on bikes with lights...It seems that having lights means that you are serious about riding because the couple I've seen with lights are those from my weekend group rides. I used to ride with no lights, but now if I feel I'll be caught at dusk/dawn/night I will bring my trusty P7.

Nah, no lights... the fault is the cyclists...

I see lots of ninjas in the morning there when I drive in. It's pretty hairy even in the daytime. Plus they're doing all that &)*)(*)( construction work for the new Lexus Lanes, and the bridge overpass is narrower than before. Not a great place to ride, but these folks have to do what they have to do to get to work.

Though this is likely a ninja situation we don't know for sure, especially since there's no mention of whether the cyclist had lights or reflectors. It wasn't reported by the news media so I wonder if the police even made note. This bothers me, which is why I commented on it:

http://www.vabike.org/cyclist-killed-in-fairfax-hit-run/

doesn't look like any lights were on the bike either. It is very clear from the photo, that the cyclist was riding without a rear wheel. I strongly suspect that riding without a rear wheel caused the collision more than riding without lights.:rolleyes:

It is very clear from the photo, that the cyclist was riding without a rear wheel. I strongly suspect that riding without a rear wheel caused the collision more than riding without lights.:rolleyes:Actually, judging from the picture, the bike was riding without a cyclist or a back wheel. Obviously this is the the true source of the problem!

No bike lights. He was carring a load of road flares.

Oh yeah, no rear wheel justifies a hit and run.

Just after midnight, Tysons-Pimmit area where route 7 crosses the Beltway.

Not much known yet.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1108/573039.html

Thankyou for mentioning this. I have been trying to figure out, how to do bike rides on the W&OD trail since, I live in Montgomery County. I will make sure not to go anywhere near Rt. 7.

I ride an all black bike, often wear black rain pants, black rain jacket, black shoes, black shoe covers, black balaclava, black gloves.

I also wear a bright yellow helmet, an orange reflective vest, a bright cat eye rear light plus an extra blinkie, a front headlamp and handlebar mounted light.

My guess is a biased news report would say I was wearing all black- and actually be true- but not wholly accurate.

Would it be equally biased if the news report read- " a cyclist wearing a bright yellow helmet, an orange reflector vest with twice the legally required lighting..."?

Would it be equally biased if the news report read- " a cyclist wearing a bright yellow helmet, an orange reflector vest with twice the legally required lighting..."?

was he actually lit up (no pun intended)?
dark/night vb doned? stealth?
?

Thankyou for mentioning this. I have been trying to figure out, how to do bike rides on the W&OD trail since, I live in Montgomery County. I will make sure not to go anywhere near Rt. 7.
W&OD does cross route 7, but on a bike bridge and couple of miles from where the h&r happened.
From MoCo, Vienna is a good place to start. Bway to I-66 to Nutley to Maple/123 to the trail. Vienna Community Center is between mileposts 11 and 12 and usually has lots of parking.