Tandem Cycling - 2 hurt after tandem bicycle hit by car in North Austin

Another tandem hit by a car in Texas:

Link (http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/williamson/driver_hits_two_cyclists_on_parmer_lane) with an informative video news piece:


Driver hits tandem cyclists on Parmer
Cyclists do not have life-threatening injuries

Updated: Tuesday, 03 Nov 2009, 5:34 PM CST
Published : Tuesday, 03 Nov 2009, 8:07 AM CST

* Mary Lee
* Shane Allen

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - Two lanes of West Parmer Lane were shut down just north of McNeil after tandem cyclists were hit, according to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office. The roadway has since reopened.

Texas Department of Public Safety officials said 54-year-old Susan Madson, who was driving a Dodge Stratus, struck the bicyclists around 6 a.m. Tuesday close to the intersection of Dallas and Parmer at the 7000 block of West Parmer Lane.

DPS said husband and wife Samuel and Angie Hughes were rushed to the University Medical Center Brackenridge without life-threatening injuries. At 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Samuel was in good condition, while Angie was in critical condition.

"I'm out on the road quite a bit," said Don Massey, Cyclist.

Massey hits the road on Parmer Lane everyday.

"It seems to be getting more dangerous," said Massey. "I think drivers are getting more aggressive."

Sometimes, it is a battle on the roadway.

"I've had apples thrown at my from passing cars," Massey. "I'm trying to be a little more cautious myself."

Early Tuesday morning, Madson apparently hit the couple who was riding down the street.

The accident comes just one day after the City of Austin's new bike laws took effect. Under the new laws, drivers must give bicyclists a three-foot buffer zone. However, this area does not fall within Austin City Limits.

Angie Granados lives nearby.

"When I drive around this area," said Granados. "There are always bicyclists. I know it's a pretty dangerous area."

Massey just wants the roads safer for both cyclists and drivers.

"Just a little understanding," said Massey. "We're all out here. We all have rights. Let's just share the road."

There is no word on if citations were issued.

Glad that they're relatively okay. :(


And here I thought that all Texans packed heat...:o

It'd be a bit more of a deterrent to miscreants (at least to having apples tossed at you while riding). :notamused:


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Glad that they're relatively okay.

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Angie was in critical condition

This is the second tandem to be hit in Texas in the past two months.

I looked carefully at the bike in the video, and see that the bright front headlamp was still on. From the comments, this couple regularly commuted to work on the tandem. I will guess that the bike also had a bright red taillight.

My captain and I were just in Austin riding our tandem in the LiveStrong Challenge. We rode our tandem out to Dripping Springs (26 miles) early in the morning on Sunday in the dark. Many people told us we were risking our lives. I will have this couple in my thoughts today that both recover fully and quickly.

Angie was in critical condition

My thoughts are with them both for a safe recovery. :thumb:


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I don't understand: The injuries were not life-threatening, but she is in critical condition? Doesn't critical mean that you can go either way?


And here I thought that all Texans packed heat...:o

From the article, it appears that they pack apples.

I looked carefully at the bike in the video, and see that the bright front headlamp was still on. From the comments, this couple regularly commuted to work on the tandem. I will guess that the bike also had a bright red taillight.


Texas Department of Public Safety officials said 54-year-old Susan Madson, who was driving a Dodge Stratus, struck the bicyclists around 6 a.m.

So, if they were struck around 6 AM, how dark was it? It was around an hour before sunrise (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/cgi-bin/aa_pap.pl), and prior to civil twilight. It was dark.




Sun and Moon Data for One Day

The following information is provided for Austin, Travis County, Texas (longitude W97.7, latitude N30.3):

Tuesday
3 November 2009 Central Standard Time

SUN
Begin civil twilight 6:22 a.m.
Sunrise 6:47 a.m.
Sun transit 12:14 p.m.
Sunset 5:42 p.m.
End civil twilight 6:07 p.m.

MOON
Moonrise 5:28 p.m. on preceding day
Moon transit 12:33 a.m.
Moonset 7:44 a.m.
Moonrise 6:15 p.m.
Moonset 8:50 a.m. on following day



Phase of the Moon on 3 November: waning gibbous with 99% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

Full Moon on 2 November 2009 at 1:14 p.m. Central Standard Time.


What is Civil Twilight (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/RST_defs.php#top)?


Civil twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically 6 degrees below the horizon. This is the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under good atmospheric conditions in the absence of moonlight or other illumination. In the morning before the beginning of civil twilight and in the evening after the end of civil twilight, artificial illumination is normally required to carry on ordinary outdoor activities. Complete darkness, however, ends sometime prior to the beginning of morning civil twilight and begins sometime after the end of evening civil twilight.

One of the comments to the TV news story was from someone who worked with the couple. The post said that they regularly commute to work on the tandem (for exercise and enjoyment) and that the bike was equipped with a rear reflector and two rear red lights (in addition to the bright headlamp I saw on the video clip).

When I was riding in Austin two weeks ago it didn't get light until about 7:30 am (that was before we set clocks back to daylight savings time). So 6:00am would have been dark ... but they should have been very visible with both front and two rear lights. The road has a 6-8 foot wide shoulder.

One of the comments to the TV news story was from someone who worked with the couple. The post said that they regularly commute to work on the tandem (for exercise and enjoyment) and that the bike was equipped with a rear reflector and two rear red lights (in addition to the bright headlamp I saw on the video clip).

...So 6:00am would have been dark ... but they should have been very visible with both front and two rear lights. The road has a 6-8 foot wide shoulder.

Apparently the accident happened at 5:50 AM. So it was dark. If they rear lights, like a Planet Bike light, they were probably acceptably visible. I commute to work as well, and just this week I got a Dinotte 400R (http://store.dinottelighting.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=dinotte&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=118511378&Count2=35651803), to go with my Light & Motion HID. Wow, visibility is no question with this. On this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI52d5bGKHQ) their is a Dinotte and a Planet Bike, you can see the difference in visibility.

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4530/lightsw.jpg

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/1748/lightdogs.jpg

From the Austin tandem group TxCATS:

"I’ve been following the story closely. They’re a husband and wife tandem team, well-known in the cycling community, and they were commuting to work (apparently they work at the same place).

"It appears the accident happened before sunrise, so glare seems an unlikely explanation. There’s nothing in the shoulder at Dallas that would force the tandem out into the lane, and cyclists familiar with them indicate that the captain was a safe and experienced rider who wouldn’t drift or otherwise be out in the traffic lane, or ride without lights.

"From all the reports, I can’t tell if they were hit from behind, or T-boned by a driver pulling out from the apartment complex or Dallas.

"It’s very dismaying seeing all the comments from local drivers to the effect that “cyclists don’t belong on Parmer (or any road for that matter), and they deserved to get hit and/or killed because they’re stupid to ride there instead of in a park or on a bike trail.” Check out the posts here: http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/williamson/driver_hits_two_cyclists_on_parmer_lane#idc-ctools (http://webmail.austin.rr.com/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.kxan.com%252Fdpp%252Fnews%252Flocal%252Fwilliamson%252Fdriver_hi ts_two_cyclists_on_parmer_lane%2523idc-ctools)

"The worst one of all, though, was posted on Craigslist, and quoted here: http://atxbs.com/?q=node/2344 (http://webmail.austin.rr.com/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fatxbs.com%252F%253Fq%253Dnode%252F2344).

"I think I ride pretty cautiously and prudently, and really never experience any fear of traffic. But after reading some of these comments and realizing what nutcases are in those passing vehicles, I’m thinking maybe I should be more fearful."

:-/

Contact point is at least 50 feet before the driveway where they ended up.
Full lane shoulder on Parmer.
Rode past around noon Tuesday.

So, based on this, what do you think happened? Was the driver looking to turn right into the driveway, encroaching into the bike lane prior to turning?

There is apparently a phenomenon which can cause a driver to focus on and hit something on the side of the road. A motorcyclists from work was hit and severely injured when he was repairing his motorcycle on the shoulder; the driver hit him head on. Accidents such as the one discussed in this thread just highlight the deplorable lack of skill or concern for others safety exhibited by today's motorists. We all take inadequate driving tests as adolescents and then continue to drive for the next several decades regardless of competence.