Southern California - Cyclist injuried on Santiago Canyon Road

I read this article and though "how no - not a bicyclist" and then read the idiot was sans helmet. Couldn't help but think what rider would do Santigo without a helmet? He was very lucky... the carbon fiber bike, not so much:

A bicyclist and the driver of a Jeep Cherokee have been taken to a hospital after the Jeep collided with the bike on Santiago Canyon Road near Irvine Lake in an unincorporated area of eastern Orange County.

Gina Aubrey of the Orange County Fire Authority said the bicyclist suffered moderate injuries, while the driver of the Jeep is probably in critical condition.


An Orange County Fire Authority paramedic takes care of the cyclist while waiting for a second ambulance to arrive one scene.
"(The bicyclist) got a free lesson on why you should wear a helmet," Aubrey said.

Julia Jones Tester, a Silverado Canyon resident, said she saw the Jeep hit the bicyclist from behind. The Jeep rolled over several times, she said.

"He (the bicyclist) is the luckiest guy alive because he was not wearing a helmet," Tester said.

The bicycle, a carbon fiber model, was broken in half.

Lanes were closed after the crash. Santiago Canyon Road near Irvine Lake has since reopened. (Santiago Canyon Road at the 55 in both directions will be closed until 2 p.m. for construction work.)

The stretch of road, with a shoulder about 8 feet wide, is popular with bicyclists

Just checked out the photos... the bike was a colnago! So sad!

http://www.ocregister.com/news/bicyclist-219772-vehicle-road.html

Driver shoulda had a helmet, eh?

Sorry for all involved.

This statement attributed the OCFA representative "(the bicyclist) got a free lesson on why you should wear a helmet," is so insulting on many levels. Of course, I wear a helmet all the time, and one is safer in a crash with a helmet than without, but bicycle helmets aren't designed to withstand high speed collisions so it is likely that wearing a helmet wouldn't have changed the net result. Furthermore, such a statement in the context of the article shifts blame for the crash away from the motorist.

This statement attributed the OCFA representative "(the bicyclist) got a free lesson on why you should wear a helmet," is so insulting on many levels. Of course, I wear a helmet all the time, and one is safer in a crash with a helmet than without, but bicycle helmets aren't designed to withstand high speed collisions so it is likely that wearing a helmet wouldn't have changed the net result. Furthermore, such a statement in the context of the article shifts blame for the crash away from the motorist.

Brian - not certain the article said the driver was at fault... it is possible the rider moved out into traffic... I was driving out to Limestone last weekend and some doofus cyclist turned out right in front of me. Not certain what he was thinking. Good thing I am aware of riders on Santiago.

I trust what you say but if any protection is afforded by the helmet that protection should be taken. The man had a nice bike. he could afford a nice lite weight helmet.

True, we don't know from the article whether the motorist drifted into the shoulder or if the bicyclist suddenly pulled in front of him. But the fact that the Jeep rolled several times strongly suggests that the driver was distracted, drifted into the shoulder, then saw the cyclist and tried to avoid him, overcorrecting and rolling the Jeep in the process. We won't know for sure until more information is available.

We're in agreement that even if a helmet doesn't work in all situations, it's cheap insurance with no downsides (other than helmet hair or a funny tan if you're bald). But the fixation on whether or not the cyclist was wearing a helmet in these kinds of articles is more often than not a distraction from other issues.

Based on the photos, looks like the rider was on the lake-side of Santiago Canyon Road. So it's possible the driver drifted into the shoulder as the road swings to the left. That's scary because this is one of my favorite routes. The road is really wide and the shoulder is wide which gives us cyclists a false sense of safety. Also, it could be that the rider took his helmet off for the short ascent near that portion of the Santiago Canyon. Sometimes I remove my helmet when I'm climbing nearby Silverado Canyon Road. I wonder if his helmet was tossed into the bushes nearby....

Wow the stupidity of the article is mind boggling. Lets see: Jeep driver is in critical condition, Cyclists suffered unknown moderate injuires, and looking at the photos doesn't look like it's head related. Out of this we get an article and comments "OH NOES HE DIDN'T WEAR A HELMET. WHAT AN IDIOT FOR NOT WEARING A HELMET. HE GOT FREE LESSON OF WHY YOU SHOULD WEAR A HELMET." Pure stupidity. Maybe the driver of the Jeep should have wore a helmet. After all he is in critical condition, and after that a get some lessons on how to ****ing drive. :mad:

In the anon-e-mouse comments section...(of course, we have no way of knowing if this is truth or not. Love the 'net doncha know):

"The SUV hit the cyclist from behind. It was obvious she was drunk driving. We found an empty bottle of wine in her purse."

Hmmmmmm...