Another cyclist down... hit by cop.
11-11-09, 11:52 AM
#51
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D. The maximum speed provided in this section is reduced to the speed that is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and with regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing, including the following conditions:
1. Approaching and crossing an intersection or railroad crossing.
2. Approaching and going around a curve.
3. Approaching a hillcrest.
4. Traveling on a narrow or winding roadway.
1. Approaching and crossing an intersection or railroad crossing.
2. Approaching and going around a curve.
3. Approaching a hillcrest.
4. Traveling on a narrow or winding roadway.
Alternatively, the experienced cyclist may have darted out in front of the vehicle recklessly. This seems quite a bit less likely to me.
11-11-09, 12:12 PM
#52
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If you look at the photos, the police car is in the far left lane - the lane from which you would make a left turn. His vehicle is turned to the right, implying that at the point of impact, the motor vehicle was turning to the right to avoid something on his left. The damage to the police vehicle is on the left side of the windshield - all of this seems to imply that the cyclist was in the left turn lane, not making an 'abrupt left turn' as the news reports seem to state. One of the photos that helps me in looking at it this way is the overhead shot Here. I think that the police car involved in the crash is the one towards the bottom of the frame, based on the location of the front wheels relative to the crosswalk lines in the intersection - which can be seen in the photo above the aerial shot.
You can see the damage in post 2, post 7, and post 33. It is on the passenger side, which is the right side of the car.
The body was nearly in the center of the intersection...
I originally had thought that the cyclist was north bound and making a left and the cop was south bound making a left and they had met in the middle... that was how it looked seeing the situation, after the event, at the site.
11-11-09, 12:21 PM
#53
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Noisebeam - you silly misguided man. What is written in the law is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is how the law is enforced. The actual (enforced) speed law says that unless you are travelling significantly faster than the posted speed, you need to stay to the far right of the roadway and keep out of the way of real traffic. In this case, since the speed limit sign said '45', you would not be driving properly if you were going less than 50 or 55.
North bound traffic does slow down to a crawl at about 8:15 in the morning, and south bound traffic comes to a halt between 5:00 and 6:00PM in the evening. (all the more reason to bike this route, as motor traffic is walking pace slow right at rush hour... although tempers of motorists also tend to flare)
While most drivers usually do about 50MPH through here (and higher on the downhill portions), there is also the factor of "police car" and how a police car in the area tends to temper the lead foot of many drivers.
There is a good chance the motorists and the cop at that point were going somewhere between 45 and 50MPH, and this would be very typical.
11-16-09, 01:18 AM
#56
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If you click on the link in the original post you can watch the TV news interview two guys who were stopped at the intersection. They saw the entire thing happen. They say that the bike and car both were going the same direction and the bike changed lanes and ran into the car.
11-16-09, 01:31 AM
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If you click on the link in the original post you can watch the TV news interview two guys who were stopped at the intersection. They saw the entire thing happen. They say that the bike and car both were going the same direction and the bike changed lanes and ran into the car.
Or the Police paid no attention and ran into the bike! Come on you are a policeman...did you not pay attention or are you too busy playing solitaire on the laptop????
I was being transported for a bull crap traffic warrant one day and the cop was indeed playing solitaire on his computer while transporting me to the police station on the highway I wanted so bad to say something but I figured the less I said the better!....Happens all the time...don't forget that..please!
Any LEO's want to respond??? I know that there are LEO's that know other LEO's who do this..though might not admit it! Because of the code of silence...just like the street! I am just being real from the big city cops I've encountered......I once got dropped off at the train station...and they knew I was drunk!!!
Cop #1 said what are we going to do with him...and cop #2 said lets dump him at the train...then cop #1 asked if I had money to take the train..I said yeah..next thing I know I'm on the train!!!!! Crooked Cops!!!!
Last edited by crazyed27; 11-16-09 at 01:49 AM.
11-16-09, 08:06 AM
#58
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This is on my commute route.
The story is still being pieced together. I only saw the aftermath. It was not pleasant.
The cyclist appeared to in the left turn lane... but that was just where he was lying. No idea exactly what happened.
https://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11469628
The story is still being pieced together. I only saw the aftermath. It was not pleasant.
The cyclist appeared to in the left turn lane... but that was just where he was lying. No idea exactly what happened.
https://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11469628
11-16-09, 08:24 AM
#59
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BTW I spent some time yesterday looking at the site and taking photographs, and there are very dark shadows at that hour of the morning on the south bound side of the road.
Dark cars are invisible due to the crest of the hill and those shadows. SDPD cars are black.
I think the cyclist took a quick look, thought it was clear, and then started off to make a left turn, moving from the side of the road and bike lane. Probably looked straight ahead for a second...
At the same time, the cop was coming up the hill, maybe a bit fast, and perhaps distracted by the computer/radio in the car. The car was hidden by the shadows. The cop maybe glanced at the computer for a second...
At somewhere between 45 and 50MPH a car can cover the 150 feet from the shadows to the point of impact in 2 seconds... that's all it takes... 2 seconds. A cyclist moving 5MPH takes 3 seconds to cross 21 feet of lane. From the bike lane to the left turn lane is well over 40 feet. Even at 8 MPH, that is still over 3 seconds.
There were no skid marks.
2 seconds... that's all it takes!
11-16-09, 12:54 PM
#60
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More, from the cyclists family. They want to know the whole story...
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loca...-69978992.html
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loca...-69978992.html
Freeman served in the U.S. Air Force, worked as a mechanical engineer and lived in San Diego for over 25 years.
“He cycled the roads of UCSD, Torrey Pines and Mission Bay Park without incident for over 20 years and made bike safety his number one priority,” said Nieto.
“He was a highly skilled, experienced cyclist"
“He cycled the roads of UCSD, Torrey Pines and Mission Bay Park without incident for over 20 years and made bike safety his number one priority,” said Nieto.
“He was a highly skilled, experienced cyclist"
11-16-09, 02:06 PM
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Only one side to the story when the biker is killed... convenient. Lets hope some security cameras picked something up
11-16-09, 06:35 PM
#62
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speculation follows. (RIP fellow wheelman)
the bicyclist was leaving a parking lot shortly before the intersection and was moving into the left turn lane to continue left at the intersection. the bicyclist is moving laterally across several lanes of high speed traffic. He wants to hurry up across the busy traffic to get into the left hand turn pocket and make his turn, he doesn't want to be hanging in the middle of 50 mph traffic.
The policeman is moving in the same direction, on a call without the light bar activated, He too, wants to hurry up across the intersection and make the left, he's got a call he's rolling on.
a moment of inattention occurs (on the part of the policeman or bicyclist) and a fatal collision results.
I suspect many of us have been in similar situations: faster, busy traffic, the need to move left, you signal, you hand gesture, and you commit with hopes what looked like the motorist deaccellerating is actually recognition and yielding to your lateral.
you whisper a prayer under your breath and hope the fates don't put you in front of a motorist like this policeman.
RIP fellow rider.
the bicyclist was leaving a parking lot shortly before the intersection and was moving into the left turn lane to continue left at the intersection. the bicyclist is moving laterally across several lanes of high speed traffic. He wants to hurry up across the busy traffic to get into the left hand turn pocket and make his turn, he doesn't want to be hanging in the middle of 50 mph traffic.
The policeman is moving in the same direction, on a call without the light bar activated, He too, wants to hurry up across the intersection and make the left, he's got a call he's rolling on.
a moment of inattention occurs (on the part of the policeman or bicyclist) and a fatal collision results.
I suspect many of us have been in similar situations: faster, busy traffic, the need to move left, you signal, you hand gesture, and you commit with hopes what looked like the motorist deaccellerating is actually recognition and yielding to your lateral.
you whisper a prayer under your breath and hope the fates don't put you in front of a motorist like this policeman.
RIP fellow rider.
Last edited by Bekologist; 11-16-09 at 06:39 PM.
11-16-09, 06:56 PM
#63
genec
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speculation follows. (RIP fellow wheelman)
the bicyclist was leaving a parking lot shortly before the intersection and was moving into the left turn lane to continue left at the intersection. the bicyclist is moving laterally across several lanes of high speed traffic. He wants to hurry up across the busy traffic to get into the left hand turn pocket and make his turn, he doesn't want to be hanging in the middle of 50 mph traffic.
The policeman is moving in the same direction, on a call without the light bar activated, He too, wants to hurry up across the intersection and make the left, he's got a call he's rolling on.
a moment of inattention occurs (on the part of the policeman or bicyclist) and a fatal collision results.
I suspect many of us have been in similar situations: faster, busy traffic, the need to move left, you signal, you hand gesture, and you commit with hopes what looked like the motorist deaccellerating is actually recognition and yielding to your lateral.
you whisper a prayer under your breath and hope the fates don't put you in front of a motorist like this policeman.
RIP fellow rider.
the bicyclist was leaving a parking lot shortly before the intersection and was moving into the left turn lane to continue left at the intersection. the bicyclist is moving laterally across several lanes of high speed traffic. He wants to hurry up across the busy traffic to get into the left hand turn pocket and make his turn, he doesn't want to be hanging in the middle of 50 mph traffic.
The policeman is moving in the same direction, on a call without the light bar activated, He too, wants to hurry up across the intersection and make the left, he's got a call he's rolling on.
a moment of inattention occurs (on the part of the policeman or bicyclist) and a fatal collision results.
I suspect many of us have been in similar situations: faster, busy traffic, the need to move left, you signal, you hand gesture, and you commit with hopes what looked like the motorist deaccellerating is actually recognition and yielding to your lateral.
you whisper a prayer under your breath and hope the fates don't put you in front of a motorist like this policeman.
RIP fellow rider.
11-16-09, 07:22 PM
#64
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It would be interesting to see the outcome of such simulations to see which of the various theories is most likely what occurred.
11-16-09, 07:24 PM
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Pretty much what I said in post 59. The difference is that traffic southbound at that time of day is not heavy. The other factor are the heavy shadows across the southbound side of the road at that time of day... dark cars are hidden in those shadows until about 150-200 feet from the point of impact. Google maps gives a bit of a deceiving view due to angles and lighting. Walking the site makes all the difference.
