Daspydyr 

Second bicyclist dies after SR 95 collision in Lake Havasu City - Havasu News: News

Deb and Larry were members of this forum and great people. I was amazed at her sense of humor and encouraging nature. She consistently posted average riding speeds in the 20's and could crank out 500 watts with no problem. I can't believe they have both passed. She owned most of the QOMs in NW Arizona.

Take care friends.

Its a humbling year in the desert. Las Vegas just lost its 7th cyclist to a collision with a car this year. Last year we had one at this time. To date, no cyclist has been at fault.

JanMM

Sad news.

baron von trail 

volosong

I hate reading stories like this. It is so sad. Why can't motorist give a little respect to cyclists? I know that there really isn't an answer. We are becoming much like a 3rd world country where the value of life is meaningless. Ride safe, my fellow cyclists. Or, at least try to.

Up North

May they RIP. Very sad news, the loss of two great people to same collision. Wear bright, use a light and arrive alive my friends.

MinnMan

Angry.

climberguy

Very sad and tragic.

The linked story said that while the accident is under investigation, impaired driving may have been involved. If so, there's less chance that bike tail lights and bright clothing would have prevented it.

Houseboy522

It's a tragedy either way but from the link, I got:
"The accident itself remains under investigation, but neither the Arizona Department of Public Safety or state police believe that impaired driving was a factor.

I understand that to mean that they think impaired driving was NOT a factor.

Gerryattrick

I thought the report said there was no belief that impaired driving was involved. No need to jump to conclusion yet.

Edit: Just beat me to it.

climberguy

Thanks for correction; I was reading too fast.

I hope the investigation is able to reveal more about the cause or contributing factors, although none of that will undo the tragic loss.

TheManShow

There are only two kind of accidents.

Preventable, were some one made a goof, error in judgement, screwed up, was distracted, or Etc, Etc, Etc.

Non Preventable, where you wer say parked, and a car ran into you.

Falt is alway going to be pointed at one of the parties involved.

Sound like nice people lives were taken away.

decosse

So sad to hear about Deb and Larry. Another of the seven, Matthew Hunt, a very active member of the Las Vegas cycling community, succumbed to his injuries just a few days ago. It is a shame, but there are really no good answers for the deaths seven people already. It is especially upsetting knowing that these people were aware, alert, and safety conscious riders. It will make the "Three Feet for Pete" memorial/ awareness ride in Sept even more poignant.

John E

I know some folks claim that texting and cell phone yakking and higher speed limits have not increased the highway fatality rate, but there is certainly a lot of bad stuff happening out there right now.

Maybe this was not a case of impaired driving, but it is likely inattentive or distracted driving played a role, which means the motorist will get off with an "aw shucks -- accidents do happen."

DropBarFan

IMO any car-car or car-bike collision resulting in >$500 damage should allow for black box/phone records to be pulled up since >1/4 of drivers are messing w/phones at any given time. How do cops spot drunk drivers anymore when there's constantly phone drivers weaving/not keeping up with traffic flow etc? Plus there's millions of motorists who are working 2+ jobs & never have time/energy to clean off car windows. Every time I go to the gas station I'm amazed how I'm the only one using squeegee, motorists are too damn lazy to clean car windows even when they do have time. Modern cars often have heavy (stock) window tinting further reducing visibility.

NVanHiker

As if we didn't have enough to worry about, Tesla is leading us into a new era where electric cars will attain 'ludicrous' acceleration. Picture a (rich) teenager with a car capable of 0-60 in 2.8 seconds. In our day you'd need a AA Fuel dragster to match that. And Big Daddy Don Garlits didn't have GPS navigation and Facebook access to distract him.

MinnMan

I don't know the specifics of this tragedy, but my impression of that area has been that it is blessed with some very safe roads - good surfaces, wide shoulders, good sight lines, etc. Which makes the events less understandable.

Also, I don't know why involuntary manslaughter or negligent homicide charges are not more common in these cases.

DropBarFan

I assume you might be alluding to the problem of electric cars being so quiet that they're hard for bikers/peds to hear? that's certainly a problem I think; OTOH many gasoline-powered car engines are very quiet too, w/o my helmet mirror I wouldn't know they're overtaking. Locally, Teslas are surprisingly popular; luckily all the Tesla drivers I've seen so far seem polite enough.

BTW one thing that sometimes bugs me is when drivers don't use the ample horsepower they often have: say one is riding down a road & sees a car waiting at upcoming intersection. Driver has plenty of time to scoot thru intersection but chooses to be 'polite' & waits for cyclist to pass...but cyclist actually has no idea if driver actually sees him/her so has to slow down & try to gain eye-contact. Frequently I'd rather a car go thru the intersection even if it might require cyclist to slow down a touch. Drivers that are not skilled enough to judge cyclist speed plus their own acceleration are the same types that don't do a good job of looking out for peds/bikers.

BTW ~20 years ago whenever I saw a BMW approaching from behind I'd be a bit reassured, knowing that most BMW drivers (then) were driving enthusiasts capable of passing a biker w/o problem...of course now avg BMW driver is no better than any other driver, the cars are bought for status.

NVanHiker

No, I'm alluding to Tesla models that are so ludicrously overpowered that they make the muscle cars of old look like they're standing still. I don't think you appreciate the significance of 0-60 in 2.8 seconds. The last twenty years have seen a race to stuff huge amounts of horsepower into family sedans and minivans. Most manufacturers have models putting out 600hp these days. Combine this with distracted driving and it's enough to make any cyclist nervous.

Looigi

I am not made any more nervous by the existence of high or ultra high performance vehicles as, for a number of reasons, I don't see that as creating a significant increase in risk to me while cycling. Years ago it was proposed to limit the power of motorcycles, despite the fact that data showed the accident rate related inversely to motorcycle power. Of course it wasn't that higher power motorcycles were safer, just that those choosing to ride them were generally more experience and skilled riders less prone to have accidents.

Mountain Mitch

Speed, drugs (including booze), inattention (aka distracted driving) and general incompetence are killers. I was standing beside my bike on the shoulder of the southbound lane yesterday when a northbound car began to drift over the centreline directly at me. The driver was on his phone (despite the fact it is illegal in this jurisdiction). He corrected about halfway across the lane and gave me a sheepish grin. I wasn't grinning back!

Dreadful crash you've told us about. Tragic consequences.

DropBarFan

OK, I see your point though usually phoning/texting drivers are going a bit slower than traffic flow. I've driven high-power cars like a Vette (not as crazy-quick as the Tesla of course) & found that gas pedal was not all that touchy. Sure, if one is not paying attention one can cause an accident quicker.

sbiker63

I wholeheartedy agree.

curbtender

Impaired could be as simple as not wearing their glasses. I've done a lot of driving and see people hit some pretty obvious obstacles. Sorry for the loss to their families.

DropBarFan

Tonite NBC News had a report on the National Safety Council report on sharp uptick in road crashes/deaths. NBC focused on "improving economy" causing folks to drive more & they barely touched on NSC's mention of talking/texting also being a major factor. Media doesn't want to offend folks.

I read just now that Bryan Smith, the guy who nearly killed Stephen King got a whopping 6-month suspended sentence (he was shooing his dog away from a cooler). Smith had numerous previous violations incl DUI; had license suspended several times etc.

volosong

Sheech! I'm getting sick of this crap. Until this country and its government get serious about real punishment for stupid behavior, it will just continue. When there start to be real consequences for people's irresponsible actions, and the word gets out, then people will start paying more attention to their driving. Whatever happened to the concept of personal responsibility for one's actions?