GrainBrain

Ninety5rpm I had the same sinking feeling also as she fell into the blind spot. I thought I'd wade in here as I drive a large straight truck for work, and often pull a trailer with equipment. My cab sits up like a semi but I have a little more visibility. I saw two questionable moves by the trucker, but in all this seems like a tragic accident and learning opportunity for both sides.

Mr_bill pointed out his improper right turn. You are taught specifically not to do this. Instead as others have said you drive far enough thru the intersection that the rear trailer axle will clear the curb, then if necessary travel into the left lane of the road you are turning onto. In the CDL classes they specifically mention this danger of people trying to pass you on the right, thinking you are moving left.

The other thing that got my attention was how the lady stood, probably momentarily confused (as I would be after huffing it) and was hit by the rear trailer axle. Shortly after the point she stopped and appears to stand, she should have been visible to the driver, as I often will watch where my trailer is tracking. A sinister thought would be he saw it happen and panicked. Most likely though he was looking at the traffic in the lane you can't see on camera, with how he swung out and still touched the curb the turn was tight. Also speed was a little much. This all adds up to a case of getting to comfortable, and as both a cyclist and driver, it's really making me think.

This reminds me of the article recently about the phenomenon of constant bearing decreasing range or CBDR. In my former truck the mirrors were notorious for hiding smaller cars approaching from the right, from my view when I would be taking a left onto a two lane. I would look right, then continue to look for about 6 seconds and often there would pop a car I hadn't seen. Biggest thing cyclists can do is stay the heck away from the sides of a large truck when traveling at similar rates! I've driven a semi and 30ft to 40ft trailers a few times. It takes a lot of concentration!

Kudos to the group who put so much work into creating this visual reconstruction. If you're angry at somebody, be angry at whomever manager put together this delivery. The cargo seems like it could have been put on a straight truck. I've had to swing some large trucks and equipment into residential areas, it is not fun and I'm always on edge because of how dangerous it is.

As a side note I just got back from riding on the marked bike lane on the side of the 8 mile stretch I like to ride out of town. Got passed by a box truck hugging the line doing 60mph! JERK! I heard the approach and thought "gosh he sounds close" so I moved to the far edge of pavement, as he was suddenly upon me. I leaned hard away from the road as he passed and yet was still sucked over a foot back in! Oof I need a mirror!

CliffordK

There is a lot not visible in the clip, but I think she had braked hard, and pulled slightly to the right. However, stopping cold was likely the worst thing to do (second worse from plowing into the side of the truck). Had she executed a quick right turn and kept moving out of the way... perhaps she would be boiling over with steam from the ride and close-call, but may well have survived.

It is hard to realize, of course that one can be standing still on bare pavement behind the turning cab one moment, then gobbled under wheels the next moment.
Not just the incompetent ones. I'm not sure I have had a truck turn over me that I've been going parallel to (right hook). I have had small cars do that, and survived to tell the tale (by executing a quick right turn, or slamming on the brakes, or both). And, yes, the worst time that happened to me was passing car on the right that were stopped at a light. I never saw turn signals on the car that turned, I can't say if she used them or not.

However, if I'm stopped in a left turn lane and see a truck turning towards me, my first reaction is to scoot backwards and as far out of the way as I can go (to the right).

If I'm still moving at the time I see the potential conflict, I'll steer to the right and stop far short from the stop line.

rydabent

Did anyone notice the fact the truck moved left before the hard turn to the right. I think the Dr had every reason to believe the truck was changing lanes to the left, and was not going to make a sudden turn to the right.

Ninety5rpm

It happens. Brakes.

Seriously. There are really two cases when they pass you and only one matters:

1. They pass you with a significant speed differential.
2. They pass you and slow to near your speed, or slower.

The first case doesn't matter because the whole pass lasts but a few seconds and then you're safely behind them (but watch out for scenario #2 forming after they've passed you).

The tricky part is the second scenario, and that's when you have to have your instincts honed to hit those brakes, because when a truck (or any vehicle) starts passing you, or passes you, and then slows, five-alarm bells should be going off. You need to hit the brakes and get behind that beast ASAP. When you start doing this reflexively before you even realize what's happening, then you know you've got it down.

Maelochs

Thanks for all the informed viewpoints. Most of my experience id dodging, not driving trucks.

Maelochs

Was mentioned a few times, yes.

CliffordK

It is hard to tell from the photo. It looks like it could be a rather lightweight unit of lumber. However, it could also be solid steel under that tarp, and pushing the legal weight of the truck/trailer. Still, it would have to be really dense.

The "spread axles" is apparently used to increase the weight rating of one's trailers.

The load, however, does appear to put more weight on the cab than the trailer, so perhaps not using the trailer to compensate for weight.

It could also be because of poor planning.

The photos of the milling machine on my bike was because the shipping company was apparently too lazy to buy a small local delivery truck with lift gate. And, I wasn't prepared to unload it from a semi truck. So, the option was to drag it home by bicycle.

I have no idea if they wanted to show up at my house with a full semi truck

CliffordK

So, the options are to either fully pass the truck before it reaches the next intersection, or to slow down and to follow it past the upcoming intersection, and not initiate a pass until the truck stops again.

mr_bill

Emphasis above mine.

In the video I've previously posted of the bus passing me and moving right, it was accelerating. (Even so, my alarm bells went off, though the alarm took too long.)

In *THIS* video, the truck operator is ACCELERATING and turns right. From the far left lane.

-mr. bill

Ninety5rpm

Yes, but she shouldn't have been there experiencing that in the first place, and she wouldn't have had she stayed behind the truck.



DON'T PASS THE TRUCK ON ITS RIGHT. JUST DON'T.

Ninety5rpm

I consider that Scenario 2, but whatever. Starting to pass the truck on the right was okay while it was stopped, but as soon as it started moving and thus preventing her from completing the pass, she should have backed off.

She was beside that truck for a full 16 seconds. That's a really long time in traffic. Plenty of time to back off.

canklecat

Woulda-coulda-shoulda.

We never know how we'll react in this kind of situation until it happens to us.

I'm usually very calm and react appropriately in emergencies. And I rarely react to careless or rude drivers. I got over my road rage tendencies in my 20s and 30s.

Usually.

But a few weeks ago I was riding my bike to visit my 79 y/o mom in a convalescent center where she's recovering from surgery. It's only a mile away if I take the busy boulevard, 2 miles if I take the less busy scenic route. I took the latter that Sunday afternoon.

There are a couple of four-way stop sign intersections with the access road from the highway. So I'll avoid that route on weekday rush hours. But this was Sunday afternoon. Very little traffic.

I clearly arrived at the stop sign way ahead of the next visible driver. I came to a brief but full stop and proceeded. The driver looked directly at me, slowed and rolled through the stop sign then accelerated suddenly and headed straight for me. It was clearly an aggressive move. He swerved at the last moment and missed me by inches. I caught it on my helmet video camera.

What surprised me was that rather than taking the logical evasive maneuver I stopped dead in the intersection. Best I can reconstruct from my red hot raging memory was that I thought he was going to accelerate and pass in front of me, so I braked hard. Instead he swerved behind me.

Fortunately he didn't hit me. But I've reviewed that video and done a lot of woulda-coulda-shouldas. Maybe if I hadn't been under stress from dealing with my mom's health issues and endless insurance paperwork (literally, every day, more and more letters from her insurance carrier, etc.). Maybe if I hadn't been feeling a bit run down from the flu. Maybe if I hadn't assumed that a low traffic bright Sunday afternoon would make for a pleasant short ride.

Frankly, there's nothing I could have done differently. The guy was clearly in the wrong, clearly pulling a B.S. passive-aggressive stunt to do a brush-by pass without actually striking me. Any maneuver I'd have attempted would have been wrong if his goal was to actually mow me down. It happened too quickly.

Reviewing that video, I don't see how the doctor could have been expected to do anything differently.

Again, as a former safety inspector, had this occurred within the context of our jurisdiction (employer/employee scenarios only), I wouldn't have hesitated to recommend citations and penalties, and recommended possible criminal action by the agency attorneys. And we rarely had video or surveillance photos. Usually all we had were witness statements, measurements and very firm guidelines about appropriate operation of vehicles where employees are present as pedestrians, etc. Sure, the employer could contest the citations in court. That's up to the judge and attorneys to deal with. But, again, I'm surprised the police didn't find reasonable cause to press charges in this death. Their duty is to protect the public, not reduce the caseload for the courts.

CliffordK

Right, it is easier to say how one should react in the situation than to say how one would react in the situation, even to the point of initiating a pass of the truck a block before the fatal intersection.

I find the street markings truly bizarre.
Ahh, I see I can go back in time
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3513...7i13312!8i6656

So, it appears to progress from 2 lanes across the bridge + bike lane, to 2 lanes with sharrows + right turn lane. Except there aren't actually any right turn markings.

Then going through the intersection, the bike lane re-appears, and the sharrows disappear.

So, cyclists are supposed to be cruising to the right. The merge into the busy traffic lane to the left while cars pull right (maybe) then the cyclists supposed to suddenly vacate the traffic lane and return to the bike path mid-intersection.

Was there a big paint sale in Boston? They seem to like to put paint everywhere!!!

The truck, of course, never entered the apparent (unmarked) right turn lane, but rather moved from the right lane to the left lane to initiate the right turn.

However, had the cyclist moved left to the sharrows (something I might feel uncomfortable with), the conflict would have been avoided.

I am a bit surprised about the paucity of traffic in the left lane, but perhaps the grey car coming from the opposite direction is an indication of why. No center turn lane, so the grey car is stuck waiting to make an apparently legal left turn. But, the truck could also have been easily locked out of using the left lane for his maneuver.

If course, Boston now has dumped more paint into the intersection, and put the bike path back to the right.

SHBR

Totally preventable from the truck drivers perspective, its borderline reckless IMO.

That truck made an overly aggressive right turn. (edit)

Possibly preventable from the cyclist perspective, however this requires checking overtaking traffic before every intersection.

Bus stops are another hazard that I deal with almost daily.

SHBR

I've done the same thing when encountering hostile motorists, full stop, usually in hindsight there was a way to avoid the incident though.

As I get older, sometimes I think to myself.

Go ahead, make my day, you might be be doing me a favor.

B. Carfree

Interesting that the folks here who drive trucks or investigate truck issues, and the brilliant Mr. Bill, all place the blame on the truck driver. I'll pile on as a truck driver and say that anyone who drove like him would have been fired from most of the companies I have worked for. Poor execution of a right turn, put his rear wheels over the curb and wasn't even looking at them (or did see that, which mean that he saw the killing and feloniously fled). Recklessly accelerated into the turn and had no situational awareness (criminy, he just passed the cyclist he killed; how do you forget that?)

And for those who don't know what those posters are telling you about truck blind spots:
1. They overstate them for effect
2. They refer to camping out. It's supposed to be okay to pass through them because truck drivers are supposed to note where all vehicles are at all times in a dynamic way.

There's a whole lot more to driving, especially big rigs, than just keeping the rubber side down. Penalties are important because they command respect from other drivers. Getting off scot free from a killing sends a message.

FBinNY 

Yes, this is true, but life doesn't always adhere to the play book. In this instance the truck passed her, and it seems that the truck never established separation, so in passing lingo, never completed the pass. (that's only seems because I couldn't track, the cyclist and gauge the relative positions through the video).

So, many of us might have made an adjustment on a hunch, or at least have been on high alert for a possible turn. It's possible the cyclist was less experienced, or misread the trucks move to the left, not knowing he was positioning for a wide right, or.....

So, IMO these situations are complicated, involving misjudgements on both sides, or at the least the failure of people to be psychic.

At the very least the driver was at fault. Whether it rises to a level that justifies a charge of negligent homicide is harder, and I'm not going to speculate based on a video clip. I don't know if MA has a grand jury system for indictments, or whether the prosecutor feels he has clear enough evidence to convict (the standard for bringing a charge in NYS). In any case, criminal charges in cases like this are very difficult to prosecute, because jurors can too easily see themselves in the role of the defendant and making the same mistake.

But, as I said, real life isn't like the blackboard illustrations, and video simulations of accidents. Things happen in all sorts of ways, and involve countless judgements, and it's easy to miss a clue and make a mistake.

So, I can see why maybe the driver should be charged, and at the same time see why he wasn't. And we all can say the cyclist could have avoided the situation in the first place, but it's easy enough to see how even an experienced cyclist could miss it.

CliffordK

An option might be to take this guy's commercial license (and block him from driving anything larger than a Smart Car in all 50 states).

Hard to say if he would have noticed bumping over the cyclist as he bumps over a few curbs too.

Do truck drivers notice as they drive down the road and their tires are going thump-thump-thump as they disintegrate, sometimes causing damage to the truck or adjacent tires.

SHBR

I've driven box trucks and buses that should require hearing protection.

Usually its the worst during acceleration or at highway speeds.

I seem to remember an inside rear tire exploded once on a box truck, but it didn't register with me or the passenger immediately as being dangerous at the time.

Glad I don't drive anymore.

Jim from Boston

Bike advocates push for charges against trucker in cyclist’s death .
I live about one block from the scene of this accident. Just this past week an acquaintance who knows me as cycle commuter mentioned he saw a news feature about this on local TV, and then I read about it in the Boston Globe. These types of accidents have happened before in the vicinity of my neighborhood.

I have posted a few times about how I register such disasters, and others, in my head to keep myself safe:Another example; after seeing a video posted on BF, Head-on collision between group cyclists and car (video):

02Giant 

She shouldn't have been passing the truck when he was signaling a right turn.

Maelochs

I understand that it is hard to do everything right all the time. As I said above, this could have been distracted driving meets distracted riding.

But this is why cyclists need to be heads-up.

Regardless of what the law says or the painted lines say ...it's a Truck. A red light cannot stop it, with its slow photon stream. A stop sign cannot stop it, even if the truck hits it. It Is a Truck.

It is like gun safety. "I didn't know it was loaded" is never a good excuse because you always treat any gun as if it is loaded unless you yourself Fully unloaded it ... and still, you never fake-fire it at yourself or others.

Whether the truck driver gets charged, the cyclist got Killed. My focus is not on my wife winning a lawsuit, it is on surviving so I can keep on annoying my wife.

In some "road rules/niceholes" threads here I said I usually will wave on cars at 4-way stops if there is the slightest question of who should go ... and often even when I clearly have the right of way.

I got reamed---"Follow traffic laws so people know what to expect."

Thing is, some drivers expect every bike to defer to them. Some hate you for riding ... or because they are full off hate and you are there. Some are simply clueless.

If I put my feet down and wave vigorously, they Know what to expect. Sometimes I have to do that. Sometimes (usually) I coast at an eighth-mile an hour and wave so they know I am stopping. Sometimes I just don't trust them and until they wave twice and Still wait when I don't move .... I then go. At least i know they see me and even if they start, they will see me going.

There is still some confusion, but it is rare and never dangerous.

Trucks--Even More So. I will Not let a truck get a free shot at me. In this case I would not have tried to pass the truck going through an intersection. I would much rather brake hard Before the intersection, whether I am turning or not.

Also ... People say the driver accelerated through the turn. How can you tell? It is easy to see how fast each are going based on the crosswalk lines---22 feet per second, 15 mph. She caught the truck, so the truck was slowing. if the truck slowed enough to take the corner and then accelerated ... she should have heard that ... but it's a truck, not a Ferrari. I't didn't leap ahead. It did cut a cross pretty dramatically, but by then she was committed to passing it.

Liability aside ... if she had slowed when the truck slowed, no matter how badly the truck driver drove, she would be alive.

So ... to me this just reinforces the idea that a smart cyclist doesn't mess with trucks.

I feel bad for everyone involved, and especially for her family, but I don't gain or lose from any lawsuit. I gain from learning how to ride smarter.

SHBR

Jungle law supercedes rule of law in this situation,

Large vehicles such as this one will always have the ultimate right of way.

As for legal recourse, looks like its case closed.

Rather unfortunate that this will continue to be a problem.

Human life isn't worth much.

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maelochs

I understand that it is hard to do everything right all the time. As I said above, this could have been distracted driving meets distracted riding.

But this is why cyclists need to be heads-up…
It is like gun safety. "I didn't know it was loaded" is never a good excuse because you always treat any gun as if it is loaded unless you yourself fully unloaded it ... and still, you never fake-fire it at yourself or others….

FWIW, another of my safety aphorisms:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

I try to keep safe with certain aphorisms in my head that come to mind to alert me when I encounter a situation where unseen dangers may lurk, such as “Like a weapon, assume every stopped car is loaded, with an occupant ready to exit from either side.”

unterhausen

if those "no zones" are correct in that diagram, trucks really shouldn't be legal in urban areas. Highways only. Use small trucks to do the local deliveries. And I'm serious.

The truck driver passed the cyclist earlier. He no doubt could have seen her just before he turned. But he wasn't looking in his mirrors, or thought she would take evasive actions. There is a truck driver in jail for this exact kind of killing of a cyclist. He has to be responsible for the deficiencies of vehicle he is driving. I don't know why it should be any different for him than it is for any other road user. If you can't drive safely, don't drive. At a minimum, he should lose his cdl because we don't need him in anything larger than a Honda Fit