Posted on 12/10/2020 9:38:57 PM PST by BenLurkin
A group of cyclists were riding and had a Subaru hatchback "safety car" assigned to trail them when they were hit about 9:30 a.m. on southbound U.S. Highway 95 near Mile Marker 36, according to Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Travis Smaka.
A southbound truck "entered into the group of bicyclists, some of them were traveling behind the safety vehicle, they were struck, the safety vehicle was also struck as well as some the bicyclists in front of the safety vehicle," Smaka said.
The five cyclists were pronounced dead at the scene, south of Boulder City and north of Searchlight. One bicyclist suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to University Medical Center, officials said.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
The point is, when the highway is the only way to get from point A to point B, it will attract a wide range of traffic. Interstates are supposed to be reserved for motorized vehicles, but other roads are common thoroughfares. Good road design can alleviate most of the problems; in most areas, a sidewalk or a wide shoulder will do the trick. In this case, there was a wide shoulder. The question is whether the cyclists and their safety vehicle were on it, but either way, on a deserted stretch of open road, the truck driver had plenty of space to get into the passing lane. He clearly missed the hazard lights.
If the the reported crash site is accurate, the riders had a very gradual incline to contend with along with the southerly head wind conditions. The crash site is reported to be at US 95 and NV 165.
Here is a cool website that displays US elevation changes.:
https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/advanced-viewer/
This is why one should never trust news reports. The photos belie this statement. Nowhere is the shoulder wide enough for three cars. Areas of dirt and gravel next to a pavement are not relevant to a story about bicyclists.
Lets see, you have no idea but you say they were all on the shoulder at point of impact? All the damage to the bobtail was to the right side front, which would mean most all the debris would be push towards the right, even further from the #2 traffic lane, to the right side of the shoulder. So tell me, if that’s the case, how did all that debris end up in the middle of the #2 lane?
“as much right to the road as cars” think about that. Are they equal? You put them together and what do you expect except accidents like this.”
The laws in your state were made by the people in your state and if they ignored your opinion and hurt your feelings I am sorry for that, not really.
I don’t give a single damn if you are butt-hurt because you think the laws are stupid. Blame your neighbors and state politicians, but I had nothing to do with it.
If I followed your way of thinking small cars with 4 lug nuts per tire would have less rights on the road then big pickups, F-350’s, with six lug nuts per tire.
Then we could all say together, “He with the most lug nuts wins”. It is still true true but both VEHICLES, had their own rights to the highway no matter what you think.
A bicycle by law is a vehicle and has the rights, in some specific locations limited rights, to be on the roadways. This is true in most of our states. It is the law in most of our states.
I would not have been riding a bicycle on that highway. I would have been in my F-350 but I would have been watching out for all other vehicles that legally share that highway.
I wonder how many times a SUCCESSFUL argument has been made from the large vehicle driver that the little car/motorcycle/bicycle “VEHICLE” is hard to see and should not have been on the road to begin with.
When you are in control of a vehicle on our public highways and you hit something that has a right to be in that roadway, you own it lock stock and barrel.
You’d better read it again, the word light or hazard was never mentioned in this article which is linked at the top of this thread. It’s almost irrelevant anyway, as in the bright sun of the desert, standard vehicle hazard lights can barely been seen from several hundred feet away.
In addition, the bicyclist playing out on that desert highway, if they were behind that so called safety vehicle, they were likely blocking those lights. No?
The whole enchilada here is were some of those ignorant people, who thought it was a good idea to go play on a two lane desert highway where people travel at 90+mph, were some of them in the traffic lane?
Based on the what little evidence I have at hand, such as the scene images, there are bicycle debris all over the #2 lane. Not all but some debris will drop nearly straight down at point of impact, debris such as auto safety glass, vehicle parts etc. Now remember where the damage is to the bobtail truck. It’s all on the right side front. That would mean the impact to the bicyclist would cause them to be pushed/thrown to the right side of the shoulder....But that’s not the case here as debris can be seen all over the #2 lane. This would seem to establish at least some of these bicyclist were in the #2 at point of impact.
That's all fine and very commendable. However, if I can be blunt, from my experience, bicyclist who ride with a couple of feet from 4,000++ pound vehicles traveling at 40,50,60 or 85 mph are simply ignorant, nutz, have a death wish and are likly suicidal.
I've seen the results of people going under the wheels or struck by what is essentially 4,000 pound hammers. It's really ugly and a terrible way to die.
Fed Hwy 95 is NOT an Interstate in Nevada.
Markleeville?
I’m impressed.
I hit 60 mph descending Monitor pass - fastest I ever went on a bicycle. Didn't even know that until I got to the bottom and checked my speedo. Big, gentle S curves, but it was hairy. I was afraid the Conti sew-ups would get too hot and roll off the rims. I was running those Continentals at 140 psi.
The ride organizers had to change the name to The Tour of the California Alps because insurance reasons. For some reason, the name "Death Ride" didn't make for happy vibes with the insurers.
I still have the t-shirt. heh.
did you see this part of the article?
“...entered into the group of bicyclists, some of them were traveling behind the safety vehicle, they were struck,...”
I still hope to get to that one some day.
And, perhaps, “Stelvio Pass”.
I believe the person writing the article is recounting different stories from different sources, though it's not really clear if that is the case or not. (I'm speaking from memory here, as I'm too lazy to go back and really reread the article at this moment).8>)
The heaviest damage to the truck is almost certainly due to the collision with the Subaru. I’d give 50/50 odds that the truck swerved to the left to try to avoid the Subie, tagged the left rear of the car, and spun it. Even without a swerve, you’ve got an asymmetrical collision that would spin or partially spin the Subie and accelerate it forward. Now you have a horizontally inclined surface impacting bicyclists. Basically it’d be a snowplow effect, abetted by the spin itself if it’s a multi-rev job.
I also agree with an earlier comment, but more so: If everyone including the truck were in the bicycle lane at the beginning of the accident, some cyclists would VERY likely veer to the left in an attempt to escape. This especially if the truck had any motion to the right at that point.
The above do not rule out cyclists in the vehicle lanes as you speculate — I’m just saying that there ARE multiple possibilities here. Some overlap. That said, at least in my area (mid-South, USA), groups of riders (several or more) usually behave and are defensive riders. It’s those riding individually or in small groups who are sometimes erratic.
(A fairly major bike route passes right in front of my house. Several times a year we see groups of 30 - 100 riders go by. Usually the latter are bunched into a few smaller groups.)
The Highway running down the middle of Land Between The Lakes in KY is also known as “The Trace”.
My condolences to those injured, killed, and their families.
"...5 dead after truck runs into group of bicyclists near Las Vegas..."
The laws of physics and momentum don’t seem to apply in your world. Of course we can pass human laws to override them.
Gravity is causing problems too. The libs have tried to pass laws to override them also.
Again, you mix cars, truck and bikes on the same rode, what do you expect?
I was speaking to the point of existing vehicular laws, and the “facts” in accordance with known physics, that when a smaller vehicle such as a bicycle and rider are hit that the debris does not fall straight to the ground and stay right there.
I understand that you have opinion.
It appears that you believe that all others should get the hell out of your way because you can drive a larger vehicle that clearly establishes, identifies, and proves,(at least in your mind), that by being a smaller vehicle that they can not possibly have any rights of their own while legally operating on our state highways.
The same laws that give you rights on that highway also give other vehicles, yes, even smaller vehicles, and the drivers/riders of those smaller vehicles, their specified rights on that very same highway.
It matters not what you think about those laws.
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