Cyclist0084

I apologize if this is the wrong forum for this.

You can read the entire article at.... Multiple people dead, including children, after motorist plows into Kalamazoo cyclists | WGN-TV

Thoughts and prayers go out to the survivors and the friends/family members of the deceased.

Lot's Knife

Struck by a pickup.

lostarchitect 

That's horrible.

JoeyBike

It's rough out there. It's not Disneyland.

Equinox

Unbelievable. And the comments are what you'd expect

howsteepisit

So tragic. So sad, Condolences to the friends and families. A Pox on the driver for attempting to run.

exmechanic89

I hate seeing stuff like this. A cyclist in this area was killed last week while riding in a bike lane, by someone over the limit and speeding. It's scary because you see how quickly your life can be taken away or changed for the worse while you're out on the streets riding.

b_twill

Big news around these parts, such a tragedy. They are now reporting at least 5 have died, may have been part of a group ride. Police are still investigating. At least the driver is in custody after trying to flee from the accident. May the driver never see the sun without bars obstructing the view.
Multiple bicyclists hit, killed in crash | WWMT

CliffordK

What an unfortunate accident.

And, that section of Westnedge Ave appears to have some nice wide shoulders. Of course, we all know that shoulder maintenance often leaves a bit to be desired.

FBinNY 

Initial reports were that the driver was driving erratically, and hit cyclists head on while on the wrong side of the road.

Of course initial reports are often wrong, but if this holds up after investigation, then it sounds like a case of drunk driving. If so, and if the driver is caught, I hope the prosecutor gives him the option of pleading guilty to drunk driving homicide, or face charges of intentional murder on the theory that the only way it wasn't intentional was if he was drunk.

cb400bill

My hometown.

Tragic.

CliffordK

I think I saw one report where the driver fled the scene on foot, but has been apprehended.

buddy

Does anyone know if this was a pace line ?

My prayers go out to the survivors and family.

tcarl

If this happened in my area, the driver would get a ticket for failing to yield and probably have his license suspended for a few weeks until he took a court ordered driving course. Then his license would be reinstated and he'd be back on the road.

buddy

Was it a pace line?

jefnvk

Saw this in my Facebook feed tonite. Sad, indeed

Doubtful, if children were involved. Sounds more like an organized community or family ride.

rydabent

That driver should be put so far back in jail he will never see the light of day again!!!!!

Len S

5 bicyclists dead after crash north of Kalamazoo | WOODTV.com

Leisesturm

A long time ago in my early days on BF I mentioned an incident with a pickup truck. A couple of posters wasted no time in taking me to task for "profiling" pickup drivers. I didn't mean to do that and walked back my comments, but after many years here, its clear that there is something majorly wrong with pickup drivers as a group. I don't want to hear anyone defend them anymore. I'm fed up with the culture of lawlessness and indifference to social norms that pervades that sector of humanity. That driver should never again see daylight. Others who don't commit mass murder, but commit grievous bodily injury to innocent cyclists and peds should be made to kneel as their licenses are set on fire and burned to ashes before their eyes.

Chris0516

Watch this guy get a light sentence.

CliffordK

Not all pickup drivers are bad. Not all pickup drivers drink and drive. But, there is a certain group of "rednecks" driving pickups who make a bad name for pickups, SUVs, and similar vehicles.

I agree that guy probably should never drive anything bigger than a golfcart again.

MinnMan

It was a club ride.

And there were 911 calls about the p/u's erratic driving that preceded the accident by almost 20 minutes.

Tragic and sobering.

canklecat

I can see why it's tempting to make that generalization. I drove a pickup for years until just recently and even I was occasionally tempted to regard PU drivers as uncouth drunken yahoos. Looking back over the past 40 years at many of the accidents I've stopped to render assistance before paramedics arrived, it sure seems like many of 'em were pickups and SUVs with drivers who smelled like alcohol. But that's probably just selective memory, bias confirmation and a weighted sampling group.

Pickups and SUVs are ubiquitous here and there are far more truck drivers who don't cause any grief. We just don't notice them.

Since resuming cycling last year I've noticed that, by far, most of the drivers who yell at me are in pickups and SUVs, usually young white men. I've had at least three instances within a mile of my home with young white men in beat up old SUVs yelling at me to get off the road -- usually from a very safe distance, after making a big melodramatic production of changing lanes (they could have passed me safely without a lane change) and swerving back after passing me safely. I just shrug it off. If they're not physically threatening me, I'm not gonna worry about it.

Ironically, I was recording a video blog a few months ago after chattering about this very topic with some folks after a group ride. Their opinion was that dually drivers were the worst. I hadn't noticed that particular group. So while I was riding home, narrating an otherwise boring ride video, sure 'nuff, a dually pickup passed me with the driver and passenger -- both young white men -- hooting at me. Not cussing or even angry, just hooting like drunken yahoos. Kinda funny.

But to be fair, I've had many more positive experiences with truck drivers. In fact, when I got my first flat tire out in the boonies last year and forgot my pump, a pickup driver gave me a lift home. And the same fellow stopped to offer me a ride a couple of months later when I was caught in the rain -- I thanked him and declined that time because I was already soaked and didn't want to mess up his truck, and was only a mile or so from home.

And along that same rural route other folks in pickups and SUVs have waved me on ahead when we've arrived simultaneously at stop sign intersections, or just given a good natured wave because they've seen me riding there many times before.

Offhand, as I recall, the actually aggressive (passing much too closely, cutting me off or right hooking) and distracted or rude drivers have been in new sedans, ranging from mid-priced to luxury models. About 2/3s driven by women, perhaps a third were men closer to my age (50something). Not pickups and SUVs. Those guys just seem to be noisy and petulant.

Still statistically insignificant for identifying real patterns. Just casual observations.

Chris0516

RIP to the five deceased cyclists', and condolences to their families.

cb400bill

3 Similar threads have been merged.