Nexx11

Sounds like the prof may have left the shoulder into traffic... RIP

https://www.katu.com/news/local/WOU-professor-hit-and-
killed-while-riding-his-bike-145446645.html

Bekologist

RIP fellow rider.

fast traffic, state highway, looks like a lot of trucks in the photo. Variable width shoulder.

RIP Henry.

B. Carfree

Even if he left the shoulder (I have my doubts about the sole-witness suicide swerve), it is still likely the motorist's fault here under OR law. ORS 811.065 requires that overtaking motorists on that roadway give cyclists room to fall in their direction when passing. That would mean the the pick-up would have had to be substantially in the next lane to his left in order to be legally passing. If the state troopers actually write the citation as directed under the law (striking a cyclist while passing is supposed to be sufficient evidence of violation), it might just be the first time this violation has ever led to a citation.

dynodonn 

One of these days, some cyclist is going to have a rear cam videoing, and hopefully there will be more evidence than just the sole motorist's story.

buzzman

According to the guy who hit him.

I guess it sounds a lot better than, "I wasn't paying attention and drifted to the right and hit the guy on the bike with my truck."

For anyone who rides on roads like that with regularity the suicide slide to the left is extremely unlikely. But the general impression is those crazy bike riders do stuff like that all the time- even when they're a 61 year old responsible citizen in every other aspect of their life.

Just imagine you're driving down the road and you see a cyclist ahead. The cyclist is riding on the shoulder of the highway to the right of the white line. It's a straight road so you can see him for a while. If he's weaving on and off the shoulder you would slow down and give yourself plenty of passing room. If he's riding a straight line, and I were driving, I would still slow down and give him plenty of room as I pass- but I'm a bike rider. But the most we can hope for is that the passing vehicle also holds their line as they pass.

Now if I'm riding on a road like the one in the picture I hold my line because I know most drivers will neither slow down nor will they give extra room. I'm going to guess from the biography and profile of this rider that he was a pretty responsible guy and that he would do exactly the same thing. The one thing we all fear is the drifting driver. The driver drinking his coffee, making the phone call, checking his GPS, texting, falling asleep all while driving a big oversized vehicle like a Dodge Dakota pick-up.

Unless the bicyclist suddenly pulled hard and fast into the lane- and there seems to be no evidence to support that conclusion (no road debris or hazards in the photo)- the driver was passing too close and too fast and pulled slightly to the right for some reason.

It's bad enough this rider got taken out by some pick-up jockey but more than likely it will be seen as his own fault. A lot of people think it's the bike rider's fault just because they're riding a bike in the first place- an inherent risk.

What a tragedy.

dynodonn 

It could also possibly be that the cyclist was riding left of the fog ling in the roadway to begin with, and the motorist was inattentive enough to only realize it at the last second.

Last year, we had an incident locally where a semi truck rear ended (at posted speed of 65 mph) a very large bright green and yellow(flashing lights and SMV sign) John Deere farm tractor in broad daylight, killing the tractor driver. The tractor and driver happen to be traveling down the right lane of a four lane highway in a section with a very long straight stretch.

genec

It's incidents like that semi truck hitting a tractor, that often makes me question the mentality of those that promote taking the lanes on high speed roads "for visibility."

Yet, over and over again we hear of cyclists being struck in bike lanes or on road shoulders... so the "logic" that comes forth is that bike lanes are unsafe... so some cyclists promote that one should bike in the travel lane...

The problem with such "logic" is that the bike lane is well to the right of where a motorist should be... so it is the motorist that was unsafe, not the bike lane (or road shoulder)... and cycling on roads with large speed differentials and inattentive motorists is more likely the cause of the collision; so any location on that road at the time of the arrival of the errant motorist is unsafe. There is no magic in taking the lane... if a driver can't see and avoid a tractor, he sure as heck won't see and avoid a cyclist. This BTW is well covered in the book "Traffic, Why we drive the way we do."

Now the irony in all this is that a cyclist on a winding high speed road probably has a better chance of avoiding a collision by taking the lane... the winding road causes the motorist to pay more attention, and the cyclist being out in the traveled lane is more likely to be observed early by a motorist coming around a corner. (and with any luck, the road is winding enough to keep the speed of motor vehicles down to a reasonable level)

dynodonn 

Of course, this begs the question of one's definition of high speed roads and another person's mentality, as in the case of the Tulsa PD officer's comment on having a cyclist committed to psychiatric evaluation for riding in the middle of a substandard sized lane on what I would call a low to moderate speed two lane one way.

Commodus

Another suicide swerve report...uh huh. We should start hiring cyclists for the military. We're apparently invisible, and have no regard for our own well-being.

PaPa

This incident mirrors the one here in Idaho, just 3 weeks ago; https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread......-Speechless

Lots of variables, but it boils down to being a numbers game. What riding position carries the greatest odds for survival? The cyclist is faced with the choice of deciding which is the 'least dangerous' of the two choices, take-the-lane or not. For me, I no longer consider the legality of my actions if I feel it compromises my safety.

I take-the-lane, assuming I'll be more visible. But I also watch for vehicles behind me (I have a mirror), and prepare to take evasive action if the situation feels uncomfortable. The idea is to implant that you are an obstacle that needs to be dealt with, in the minds of the motorists. It is blatantly obvious from repeated incidents like this one (and many, many others) that 'gutter galloping' isn't as safe as many assume it is.

wsbob

The KATU picture shows that the road has a fairly wide shoulder that Bersani probably had been riding on. The picture used in The Oregonian newspaper story on this collision shows the road from the opposite side of that shown in KATU's picture. It shows also that there is a separated bike lane, about which the Oregonian story says: "...Police believe Bersani may have been trying to cross the highway to access a bike path on the other side, said Oregon State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings. ..."

Fatal crash between pickup, bicyclist on Oregon 99W kills Western Oregon University professor/helen jung/oregonian

photo accompanying Oregonian story

photo accompanying katu story

genec

Of course it is a numbers game... but frankly to answer the question, bolded above... the best answer is "anywhere NOT directly in front of fast moving traffic."

The only reason that the take the lane mentality has come up is due to what I mentioned earlier... inattentive motorists hitting cyclists well out of the traveled way on the side of the road... so some cyclists postulate that the side of the road is dangerous, and being right in the center of the lane is less dangerous. The fact is that to avoid an inattentive driver, there is NO safe location on the road. And an inattentive driver that can't avoid a large tractor is no more going to see you or any other cyclist whether you are in the lane or not.

Now please do not get me wrong, I am not suggesting curb hugging... which I see frequently on local urban roads... what I am saying is that in the case of high speed rural roads or long distance urban roads, taking the lane "for the sake of visibility," (see the phrase in red above) when there is a bike lane or shoulder available, is a fools game.

genec

BTW RIP professor.... according to the article "independent witnesses" said the cyclist moved left and the truck driver tried to avoid him... both cyclist and truck driver in their 60's...

Man I hate hearing stories like this.

PaPa

Not universally true.

Do as you wish, but I'll gamble on the odds of "MOST' drivers seeing me.. then reducing their speed accordingly. Riding the fog line, obviously, does NOT usually promote slowing down OR safe passing. If you wish to produce 'facts', then please supply the numbers of those killed or injured while riding the fog line Vs. those that perished taking-the-lane.

And FYI, I don't always take-the-lane - many variables determine my decision where to ride.

genec

Fog line riding is the equivalent of curb hugging... I specifically mentioned the use of bike lanes or shoulders. But since you can't seem to see the difference between a bicycle and a tractor, I guess it doesn't matter to you.

B. Carfree

Assuming the cyclist wasn't deaf, it seems highly unlikely he would have swerved into an overtaking pick-up. Add in the fact that he was apparently northbound on a day with nice 10-15 mph south winds, and he would have certainly heard any motorized vehicle behind him.

It seems likely that if the cyclist was indeed preparing to turn left onto the bike path, he probably had established himself in the center of the lane and was "overlooked" by the motorist. Motorists traveling down the highway in a stupor are far more plentiful than experienced cyclists who dart in front of overtaking motorists.

It's been six years since I have been on that roadway. I was driving my son to small town north of there on a Friday afternoon. I had two separate motorists get really angry at me because I wouldn't tailgate the car in front of me. Both of them were all over their horns and were visibly agitated that I was staying four seconds behind the car in front of me. Both of them ultimately passed me illegally and then proceeded to stay four seconds in front of me. I didn't know whether to be amused at their behavior or disturbed by it. It was pretty clear that aggressive driving was the order of the day thereabouts.

Bekologist

I'm not sure what led to those assumptions.


In the aftermath of this tragedy, there are riding strategies to consider, countermeasures that can enhance rider safety.

A rider can easily misjudge the quickly encroaching presence of traffic approaching from behind if relying on hearing and head checks, esp. on busy roads with traffic moving fast in both directions. traffic in the opposing lane can mask traffic noise from behind, large trucks carry noise and wind pockets that distort hearing. a large volume of fast traffic can lead to rider discomfort that can disorient a rider, affect sensory perception and compromise rider safety.

In these types of riding situations - busy, fast, two lane highways, its incrementally beneficial to rider safety to wear high viz, run daytime visible flashing lights, and use a mirror. No safety strategy is absolute, and drivers are increasingly distracted these days.
Unfortunately, ( I'm not implying anything and do not know his riding style or equipment choices), image conscious roadies often forgo any of those worthwhile safety countermeasures.

RIP fellow rider Henry. Condolences to his friends and family.

B. Carfree

I'm saying two things. First of all, conditions were optimal for awareness of vehicular threats. It just doesn't get any better for detecting the location of motorists than a nice tailwind on a straight, slightly elevated highway with no structures or vegetation on the roadside. Secondly, it seems quite incredible that anyone who has ridden any miles at all would just dart in front of a pick-up at highway speeds unless they were unaware of its existence.

Your comment about highly visible clothing is certainly valid. Until we get motorists to take driving seriously, it is a good idea to stack the odds by wearing bright colors.

Black wallnut 

FWIW Semi truck m/t going down hill pulling 70 feet of m/t double flatbed trailer is silent until it is next to you. BTDT. To rely on hearing alone is foolhardy. BTW every time I get my hearing checked it is fine. I'm guessing that unless you have a tailwind equal to your speed then the wind whistling in your ears due to your speed somewhat deafens you. RIP Professor! My guess is also that the motorist, unless a repeat offender will not even get a written warning. So sad.

CB HI

Why have you decided to ignore the impact of tunnel vision? I am pretty sure you have argued it with others, but you have decided to exclude those points as you try to represent (or misrepresent) those that disagree with you on this issue.

enigmaT120

That's the second one in Polk County this year. No charges, and both were on days where the visibility should have been good. Why don't we just advertise as a destination resort for serial killers? I don't know either of the victims (first was in January) but it's definitely starting to bug me. I don't ride Highway 99 but I ride rural backroads a lot, most of my riding miles. No shoulders. Sometimes it's hard to keep in mind that riding my motorcycle is twice as dangerous.

I used to ride that bike path (visible in the pictures) every day between Monmouth and Salem, back when I went to school at WOSC. I know a lot of people on these forums don't like MUPs but I always liked that one. There was rarely any other traffic on it.

wsbob

Oregon had record breaking rainfall for March. Monmouth is down the valley from Portland, so we get much of the same type of weather. Yesterday, it was rainy with sky of varying darkness. I wouldn't be prepared to venture a guess that whatever tailwind Bersani may have had would have precluded wind noise that could have at times blocked the sound of cars approaching from behind him.

I think it was the Oregonian story that mentioned there were witnesses that observed Bersani pulling in front of the truck, but that wasn't to suggest that a final conclusion has been drawn as to why Bersani and the driver of truck were where they were, leading up to and at the time of the collision. The police are conducting an investigation. They may learn more that will give them a better idea of why the collision happened and what might be done to avoid some kind of repeat.

Oregon does have some fast two lane highways. From what I can gather from the two news pictures, in terms of motor vehicle speeds traveled and numbers, this road seems something like Hwy 47 between Forest Grove and Gaston. 47 has a wider shoulder, and is quite a good road to ride on, but taking the lane is something someone riding a bike would not generally do unless it was to merge left to cross the road.

david58

I see folks rely on mirrors, and make decisions to enter the lane based on the view in a 1" x 1" mirror. I use a mirror, but do not enter the lane without first looking over my shoulder, unless I am being lazy (read: Stupid).

A grey truck on a rather grey day can be close to invisible in a small mirror. Could the prof have made the swerve into the lane to take charge of it as he moved to the bike lane? That might account for the apparently quick swerve into the path of the truck.

I know nothing but what is in the news reports, and my supposition is purely speculation. But I believe one has to be careful when using mirrors, whether or not that was part of the root cause of the accident. And, sadly, we will never know.

enigmaT120

True. You look over your shoulder in a car, with 3 much larger mirrors, so definitely do it on a bicycle too.