Originally Posted by
RCMoeur
On this morning's group ride, one of the people said (which I have not yet been able to corroborate) that the striking vehicle was pulling a trailer. This could bring up added possible scenarios of negligence: i.e. inexperience or inattention in passing the pack and then changing lanes while the trailer was still alongside the group. Again, this if so this would be fully the driver's error or fault, as a driver towing a trailer assumes full responsibility for the reasonably safe transport of that trailer. I distinctly recall on past rides out to Saguaro or Canyon Lake drivers passing me with ample room, and then erroneously moving back into the lane before their trailer had fully passed me, resulting in an unexpectedly close inspection of their right-side wheels or their boat's sideboards. And it didn't take malicious intent - just errors and misjudgements on their part.
So far we don't have a photo of the vehicle, bicycles, trailer, etc, so we don't know how and why the riders were struck.
My experience passing bicycles while towing is that the trailer does quite well following the vehicle. But, that may well depend on the pace. So, if a driver is driving 50 MPH, and a cyclist is riding 10 MPH, then it is like passing a stationary object. However, the clips of rides posted above the cyclists are really hauling along. And, thus it is more like passing another vehicle on the road. And, thus one must plan for space of the vehicle and the trailer.
Nonetheless, in an early morning ride. Presumably with very little traffic, the pickup shouldn't have needed to cut back in for quite some distance.
There is the issue that pickups are about 6.5 feet wide. Trailers can be 8 feet wide to 8.5 feet wide. So, one can never forget the trailer is back behind.
Riding solo, I'd probably have wanted to jump onto the sidewalk across that bridge (nothing better than a protected bike path). Yet there is no access from the main road.
The cyclists in the video above aren't trying to ride on shoulders, or even in bike paths.
Yet, that also appears to be an annoying road that jumps from 4 lanes with shoulders to 2 lanes without shoulders to a divided highway, all in the course of a couple of miles.
It appears to be marked at 45 MPH at the bridge which is relatively low, but not unexpected for an urban/industrial area, especially as the road varies so much.