WPeabody 

https://www.ksbw.com/news/22091721/detail.html

May she RIP.

Situational awareness sometimes can prevent these things from happening.

Luddite

That's horrible.

jputnam

Terrible. Not enough detail to know what happened, but I've had enough close calls with the rear of a turning semi, even in my car, that I treat them as an extreme hazard. The view from the cab of a semi is not conducive to safe turning -- I've watched the rear wheels of semis climb up curbs into a fire hydrant, a utility pole, a bridge abutment.... It's not just bikes.

Luddite

come to think of it, I've seen that happen many times. I even saw a rig once tear off the signal arm thing at a railroad crossing, dude was oblivious too. Also, in my neighbourhood, the big rigs come barrelling down the hill and blow the pedestrian light (ie: it's red for them, "green" for the pedestrians.) makes me shudder everytime I see that happen, recipe for roadkill pedestrian/cyclist.

ItsJustMe

Yeah, do NOT sit or ride beside a rig. They simply can't see you, and the rear wheels track far inside of where the tractor goes. If there's a rig, I stay way the hell away from it. I grew up driving farm implements, and I know that there's a hell of a lot of stuff to keep track of, and no way to see everywhere at once, or even to know exactly where those wheels are going to go.

Catgrrl70

I ride with 18-wheelers every day as my route takes me by major Port entrances. Most of the time it's ok. When stopped I position myself way in front of whatever vehicle is at the front of the red so I am sure they can see me. I mean WAY in front. I don't run lights.

What gives me the chills is those moves I see by about 1 in 15 trucks. Making a sudden right turn into a port entry across the bike lane with no turn signal; running a stop sign coming out of a port exit at a high rate of speed (I have reported this numerous times to the police and am subsequently super careful there); paying absolute zero attention and blowing through the pedestrian/bike path marked crossing at which they are by law mandated to stop if someone is waiting to cross (just reported this today in fact); trucks using the bike lane as a parking strip or shoulder or part of the driving lane, etc.

What really gave me the chills this morning was upon my approach to a red light (through lane/bike lane/right turn only lane) passing a line of trucks/cars/SUVs on my left (EDIT: This line of ~10 vehicles was at a dead stop at a red light and I was approaching the red light slowly in the adjacent bike lane - even if vehicles were moving slowly I would have still done the same approach - the right turn only lane is large, long, and well marked prior to the intersection. Vehicles/trucks can easily make their lane selection. I've never in my 9 years of riding this route seen this happen before.), a semi-truck cab (no trailer) made a sudden turn across the bike lane into to the right turn lane and blew the red light within about 2 seconds (from a dead stop with no turn signal). There was zero warning the driver was going to do so - if I had been 2 seconds faster I would not be writing this now. I would have had no escape. It was one of the most dangerous moves I've ever seen. And it's been reported.

jputnam

Want to borrow a handlebar video camera? Maybe the police can't act on the footage, but it might be enough to generate a good TV investigation or something.

jputnam

My bike/train commute gets delayed repeatedly by this -- semis tear off the crossing arm, the train has to stop before the intersection, have a conductor stand in the intersection to direct the train through dead slow, then stop for him to get on again. Sometimes twice a month at the same intersection.

Catgrrl70

That would be pretty awesome! You commute through downtown too right? PM me and we'll figure something out.

Pscyclepath

For something like that to have happened, she apparently was filtering up to the right side of the truck. And this tragedy is exactly why filtering like that, regardless of whether there's a "bike box" at the intersection or not, is some very risky business.

Imagine that trucks, buses, and oversized vehicles like that are wild elephants, intent on stomping you to death... and stay out of their reach.

mikeybikes

+1

Digital_Cowboy

I could be mistaken, but I was under the impression that cops could act on video tape footage. But you're right even if they can't I am sure that at least one local TV station would interested in it and would hopefully launch an investigation of their own which would generate interest from the LEOs as well as the DA's office.

Digital_Cowboy

Damn, well at least the train is more safety conscious then the truck drivers are. How long are the trains and how long does it take for them to get through the intersection?

Dchiefransom

I'm wondering who was at the intersection first. I also wonder if she got there after the truck and i8t had no turn signal on.

If a video is made of trucks blatantly violating traffic laws near the port, a TV station showing the video and making sure to emphasize the company name might get results.

CB HI

Look at that photo, they put up "police line" tape for the entire quarter mile.

Maybe that is a good sign that the cops will do a real investigation in this case.

jputnam

The train isn't terribly long, seven cars if I remember right. (I always sit at one end, don't really count the cars.) It takes a couple of minutes extra each time, minimum. Sometimes more if traffic gets messed up.

mechBgon

Amen to that. I stay well back, and try to stay in full view of a mirror so the driver can keep track of me... can't be fun trying to guess where the invisible cyclist went. +1 for daytime running lights and hi-vis outerwear, for that matter.

rumrunn6

no, they probably roped off all that roadway because she was smeared all over the pavement for the hole distance. they make absolutely no mention of the victim, only the bike because it was probably too horrifyingly gross, especially for the family. any biker dragged by a 18 wheeler is gonna be an in human mess. I've heard some horrible descriptions including how bodies can be wrapped around wheels and axles, etc. one woman got scrambled up inside a street sweeper

Wogster

I've seen on the back of some trailers:

"If you can't see my mirrors, I can't see you"

Of course that is only half the story, it requires that the driver actually look at the mirror. Trucks have massive blind spots and often need to go quite far to the left to turn right, because most intersections are not designed for 53' trailers. Especially those in residential areas that don't normally see much truck traffic. *Cyclists have to be aware that 2 kinds of truck exist, the cab over, with the cab over the engine, common in Europe and becoming more common in North America, and the conventional layout with a big hooded engine mounted in front. If the truck has a flat front, then you want to always be in front or behind it, if it has a hood in front, then you want to be behind it. The driver probably can't see you if they pull up to the stop line, so they can forget your there. It's sometimes worth it, to actually abandon the road and walk your bike across the intersection in the crosswalk then to risk being hit by a truck.

Digital_Cowboy

That's good, hopefully the traffic doesn't get messed up too often.

wheel

My biggest fear right here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7c82MxRg3Y


Them saying I rode up alongside the truck. Which I never do.

RacerOne

That's pretty scary.

Pscyclepath

It depends on the law in individual states... and most of the time those laws are crafted so as to prohibit the use of red-light-running cameras to give tickets. In many states, the use of photographic evidence of a traffic violation (e.g., camera/radar for speeders and cameras for red light runners) are "insufficient," and a cop must physically witness a violation in order to write a ticket for it; giving the violator the ability to face his accuser in court.

If your state permits cameras on red lights and speed traps, then you have a good chance that they'll accept your video as evidence. If not, all you can do is use the video to convince the local police that there's a problem at that intersction, and get them to station a patrol nearby...

San Rensho 

Why do you assume that she was filtering? She could very well have gotten to the intersection before the semi and was stopped waiting for the light, when the semi-went past her.

AlmostTrick

While I certainly agree that cyclists should aim to stay out of the "death zone" of big rigs, I have a nit to pick with your last line. A competent driver will ALWAYS know exactly where his or her wheels are going to go. Only an unskilled or inattentive driver wouldn't.

May the rider rest in peace.