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Pro cyclist Davide Rebellin killed by truck driver while training

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Pro cyclist Davide Rebellin killed by truck driver while training

Old 12-01-22, 01:23 AM
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BikeLite
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Pro cyclist Davide Rebellin killed by truck driver while training

Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin has been killed after being run over by a truck driver, according to Italian media. The collision occurred around noon on Wednesday, with the driver failing to stop after the truck “struck and overwhelmed Rebellin” as it exited a junction.

I goofed up the title..accidentally hit a key that saved it.

https://cyclingtips.com/2022/11/davi...hile-training/
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Old 12-01-22, 01:19 PM
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"..it was unclear whether the driver was aware of the incident, and that police are working to track down the driver."

Driver will most likely be charged for hit and run but not because he killed a cyclist.

Last edited by Daniel4; 12-01-22 at 04:50 PM.
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Old 12-01-22, 04:42 PM
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Some poster on this forum thinks that "being experienced" is the best way to avoid crashes and collisions with drivers. Rebellin's death is an example of where this didn't really work out too well. I admit that I cannot say he wasn't using lights. Nothing I've read indicates he was or wasn't.

A friend of mine, with 40 years of racing and urban commuting under his belt, was recently hit head on by a left-turning driver. Almost killed him. Not using lights.

I STRONGLY recommend using lights front and rear 24/7/365 while riding on road. Many have argued with my recommendation, saying that experience is all you need to avoid this! Not really. Not really at all.

Lights are a quick, simple, inexpensive and effective way to be seen. I say use them. I use them every time I mingle with cars. It's no guarantee. But it's just one more tool we have to reduce the incidence of being hit by a driver. I use reflective clothing, rear-view mirrors, good route-planning, experience, defensive riding AND lights now. Doing otherwise seems silly.

My 49 years of cycling tell me lights are a GREAT way to increase my chances on the road of surviving. I have experience road and mountain bike racing, commuting in the suburbs and the streets of San Francisco, among many other urban areas. I've worked in the bike industry, with law enforcement, and city transportation planning on bicycle issues. I've taught bike maintenance and urban riding, as well as led and participated in overnight bicycle trips. I've done a little loaded touring. I grew up tearing to school and back on my bike. I held a commercial driver's license; I hold a current motorcycle endorsement. Taught myself to ride unicycle (finally) at 50. I've crashed more times than I can count. However, I've only been truly hit by a driver ONCE. And it happened two years ago; my 47 years of experience riding didn't help me. From that day forward I use front and rear lights all the time. I'll let you decide if my voice has any weight in the discussion.
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Old 12-03-22, 05:52 AM
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Originally Posted by LV2TNDM
Some poster on this forum thinks that "being experienced" is the best way to avoid crashes and collisions with drivers. Rebellin's death is an example of where this didn't really work out too well. I admit that I cannot say he wasn't using lights. Nothing I've read indicates he was or wasn't.

A friend of mine, with 40 years of racing and urban commuting under his belt, was recently hit head on by a left-turning driver. Almost killed him. Not using lights.

I STRONGLY recommend using lights front and rear 24/7/365 while riding on road. Many have argued with my recommendation, saying that experience is all you need to avoid this! Not really. Not really at all.

Lights are a quick, simple, inexpensive and effective way to be seen. I say use them. I use them every time I mingle with cars. It's no guarantee. But it's just one more tool we have to reduce the incidence of being hit by a driver. I use reflective clothing, rear-view mirrors, good route-planning, experience, defensive riding AND lights now. Doing otherwise seems silly.

My 49 years of cycling tell me lights are a GREAT way to increase my chances on the road of surviving. I have experience road and mountain bike racing, commuting in the suburbs and the streets of San Francisco, among many other urban areas. I've worked in the bike industry, with law enforcement, and city transportation planning on bicycle issues. I've taught bike maintenance and urban riding, as well as led and participated in overnight bicycle trips. I've done a little loaded touring. I grew up tearing to school and back on my bike. I held a commercial driver's license; I hold a current motorcycle endorsement. Taught myself to ride unicycle (finally) at 50. I've crashed more times than I can count. However, I've only been truly hit by a driver ONCE. And it happened two years ago; my 47 years of experience riding didn't help me. From that day forward I use front and rear lights all the time. I'll let you decide if my voice has any weight in the discussion.

Constantly spamming the same basic overlong overhyped rant over a questionably effective safety accessory (daytime lights) really is a good reason to dismiss your voice. You got religion on this subject a couple years ago and now you're just trolling with it.

I probably would have ignored this, but you also pointlessly revived a dead thread to argue with a 2 1/2 month old post on this same subject in the same day. Using a report of a death as a pretext to get on your hobby horse redundantly is pretty obnoxious.

I can't help but notice that you pooh-pooh experience in your first paragraph then give a verbose resume in your last paragraph in order to beef up your credibility.

​​​​

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Old 12-03-22, 05:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Daniel4
"..it was unclear whether the driver was aware of the incident, and that police are working to track down the driver."

Driver will most likely be charged for hit and run but not because he killed a cyclist.

So now you're going to make up nonsense about Italian law, too?
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Old 12-03-22, 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by LV2TNDM
I STRONGLY recommend using lights front and rear 24/7/365 while riding on road. Many have argued with my recommendation, saying that experience is all you need to avoid this! Not really. Not really at all.
You can't be TOO seen, IMO.
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Old 12-03-22, 03:19 PM
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Originally Posted by LV2TNDM
Some poster on this forum thinks that "being experienced" is the best way to avoid crashes and collisions with drivers. Rebellin's death is an example of where this didn't really work out too well. I admit that I cannot say he wasn't using lights. Nothing I've read indicates he was or wasn't.
.

I'm not the person who made the statement you're referring to, but I agree with it. Being experienced - and I'd add, situational awareness and defensive riding - are the best ways to avoid crashes. But that does not imply it's 100% effective. Maybe it's true as you say below, that some people think it's the only thing you need, but I doubt if anyone has really said that. Using lights and/or high-vis clothing may or may not be statistically more effective than just riding defensively and with situational awareness. With a lack of actual evidence, i stick to my opinion that lights and high vis clothing are not as important. Not saying they don't help, just that they don't help as much.

A friend of mine, with 40 years of racing and urban commuting under his belt, was recently hit head on by a left-turning driver. Almost killed him. Not using lights.

I STRONGLY recommend using lights front and rear 24/7/365 while riding on road. Many have argued with my recommendation, saying that experience is all you need to avoid this! Not really. Not really at all.

Lights are a quick, simple, inexpensive and effective way to be seen. I say use them. I use them every time I mingle with cars. It's no guarantee. But it's just one more tool we have to reduce the incidence of being hit by a driver. I use reflective clothing, rear-view mirrors, good route-planning, experience, defensive riding AND lights now. Doing otherwise seems silly.

My 49 years of cycling tell me lights are a GREAT way to increase my chances on the road of surviving. I have experience road and mountain bike racing, commuting in the suburbs and the streets of San Francisco, among many other urban areas. I've worked in the bike industry, with law enforcement, and city transportation planning on bicycle issues. I've taught bike maintenance and urban riding, as well as led and participated in overnight bicycle trips. I've done a little loaded touring. I grew up tearing to school and back on my bike. I held a commercial driver's license; I hold a current motorcycle endorsement. Taught myself to ride unicycle (finally) at 50. I've crashed more times than I can count. However, I've only been truly hit by a driver ONCE. And it happened two years ago; my 47 years of experience riding didn't help me. From that day forward I use front and rear lights all the time. I'll let you decide if my voice has any weight in the discussion.
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Old 12-04-22, 02:33 PM
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Flashy light or no flashy light the cyclist should have been seen in time to be avoided. The driver of the other vehicle just wasn't paying enough attention to what was out in front of their vehicle, or possibly other bad intentions were involved. As well the driver may have been operating at speeds that were too fast for the conditions. IE a blind curve or cresting a hill and the line of sight was too short to see and avoid anything that was in the road.
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Old 12-04-22, 06:44 PM
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Originally Posted by LV2TNDM
Some poster on this forum thinks that "being experienced" is the best way to avoid crashes and collisions with drivers. Rebellin's death is an example of where this didn't really work out too well. I admit that I cannot say he wasn't using lights. Nothing I've read indicates he was or wasn't.

A friend of mine, with 40 years of racing and urban commuting under his belt, was recently hit head on by a left-turning driver. Almost killed him. Not using lights.

I STRONGLY recommend using lights front and rear 24/7/365 while riding on road. Many have argued with my recommendation, saying that experience is all you need to avoid this! Not really. Not really at all.

Lights are a quick, simple, inexpensive and effective way to be seen. I say use them. I use them every time I mingle with cars. It's no guarantee. But it's just one more tool we have to reduce the incidence of being hit by a driver. I use reflective clothing, rear-view mirrors, good route-planning, experience, defensive riding AND lights now. Doing otherwise seems silly.

My 49 years of cycling tell me lights are a GREAT way to increase my chances on the road of surviving. I have experience road and mountain bike racing, commuting in the suburbs and the streets of San Francisco, among many other urban areas. I've worked in the bike industry, with law enforcement, and city transportation planning on bicycle issues. I've taught bike maintenance and urban riding, as well as led and participated in overnight bicycle trips. I've done a little loaded touring. I grew up tearing to school and back on my bike. I held a commercial driver's license; I hold a current motorcycle endorsement. Taught myself to ride unicycle (finally) at 50. I've crashed more times than I can count. However, I've only been truly hit by a driver ONCE. And it happened two years ago; my 47 years of experience riding didn't help me. From that day forward I use front and rear lights all the time. I'll let you decide if my voice has any weight in the discussion.

Experience and street smarts do count. Are they magic? No. You mentioned getting hit. Looking back, was there anything you could have done to make a difference? How many times have you not been hit? It sounds like your street smarts served you very well for a long time. Would the lights have provided the protection you needed? Were you wearing bright colors? Would situational awareness have spared you?

I am all about a layered strategy. That involves knowing how to read traffic, knowing the safest routes, using lane position, using color and lights and so many other tactics to stay as safe as possible. One bad driver can negate those tactics very easily.
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Old 12-04-22, 10:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Iride01
Flashy light or no flashy light the cyclist should have been seen in time to be avoided. The driver of the other vehicle just wasn't paying enough attention to what was out in front of their vehicle, or possibly other bad intentions were involved. As well the driver may have been operating at speeds that were too fast for the conditions. IE a blind curve or cresting a hill and the line of sight was too short to see and avoid anything that was in the road.
All scenarios that play out every single day in the habits of motorists. Every car passing us is a potential bullet in the chamber of a roadway Russian roulette game.

Enjoy your next ride!
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Old 12-05-22, 10:59 AM
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Originally Posted by JoeyBike
All scenarios that play out every single day in the habits of motorists. Every car passing us is a potential bullet in the chamber of a roadway Russian roulette game.

Enjoy your next ride!
I always enjoy my rides. Have one coming up just after lunch today!
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Old 12-05-22, 06:13 PM
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I find it interesting that many here are concluding that I think experience doesn't count. Where do I say that? I don't think I do. You're just interpreting it this way. I am NOT saying this. I'm saying that even if you do have 50 years or more on two wheels, it's STILL a great idea to use lights.

I know how valuable experience is. I know how valuable the insurance industry thinks experience is. They wouldn't double auto insurance premiums for the first three years of a driver's tenure if it weren't! I'm really glad I survived as long as I did on two wheels before I got the experience and smarts to avoid catastrophe. And why have I avoided it for so long? I'm an experienced rider, but I also try to sway the odds further in my favor by using a rear-view mirror, a reflective vest, choosing safer routes and now using lights. All tools to help improve the odds.

Today driving on the freeway, a driver entered the roadway and ended up in an exit-only lane. I watched them the whole time as I drove in the right lane, adjacent to the exit-only lane. I just KNEW that driver would wait until the very end of their exit-only lane to "suddenly" have to move over. I saw it coming a million miles away. So I moved over to the left in anticipation of their poor driving technique. Sure enough, with just a few yards to spare, they moved on over. They COULD have easily made it over by simply driving better. But nope, some things elude people. But my experience told me what to look for and anticipate and I was proven right. I've avoided many rear-enders with habitual rear & side view mirror use over the years. I kinda laugh when someone says, "I was rear-ended and there was nothing I could do." Not really. But keep telling yourself that.

And for inexperienced riders? Lights are even that much more of a good idea. Let the lights save your butt a few times before you get the years with the "rubber side up" and unscathed to get you to the point where you CAN be an experienced rider in the future.

How exactly am I "spamming" anyone here? Wow, livedarklions, you sure have an issue with someone trying to make a point whose intent is to reduce injury and mortality on bikes! Did I come over to your house and force you to click on this discussion? Are you attracted to my prose like moth to a flame? Is it THAT hard to look away? Poor you, then!

No, I'm simply supporting my many assertions that using lights is a great idea. Even better for the newer rider unfamiliar with the MANY pitfalls of riding among today's (insane, distracted, drunk, raging, stupid, homicidal, or just plain ignorant) drivers.

Please be safe out there.

And in the mean time, please write your representatives asking them to help take our streets, roads, highways, expressways and freeways back from the menace that is today's drivers. Not all of them. Not even a majority of them (unless we're talking phones). But there's a certain % of them that are a true menace. Like the two *******s in Antioch racing last night. One died. Good for him - effing moron might get a Darwin Award. Glad no innocents were killed by these selfish idiots behind the wheel.
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Old 12-06-22, 09:51 AM
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Experience? Experienced drivers get into collisions all the time - most of the time with each other.
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Old 12-09-22, 06:13 AM
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Originally Posted by LV2TNDM
Some poster on this forum thinks that "being experienced" is the best way to avoid crashes and collisions with drivers. Rebellin's death is an example of where this didn't really work out too well. I admit that I cannot say he wasn't using lights. Nothing I've read indicates he was or wasn't.

A friend of mine, with 40 years of racing and urban commuting under his belt, was recently hit head on by a left-turning driver. Almost killed him. Not using lights.
Originally Posted by LV2TNDM
I find it interesting that many here are concluding that I think experience doesn't count. Where do I say that? I don't think I do. You're just interpreting it this way.
Are you friggin' kidding here? That's the opening paragraphs of your first post. Either you intended to denigrate the value of experience or you are the least self-aware writer possible. You casted this post as an argument for no purpose whatsoever.

How exactly am I "spamming" anyone here? Wow, livedarklions, you sure have an issue with someone trying to make a point whose intent is to reduce injury and mortality on bikes! Did I come over to your house and force you to click on this discussion? Are you attracted to my prose like moth to a flame? Is it THAT hard to look away? Poor you, then.
You're very obviously using advocacy of a marginally effective safety measure as a vehicle to put other members down and to troll arguments. You're doing it in a thread about a guy getting killed and you admit you have no idea whether he was or wasn't using lights. I don't have any issues with you advocating for drl, although I'm skeptical about their usefulness. I find the way you're going about it incredibly obnoxious. Is it too hard for you to write succinctly and avoid contentious asides where you straw man and attack other people? Poor you, then!

Last edited by livedarklions; 12-09-22 at 06:19 AM.
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Old 12-09-22, 08:18 AM
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So here's a twist--the hit and run truck driver has been identified and charged in Italy, but it appears he fled to his native Germany from the scene of the crash. It also appears that Germany is refusing to arrest him as vehicular homicide isn't a charge under the GERMAN penal code:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/dav...-truck-driver/

Germany_chris or anyone else familiar with Germany, do you know anything about why Germany has no such law?
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Old 12-12-22, 01:35 PM
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Very sad ending. I recently watched a documentary about this guy as the oldest pro rider. I guess the more you ride, the more chance there is of something bad eventually happening despite all of your experience.
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Old 12-17-22, 05:52 PM
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Count me among the believers in the value of experience. I count it as one of the big three, the others being situational awareness and attitude.

Over the many years in a community of high mileage riders, I've noticed that accidents are not randomly distributed, but rather common for some and rare for others.

I found it ironic that I would regularly get safety lectures from those in the high risk group. I guess that those of us doing better don't feel the need to talk about bicycling dangers, probably because it isn't, for us.

Collisions usually take some time to develop, giving us time to avoid them ------ IF. we are alert to our surroundings, AND, know how to adjust when necessary.

It seems to somehow be in our culture to think life depends on things. ie. lights, helmets, etc. I prefer to rely on the most important safety "device", one that I carry with me, safely tucked between the ears.
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