[Newsbot]

Title: 3 dead after truck slams into cyclists in Quebec
Category: Law & Order
Posted By: wildrosegirl
Date: 2010-05-14 20:34:07
Canadian

[andyt]

I hope the driver is up for some serious charges - you don't just hit 6 people from behind unless you're not paying attention.

[Brenda]

This is EXACTLY why bicycles on the shoulder of a highway should NOT be allowed. The difference in speed is just to big and they are soooo vulnerable...
Even if he would have gone below the speed limit, they would have been dead.

And... There WAS a bike lane, but "their bikes were not suitable to ride there". THEN DON'T FUCKING GO THERE!!!!

[andyt]

Brenda Brenda:

This is EXACTLY why bicycles on the shoulder of a highway should NOT be allowed. The difference in speed is just to big and they are soooo vulnerable...
Even if he would have gone below the speed limit, they would have been dead.

And... There WAS a bike lane, but "their bikes were not suitable to ride there". THEN DON'T FUCKING GO THERE!!!!

Bikes are classed as vehicles, same as any other. If drivers are paying attention, there is no excuse for hitting a cyclist. I've done tours in various parts of the world, and usually the highway is the only route from A to B, so that's what you take. A gravel path is not a suitable alternative. The authority in charge of that stretch of road said they were planning to add a paved shoulder very soon, because their own regulations require it. Too bad this had to happen before then. Cycling for many of us is more than gorby biking for a few km. It's a serious form of transportation that also happens to be very good for you and a lot of fun. Drivers need to get over the idea that they hold a special entitlement to the roads, and drive accordingly.

[Brenda]

Euhm, I'm Dutch. There are more bikes than people there, and NO ONE bikes along the highway... It's plain plain stupid.

[andyt]

Brenda Brenda:

Euhm, I'm Dutch. There are more bikes than people there, and NO ONE bikes along the highway... It's plain plain stupid.

Euhm???

Sure, but all the bikes look like this:

The reason nobody does it there, is because paved alternatives are everywhere. And unlike the French and Germans and Italians and Spanish, even the Belgians for God's sake, the Dutch are just gorbys who pedal a few klicks in their wooden shoes on their omafiets. When was the last time you heard about a Dutch contender in the TDF?

[Brenda]

I see you have never been there if you think ALL the bikes look like that

The Giro d'Italia was just held in Holland, but hey, we all walk in wooden shoes all day


And yes there are paved alternatives. There should be here too. Don't fucking settle for being driven off your bike just because there is no bike lane. Find another route, whatever, but for fucks sake, DO NOT BIKE ALONG THE HIGHWAY where cars go 90/120!!!

[Brenda]

Oh, and just fyi... The Tour de France STARTS in the Netherlands

[andyt]

I guarantee you that for road racing, the riders have to train on the highway while cars are also on it. Now the pros can choose where they ride, but amateurs have to ride where they live. And if I want to ride from Vancouver to Mission, I have to take the Lougheed at least part of the way, and it has 80 km speed limit and no shoulder in spots. Driver just have to respect bikes, not think because they are isolated in their carapace of steel they can just push their way thru and life is cheap. After they hit somebody, it's all "oh I'm sorry," (from the decent ones anyway) but beforehand they don't give it much thought. In Canada, if you want to cycle from A to B, there are lots of places where you have to ride on a highway with little or no shoulder. Drives just need to share the road, is all.

(And my little diatribe was meant as a joke - I have been to Cholland a number of times.)

Holding the Giro d'Italia in Holland - now that's just sad. What, were the Italians too broke? Next up - Tour of Benelux goes thru Brataslavia.

[Brenda]

The Giro just started there

Personally, I think (but I am sure this will be seen as an attack on Canada) that since there are so many cyclists, governments should realize they are vulnerable. You can't have bicycles on a stretch of highway, where the speed difference is 80 kms or more. It just not responsible. When you build a new stretch of road, redo a bridge or whatever, especially in the city, make sure you make bike lanes, so mopeds, bikes and even pedestrians can move freely, without the risk of being driven off their bikes.

When a cyclist swerves, as a car, doing 100, you often cannot avoid them. When you are passed by a tractor-trailer, doing 100, you, as a cyclist, cannot avoid swerving, or even being sucked underneath the truck, just because of the airmovement (or how the hell that is called in good english).
Cycling along a highway is just freaking dangerous.
In the city itself, where cars go 50 or slower, fine (although it would be nice if there would be bikelanes too, and there are, sometimes), but on the highway??? NO


I live in the mountains, cyclists going up the Hill is dangerous, and there is no way to get around them with the space I want to. Its a 2 lane highway (max 80 or 60) and I hate them cycling here.

[Proculation]

I've been to Amsterdam. I understand what Brenda talks about. It's just not the same thing there. There are bikes EVERYWHERE. You just cannot have a car in Amsterdam.

The 6 people were professional cyclists. They were practising for triathlon. They were all in a row. They were surely rolling as fast as they could. It was a straight route. The guy in the car fucked up big time. The police even wonders if it was not intentional.

[andyt]

Brenda Brenda:

The Giro just started there

Personally, I think (but I am sure this will be seen as an attack on Canada) that since there are so many cyclists, governments should realize they are vulnerable. You can't have bicycles on a stretch of highway, where the speed difference is 80 kms or more. It just not responsible. When you build a new stretch of road, redo a bridge or whatever, especially in the city, make sure you make bike lanes, so mopeds, bikes and even pedestrians can move freely, without the risk of being driven off their bikes.

When a cyclist swerves, as a car, doing 100, you often cannot avoid them. When you are passed by a tractor-trailer, doing 100, you, as a cyclist, cannot avoid swerving, or even being sucked underneath the truck, just because of the airmovement (or how the hell that is called in good english).
Cycling along a highway is just freaking dangerous.
In the city itself, where cars go 50 or slower, fine (although it would be nice if there would be bikelanes too, and there are, sometimes), but on the highway??? NO


I live in the mountains, cyclists going up the Hill is dangerous, and there is no way to get around them with the space I want to. Its a 2 lane highway (max 80 or 60) and I hate them cycling here.

Nope, you're wrong. Rule no one for a cyclist is not to swerve into traffic. If you do, it's your own fault. Pick a line and stick to it.

As for semis, I've been passed in Australia by B trains doing 100km/hr and I wasn't sucked anywhere. I just held my line and pace and hoped to hell the driver was paying attention and not psychotic - so far so good. The problem only comes when the driver figures the bike is irrelevant, that they don't need to slow down if it's not safe to pass. Since Canada is such a huge country, it's not feasible to pave every shoulder right now. It is feasible to give drivers an attitude adjustment. You do that by education and by meting out severe punishment for drivers that are careless. And by educating cyclists in how to ride responsibly. I try to do my share of the latter when I'm out on my bike.

[Proculation]

Talking about Amsterdam, I have to admit though that the bikes are VERY ugly lol. I've seen only one descent bike and it was in a professional bicycle business. Not in the street.

[andyt]

Proculation Proculation:

I've been to Amsterdam. I understand what Brenda talks about. It's just not the same thing there. There are bikes EVERYWHERE. You just cannot have a car in Amsterdam.

The 6 people were professional cyclists. They were practising for triathlon. They were all in a row. They were surely rolling as fast as they could. It was a straight route. The guy in the car fucked up big time. The police even wonders if it was not intentional.

I heard he was coming off a night shift, so probably he was sleeping. I like to think a volunteer fireman has a better moral code than to intentionally hit cyclists, but there are lots of yahoos in pickups and SUVs (mostly) who are that psychotic. Little men, little dicks, but big egos.

[CDN_PATRIOT]

Proculation Proculation:

The 6 people were professional cyclists. They were practising for triathlon. They were all in a row. They were surely rolling as fast as they could. It was a straight route. The guy in the car fucked up big time. The police even wonders if it was not intentional.

I'm a 'professional cyclist' and I train for 50k rides and whatnot, but I don't ride on highways. That's just plain retarded.

However, the driver must have been a complete moron to hit the whole group.

-J.