25 driving citations…..
Over the last two weeks, Portland had lost 2 individuals prematurely in truck/bike accidents. Tracey Sparling and Brett Jarolimek were both killed in crashes with large trucks. Neither driver of the trucks – a fully laden concrete mixer and a dumptruck – were cited after the incidences. The most challenging part of this is that these individuals are driving huge vehicles. I make the wrong assumption that an individual who is licensed to drive such a large vehicle should be someone who takes even more caution when driving. Obviously I’m wrong.
The driver who drove the dump truck that killed Brett Jarolimek had 25 driving citations, yet according to the Portland Police, that isn’t a factor in deciding if negligence or fault is involved (BikePortland.) What crap is that?
Also, BikePortland pointed out that Oregon law states that vehicles MUST yield to bicycles. From what I see, neither truck yielded to the bicycle in these situations. Oh, and the “I didn’t see them,” is not an adequate excuse. And yet, after two people are dead, no one is found accountable.
When will cities and drivers realize that there are others on the road – pedestrians in crosswalks, bikes in the bike path – and make changes either to laws or infrastructure to protect these individuals. Cars and trucks are so much larger than people and bicycles.
My thoughts are with Tracey and Brett’s families at this time. Godspeed. And thank you Merc and WW for taking space in your papers for a tribute.
Accountability runs in both directions. This rider came down the hill too fast too stop. He did not have control of his personal situation. There’s a signal at the bottom of that hill. What was his plan for a red light, simply blow thru, as so many do. What about traffic from the other direction, he could have run into one of them too. He could not stop, he was not in control, he lost his life. Blame everyone else.
Accountability runs in both directions. This rider came down the hill too fast too stop. He did not have control of his personal situation. There’s a signal at the bottom of that hill. What was his plan for a red light, simply blow thru, as so many do. What about traffic from the other direction, he could have run into one of them too. He could not stop, he was not in control, he lost his life. Blame everyone else.
Look at water craft. Technically, sailboats are unpowered so they have the right of way and must be yielded too. But do you see sailboats sitting in the path of freighters out on the river? Of course not, they get the hell out of the way.
If you want to be stubborn and insist that everyone must yield to you, that is your right.
But eventually you will probably get killed.
Its common sense – but for some reason the Portland Bike Community doesn’t understand it. Big ass trucks have limited maneuverability and visibility. You need to stay away from them, just like cars don’t drive in big trucks blind spot or pull up on the right side of them at turns.
i think you guys have the issue a bit mucked up. on the narrow issue of who is at legal fault here, its the driver of the truck who violated the right of way. he is the one legally liable.
the truck driver passed the bike, a bike he was legally responsible for observing, then crossed into the bike’s right of way. simple as that.
George,
Like I said. You can argue semantics in written law all day.
If you want to live, you need to use some common sense.
THe “we have the right of way, everyone must yield to us” argument may work legally, but in the end it will get you killed.
PDXjer, you do have a point about safety. Heck, I am a rogue pedestrian who really truly believes I have the right of way in an intersection when the walk sign says walk. Yet I love my legs and take appropriate caution. I would rather live than have a legal dispute.
My point is that these are big giant trucks. One would think that they should be held to a higher standard of safety driving. Also, my other point is that the law was broken and no one was cited. In the Bikeportland piece, a lawyer put it this way – “you can run a red light accidentally or run a red light on purpose, you still broke the law.” Why aren’t the police enforcing the law?
Just the other day I was yelled and cursed at by a cyclist who made a U-turn in front of me in the middle of Fremont. I was going slightly *under* the speed limit, but apparently it was still my fault and I needed to “SLOW THE F DOWN”. To what? 5 MPH?
Of course, not every cyclist is like this, just as not every driver is a moron (but we seem to have our share of both). I try my best to be cautious of bikes — making sure I look 2-3 times before crossing a bike lane, giving them extra room if there is no bike lane, etc. We all have to be cautious of each other out there — car vs bike, bus vs car, lorry vs bike, pedestrian vs car, pedestrian vs bike — but accidents still happen and, unfortunately, scores of people die every day. No amount of legislation will change that.
I think we have the high (and low) technology to make things safer; here are some suggestions:
*Some sort of sensors in bike lanes trigger caution lights at the intersection
*More lights and signals at pedestrian crossings
*Equip bikes with air horns
*Offer more public education on what the laws are
There are more effective ways of dealing with this than slinging blame around.
DieseilBoi,
I guess I would respond with this scenario:
A car hits a person crossing the street at night who was wearing all black and was very difficult to see.
Should they be charged with vehicular manslaugher?
Nothing is black and white. And in this case, we have a bike community in Portland that seems to value pride over common sense safety. When I lived in NY, you would never hear a biker complain that a giant truck didnt see them. Why? Because they avoided them, because they knew the truckers could not see them.
You can be right – or you can be safe. I think you should choose safe.
this isn’t a basic safety issue. this is an accident. its past that point!
by arguing about safety issues and making wild assumptions about both drivers you are just clouding the issue.
you assumed for example that the biker was going too fast to stop at the red light. why did you assume that? you have no basis for that assumption.
I think that, if anything, this issue (cars vs. bikes) shows the limited value of anecdotes in trying to address a problem. I know that my saying so won’t change anything, but perhaps we can all just agree that there are many examples out there of bad drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians, and move beyond that?
I just moved to Portland in July from Asheville and have noticed that the bicycle-to-car argument is extremely heated in this town. My brother-in-law manages one of the bike stores and also keeps me in the know.
I’m a motorcycle rider and have been for years. Motorcyclists get absolutely no respect. Bicyclists hate us because we’re all wild and drive too fast. Motorists hate us because we can fit spaces they can’t. We’re supposed to get the same right of way as any other motorized vehicle.
My point is this — laws aren’t written to empower people… they’re written to protect people. When the law isn’t working, it needs to be rewritten. I learned to drive in California where the subtle difference in law would have saved at least one of the two bicyclists in the last few weeks — vehicles turning in CA are required to turn into the bike lane and bicyclists are required to stop behind them. Obviously, the “bicyclists have the right of way always” law doesn’t work. Time for a change.
And, to the bicyclists: unnecessary and innocent deaths are always a tragedy. Protect yourselves and watch out for situations where you might get killed. Motorcyclists have to do this on a regular basis, too. I understand that I am virtually invisible to large vehicles (and even small ones) so I make it a point to be aware of my surroundings since the drivers of these vehicles aren’t going to be aware of me.
One last point — legally, I should be able to walk through SW ChinaTown at 2AM with a $100 taped to my forehead without fear of being molested, attacked, robbed or worse, but do I? No. Common sense states that regardless of what the law is, we still need to protect ourselves, too.
Very well said, Irk!
Clearly the answer is that no vehicle ever turns left, turns right or violates the sacred space of the bicyclist.
HOw exactly do you twun across a bike lane without crossing into and/or over it. How?
Well Folks When All is said and done those two citizens are dead and a really stupid law was broken. Solution? Repeal the bicycle right of way on the Right and Fire the bums that made such a genocidal law. It is only correct to in fringe on the rights of many to save the stupid from themselves
I am dismayed that so many people say that calling for the drivers to be punished is mutually exclusive to bikers driving safely. They are not mutually exclusive. Since we don’t know all the facts, we can only assume that there are things that the dead bikers could have done to prevent the accident. Regardless, there is no dispute as to whether the truck drivers broke the law as it is written. None. The did it and should be punished with the full weight of the law.
So GEEZ, you just want to throw you hands up in the air and do nothing? You seem to be of the mind that all bicycles are at fault. I agree with most of the comments here that it is indeed a two way street. We need to find a solution. My post was about how the law is being “interpreted.”
Thanks everyone for a lively discussion.
Mick,
If they did break the law, why were they not fined or cited?
So now we have an evil conspiracy between the truckers union and the police union?
I think they people who have the facts are the best ones to judge the situation, and they said they didnt break the law.
PDXJer, “If they did break the law, why were they not fined or cited?” I believe that is a good summation of Dieselboi’s point.
“I think the people who have the facts are the best ones to judge the situation, and they said they didn’t break the law.” First of all, what facts do you know of that we don’t have? Secondly, they didn’t say they didn’t break the law, they just weren’t cited. If I speed in front of a cop and don’t get a ticket, that doesn’t mean I haven’t broken the law!
As someone who walks a lot AND owns a car, I can see both side of this issue. When I’m driving I see cyclists make unsafe choices all the time, and I’ve gritted my teeth more than once at the sense of “entitlement” most cyclists show in this town. I treat them with the same considerations as another vehicle as per the law, but when I see them doing stupid things that a car would never do, all I can say is they are tempting fate. You DON’T weave in and out of cars without looking and you DON’T ride along side large vehicles, especially when they are making a turn. And despite what you’ve read in comic books you aren’t Magneto and can’t ward off cars with a single hand gesture and assume they will make way for you.
On the flip side, when I’m walking to work and back I expect cars to stop for me when I cross the street. But I’m surprised how often I’m honked at, glared at, and had cars literally riding me until I cleared the walkway, all when the light says walk and I have right of way. It’s dog eat dog out there, and while the law may be on your side legally it’s no substitute for being hyper-aware of your surroundings.
I went without a car for the summer of 2005 for the first time since I started driving. Nothing taught me more appreciation for the perils that pedestrians and cyclists face than that period, and I’m a more considerate driver because of it. Maybe it’s something we should all do at one point in our lives. But regardless of whether you are walking, driving or on your bike, put aside the entitlement and the arrogance and look around…the only person looking after you is you.