Las Vegas Bicycle accident

A very sad situation.

https: //www.cbsnews.com/news/bicyclists-killed-crash-nevada-highway/

It mentions that high winds are a contributing factor.

 

No info so I'm just gonna guess....poor truck driver. I've creamed quite a few deer in my years of driving, in spite of being highly alert to the issue. Bicyclists on the road take big risks. I'm not going to argue who has rights etc etc...the simple fact is cars (or trucks) will win every time. The roads were built for motor vehicles, take a bike out there and you are asking for a potential problem. I don't know the answer, truth is I get a little peeved when I get stuck behind an Amish buggy. I try to be polite and even wave to the kids in the back of the buggy as I pull my toy hauler past...poor little buggers............

 

What I read from one of the survivors was the bikes were on the paved shoulder which was several lanes wide

If that's true f the driver.

 

RIP riders.

 

I get the temptation but we can’t do that. Every one of us has had a lapse in judgement behind the wheel. In a perfect world, truck drivers wouldn’t, because they’re guiding 35 tons of kinetic energy near people, but they’re just stupid humans like you and I.

I feel for everyone affected, even the driver.

Also it’s not unfair to point out that riding a bicycle on the highway is a very high risk activity. I’d never condemn it, because I do plenty of stupid shit that could make me dead, but if we’re spreading blame around, they have to take a little slice.

 

What he said

The most unsafe I've ever felt on two wheels was riding a bicycle a mile to a CVS from my parent's house in Fort Myers, FL.

 

RIP to the bikers


But why on Earth are you riding pedal bikes on a highway?

 

In Michigan, unless your Motorcycle is 125cc or above, you are not allowed to enter an expressway. Why on earth pedal bikes would be allowed on the shoulder of an expressway is a head-scratcher. And what is the deal with the chase vehicle? Was it on the shoulder as well? Last I knew, it was illegal to drive on the shoulder on an expressway, unless disabled in some way (flat tire etc.) I read that some were drafting the chase vehicle. The article was not very informative on a lot of the issues/circumstances.

 

Most highways have No Bicycles signs as you approach the in ramp. They’re not very large from what I’ve seen, but they’re posted.

 

I see people continue not to learn anything.

 

Reading comprehension must be escaping some of those commenting.

 

I took a quick glace on Google Maps. I believe it was a four lane highway with a median - but it was NOT an interstate. US highways, if I understand correctly, are OK for bikes to be on.

However, that doesn't mean the bicycle riders were obeying the rules 100%.

The article says the bikers were drafting behind (my assumption) a sag wagon (ride support vehicle). I'm still not able to picture the situation whatsoever with the info presented. The truck driver stopped, and there is no mention of an arrest. That (sorta) tells me the bikers may have been in the wrong. But I could be wrong as well.

In many cases it is bicycle riders "assuming" they have more rights than what the rules actually say. I admit I have a bias though - I hate the MFers.

 

Also the truck driver could have been fighting the wind as well. It did say it was a box truck which is a wind sail, the bikes were also fighting the wind. I am thinking that is playing a big role in this.

 

I learned you were in Nevada yesterday...

 

This is terrible to hear. Even if the cyclists were in the wrong, they don't deserve death as punishment for what amounts to minor traffic infringements.

I raced road bikes through my high school years, right before the first iPhone came out. Didn’t touch a bike until after college.

First time back out on the roads I about shit myself. Cars buzzing by with a very narrow shoulder. No thanks.

At one point I remember thinking "THIS was the alternative activity to motocross that my parents thought was safer?"

When my wife and I drove down PCH this past summer, we came up on a number of cyclists taking up the whole lane on sketchy sections of the highway (blind corners, decreasing radius, etc). They of course are within their right to do so and I don't get angry with them or anything, but damn does that just seem like a poor activity to partake in when you have a whole lot of tourists driving a busy, technical road all the time.

I've stuck to the bike paths, or to singletrack instead these past few years. Drivers are way too distracted now with smart phones for road cycling to be a safe activity.

It seems most cyclists are coming to the same conclusions with the massive increase in popularity of gravel bikes and mountain bikes. Hell, even virtual bike racing is taking off.

 

Also may be he was focused on the car and not the bikes riding behind it. Isn’t the whole point of the support vehicle to somewhat act as a safety buffer for the cyclists which would seem especially important on a 2 lane highway? I know it’s a support vehicle and not just a “safety” vehicle but every time I have come up on a group with a support vehicle, and it s rather frequent around here as a lot of teams train in the mountains I have never once seen riders behind the vehicle. That may not be an interstate but by looking at google maps it’s a relatively straight 4 lane road with a lot of industrial traffic. To me it appears the error by the driver rear ending the slower moving car and which depending on what kinds of lights it had on it, direction they were going, sun glare, etc it would be easy to visualize how this all came together. Lots of possible scenarios but I’d bank on the fact that the speed differential coupled by the fact they riders could’ve been blocking any sort of lights/ flashers on the safety vehicle the driver easily could’ve focused on the car at the last minute and not had time to react to the cyclists. If they were behind the car because of the wind they were doing what, 22 ish mph? Not sure what the speed limit is on that road but assuming if it’s a 55 65 would be a fair assumption for speed given the type of road and location. The driver also could’ve been following another vehicle that pulled out to pass them at the last minute and couldn’t react in time. That’s a decent speed differential if there is nothing to catch your eye as far as caution ahead would be easy to come up on very quick. If they were behind the safety car it obviously wasn’t in the bike lane and I’d be willing to bet that the riders were not either. They were probably stacked 2 wide behind the car to create a better wind effect.
Either way it’s tragic and hopefully someone will learn from it.

 

Deserve death as a punishment? Of course not, they did nothing wrong (apparently) except put themselves in peril. People do this all the time and they mostly get away with it.......sometimes not.

 

That's a 75mph road, out in the middle of the desert. The sides of the road have gnarly rumble strips and a narrow shoulder.
I can't imagine riding a bicycle on that road. The Nipton loop returns to Vegas via 15 (the major road between the city and LA), which is even more mind boggling.
It's sad, but not surprising.

 

It's illegal to ride a bike on a shoulder (and sidewalk for that matter), just as it's illegal to drive on a shoulder/sidewalk.

So yes, what they were doing was illegal, they should've been on the road in their own lane, not on the shoulder.

Not saying I would've ridden on a road w/ posted 75 mph speed limits, but they were in the wrong, but not in the way most of you are expecting.


Interesting to see how many people on here are anti-bike, when nearly every one of their "heroes" who ride motorcycles at a high level are avid road bikers. Is that 5 seconds of inconvenience really worth killing over?

 

I'm going to guess that it's you who needs info on what rights bikes actually have on the road.