Ann Arbor News vague bicycle crash reports
John Hritz
Bicyclist struck near downtown Ann Arbor
Posted by Tom Gantert | The Ann Arbor News June 25, 2008 17:27PM
A bicyclist was struck by a car in Ann Arbor this afternoon, city police said.
The man was taken to a local hospital after being struck at Packard and Wells streets, police said. It's unclear who as at fault.
Packard Street was closed to traffic during the investigation.
--
John I Hritz, Jr. (jhr...@gmail.com)
2780 Gladstone Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734 846-7755
Nelson Chen
Later,
Nelson Chen
John Hritz
Ruxandra-Ana Iacob
Andy
Jimmy this morning... it was a young guy (18-20), apparently a regular
of the Packard Rd. bike lane, riding a brakeless fixed gear, and
helmetless. Jimmy and Jon didn't witness the moment before the crash,
but Jimmy talked to a witness who did, and they said that the kid
crashed trying to avoid the car... the motorist attempted a right turn
in front of the cyclist. Convulsions started while the kid was
unconscious on the ground, and when he came to on the stretcher, he
was babbling and incoherent.
Given that the accident was described by AA News/AAPD as "at Packard
and Wells", I'm willing to bet that the intersection had something to
do with the accident. The driver had a shock, the cyclist has a brain
injury of some sort.
On Jun 26, 9:09 am, "Ruxandra-Ana Iacob" <ruxa1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I passed by just as the ambulance was leaving. From what I understood from
> Jon, the owner of Ann Arbor Cyclery, the biker didn't have a helmet, nor
> brakes (?!?) and had a seizure before crashing to the ground. According to
> him the driver was not at fault. The driver was a woman (she looked
> pregnant) and she was definitely in shock.
>
> Ana
>
> On 6/25/08, John Hritz <jhr...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Bicyclist struck near downtown Ann Arbor Posted by Tom Gantert | The Ann
> > 17:27PM Categories: Traffic <http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/traffic/>
jimmylegs
shop did see it. he said it happened so fast it was hard to tell
exactly what happened. like andy said it appeared the cyclist was
trying to avoid hitting the car. he did hit the car though. the
detectives and crash investigators were marking on the vehicle where
the impact occured. like i said, i did not witness the accident. but
what appeared to happen was, the cyclist was traveling north on
packard in the bike lane. at the intersection of wells the car
attempted a turn, cutting off the cyclist. not positive in which
direction the car was traveling. it was by far one of the most
horrible things i have ever seen. my prayers are with the cyclist,
whose first name is casey. if anyone has any further information as to
his condition i'd appreciate an update.
>
> - Show quoted text -
Homeless Dave
then this Google Street View should give a pretty clear idea of the
physical surroundings from the appropriate angle:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=packard+and+wells&sll=42.268671,-83.73421&sspn=0.006733,0.01796&layer=c&ie=UTF8&ll=42.268957,-83.732986&spn=0.006733,0.01796&z=16&cbll=42.265593,-83.734887&panoid=G37Vn6vMMVlTKD3X215QOw&cbp=1,318.4526510445297,,0,2.545726222039741
Apologies if that link doesn't work or if its super-length wrecks your
display.
John Hritz
John Hritz
Bicyclist injured in collision with car
Posted by The Ann Arbor News June 26, 2008 11:15AM
An Ann Arbor man is recovering this morning at the University of Michigan Medical Center from injuries suffered when his bike collided with a car on Packard Road Thursday afternoon, police said.
The 24-year-old man suffered a significant head injury and cracked pelvis after he was thrown from his bike by the impact near the Wells Street intersection, Sgt. Brad Hill said.
The crash remains under investigation, but witnesses said both the vehicle and bicycle were west bound on Packard when the car turned right onto Wells Street at about 4:45 p.m. The bike struck the rear of the vehicle and the man hit his head on the pavement, Hill said.
He was not wearing a helmet. The driver of the vehicle, a 26-year-old Ypsilanti woman, was not injured.
The man was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he was conscious and alert this morning, police said.
Packard was closed for more than an hour while police investigated the scene.
TeacherPatti
had a kid
with a closed head injury in our summer school program last year.
After working with
that kid, I don't even take my helmet off when I'm coasting up my
driveway.
Patti
On Jun 26, 11:37 am, "John Hritz" <jhr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> And here's the confirmation:
>
> Bicyclist injured in collision with car Posted by The Ann Arbor
> An Ann Arbor man is recovering this morning at the University of Michigan
> Medical Center from injuries suffered when his bike collided with a car on
> Packard Road Thursday afternoon, police said.
>
> The 24-year-old man suffered a significant head injury and cracked pelvis
> after he was thrown from his bike by the impact near the Wells Street
> intersection, Sgt. Brad Hill said.
>
> The crash remains under investigation, but witnesses said both the vehicle
> and bicycle were west bound on Packard when the car turned right onto Wells
> Street at about 4:45 p.m. The bike struck the rear of the vehicle and the
> man hit his head on the pavement, Hill said.
>
> He was not wearing a helmet. The driver of the vehicle, a 26-year-old
> Ypsilanti woman, was not injured.
>
> The man was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he was conscious and
> alert this morning, police said.
>
> Packard was closed for more than an hour while police investigated the
> scene.
>
> On 6/26/08, John Hritz <jhr...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > So this sounds like a "failure to yield" on the part of the car which
> > should have come out in the investigation based on point of impact and lane
> > placement.
>
>
> >> If it was a right turn from Packard onto Wells that was attempted,
> >> then this Google Street View should give a pretty clear idea of the
> >> physical surroundings from the appropriate angle:
>
> >> Apologies if that link doesn't work or if its super-length wrecks your
> >> display.
>
fjs
they are aware of bicyclists and signal, or even wait behind until I
clear the intersection. I often wonder what exactly IS the correct
lane position for the automobile making a right turn through a bike
lane? Should they signal, then move to the right to occupy the bike
lane?
Which reminds me of another question, what is the correct way for a
bus to pick up or drop off passengers along a bike lane? The most
respectful procedure I witnessed, just once, was that the bus driver
stopped in the motorvehicle lane, waited until the bike lane was
clear, then opened the door. Most times the bus takes the bike lane
to get closer to the curb, which only partly clears the motorvehicle
lane, but may be the best choice for bus patrons so they don't have to
deal with the poorly maintained bike lanes! Anybody care to weigh in
on this?
Jeff Gaynor
>... what is the correct way for a bus to pick up or drop off passengers along a bike lane?
>
As a frequent bicyclist and bus rider along Packard, I think it best if
the bus waits for the lane to clear and then pick up or drop off
passengers at the curb, taking the bike lane. Leaving the bike lane
open leaves open a potential collision between bus rider and bike, if
one should too quickly appear.
On my bike, if I see a bus signal to stop, I'll try to move behind it,
in the "car" lane, so that I can pass the bus on the left when it
stops. Not fun to play leapfrong with the bus, but that doesn't happen
often. On the other hand, I'd feel uncomfortable passing a stopped bus
on the right. Occasionally there is enough car traffic behind the bus,
passing on the left, that I am simply stuck.
Switching subjects, is there any hope, as they're working on Washtenaw
Ave. between Stadium Blvd. and campus, that they'll mark it like they
did Packard - one lane each way, with a center left turn lane, and bike
lanes? Or am I only dreaming? It was great with the orange barrels
out this weekend, as they made a de facto bike lane, which gave me the
thought. I'm sure I don't have to convince anyone here why this would
make sense.
-Jeff Gaynor
Nelson Chen
car turning right. One is to signal in advance, wait until it's
clear, and then make the turn from the car lane. The second is to
signal, wait until it's clear, and then move into the bike lane and
then turn. IMO, the signaling right in advance is key, so that bikes
know to slow down to avoid the turning car.
For busses, typically I see the bus pulling into the bike lane and
then dropping off the passengers as you describe I personally think
it's the best way, because we don't want to create a conflict between
the passenger (who may not be looking) and the bike. The bus
obviously should (and does) signal before moving over. So that's
probably the best way. With the exception of Packard westbound at
Stadium, the bike lanes on Packard are all fairly well maintained, IMO.
Later,
Nelson Chen
Nelson Chen
they can make the modifications you suggest; however, it's more
involved than simply getting the city to sign off on it, needing DOT
approval or something like that. I agree it would be a great idea.
Later,
Nelson Chen
Andy
>
> As a frequent bicyclist and bus rider along Packard, I think it best if
> the bus waits for the lane to clear and then pick up or drop off
> passengers at the curb, taking the bike lane. Leaving the bike lane
> open leaves open a potential collision between bus rider and bike, if
> one should too quickly appear.
means the curb. Letting passengers off into a travel lane (the bike
lane) would be wrong of the bus driver to do, and dangerous to a
cyclist.
As far as my personal preferences - there's no way I'd slide in
between a bus and the curb when they're stopping. No warning of the
door opening or someone stepping off, no visibility, and no escape
terrain available. I would much rather ride the double yellow line, or
pass in the oncoming lane, or just wait 10 seconds for them to get
off.
> Switching subjects, is there any hope, as they're working on Washtenaw
> Ave. between Stadium Blvd. and campus, that they'll mark it like they
> did Packard - one lane each way, with a center left turn lane, and bike
> lanes? Or am I only dreaming?
there for anything between Forest and Stadium. A lane diet wouldn't
work there - the lanes are already narrow, and the right-of-way and
setbacks are small. Washtenaw is also "Business Route 23" and
"Business Loop 94". A road diet would be tough to do - the traffic
counts from 2006 are at almost 20,000 vehicles/day (and in 2008 are
probably higher), which is the upper limit for road diets without
putting in roundabouts.
Ken Clark
I've complained numerous times about their drivers driving in bike lanes, and I had a good chat about this with their transportation manager, Ron Copeland, a year and a half ago. I made it as clear as I could that it was perfectly reasonable for the bus to pull into the bike lane and stop when dropping off passengers, but they shouldn't be driving in the bike lane otherwise. So, make sure there is no one in the bike lane, about 100' beforehand start pulling over to the curb, then completely leave the bike lane immediately after picking up/dropping off passengers. He didn't see any problem with that.
I suspect the drivers I was complaining about said they hadn't been driving in the bike lane, but had pulled into it to pick up/drop off passengers, which was essentially a CYA lie. Dave Hawkins and Ron Copeland are the ones that end up fielding complaints, and I get the impression that they really do try. It would probably help if every cyclist that thought a bus didn't pass safely sent them a complaint, however. Most people don't bother complaining, and that makes those of us who do look like paranoids.