Fatal bike crash on Camp Pendleton today

[Serge Issakov]

A friend on Facebook is reporting that there was a fatal bike crash at Camp Pendleton today.  Apparently a "city bus" (per police) hit three cyclists, and one was fatally injured.  My friend believes it was a sideswipe because it was a narrow uphill section with no intersections.

I see no news reports about this yet.  This is a picture of the location of the crash taken from where everyone was stopped.  As you can see there is no shoulder.  This is the type of road upon which I use the technique of "control and release"  which is very effective to inhibit unsafe squeeze passing when there is oncoming traffic.  You use the full lane until faster traffic behind you arrives, and even then you move aside only when the oncoming lane is clear.  If someone does try to pass you unsafely while you're using the full lane, you at least have space on your right to use to avoid catastrophe.

Serge

[Serge Issakov]

Not much detail, but it's in the paper.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/aug/05/bus-bicyclists-crash-camp-pendleton/

Where is "Cook Crossing"?

Serge

[Serge Issakov]

Finally some answers.  What incompetence.

The driver crossed the bus into northbound lanes to pass them, and it veered back into the southbound lane and struck the cyclists, Buice said.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/aug/09/cyclist-killed-pendleton-crash-heinz/

He cut them off.

I hope he goes down for gross negligence if not willful disregard. 

This is another reason to use the full lane - so you have dodging room to your right when you get cut off like this.

Serge

[Jeff Gross]

Richard Duquette is the attorney representing the cyclists in this case. He has posted the pretrial disclosure for the case at http://www.911law.com/documents/Pretrial-disclosure-disclaimer_Redacted.pdf

There are photos included taken by the bus' camera, which show the cyclists riding single file along the edge of the road immediately prior to impact. They were struck by the front bumper of the bus.

I have been approached by 5 friends who related incidents with NCTD buses either moving into them or hitting them. I have had bus driver road rage encounters myself. Have you?

This road rage toward vulnerable users by NCTD drivers seems to be common, and is ignored and tolerated by the NCTD, possibly under pressure from the drivers' union.

My understanding is that the only form of complaint that is recorded by NCTD is a written complaint, identifying the bus, route, location, time and date, sent by certified mail, requesting that it be placed in the driver's personal file, where it will be kept for 3 months. NCTD is evading facing this problem of driver road rage. I am so upset I have to stop writing or I may say something I will regret.

[Serge Issakov]

I can't believe he knowingly and intentionally ran into then.  But gross negligence seems obvious here.  

A moment before impact:

The newspapers were wrong about the crash. The bus driver did not even begin to move over to pass the cyclists. He just ran them over. 

This pretrial material includes stills from the bus cam showing the bus driver simply drove right into them. Pics start on p 10. 

Unbelievable. This is why I ride with a mirror. You can't do anything in the last second, but 5-10 seconds prior to impact is a different story. 

With a guard rail like that bailing is not an option, but seeing a bus coming without slowing or moving over to pass is when you start looking back and zigging and zagging to snap the driver out of his trance. 

And being in a conspicuous attention-grabbing lane control position, rather than far right, makes a huge difference which can only be fully appreciated with a mirror in which you can observe the enormous impact lateral position has on overtaking motorist behavior. 

http://911law.com/documents/Pretrial-disclosure-disclaimer_Redacted.pdf

Serge

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "San Diego Bicyclist Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to San-Diego-Bicyclis...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to San-Diego-Bi...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/San-Diego-Bicyclist-Forum.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.

[Jeff Gross]

I have calmed a bit, or at least my hands have stopped shaking. Serge, I disagree with you. I believe it was a case of bus driver bullying. I am not saying he intentionally hit the cyclists, but I believe he intentionally crowded them. 

Bullying of cyclists by NCTD drivers is so frequent, and bus drivers have enough experience to judge how wide their vehicle is, that my first assumption when a cyclist is hit is that it is a typical recurrence of bullying. 

I have had 3 instances of buses entering the bike lane where I was riding on Coast Highway. Two of these I originally attributed to inattention and poor judgment, as everyone seems to be doing with the current Camp Pendelton incident. The third was Northbound on Coast Highway about half a mile South of downtown Encinitas. The bus pulled over into half the bike lane. I caught up to the bus in Encinitas and yelled at the driver “What the Hell was that? Were you trying to hit me?” He replied by giving me the finger and saying “F*** You.” My comment was admittedly provoking, but his reply together with the fact that there was no reason for his maneuver, convinced me that he did it out of road rage. 

In the past week, 10 cyclists have sought me out (as a ride leader) to relate their own instances of bus bullying. I am blown away by how common it is. Some were actual hits, some were reported to NCTD, most involved similar verbal interactions. 

Cyclists often have to play leap frog with buses. It is unavoidable and is irritating to both cyclist and bus driver. That is where their road rage comes from. 

The suggestion has been made that when you are bullied by a bus, if you cannot document it, then go back and take that same bus. Record the bus number, license, route, etc. Use your phone to photograph the whole bus, and the front or rear license and id. Then video any passing of cyclists. If an instance of bullying occurs, you can turn them in. 

Those who have never experienced NCTD bus bullying I assume have the luxury not to be biking on the same roads as the bus routes. Most people seem willing to give the bus driver the benefit of the doubt. My experience is more prejudiced – if a bus accident looks and feels like bullying, I presume it is bullying.

I understand there is a memorial service planned for Udo this evening, Thur 8/15, at 5PM at the Del Mar Powerhouse.

[Serge Issakov]

I'm not saying it is definitely not road rage or bullying.  But in this particular situation... a straight road with no oncoming traffic it was so easy for him to pass them safely;  I just think inattentional blindness is the more likely explanation.

http://www.visualexpert.com/Resources/inattentionalblindness.html

I have not seen the video, but from the clips and from what I've heard it appears there was absolutely no attempt to move over at all, which is much more consistent with inattentional blindness than someone intentionally trying to bully the cyclists with a close pass.

Serge

--

[John Eldon]

Next time you are bullied by an NCTD driver, file an incident report on gonctd.com. Include time of day and bus route number (101 for the Coast Highway, 309 for El Camino Real, 304 for Rancho Santa Fe Rd.). If the same driver(s) get repeated complaints, perhaps something can be done.

On 8/15/2013 2:06 PM, Jeff Gross wrote:

The suggestion has been made that when you are bullied by a bus, if you cannot document it, then go back and take that same bus. Record the bus number, license, route, etc. Use your phone to photograph the whole bus, and the front or rear license and id. Then video any passing of cyclists. If an instance of bullying occurs, you can turn them in.�

Those who have never experienced NCTD bus bullying I assume have the luxury not to be biking on the same roads as the bus routes. Most people seem willing to give the bus driver the benefit of the doubt. My experience is more prejudiced � if a bus accident looks and feels like bullying, I presume it is bullying.

[Jeff Gross]

My impression is that NCTD collects complaints only as a way to suppress them, as they keep them only for 3 months. Would the police be a more appropriate place to complain? Actually, send it everywhere, police, NCTD, First Transit (subcontractor for much of the NCTD driving), the press, and blogs as available. We need to join together to get rid of aggressive bus drivers, of which there are probably only a few, and to put the drivers on notice that they are being scrutinized.

[danette...@gmail.com]

I see it all the time. I screamed once when a bus driver came with in centimeters of some beach type bike riders on the Coast. I thought it was going to be a hit. I got all information from the bus and called the department on Monday. I did not know that they required a certified letter and going forward that is how it will be handled. The woman on the phone had every excuse and reply EXCEPT, "I will talk to him."

Sent from my iPad

--

[John Eldon]

You do not need a certified letter, unless you wish to escalate things. Under "contact us" on gonctd.com, fill out the online incident form. (They are open to both praise and criticism, so it would not hurt to post an occasional positive note when a driver goes out of his/her way to do the right thing among some bicyclists.)

John E.

On 8/15/2013 10:34 PM, danette...@gmail.com wrote:

I see it all the time. I screamed once when a bus driver came with in centimeters of some beach type bike riders on the Coast. I thought it was going to be a hit. I got all information from the bus and called the department on Monday. I did not know that they required a certified letter and going forward that is how it will�be handled. The woman on the phone had every excuse and reply EXCEPT, "I will talk to him."

[John Eldon]

I concur, but we need to be selective in the complaints, as the sheriff
and the general public are not necessarily on our side.

> --