Bexar County investigators look at a mangled bike that was struck by a pickup in far West Bexar County Sunday morning. Eva Ruth Moravec/Express-News
Bicyclist critically injured after being struck on FM 471
By Eva Ruth Moravec - San Antonio Express-News
A bicyclist was critically injured Sunday morning, when he veered into a far West Side road and was struck by a pickup.
Jeffery D. Oliver, 53, was riding east in the 2-foot-wide shoulder of FM 471 near Old FM 471 around 11:15 a.m. when he rode into the road and collided with an eastbound maroon pickup, said Lt. Kyle Coleman with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.
"As the pickup approached, the bicycle rider turned and looked back for some reason," Coleman said. "He just got too close to the roadway."
Coleman said Oliver, who wore a helmet, was flung into FM 471, where passers-by stopped to help him and called 911. He sustained major head injuries and was unconscious when he was flown to University Hospital, Coleman said. Oliver was in critical condition, Sunday evening.
The driver of the pickup, Abel Tijerina, 52, was not injured and not believed to face any criminal charges in connection with the crash, but Coleman said the investigation continues.
The article says he was riding in a two foot wide shoulder. As you can see, it's a one foot wide shoulder, with a three inch drop-off, and another eight inches of pavement (all measurements approximate). He wasn't riding on a two foot shoulder. The cyclist was trying to ride on a tight rope. He fell.
Had he controlled his lane, he'd be safe today. But he listened to years of incorrect "as far right as possible" cyclist inferiority propaganda, reinforced by so-called 'bicycle advocates' (including San Antonio's bicycle coordinator) calling for bike lanes for cyclists to ride in, perpetuating the 'fear-based' cycling mentality.
Take your lane, and live. Please. Don't try and be a high-wire act.
Now... read the previous post (below) about Reed Bates.
Reed is an experienced cyclist who has no car. His method of transportation is by bicycle.
Reed has spent a fortnight in jail in Ellis County for refusing to ride his bicycle on the shoulder of multi-lane roads with shoulders much like the one shown above. In some places, the shoulders on the roads where he cycled were better than the one Mr. Oliver was struck on. In other places, worse.
The Ennis Police, and the Ellis County Sheriff's Department told him to stay there (contrary to what the law says). Sadly, some national and state 'bicycle advocates' have now decided that's where he should ride as well, and that Mr. bates is being unreasonable in protecting not just his rights, but his physical safety. They have convinced some local cycling advocates, through factual lies and distortions, of the same thing. If they think Reed Bates should ride there, then they think Jeffery Oliver should ride there as well... and so should you, too.
Do you see why this is important? You have a legal right (and, dare I say, a responsibility) to operate your bicycle safely. Exercise it, defend it, and defend yourself from unnecessary tragedy.
6 comments:
Sounds like he should have taken the lane since no bike lane was present. Had there been a bike lane, and had he stayed in it, he would also probably not have been hit.
I find the story disturbing on several levels. Officer Coleman perpetuated the notion that "getting too close" to the roadway was what killed the cyclist. In another, he was quoted saying "This road is way too narrow and has too much traffic to be traveling on a bicycle," said Lieutenant Kyle Coleman. "I realize that people like to ride bikes, but you really need to be aware of your surroundings."
I also find it disturbing that the motorist found it appropriate to pass a cyclist, even one on the shoulder, without moving over and giving him a wide berth. She would have given a dog trotting along the shoulder a much wider berth.
FWIW, Google Streetview really DOES show a 2 foot shoulder, laden with debris. It did not look much like the news photo. It appears they have squeezed in all that center stuff since the Google Streetview was shot.
Reuben said...
"Sounds like he should have taken the lane since no bike lane was present. Had there been a bike lane, and had he stayed in it, he would also probably not have been hit."
Reuben, I'm sorry to say you are only partly right. Austin, Texas has bike lanes with just one foot more of usable space than that shoulder in San Antonio. A piece of trash (I've seen brake discs in bike lanes) or broken pavement would also force a cyclist to veer out into the traffic lane, with the same result as what happened to Mr. Oliver.
Cities like Austin and Houston, to appease demands for bike lanes, have striped 3' lanes in many locations, when the minimum should be 5', forcing cyclists to ride the tight rope.
Ruben, had the cyclist stayed home in bed, he probably wouldn't have been hit either. I think both you and PM are missing the obvious - that we as a society are taking the use of a deadly weapon; namely a motor vehicle, far too lightly. The motorist should have made a full lane change to pass that cyclist even if he were walking his bike on that shoulder (or if there'd been a bike lane). In reality, the only blame I can lay at the feet of the cyclist is that he did not make it clear to overtaking motorists what they needed to do to overtake safely. I'd guess his failure arose from a misplaced desire to be courteous. Safety should trump courtesy AND road throughput regardless of any facilities present or absent. Based on what I saw on Google Maps, it is possible he was riding a road that used to have a wide shoulder that no longer existed and he had no reason to expect.
Steve A said...
"Ruben, had the cyclist stayed home in bed, he probably wouldn't have been hit either. I think both you and PM are missing the obvious - that we as a society are taking the use of a deadly weapon; namely a motor vehicle, far too lightly."
Quite to the contrary, Steve. It is BECAUSE motor vehicles are dangerous that cyclists must learn how to operate around them... just as a big cat trainer must learn how to work around lions, tigers and even Jaguars. Motor vehicles smell fear, and they respect authority.
The cyclist surrendered the right of way, and told the motorist to pass within the lane, where there was zero margin of error. This is the scenario that is played out time after time.
Reuben said...
"Sounds like he should have taken the lane since no bike lane was present. Had there been a bike lane, and had he stayed in it, he would also probably not have been hit."
Reuben: Your statement assumes a perfect, well maintained, clean bike lane would of likely prevented this. Unfortunately these ideal condition are rare, besides that bike lanes are always problematic at intersections. To me, the safest option is controlling a narrow travel lane regardless if there is a substandard bike lane or paved shoulder (not withstanding local laws).
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