Mass. cyclist dies after group hit by car in Ark.

[SecularMotion]

Source: masslive.com

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An 18-year-old Massachusetts woman died after she was injured when a car struck a group of bicyclists traveling through Arkansas on a cross-country summer trip, authorities said Thursday.

Merritt Levitan, of Milton, Mass., was one of 13 cyclists traveling from Charleston, S.C., to Santa Monica, Calif., as part of a six-week trip organized by a Williamstown, Mass.-based company called Overland.

Overland and Arkansas State Police said Thursday that Levitan died at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, Tenn. Nursing supervisor Jackie Smartt said Levitan died Wednesday afternoon.

Levitan and six others were injured in the crash Tuesday afternoon near McCrory, Ark., about 90 miles northeast of Little Rock.

Read more: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/07/mass_cyclist_dies_after_group.html#incart_river_default

[BlueToTheBone]

1. Why is this LBN? Are we now reduced

to posting car wrecks that occurred more than 18 hours ago? I am very sorry for the young woman killed and her family and companions and the person who killed her. But I thought this was a political forum.

[maxsolomon]

2. Bicycles and bicycle safety are political issues

America has been largely built to accomodate fast moving motorized vehicles.

Bicycles have a right to the roads, but when the lanes are built with taxpayer funds to exclude them, or exclude pedestrians, then it becomes political.

Tragedies of this sort are poignant illustrations of the need to change this situation, just the same as toddler shootings which show the absurdity of our nation's cavalier attitude to firearms.

[BlueToTheBone]

3. This is a good framing, but still, LBN?

General discussion is the home for this. just saying. But of course, I'm just a passenger on this ship.

[maxsolomon]

4. well then alert the mods

and let them decide

[Gormy Cuss]

5. There are hosts in this group.

If you believe the topic isn't appropriate for LBN alert on the OP and they will discuss whether it fits within the SOP.

eta: here's the SOP, FYI:

Post the latest news from reputable mainstream news websites and blogs. Important news of national interest only. No analysis or opinion pieces. No duplicates. News stories must have been published within the last 12 hours. Use the published title of the story as the title of the discussion thread.

[itsrobert]

9. No shoulder on this highway

My understanding is bikes are suppose to use the same rules of the road that a motor vehicle is using. A bike going 20 miles an hour on a road that is 55 mph without any shoulder to get out of the way is very unsafe.

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Basic speed rule covers that.

Most states have language similar to this definition by the U.S. DOT:

Basic Speed Rule. The Basic Speed Rule requires vehicle operators to drive at a speed that is reasonable and prudent. As a corollary to this rule, State laws usually provide that "every person shall drive at a safe and appropriate speed when approaching and crossing an intersection or railroad grade crossing, when approaching an going around a curve, when approaching a hill crest, when traveling upon any narrow or winding roadway, and when special hazards exist with respect to pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of weather or highway conditions." See Uniform Vehicle Code �11-801.

IOW, the speed limit is trumped by road and traffic conditions that make that limit unsafe or imprudent.

[itsrobert]

13. I don't know how this highway allows bike traffic

I would think bikes and pedestrians would be ban from this portion of the highway.

[sgsmith]

14. Many states have a 3 feet law

Arkansas has a law that motor vehicles must leave 3 feet spacing from bicycles.
http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/bicycles/

Arkansas

Bicycle helmets are not required.

Drivers passing a bicycle must pass with a space of 3 feet between the motor vehicle and the bicycle.

[maxsolomon]

21. I see people riding bikes on I-90.

Bikes are allowed where vehicles are allowed.

[itsrobert]

23. Not on most Interstates in California

I don't know about laws on I-90 where you are. This road in the accident is designated a Highway. A highway with no shoulder or bike lanes. A highway that has only one lane in each direction.

[kentauros]

17. Sure, most states have that in their laws.

But, do most drivers care? No. All too often there's an either spoken or unspoken attitude of "The road is for cars/trucks of four wheels or more, only!!!1!" The rest are too distracted to notice that they're even driving, and we see the results in stories like this one.

[Gormy Cuss]

19. I think that most drivers do care in the sense that they don't want to hurt or kill people.

It's the ones who are clueless, careless, or distracted and the ones who don't care who are dangerous.

[kentauros]

20. No, most don't want to injure or kill others with their vehicles.

But how many are aware of the law language you quoted? Yes, I know, "ignorance of the law" is no 'excuse', but I'm not giving an 'excuse'; I'm pointing out that most drivers don't know much more about what they do other than how to operate their vehicle. It doesn't go any further than that, and thus why bicycle accidents like this continue.

Personally, if I'd been involved in that group, I would have volunteered to drive an escort vehicle behind them, with at least a warning sign about what's ahead of me.

[Hestia]

6. This story is a bfd here

The bikers were well displayed with vests and flags in a single file on the highway. The people of McCrory have really opened their homes up to the bikers so that they have a place to stay.

There was a gentleman who lives across the road from the wreck who stated that that is dangerous part of the road, wrecks happen all the time. As you can see in the OP link, it is a simple two lane road.

The kid who crashed into the bikers must have been texting or something.

This is horrible story. The group who puts on this bike ride has been doing it for 23 years and this is the first time something like this has happened to the group.

RIP Ms. Levitan, RIP.

[Berlum]

7. If this turns out to be another TXTING massacre, then it is indeed LBN

[itsrobert]

10. What if the bicylist was doing the texting?

No mention in the article if the person on the bike was texting or drunk.

[Berlum]

15. All six of them texting at the same time?

Nice to have a vivid imagination, except when it distorts reality in the realm of utter BS.

[LanternWaste]

16. Precisely how would one bicyclist testing result in a car struck striking an entire group of bicycli

Precisely how would one bicyclist testing result in a car struck striking an entire group of bicyclists?

[itsrobert]

18. In my opinion and I know you are not going to like it

That bikes have no business on that road. Legal or not. Flags and vests are no match for a 3000 lbs metal vehicle.

[maxsolomon]

22. Then do bikes have business on any road?

How are humans on bikes supposed to get from point A to B without traversing these types of roads?

[itsrobert]

24. Either ban bikes or ban motor vehicles on that road

It's not safe for them both to be on that road at the same time. Was the road built for bicycles or motor traffic?

[maxsolomon]

25. Well, you know the answer. All roads are built for motor traffic.

That's a lot of banning.

But I like your idea of a separate, exclusive road for bikes running all the way across the country. Lets get it done!

[itsrobert]

26. That's a good idea

They should not share the same road on a highway.

[Kolesar]

33. Bicycles were using our highways before cars were invented

So we have a right to use the "right of way".

[Posteritatis]

29. Excellent use of shifting the argument once it's demonstrated as silly. (nt)

[mpcamb]

31. More likely the car involve had a driver who was...

I say that as a person riding roads in rural America where my side of the road is invaded by texters.
Bikers texting??.... sounds bulljive to me. The guy HIT 6 OF THEM.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

34. It could be intentional. Way too many idiots trying to sideswipe cyclists. Could be one too far.

Lots of people who think that cyclists don't belong on roads are actively trying to discourage them by trying to run them off the road.

This could be a side-swipe attempt that got out of hand and lead to deaths. Would seem to be, at the least, negligent homicide and perhaps some form of manslaughter with some amount of premeditation.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

36. "The kid who crashed into the bikers must have been texting or something."

Isn't that conjecture on your part?

I once watched a idiot on a bicycle talking on a cell phone in Central Square Cambridge: swerving back and forth as he did it. All the while he was oblivious to traffic. I was behind him on my bicycle at the time and felt embarrassed to even be near him.

The accident could very easily have been unavoidable, but we should wait before we damn either party.

[onehandle]

8. The GOP and the 1% view bicycles as a 'menace.'

So they want to lift all financing for bike lanes and legal protections.

This is a political issue, as much as the results of gun nuttery is a political issue.

Where they want to lift all regulations for guns and remove all protections for non-gun nuts.

Like kindergarteners.

[Posteritatis]

28. Way too many DUers see them the same way too

If bikes were invented last week you'd probably see a majority of DUers demanding they be outlawed by now. It's pretty asinine.

[Gregorian]

11. It's a car-centric society. Bikes are invisible to many. I can't believe it.

I've lost people I know. One day you see them riding, the next day there are flowers on the side of the road.

Who are these idiots who navigate 2 ton pieces of metal and rubber as if they were a feather? Most people, I see.

If you ride a bike, it gives driving a car a whole different perspective. It gives using fuel a whole different perspective. In fact it gives a lot of things a different perspective. Like community, and life and health.

[Skittles]

32. I live in a town that encourages bike riding

I think it has done very well integrating bikers with traffic - I like the bike info above the street names - it constantly reminds everyone we share the roads

[bvar22]

27. I am a bicycle enthusiast.

When I lived in the Twin Cities,
I rode every day,
Summer and Minnesota Winter,
and LOVED it.
The Twin Cities, and state of Minnesota are very bike friendly.

I was a regular in the Bicycle Group at DU.


In 2006, my Wife & I moved to the beautiful, unspoiled Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas.
I tried to continue with my Bike regimen on the back roads and rural highways,
but quickly realized that this was not a smart thing to do.
Arkansas is a poor state,
the highways have NO shoulders, are poorly maintained,
and most of the drivers have NO awareness
and NO expectation of encountering a bicycle.

If you attempt to ride a bicycle in the state of Arkansas,
you ARE risking your life.
I don't LIKE that reality,
but I have acknowledged it.

Sadly, my bikes now hang upside down from the rafters in the shop,
unused,
and I grieve this morning for the young life lost doing something I love.

---bvar22

[AndyTiedye]

35. I See There are Mountain Bike Trails There

Sadly, my bikes now hang upside down from the rafters in the shop,
unused,

Could you ride somewhere the cars can't go?

Is the Ouachita National Forest near you? The Ouachita Trail allows bicycles on most parts.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm9_039448.pdf

[Hestia]

37. Sorry to be so late coming back to reply

No, the Ouachita Trail is NOWHERE near McCrory. It starts near Pinnacle Mountain in Roland (outside LR) and goes to Oklahoma. I'm sure the reason the biking club went through McCrory is because of the low population in that area of Ark. All the factories have left, hence all the people have left too. Those counties only have like 1,300 people in population and it looked like they were going across the state to NW Ark. which is not a bad idea.

How in the world would cyclists get from TN to OK if not through Ark? I don't understand the reasoning behind not allowing bikes on state highways. Everyone pays for the highways in some form, not just F150s you know.