Posted by BigJake on October 30, 2007 at 9:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Three near misses and I gave up riding my bike. People simply do not see cyclists.

Posted by Old_Fart on October 30, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Amen to that. I had one bad near miss and the guy didnt even see me. The police offcier that saw him run the stop sign saw him though. :)

Posted by hotwildflower on October 30, 2007 at 9:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

My dad rides his bike around town to keep up with exercising and it terrifies me. He tries to assure me that he is careful, but it isn't him that I worry about...it's the drivers.

I hope this person makes it out ok.

Posted by hamboxmail on October 30, 2007 at 10:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

That area is a menace. I happened to drive by the accident this morning, and it looked like the truck that hit the cyclist was attempting to make a left into the gas station. I drive by fender benders all the time in this area, as it's insanely busy (because of the two gas stations and lots of pedestrians and cyclists) and no one pays enough attention. The fact that the bicycle lane has to cross the onramp to 101 North (around the corner on Thompson) also causes all sorts of problems. Bicyclists: be aware and wear your helmets. Drivers: SLOW DOWN, and use caution!

Posted by sslocal on October 30, 2007 at 10:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

If the drivers would just pay attention and stay off the cell phones it would be a whole lot safer.

This is why I stopped riding my road bike.

Posted by uknow1 on October 30, 2007 at 11:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

with cell phones, ipods DVD players, makeup mirrors, cup holders (my honda accord can accomodate a 40oz drink in THE DOOR), there are too many distractions in the car that are obviously having a major impact of cycle riders and pedestrians (yes - intended). I won't ride on busy streets or highways anymore. And, to top it all off, while driving to a swap meet in Long Beach at 4:30A.M., Sunday morn, I saw three drivers text messaging while driving! Another guy had his laptop open and balanced on the steering wheel while talking on his cell phone. Be interesting to see if the errant driver in this sad case was talking on the phone when this happened....I hope the rider recovers..

Posted by FedUp on October 30, 2007 at 11:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

it is not always the drivers fault people. yes, too many drivers are complete idiots today, but I do see many cyclists today who ignore all the rules of the road as well.

I hope this person recovers, and gets back on the bike soon.

Posted by tesseract on October 30, 2007 at 3:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i kid you not, I once was driving next to a Simi Valley Transit bus and noticed, to my horror, that the bus driver was text messaging.

Posted by NothingButTheTruth on October 30, 2007 at 6:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Although traffic collision reports focus on the "Vehicle Code" violation as the "Primary Collision Factor", without a doubt the "Other Associated Factor" of "Inattention" is a HUGE reason in most crashes. tesseract, I HOPE you reported the transit bus to the company... they want to know about stuff like that. Having been run over on a bicycle, I can tell you that life is "bicyclist beware", because you have more to lose...

Posted by lrgvanman on October 30, 2007 at 7:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Talking on the cell phone is bad enough but text messaging should fall into the reckless driving category!

Posted by hotwildflower on October 31, 2007 at 12:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

how can u tell if someone is texting or dialing?
I am not defending talking on the cell phone and not paying attention but I just find it curious how people above know when someone is texting and not possibly dialing out.