Atlanta bike fatality

Anyone know anything about the bike/car accident that resulted in the death
of a cyclist?

It was at the corner of Peachtree Ind and McGinnis Ferry at 5 or 6 am (still
dark out). The guy who died was a triathlete I think.

"Rivermist" wrote in message
news:TYGXc.69943$Fg5.36535@attbi_s53...
Anyone know anything about the bike/car accident that resulted in the
death
of a cyclist?

It was at the corner of Peachtree Ind and McGinnis Ferry at 5 or 6 am
(still
dark out). The guy who died was a triathlete I think.




http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/G...3D7732E075.asp

This is from the Atlanta Journal Constitution
Police were investigating a crash that killed a bicyclist jus
before 5 a.m.
Thursday on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard at McGinnis Ferry Road i
Suwanee.

Gwinnett police Sgt. Wayne Thaxton said one of two bicyclists ridin
together
veered into a lane of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and was struck b
a
motorist. He identified the victim as Antonio Serrano, 35, o
Alpharetta.

Police think Serrano was in the lane because he had collided wit
the other
cyclist. The second cyclist sustained only minor injuries and wa
treated at the
scene.

The car's driver, a 19-year-old Alpharetta man, was not injured.

Thaxton said the accident remained under investigation, and bot
the driver
and the surviving bike rider could face charges.

"Bicyclists are supposed to be on the right edge of the roadway, an
they
were not," Thaxton said.

LOAD-DATE: August 27, 200

--
kayakado

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 10:05:58 -0400, psycholist wrote:


"Rivermist" wrote in message
news:TYGXc.69943$Fg5.36535@attbi_s53...
Anyone know anything about the bike/car accident that resulted in the
death
of a cyclist?

It was at the corner of Peachtree Ind and McGinnis Ferry at 5 or 6 am
(still
dark out). The guy who died was a triathlete I think.




http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/G...3D7732E075.asp

Usually I stay out of these exchanges, but the newspaper report above is
infuriating. The guy was traveling NB, and went into the NB lane to avoid
being in a right-turn only lane. He was struck from behind and killed,
but the driver was not cited, quote, "because bicycle riders are supposed
to remain on the right edge of the roadway."

The cop also presumed that the cyclists could not see the car coming since
it was behind them.

This guy was doing precisely what he should have been doing, and was run
down. The driver was, at best, inattentive.

There was nothing about lights in the article.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | And what if you track down these men and kill them, what if you
_`\(,_ | killed all of us? From every corner of Europe, hundreds,
(_)/ (_) | thousands would rise up to take our places. Even Nazis can't
kill that fast. -- Paul Henreid (Casablanca).

This is from the Atlanta Journal Constitution


http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/G...3D7732E075.asp

Bicyclist killed in Suwanee

By Andria Simmons


SUWANEE - A bicyclist who drifted into traffic was struck and killed
Thursday on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard north of McGinnis Ferry
Road.

Authorities said Antonio Serrano, 35, and his friend were bicycling
north on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard at 5 a.m. Thursday when
Serrano drifted from a right-turn-only lane into a northbound lane
of traffic.

A 1987 Honda Prelude traveling north at about 45 mph came up behind
Serrano and slammed into him, killing him almost instantly.
Investigators said either the falling bicycle or Serrano then struck
the second bicyclist, 35-year-old Brian Mock. Mock suffered only
minor injuries.

"It was just dark and obviously the car was behind them, so they
didn't see the car coming and the car driver couldn't see them,"
said Sgt. Wayne Thaxton of the Gwinnett Police Accident
Investigation Unit. Serrano was wearing a helmet, but bicycle
helmets are only designed to protect from low-speed impacts, Thaxton
said.

Thaxton said no charges have been filed against the driver, Joseph
Nicolosi IV, 19, of Alpharetta, because bicycle riders are supposed
to remain on the right edge of the roadway.

At the site of the accident, Peachtree Industrial Boulevard north is
two continuing traffic lanes and a right-turn-only lane. Witnesses
said Serrano had been bicycling at the left edge of the
right-turn-only lane, bordering closely on the right lane of
continuing traffic.

Serrano and Mock usually rode their bicycles together every morning,
and they had already traveled about 15 miles prior to the accident,
Thaxton said.

GRRRR! I found the tone of the article to be a bit disturbing in that
the cyclist was to blame: "a bicyclist who drifted into traffic was
struck and killed". I don't believe the conclusion is correct!.

The facts are that it was 5AM (dark), the driver of the car was 19
(inexperienced), Serrano were on the left portion of the right hand
turn lane, that Nicolosi's car struck Serrano, and then either
Serrano's body and/or his bike struck Mock.

Now my conjectu I am not familiar with the road and the picture
provided doesn't give any useful details. Heck it just looks like a
rural 2 lane road. I don't see a right-hand-turn-lane. But assuming
there is a properly marked lane, the things I don't agree with a

* Sgt. Wayne Thaxton said "the car driver couldn't see them" (???)

* ... no charges have been filed ... because the bicycle riders are
supposed to remain on the right edge of the roadway.

I know we're lacking details here but may I assume the 2 cyclists had
lights? These 2 guys sound like they were pretty serious: 15 miles
done already, accident at 5AM. It sounds like they started at 4AM.

What I really don't like is the 'right edge of the roadway line'. I
ride on several sections of road with a right-hand-turn-lane. It
sounds like the police officer thinks the cyclist needs to hug the
curb and zip out at the last minute into traffic!

--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry
http://home.comcast.net/~ncherry/ (Text only)
http://linuxha.sourceforge.net/ (SourceForge)
http://hcs.sourceforge.net/ (HCS II)

In article , David L. Johnson wrote:
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 10:05:58 -0400, psycholist wrote:


"Rivermist" wrote in message
news:TYGXc.69943$Fg5.36535@attbi_s53...
Anyone know anything about the bike/car accident that resulted in the
death
of a cyclist?

It was at the corner of Peachtree Ind and McGinnis Ferry at 5 or 6 am
(still
dark out). The guy who died was a triathlete I think.




http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/G...3D7732E075.asp

Usually I stay out of these exchanges, but the newspaper report above is
infuriating. The guy was traveling NB, and went into the NB lane to avoid
being in a right-turn only lane. He was struck from behind and killed,
but the driver was not cited, quote, "because bicycle riders are supposed
to remain on the right edge of the roadway."

The cop also presumed that the cyclists could not see the car coming since
it was behind them.

This guy was doing precisely what he should have been doing, and was run
down. The driver was, at best, inattentive.

There was nothing about lights in the article.


What's 'NB'?

Mike

On 8/27/04 11:40 AM, in article , "Mike"
wrote:



What's 'NB'?

Mike


North bound

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 15:40:48 -0000, Mike wrote:
In article , David L. Johnson wrote:
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 10:05:58 -0400, psycholist wrote:


"Rivermist" wrote in message
news:TYGXc.69943$Fg5.36535@attbi_s53...
Anyone know anything about the bike/car accident that resulted in the
death
of a cyclist?

http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/G...3D7732E075.asp

Usually I stay out of these exchanges, but the newspaper report above is
infuriating. The guy was traveling NB, ...


What's 'NB'?

I think it's North Bound.

--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry
http://home.comcast.net/~ncherry/ (Text only)
http://linuxha.sourceforge.net/ (SourceForge)
http://hcs.sourceforge.net/ (HCS II)

David L. Johnson wrote:
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 10:05:58 -0400, psycholist wrote:

"Rivermist" wrote in message
news:TYGXc.69943$Fg5.36535@attbi_s53...

Anyone know anything about the bike/car accident that resulted in the
death
of a cyclist?
It was at the corner of Peachtree Ind and McGinnis Ferry at 5 or 6 am
(still
dark out). The guy who died was a triathlete I think.


http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/G...3D7732E075.asp


Usually I stay out of these exchanges, but the newspaper report above is
infuriating. The guy was traveling NB, and went into the NB lane to avoid
being in a right-turn only lane. He was struck from behind and killed,
but the driver was not cited, quote, "because bicycle riders are supposed
to remain on the right edge of the roadway."

The cop also presumed that the cyclists could not see the car coming since
it was behind them.

This guy was doing precisely what he should have been doing, and was run
down. The driver was, at best, inattentive.

There was nothing about lights in the article.

I usually have better sense than to get pulled into these threads, too,
but the lights thing bothers me. If the car had headlights on at 5:00,
I'd think the cyclist could have seen it. If the cyclist had any sort
of half-decent tail light, I'd think the cager could have seen it.
Sounds like somebody did something stupid, but the news article doesn't
give enough information to place the blame.

Pat

"David L. Johnson" wrote in message .. .

This guy was doing precisely what he should have been doing, and was run
down. The driver was, at best, inattentive.

There was nothing about lights in the article.

I'm upset to see the misstatement about using the through lane, but
the officer did say that the cyclist was not visible to the overtaking
driver. I do hope that statement was supported by some investigation
on their part.

That early in the morning, with so little traffic, on a road that is
apparently away from street lights, a cyclist using a rear light would
be very conspicuous to a sober driver, and a collision extremely
unlikely. If the driver were not sober it would have been mentioned in
the article. I've seen a lot of racing cyclists do training rides in
darkness with inadequate lighting. So I'm inclined to think he wasn't
using a rear light.

I've seen cyclists who use just the toy CPSC reflectors that come with
most bikes on the back, and these reflectors are either so dim or so
badly out of alignment that they aren't much use. Compared to an LED
lamp they are virtually invisible from a couple hundred feet back,
making them a poor choice for arterial cycling at night.

I have recently revised my article on night cycling at:

http://humantransport.org/bicycledri...hts/lights.htm

My own setup for night riding is two automotive reflectors (one red,
one amber) plus a NiteRider tail lamp in the back, and a NiteRider 15
Watt lamp just below the handlebars in front.

In any event, I drive my car slowly enought to see unlighted
pedestrians, cyclists, deer, etc. that may be in the roadway ahead. I
think hitting an unreflectored and unlit cyclist is still negligent,
but probably not quite as negligent as failing to use lawfully
required visibility equipment.

-Steve Goodridge