Mow down of cyclists in Palos Verdes by Fcar...

Let me get this straight, a Ferrari literally trampled/ran over a group of motorscyclists?

-G.B.

 

Can't find anything in the local paper: http://www.dailybreeze.com

Pretty wild if it's true.. but not really shocking. Glad nobody was seriously hurt.

 

Hope everyone makes it back to health. That F-guy better have some good insurance as he's going to get sued up the ying yang.

 

wow, i take that route often but it wasn't me. there are usually cyclists around there on weekends, so it's kind of hard to believe anyone could hit so many of them at the same time f-car or not.

 

It was my brothers group, but he was not with them. the ferrari is said to be a 94 TR Teal/Blue and all info was exchanged when cops arrived.

 

While I hope no one was seriously hurt:

PV, and any place that has windy mountain roads with blind corners, is not a good place to mix a group of slow moving bikes and fast moving cars - especially if going downhill, which exponentially increases the distance one can stop in.

 

Here's a report on the accident from one of the group of cyclists. Truely unfortunate for all involved parties.

"This is one of those memos I hope to never write. Our group had the usual Saturday ride going around the PV Peninsula heading counter-clockwise around the drives. The A-group, led by Jay on his brand new Pinarello Dogma broke off the front and I was following them (we knew nothing of the accident until Sunday). Dick's B-group was trailing at their usual comfortable pace. They had just passed Hawthorne and then the lighthouse and were starting up the grade by Terranea Resort. Tom W and Dr. Vince were out in front followed by Judith, John R, Dick and Gail and behind them was Gus. John T was in there somewhere but I didn't catch where. Anyway, Gus relates that from the back he heard a car coming up and a Ferrari passed very close by his left side. He then watched in horror as it sideswiped Judith and Dick knocking them into John R and Gail crashing into the pile of bikes and riders. Tom W said he didn't hear the impact but heard screams and turned around to see the carnage. The car pulled to the side of the road and stopped. The driver got out of the car without securing the brake and they had to stop it from drifting back over the riders. The driver stayed at the scene as John R (an anesthesiologist) and a passing motorist who was an EMT (who had his kit bag with him!) helped Dick and Judith with they're injuries. 911 was called and the ambulance took quite a while to get to the scene. The large 'Doughnut Ride' pack passed by in the interim. Dick was shaken, bruised and had a sizable gash in his arm; he stayed down a long time. Judith was worst hurt suffering a cracked bone in her lower left leg, a cracked bone in her left arm, a broken left collarbone and cracked ribs. Her helmet was badly damaged but it did its job and she has no neurological damage. She also suffered lacerations of the left calf from smashing her carbon fiber bottle cage with her leg (they had to remove pieces of carbon fiber from the wound). She was transported to Torrance Memorial and had surgery on Saturday night for the collarbone. She was there in room 443 on Sunday (check at the desk to verify she hasn't been moved; Judith Elliot). She has alot of pain but should make a complete recovery; she'll likely miss the rest of the school year at her classroom."

 

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I wonder if the cyclists were occupying the middle of the lane like they do here in the Malibu canyons? (not to mention the blind corners, 20-40mph speed difference, pack riding, etc)

Can be quite a challenge to get around these guys safely.

 

Well, at this point we only have the cyclists' point of view. Unfortunate for certain, but perhaps reserve judgment for now?

 

No and I know you are an avid rider. I wasn't trying to say, "mow them all down". It does sometimes feel like the cyclists are on a powertrip and get off on forcing cars to bend to their whim. It's like when people step out into crosswalks in front of oncoming traffic and force everyone to stop so they can cross *right now*. It makes my blood boil because it's a petty exercise of power. Same thing with the cyclists.

When I do pass these guys in the canyons, I usually give them at least 5 feet of space, even if it means I touch or move into the centerline. And most of them hear the car approaching and move over to the shoulder.

But the looks I get near the fast sections of Stunt road as I'm coming down and they are heading up (in the opposite lane) are... interesting... to say the least.

 

I've been riding the canyons in the Santa Monica Mtns for about 20 years now. There's no question at times we ride two across and drift a little towards the middle but the good thing about the canyons is that you hear cars and motorcycles coming about a mile before they get to you. As soon as we hear anything coming we immediately single up and move as far right as possible. Also when driving the canyons, if you can't see around the corner you just have to assume there could be a cyclist there and be very cautious. I won't speculate on the crash since I wasn't there but it obviously isn't good for either of the parties.

 

always watch out for bikes. you really don't want to deal with that trying to sleep at night. its a lose-lose situation

 

The TR is an exceptionally wide car.
The driver misjudged how far away from him the right side of the car was and touched two cyclists, who then crashed into others and caused a pile-up. He didn't "mow" anyone down.
He stopped to help the injured and take responsibility for what happened.

Everyone makes errors.

It could also be argued that if the cyclists weren't all bunched up only those two would have gone down. We've all seen those huge pileups that occur on the Tour de France when one guy falls, but they are in competition. Did these cyclists have to be so close together?

That said, I agree that you should drive as if there were a gaggle of cyclists or stopped car around every corner.

 

Some times are better to "really" run than others up there but I couldn't have said this any better myself.

 

This is not correct bicicling because you occupy the car lane.

 

Really? We're over as far to the right as we can be. I'm not sure where you'd like us to ride? Btw, we have a right to ride in the car lane as long as we are single file and over to the right. Most of where we ride, if not all, has no bike lane so there is no choice where to ride.

 

Drove that section the other day and noticed a bike lane and a car lane clearly delineated, wondering who encroached. Either way, little or no excuse for what happened. Both lanes were fairly narrow, but it looks like the negligence may have cut both ways. Realizing that the lighter vehicle always loses, but the motorist is always at fault in CA, it's a warning to us all.

 

A bicycle is a "vehicle" in the California Vehicle Code and shares the road with motor vehicles. In particular a bicycle is not required to ride on the shoulder, should stay right when practical, but not when the lane/road is less than 14' wide, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_law_in_California

 

A Wiki post obviously written by a cyclist with a bone to pick.

I have chosen not to ride with several groups who "flaunt" the rules as stated in the Wiki post. I just won't put myself in a position to be injured unnecessarily because of what the "rules" say as opposed to knowing what is safe and curteous.

Both in the saddle and behind the wheel, I have seen cyclists holding up traffic, running both traffic lights and stop signs, in traffic lanes with fast moving traffic outside a designated bike lane designed for the safety of motorists and cyclists, and this list goes on. It goes without saying that I have also witnessed motor vehicle driving that is unsafe, reckless, and discurteous.

Ultimately, just like w/motorbikes, anyone who just looks at the rules and doesn't ride defensively is asking for heartache for motorist and cyclist. A pissing contest with a motor vehicle is beyond stupid in my view.

I don't give quarter to those who race their cars and cause problems, nor to cyclists who don't obey the one main rule of the motorway: Operate in a way consistent with safety for the conditions.

I feel very bad for all parties concerned in this incident, but based many years of anecdotal evidence from both sides of the road, it was most likely avoidable.

 

When riding/driving a vehicle we have tendency to think we "own" the space around us. That's why we get annoyed when someone cuts in front of us etc. It's the same when riding a bike but physics dictate that a vehicle is going to win if you're not being extra careful. Having said that I'm not sure how this F-driver managed to plow into the whole pack? Then to forget to put the car in park so it starts to role back towards the victims again? Seems like this guy didn't have all his senses in full operation. Like I said before I hope he has good insurance. I'd imagine he'll get dropped after this.