Bicyclist dies after hitting vehicle in Rogers Park

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on September 7, 2010 at 9:10am

Statements like that are just as ignorant as the ones were people assume the cyclist ran a stop sign or was acting irresponsibly.

The first step in getting other groups to view you respectfully and not speculate in a negative manner is to extend the same courtesy to them.

Serge Lubomudrov said:

I bet the woman in Mini Cooper was talking on her phone. Or texting.

David said:

Some more info is here. Not a lot more, but it makes it clear that the car hit the biker who was already in the intersection. From the original, I had assumed that the cyclist hit the side of the car.

What appears to be the big difference in the stories is this one comes from a local Rogers Park cop who pretty much just tells the story straight, and the original trib article comes from Veejay Zala, an official police spokesperson/news affair officer who, judging from this article at least, has a pretty major "I hate bikes" chip on his shoulder.

And by the way, folks, 69-years-old doesn't mean the cyclist was decrepit, you know.

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Permalink Reply by David on September 7, 2010 at 9:13am

Farwell & Ridge is a two-way stop sign rather than four, i.e., there's stop signs on Farwell but not on Ridge. It's possible the car was significantly over the speed limit, of course, but barring that I think this was cyclist error; you're not supposed to pass the stop sign and enter the intersection until it's safe to do so. But we'll never know for sure.

But the two issues Bob brought up are extremely important, I think, much more important than who's at fault in this particular accident. Illegal parking on corners is extremely dangerous, and I'd like to see the fines for this raised significantly. It should be fined as a danger, not as a nuisance. And the city almost never marks two-way vs. four-way stop signs. This is a bit more controversial among some, I realize, but I think it would make roads a lot safer, especially on intersections like Ridge where it's not obvious you're reaching a major street.


Gabe said:

Better Article David, however it still begs the question how do they know he blew the stop sign without anyone other than the driver as a witness? And thanks for the one more reason it never makes sense to defend a cyclist. Fine he was 69 and flyin around like a mad man.

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Permalink Reply by Joel on September 7, 2010 at 10:47am

If it isn't the law, the sane thing to do is treat every stop sign as a 2-way. Only treat it as a 4-way if it is marked as such AND you can see the other signs.

David said:

This is a bit more controversial among some, I realize, but I think it would make roads a lot safer, especially on intersections like Ridge where it's not obvious you're reaching a major street.

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Permalink Reply by Ace Mann on September 7, 2010 at 11:11am

It is really sad to hear about the tragic death of another bike rider in Chicago.I hope this just reminds riders to be extra careful out there.Does anyone have anymore info of the rider killed on the Dan Ryan,is there an explanation about why he was on the highway?

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on September 7, 2010 at 11:16am

Don't backpedal because unless you can honestly tell me that if people had said 'I bet the cyclist was riding irresponsibly' you would ignore the comment on the assumption they were just 'betting based on their observations.' There is also little to no provocation to assume the driver was not paying attention or acting irresponsibly.

The cell phone ban is not recent, it has been in place for several years and the reason it has not done much is because even though they outlawed the use of phones while driving they did not lay out any penalties for it which make enforcement hard.

I also feel the need to note that I am on the road quite a bit each day and I see far less people driving not on the phone than I do on the phone so I am guessing you are going to loose the bet.

Serge Lubomudrov said:

I didn't say that I know that she was talking on the phone, and didn't make any "statements." It was a bet, based on my daily observations of drivers' behaviour. With all due respect, the recent ban on using phone while driving didn't change much.

notoriousDUG said:

Statements like that are just as ignorant as the ones were people assume the cyclist ran a stop sign or was acting irresponsibly.

The first step in getting other groups to view you respectfully and not speculate in a negative manner is to extend the same courtesy to them.

Serge Lubomudrov said:

I bet the woman in Mini Cooper was talking on her phone. Or texting.

David said:

Some more info is here. Not a lot more, but it makes it clear that the car hit the biker who was already in the intersection. From the original, I had assumed that the cyclist hit the side of the car.

What appears to be the big difference in the stories is this one comes from a local Rogers Park cop who pretty much just tells the story straight, and the original trib article comes from Veejay Zala, an official police spokesperson/news affair officer who, judging from this article at least, has a pretty major "I hate bikes" chip on his shoulder.

And by the way, folks, 69-years-old doesn't mean the cyclist was decrepit, you know.

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Permalink Reply by Rick norris on September 7, 2010 at 12:51pm

This is just truly a sad accident...

It has changed all their lives. Could she have slowed down a little? Did he stop and misjudge how far away she was? Did they both have one of those moments when they were distracted? At the same time?
Sometimes in life we do everything we can to do the right thing and still something bad happens.

Who knows? Finger pointing aint changing anything.

There is a young woman and family that is torn up, and a man is dead.

My heart goes out to both of them....

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on September 7, 2010 at 2:22pm

I miss typed it, I see more people not on the phone than I do on the phone and have actually taken the time to count people on the phone vs. those who are not during my commute.

Serge Lubomudrov said:

". . . I see far less people driving not on the phone than I do on the phone so I am guessing you are going to loose the bet."

You are saying here that there are much more people talking on their phones while driving than otherwise: QED.

But, frankly, I'm totally not interested in arguing with you.

notoriousDUG said:

Don't backpedal because unless you can honestly tell me that if people had said 'I bet the cyclist was riding irresponsibly' you would ignore the comment on the assumption they were just 'betting based on their observations.' There is also little to no provocation to assume the driver was not paying attention or acting irresponsibly.

The cell phone ban is not recent, it has been in place for several years and the reason it has not done much is because even though they outlawed the use of phones while driving they did not lay out any penalties for it which make enforcement hard.

I also feel the need to note that I am on the road quite a bit each day and I see far less people driving not on the phone than I do on the phone so I am guessing you are going to loose the bet.

Serge Lubomudrov said:

I didn't say that I know that she was talking on the phone, and didn't make any "statements." It was a bet, based on my daily observations of drivers' behaviour. With all due respect, the recent ban on using phone while driving didn't change much.

notoriousDUG said:

Statements like that are just as ignorant as the ones were people assume the cyclist ran a stop sign or was acting irresponsibly.

The first step in getting other groups to view you respectfully and not speculate in a negative manner is to extend the same courtesy to them.

Serge Lubomudrov said:

I bet the woman in Mini Cooper was talking on her phone. Or texting.

David said:

Some more info is here. Not a lot more, but it makes it clear that the car hit the biker who was already in the intersection. From the original, I had assumed that the cyclist hit the side of the car.

What appears to be the big difference in the stories is this one comes from a local Rogers Park cop who pretty much just tells the story straight, and the original trib article comes from Veejay Zala, an official police spokesperson/news affair officer who, judging from this article at least, has a pretty major "I hate bikes" chip on his shoulder.

And by the way, folks, 69-years-old doesn't mean the cyclist was decrepit, you know.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by knowbody on September 7, 2010 at 5:39pm

Bicyclist killed in crash with car in Des Plaines

hope this isn't a repost and most likely deserves it's own thread... just seems to sound too familiar or could this be a trend in reporting.

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