Posted on 07/31/2008 6:30:18 PM PDT by Morgana
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A bicyclist was killed early Thursday morning after being struck by a car on the Outer Loop near the I-65 interchange.
Police said the driver of a Honda Accord appears to have been following a tractor-trailer headed westbound in the left lane.
The driver apparently tried to go around the truck by switching to the right lane, which is where the bicyclist was traveling.
The cyclist died at the scene.
Detectives are trying to determine who's to blame.
"Heavy traffic. If it's true that the person was following too close, that's another contributing factor that can cause things like that," said Sgt. Travis Hatchell. "It's a last-minute thing in front of you, you can't avoid it, and then you've struck it."
The cyclist has been identified as Vance Kokojan, 42, of Louisville. He died from multiple blunt force injuries.
Metro Police said no charges have been filed.
This is the second bicycle fatality in Kentucky this year. The number of bicycle-motorcycle accidents is actually down compared with this time last year, and is on pace to be fewer than any of last five years.
I’ve driven that road before going to Alabama-not for the faint hearted that’s for sure.Why would any sane person ride a bicycle there?
OK...call me silly, but what is a bike doing in this location in the first place? I know bicycles are not allowed on freeway interstates. Never use Interstate and Parkway systems for cycling. http://www.uky.edu/Pubs/Bicycle/kyrules.html
You got me!
Yes I know! That place is D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S and that is for cars! I have no clue what a bike rider was doing there! Like I said....plum dumb!
What gets me is their trying to figure out who to blame...
How about the one that broke the first law, like being where he should not have been?
Either the bicyclist was riding in the right lane, which is foolishness, or the driver of the car is lying about passing in the right lane (maybe he tried to pass on the shoulder). I've had people pass me on the shoulder before, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility.
Either way bicycles are NOT suppose to be on the interstate. He was not to be there period.
Never use Interstate and Parkway systems for cycling.
I don’t know anything about this area. Does the ‘outer loop’ fit the definition above?. It carries the designation as hwy #1065.
PING
"The driver apparently tried to go around the truck by switching to the right lane, which is where the bicyclist was traveling."
I see this a lot, drivers coming right up to within a car length or two from the back of others, trucks included then having to enter another lane just to see half the lenth of the followed vehicle. Physics works people, the farther you are from an obstacle the farther you can see around it without changing your angle!!! Drop back far enough to see and get a run...
Either way bicycles are NOT suppose to be on the interstate. He was not to be there period.
The article indicates he wasn’t on the interstate but on the outer loop hwy 1065 near IH-65.
I think it does. None the less it is a very dangerous road. As are several road in and around Louisville. People drive like their ass is on fire. I do not like to drive in Kentucky that is all I will say for that matter.
Any “loop” I am aware of is a type of interstate used to circumvent heavy through traffic around a city. Bicycles are not permitted on these. They have exit and entrance ramps just like any other interstate and as far as I’ve ever seen signs posted that bicycles, horse/buggy etc. cannot use them.
Man.. I know my eyes are getting bad but.. lol
I thought the title read
Cyclist Struck By Car, Killed (Kennedy)
I thought he’d killed somebody else with his car!
Can we have someone here from Kentucky who can tell us if the outer loop is apart of the interstate system? To my knowledge it is. I know it is connected. I do not live in Kentucky, I only visit once and a while.
Oh I know! Journalism these days! People can’t write a decent story! I added the “Kentucky” so people would know which state, but the rest was whoever wrote this story. Blame the modern education system!
Don’t feel bad—made the same mistake also while scanning the latest posts.
I know this will probably rub some Freepers the wrong way but I get so darn mad when I see a bicyclist on a busy street or highway. Yes, yes, they have the “legal right” to be there. But, it sure chaps my hide when someone jams up traffic due to their selfishness.
lol....
No, it is not an Interstate Hwy. But it is certainly no place for a bike.
The man obviously had testicles that were bigger than his brain.
Based on Wiki*
Interstate and Highway are the same thing in Ky. The bicyclist should not have been where he was. The first two he is not permitted on.
Highways in Kentucky
Interstate Highways
Parkways and named roads
U.S. Routes
State Routes
Outer Loop is a four lane highway with center turn lane. Speed limit is 45 mph. I haven’t driven it during rush hour so I don’t know what the traffic is like at that time. My Mother used to live out there, and we would occassional get on I65 there. No big deal.
What a shame.
In Chicago, 5 have died this year. I don't know anyone who would want to hurt someone riding a bike, but the bicyclists don't follow the rules of the road and ride their bikes on very busy streets. Fatalities are bound to occur.
45mph sounds too fast for bikes to be on that road. Or is that just me?
I mean, who in Kentucky does 45mph? They all do 70mph.
Of course you wouldnt do that..but bike riders (well, those over 16) think they are better and smarter than you.
Take a deep breath. Drive around the bike. Easy. It’s not all about you. Who’s really being selfish?
Based on Wiki*
Interstate and Highway are the same thing in Ky. The bicyclist should not have been where he was. The first two he is not permitted on.
Highways in Kentucky
Interstate Highways
Parkways and named roads
U.S. Routes
State Routes
**************************************************************
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
The man obviously had testicles that were bigger than his brain.
***************************************************************************
Yea and I don’t want to have to clean up either when car/trucks in Kentucky hit them at 80+mph!
It’s been my experience here in Arizona: a “bicycle friendly state” that the bicyclists are more concerned with a greeny-weenie in-your-face statement than safety.
As recently as last year, IIRC, a participant training for some stupid local event called “El Tour de Tucson” (which shuts down traffic for a whole day) was killed before dawn riding against traffic on an I-10 frontage road without lights. It was sickening watching the local dinosaur media.
I live on a two lane rural highway. The spandex Nazis sometimes ride two abreast on a 65 MPH stretch at 15-20 MPH and DO NOT YIELD for held up motorized traffic.
Ride off road or in a velodrome and leave the streets and highways to 2,000 pound + vehicles.
There is a pic at this link of the scene.
I dont’ know how to post pics, so maybe some one can put it up?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25718643/
Yeah, but it beats the 80 they do in Detroit. Oh, maybe that was in the 80’s before the potholes got to big.
That doesn’t look like the kind of place I would expect to find a bicyclist.
I live on a two lane rural highway. The spandex Nazis sometimes ride two abreast on a 65 MPH stretch at 15-20 MPH and DO NOT YIELD for held up motorized traffic.
*******************************************************************************
To my knowledge the law states that bikes are to ride single file.
A FReeper stated in another post on cyclist that if they violate the law the should be cited, but I have never seen it happen, have you?
PS...I like the term “Spandex Nazis”.
Yep! That is a major highway alright! Don’t ask me what this fool was doing on a bike there! I hate to be in my truck there!
It sounds like the driver wasn’t too bright here, either. First, you’re not supposed to pass on the right. Second, before you pass in either lane you should make sure you’re far enough behind the car ahead of you so you can see who/what is in the lane you’re merging into.
My wife just reminded me that during road construction they put up signs saying “share the road”. In these construction zones my truck mirrors miss the barricades by six inches on each side. These zones can be 5 miles long. And the spandex Nazis will ride along and ignore any and all traffic behind them.
IMHO anybody that rides a bicycle in motorized traffic is bucking for a Darwin Award.
I ride a mountain bike off road and don’t want to “share the road”.
Is that far right lane a bike lane? Even if so, it looks like a terrible road for a cyclist. Too much traffic moving too fast.
I think they can ride two abreast and/or take up an entire traffic lane in AZ. I also think AZ has a law like CA had in the 70’s that if there are 5 vehicles held up by you you should pull over and let them pass. They ignore that. They also run red lights and stop signs, ride in crosswalks when they should walk across, ride against traffic, tie up left turn lanes because they can’t accelerate fast enough to cross oncoming traffic, etc, etc.
The cyclist was not on the interstate, but on “the outer loop” ... state road 1035.
Arki Toothpick,
There are jerks in cars. There are jerks on bicycles. There are also courteous operators of both. I ride and drive both a lot. (As well as motorcycles and fly a Comanche 250.)
There are not enough facts in these accounts to determine who was right or wrong. The bicyclist came out on the short end due to physics. We all know the dangers out there on the road. Sometimes a road with a 65 mph limit with a wide shoulder is perfectly safe (relatively) and the most direct route to where the bicyclist is going. If it’s legal and he’s there, give him just a smidgeon of room if you don’t mind.
We always ride single file unless passing another bike. OR if there is a hazard directly in front of us. Don’t blame all bikers for the antics of some. I won’t blame all drivers for the antics of some, either.
Thanks,
Oldplayer
Cushing, Oklahoma
I too wondered if the motorist might have been passing on the shoulder. You hear about disabled cars being struck there from time to time, and I always wonder about that.
Note also that the cyclist had to pass across the opeing to the entrance ramp, which might have been a factor.
You must be referring to the car passing on the right.
RIP.
We have a wide, well-marked bike lane beside a street here in Pittsburgh (Beechwood Blvd.). Cars constantly park in it, or use it to pass other cars on the right.
There are dangerous, lawbreaking jerks on two wheels and on four.
I notice you didn’t post a link to support your statement.
Try this link for the regulation of the operation of bicycles on Kentucky highways:
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/kar/601/014/020.htm
601 KAR 14:020. Bicycle safety standards.
RELATES TO: KRS Chapter 189
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 174.125, 189.287
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS Chapter 189 sets forth many bicycle safety standards that can be overridden by administrative regulations promulgated by the Transportation Cabinet. The Bicycle and Bikeways Commission authorized by KRS 174.125 has suggested that with the ever-growing use of bicycles in Kentucky additional or different standards are necessary for the safety of the traveling public. This administrative regulation sets forth the required bicycle safety standards.
Section 1. Front Lights. A bicycle operated on a highway during the hours or atmospheric conditions described in KRS 189.030(1) shall be equipped with one (1) front light which clearly reveals substantial objects at least fifty (50) feet ahead and which is visible for 500 feet.
Section 2. Rear Lights or Reflectors. A bicycle, when operated on a highway or highway shoulder, shall display on either the bicycle or the bicyclist so that it is visible from the rear of the bicycle:
(1) One (1) red reflector or red light visible for at least 100 feet; and
(2) During the hours or atmospheric conditions described in KRS 189.030(1), one (1) red light or flashing red light visible for at least 500 feet.
Section 3. Horn or Bell. (1) A bicycle may be equipped with a bell, horn or other device capable of making an abrupt sound.
(2) Every person operating a bicycle shall shout or sound the bell, horn or sound device whenever necessary as a warning of the approach of the bicycle to pedestrians or other bicycles, but shall not sound the horn or sound device unnecessarily.
(3) A bicycle shall not be equipped with a siren or whistle.
Section 4. Brakes. A bicycle shall not be operated on a highway or highway shoulder without brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop the bicycle.
Section 5. Seat. A bicyclist, when operating on a highway or highway shoulder, shall ride on or astride a permanently attached bicycle seat.
Section 6. Passengers. A bicycle, when being operated on a highway or highway shoulder, shall not carry more than the number of persons for which the bicycle was designed or is safely equipped.
Section 7. Packages. A bicyclist, when operating on a highway or highway shoulder, shall not carry a package, bundle, or article that prevents the operator from keeping at least one (1) hand on the handle bars.
Section 8. Prohibition Against Attaching to Vehicles. A bicyclist, when operating on a highway or highway shoulder, shall not attach either the bicycle or himself to any other vehicle.
Section 9. Operation of Bicycles. A bicycle shall be operated in the same manner as a motor vehicle except the following traffic conditions shall apply:
(1) A bicycle may be operated on the shoulder of a highway;
(2) If a highway lane is marked for the exclusive use of bicycles, the operator of a bicycle shall use the lane whenever feasible;
(3) Not more than two (2) bicycles shall be operated abreast in a single highway lane. (20 Ky.R. 1508; Am. 2037; eff. 2-10-94.)
If you want Chapter 189 of the KRS, go here: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/189-00/CHAPTER.HTM
When I watched the news video linked in this thread, I felt the police officer was "talking in code" when he said, "We're limited in what we can charge when we didn't witness the accident." To me this means, "It's obvious that the driver recklessly ran they guy over, but there's nothing we can do."
Note the solid white line dividing the far right lane from the regular traffic lanes. Is that an emergency lane? A bike lane? Is is legal to pass on the right using such a lane if there is no emergency?
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