Cyclist killed in Waterloo
On my way out to Tuesday nights ride, riding down King street in front of the Grand River hospital, I was cut off by a van changing lanes. I had to slam on my breaks to avoid getting bumped to the curb. The saddest part of the whole ordeal was a police cruiser was following the van in the other lane and did nothing. I'm not sure if he saw what happened or not but I gave the officer a look and threw up my hands. We have to be defensive and aware of everyone around us at all times, it can save your life.
I drove by around 5:30 on the way home. Police were still there. I saw the car. Front window crushed...little yellow triangles marking the trail of bike parts. I'm actually uncomfortable tonight. :(
Agreed with the feeling uncomfortable. There is currently on the record a picture of the car with the damage.
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/771767
In the picture the car is clearly in the bike lane....
Also watched the news from http://southwesternontario.ctv.ca/news.php?id=8062 and they said the rear tire sustained significant damage, also he was thrown 5 meters (16 feet) so it sounds like the the car drove in the bike lane or the cyclist was on the road.
Hi everyone,
I'm not in K-W this year but I do check the Record regularly to stay up on news. This is news I did not want to start my morning with.
I just posted a message to the K-W cycling advocacy listserv & I'm re-posting much of it here. In situations like this, it feels good to share thoughts with other cyclists. And as some of you know I've tried to help maintain links between the club and other cycling advocacy work in Waterloo region.
It just makes me so angry to think of a cyclist being killed by being hit from behind. Such dangerous driving is inexcusable, and yet the news report did not even say whether charges were even being considered to be laid.
In eight months of living and cycling in Munich I have *not once* encountered the kind of dangerous and aggressive driving that I experienced on *every trip* in K-W. Drivers here expect to stop and slow down throughout the city (and on the rural roads) and are always prepared to do so. They only pass cyclists when there is room, and give a full car width of passing space when they do so. They anticipate stopping before turning right across any cycling lane--I see them actually do shoulder checks, which one would almost think physically impossible in K-W.
It's as if they actually know that cyclists are legitimate road users, and that motorists shoulder responsibility.
The only time I have experienced driver impatience here was when I was out road riding before one of the World Cup matches was about to begin. The drivers still gave lots of space to pass, but didn't slow down as much as usual.
I'd like to see some responsibility placed on drivers in Waterloo region. Pedestrians and cyclists continue to be killed by this wild-west-anything-goes approach to driving. And we'll never see the numbers of pedestrians and cyclists rise to European levels as long as such speeds and aggression make it so miserable to walk or bike in Waterloo.
Cheryl
Does anyone know if a helmet was being worn?
Wow! No charges yet??? That's Unbelievable!
Do you really think a helmet would have done anything for the guy getting smoked from behind?
I don't think it's appropriate to group this under a "wild-west-anything goes" incident. We need more information. Can all of you honestly say that you have NEVER made even a minor mistake or had a momentary lapse in attention while driving a car? How many times have you pulled away from a corner while driving your car and almost got hit by the car you didn't see. If an entire car can disappear in a blind spot, than of course so can a pedestrian or cyclist. And obviously pedestrians and cyclists are going to come up short when involved with a car in an accident.
Accidents involving cars and bicycles is more common than most people realize. Most of these accidents are not reported in the news unless the cyclist is killed or seriuosly hurt. I have also noticed that southwestern Ontario has some of the most non cycling friendly drivers which is sad when the Region of Waterloo is buidling a very nice system of cycling friendly roads. I think the problem is with the stressed out road raging drivers. Policing and education would go along way.
It's not the incident I am describing that way -- there's so little information -- but the whole driving style in Waterloo, where, just as you say, a driver makes a 'minor' error and is almost hit, or maybe kills someone. That's what I think is a wild-west anything goes driving culture. It's completely different here in Munich. Drivers stop on a dime. At any moment. They give lots of space. They proceed cautiously. There is a recognition at all times that cars are dangerous and should be driven with prudence. As a result, pedestrians and cyclists feel very safe. People walk their toddlers to school without holding their hands. One morning I saw a driver run a red light at a busy intersection on heavily snow-packed roads -- and nothing happened. Everyone had proceeded slowly enough into the intersection that drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike (even a woman with a stroller and two toddlers) had time to stop when it was clear the driver was missing the light.
Very tragic and sad news for this gentleman's family and our Waterloo cycling community. One expects that a cyclist would especially have an increased level of safety while riding in a bike lane but sadly this was not the case here. Not sure what to do, but feel we as a cycling community should do something. Perhaps a "big group urban ride" single file around the city bike lanes for an hour one night after work to commemorate this man's life? Drivers need to be educated on "Share the Road" and the only way that will happen is if they see a lot of us riding together. On our side, we need to obey the rules of the road and every cyclist should be wearing an approved helmet. One cycling fatality is one too many for our region.
I agree some sort of "Share the Road" urban ride might be helpful to raise awareness among motorists. What does everyone else think?
I agree and would participate in an urban ride to raise awareness.
Tragic news for sure. My thoughts go out to the family of the victim.
It is unfortunate that these things happen, even with a bike lane. I'm not sure what is going on out there but even with a bike lane it's not necessarily safe, earlier this season I was reminded of this myself as I was traveling to the far right of the nice wide bike lane on Ira Needles and was almost hit from behind by a minivan. I have no idea what the van was doing occupying almost all of the bike lane, I was missed by only a few inches, at least that's what it seemed like from my perspective, I was shaken enough to no even get the license plate number.
I'd say be careful out there but it seems that even careful does not matter sometimes. Sad.
I know of the woman you saw, Mel. She had to go to hospital in an ambulance at her own expense. After hours in Emergency, she called the police to see what was happening about the accident. The predictable result of the phone call left her baffled and completely demoralized.
I haven't heard of any charges being laid yet.
My understanding was that in a rear-end collision the default assumption is that the rearmost driver is at fault. Is there any way that could fail to be the case here? It's not as if the police need positive evidence to prove who hit whom, is it? Presumably the idea that the cyclist rode backwards into the car at a very high speed is not on the table.
Perhaps others here know more about traffic law and could enlighten me.
Hi Tim. What exactly was the police response?
If you ride a bike in waterloo region, wild west is exactly what it is like. I cannot think of a ride, in the last 13 years in this area, where I haven't encountered a near miss. It is like Russian roulette and it is only a matter of time... Driver's attitudes need to change, and I am not sure that we have the political will to invoke the education programs needed to facilitate such the monumental attitude and auto-centric culture shift. I fear the "kinder gentler" driver is a long way off. BTW I know as cyclists we have some responsibility to improve road safety, but that is another discussion for another day.
Mel, my understanding (as someone who was not there) is that the police response was, more or less: No witnesses, no point looking into it further, don't expect any action.
I agree with the 'wild west' analogy. I've had one too many close calls this year with riding to and from the club rides. Once again tonight, riding home down king street, just past Waterloo square (heading towards Kitchener) I had a very very close call. It was dark tonight when it happened, but I had blinky lights on the front and rear of my bike turned on, I'm quite visible in the dark.
Normally when I ride down king street I'm maintaining the same speed as the cars, around 40-45km/h, so I tend to take the lane to myself. I'll ride right in the middle of it to prevent other drivers from trying to squeeze by me and putting myself at risk. This generally works works alright, like I said I'm going the same speed as them anyways. As I came up to Starbucks some fancy lexus was pulling out of a parking spot along the side, no signal, and I didn't noticed him pulling out till I was right at his rear. I had to swerve left onto the lane dividing line to avoid crashing into the back of this guys car. I'm yelling as loud as I can "Hey Hey!!, I have the right of way!" The guy's response shocked me. He slams on his brakes, opens his door and yells, "What's the matter with you, can't you see I'm pulling out?" He gets back into his car and starts honking his horn at me until the next intersection where he turns off.
Seriously? Are you kidding me?
Do drivers honestly believe in this city that they have the right of way at all times when anything else is on the road with them? How many other people think the same way this guy does?
For next season I think I will start driving out to Erbsville instead of biking, at this rate I'm bound to be hit one of these times and that notion worries me. How many close calls can you get away with, it seems like every other week I'm being cut off when riding in town.
The driver's attitude towards cyclists in this city has got to change.
I just saw this Memorial to the cyclist this morning on the way to work. So, I stopped and took some pictures.
Finally a charge in this unfortunate incident:
"A Kitchener man has been charged months after a collision between a car and a bicycle that killed the cyclist on University Avenue near Westmount Road in Waterloo.
Waterloo Regional Police say Matthew Waltenberry, 24, of Kitchener, was charged on Dec. 28 with careless driving, driving while under suspension and possessing a licence while prohibited."
http://swo.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110104/car-bike-fatal-charg...
The driver is being charged with "careless driving". Here are the consequences
Careless Driving as outlined in the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (HTA) states:
"130. Every person is guilty of the offence of driving carelessly who drives a vehicle or street car on a highway without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and in addition his or her license or permit may be suspended for a period of not more than two years. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 130."
source http://ezinearticles.com/?Careless-Driving-Law-in-Ontario&id=2604435
With all the drivers previous convictions, I would have thought manslaughter would be a possible charge!
Pathetic, but this seems to be par for the course when a cyclist is killed by a motorist. Better then what with the Hit & Run in Colorado.
I find this very disturbing. I actually consider that stretch of road to be pretty safe, with the generous bike lane there. I'm waiting to hear more details of how this happened.
Just yesterday on my way to work on Caroline Street we came across another cyclist who had an accident when she was nearly side-swiped by a car. She was travelling straight on Carolyn St. (had right-of-way) and the driver wanted to turn on to Carolyn Street, but didn't see her. She had to stop suddenly to avoid the collision and flew forward over her handlebars, landing on the side of her face. Although she was pretty shaken up and was bleeding a lot, I think she's going to be fine.
This may be a series of coincidences, but all of this gives cause for some sober thought. We cyclists can never be too careful...