Cyclist Ignores Flagger, Hit by Cascades Train

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Hey you got to beat your time! I was on an organized family type ride in Lancaster. It should be lots of fun. But way too many Tour De France dreamers on in the ride blowing by everyone trying to beat their time.

One year an ambulance passed me on the ride. I arrived at the intersection as the ambulance was pulling away. Word was the cyclist was killed. He was coming down the hill too fast for the right hand turn. He crossed the road, went into a gravel parking lot and flipped over his handlebars. All he had to do was proceed straight, slow down and then turn around and make a left. But that would have taken too much time. That was the last time I did that ride. A shame because it is a beautiful ride.
 
Not to sound to callous, but bicyclists do this. I remember being on a bus and a bicyclist cut the bus off and I nearly went cartwheeling through the bus because I wasn't expecting to go from 35 to 0 on a dime. And around the same time a person in San Francisco go hit by a delivery truck because she ran a red light. Bicyclists need to learn that they have to obey traffic lights and signs. People say most of them do, but I am suspect of that. Hell I've been nearly run over by bicyclists because they've run lights while I was in the cross walk and acted like it was my fault. Not sorry, but i am not a fan of bicyclists, it sucks when this happens, but what is there to say?
 
I wonder about the bicyclist? The news stories are, like news stories always are, about stirring up Fear, Uncertainty, and Dread -- to sell ads of course.
Whatever happened, we'll never know. Maybe the local people may know a bit, but they won't tell.
Suicide? Stupidity? I dunno, I've been an aggressive bicyclist, but never crossed the tracks when the flashers were on, much less when flagger human on duty.
 
I wonder who will get sued first: The railroad or the flagger...for failing to protect the cyclist.

Depends on the state laws. I know if this happened in California, the bicyclist would be at fault. Here they are required to follow traffic signs and laws, but a lot don't. So its unfortunate when this happens, but the law is the law. Not following it doesn't make you right.
 
Not to sound to callous, but bicyclists do this. I remember being on a bus and a bicyclist cut the bus off and I nearly went cartwheeling through the bus because I wasn't expecting to go from 35 to 0 on a dime. And around the same time a person in San Francisco go hit by a delivery truck because she ran a red light. Bicyclists need to learn that they have to obey traffic lights and signs. People say most of them do, but I am suspect of that. **** I've been nearly run over by bicyclists because they've run lights while I was in the cross walk and acted like it was my fault. Not sorry, but i am not a fan of bicyclists, it sucks when this happens, but what is there to say?

No "bicyclists" do not do this. Idiots do this. Idiots do this on a bicycle, on a motorcycle, in a car, a truck and while walking.

I'll bet you never once in your life almost got run over by a car. Never saw a car speeding. Or one that went through a traffic light or stop sign.


Your chances of being killed by a car or a truck are far greater then you ever being killed by someone on a bicycle.
 
I really feel sorry for the engineer. Can you imagine? Nothing he/she could have done but it still has to weigh on you.
 
I wonder who will get sued first: The railroad or the flagger...for failing to protect the cyclist.

Sadly one or both of them will get sued.

Depends on the state laws. I know if this happened in California, the bicyclist would be at fault. Here they are required to follow traffic signs and laws, but a lot don't. So its unfortunate when this happens, but the law is the law. Not following it doesn't make you right.

The cyclist was at fault period. End of story A person was flagging the crossing to signify a train was coming. The cyclist ignored the on ground protection and was killed.
 
Getting sued doesn't mean the case will go anywhere. Last time a bicyclists got hit by a delivery truck for running a red light in San Francisco (at least that made the news) the court wouldn't take the case because the bicyclist was in the wrong. The bicyclist's family can sue, but it doesn't mean the cause will go anywhere.
 
No "bicyclists" do not do this. Idiots do this. Idiots do this on a bicycle, on a motorcycle, in a car, a truck and while walking.

I'll bet you never once in your life almost got run over by a car. Never saw a car speeding. Or one that went through a traffic light or stop sign.


Your chances of being killed by a car or a truck are far greater then you ever being killed by someone on a bicycle.

I'm not complaining about the prospect of injury, I'm commenting on how entitled bicyclists act towards pedestrians. Most drivers would at least have guilt pangsn if they nearly hit you, not act like I'm the one in the way when I have the light.
 
I'm not complaining about the prospect of injury, I'm commenting on how entitled bicyclists act towards pedestrians. Most drivers would at least have guilt pangsn if they nearly hit you, not act like I'm the one in the way when I have the light.

If a bicycle hits you then chances are good you'll get hurt, potentially seriously, but it's unlikely you'll be dead. If a vehicle hits a bicyclist there's a reasonable chance they'll be killed or unable to walk in the aftermath. Where I live we have very few pedestrians. We do have bicyclists but in order to protect our mostly non-existent pedestrians from our actual cyclists we dump the bicycles down into the road with cars and trucks. Hit and run incidents are also far more common with private vehicle drivers than with bicyclists. This seems like the greater of two evils to me. There are better solutions for this, such as building thoroughfares with distinct separated areas (and signage) for each type of traffic, but that also means there will be a bit less room for cars and trucks in the future, and that makes such solutions extremely unpopular in most states.


Sadly one or both of them will get sued. The cyclist was at fault period. End of story A person was flagging the crossing to signify a train was coming. The cyclist ignored the on ground protection and was killed.

In my experience the people who complain about frivolous lawsuits also do everything they can to avoid serving on a jury. We reap what we sow I guess.
 
Washington is a pure comparative negligence state, so that in a typical 'hit by train case', if there were a colorable claim that the railroad did or failed to do something and that action was a negligent one, then jurors would have to decide how much of the negligence, if any, was on the railroad and how much was on the plaintiff.

But this case is very unlikely to get past a motion to dismiss, because in this case, it appears that the cyclist waved off the flagger. That would be assumption of risk, and under Washington law, a plaintiff who assumes the risk cannot sue for negligence of the other party at all. I doubt a lawsuit would be filed at all, since the plaintiff can't get to the jury on these facts.
 
No "bicyclists" do not do this. Idiots do this. Idiots do this on a bicycle, on a motorcycle, in a car, a truck and while walking.

I'll bet you never once in your life almost got run over by a car. Never saw a car speeding. Or one that went through a traffic light or stop sign.


Your chances of being killed by a car or a truck are far greater then you ever being killed by someone on a bicycle.

It's amazing to see how bicyclist are always grouped together, while drivers almost never are. I guess a lot people find it difficult to relate to a cyclist, unfortunately.
 
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