Fort Collins e-bike rider collides with Expedition

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http://www.coloradoan.com/article/2...Fort-Collins-e-bike-rider-collides-Expedition

Police investigate the cause of a crash between an electric-powered bicycle and a Ford Expedition on Tuesday morning at the intersection of Breakwater Drive and Lemay Avenue. The driver of the E-bike was transported to Medical Center of the Rockies with serious injuries. ROBERT ALLEN/THE COLORADOAN

Written by Robert Allen

Witnesses say a Fort Collins man on an electric-assisted bicycle didn't stop at a stop sign before colliding with a 1999 Ford Expedition in south Fort Collins, according to police.

Michael Hubbard, 55, was taken Tuesday morning to Medical Center of the Rockies with serious injuries. He wasn't wearing a helmet, according to a news release from Fort Collins Police Services.

The crash occurred about 7:30 a.m. at the intersection of Breakwater Drive and Lemay Avenue. Hubbard was traveling east on Breakwater, entering the intersection before colliding with the southbound SUV driven by Christine Humphrey, 43, of Fort Collins.

Hubbard remained in serious condition Tuesday afternoon at the Loveland hospital.

Humphrey was not injured, and the SUV's front-right headlight and corner of the bumper sustained light to moderate damage. The bicycle came to rest less than 10 yards from the Expedition's front bumper. The cyclist, however, was found a few feet from the bumper.

Pieces of the bike's battery pack were scattered as far as 20 yards from the front bumper.

The crash remains under investigation, and police do not believe speed, alcohol or drugs were involved. The posted speed limit on Lemay Avenue is 30 mph.

The accident occurred on a part of Lemay that has a deceptive S curve that creates hazards.

Fort Collins police Sgt. Joel Tower said police investigate crashes in the area "pretty routinely," with vehicles hitting trees, homes and fences.

Southbound lanes of Lemay Avenue were closed between Horsetooth Road and Breakwater Drive for three hours while police processed the scene.

Anyone with information about the collision, who has not already given a statement to police, is asked to call Officer Drew Jurkofsky at (970) 221-6555.

 

[neptronix]

Barf..

 

[dogman dan]

Nothing to do with E bike, everything to do with stupid stupid stupid.

I won't go so far as to say I never roll through a stop sign, but I sure get a good solid look before I ever do.

Not like he was young, dumb, and full of testosterone either. Guess he'll start looking before he leaps from now on.

 

[docnjoj]

Assuming that he recovers. No helmet!
otherDoc

 

[dogman dan]

Yeah, one stupid for not stopping, one stupid for not looking, one stupid for no helmet.

Sometimes the stupidity is amazing. About 10 years ago here, a guy wearing headphones rode right in front of a train. Never knew what hit him. Never noticed all those clanging bells and lights as he rode around the barrier. About 5 years ago, a lady with the kids in the car raced the train to the crossing, but lost the race. Wow, thanks mom.

 

[TonyReynolds]

I hope the rider recovers, but stupid is as stupid does.

I just cannot IMAGINE riding around traffic without a helmet, and blowing stop signs is something that really PO's drivers. It's a dead tip that the bicycle rider (electric or not) doesn't give a rip about traffic laws.

Gives all of us a bad rap...

 

[John in CR]

Helmet worshipers, the lack of a helmet had nothing to do with the accident. A helmet can never help prevent an accident. In fact, the opposite is true, which is why statistics don't support an increase in safety resulting from mandatory helmet laws. Bicycle helmets are a joke anyway, since the majority of serious head injuries on bikes involve the face.

If the idiot ran the stop sign to get whacked by the SUV, then that's the issue, period. No helmet and ebike have nothing to do with it unless he had some bike failure and no way to stop, though I'd choose something other than a car to hit.

 

[NeilP]

Well said John, this helmet preaching really pisses me off too..so much in fact that i stopped wearing mine..i did buy one...Casco Warp III carbon fibre race helmet..about $350...but only wear it now when it rains ...and that is because it has a visor
First it is helmets, then once that becomes law, then the do gooders only move on to something else..body armour , back protectors, etc etc etc... My aunt was killed when she fell down the stairs and hit her head at the bottom...what next helmets for pedestrians and those that live in dangerous houses..with staircases that do not have safety harness to strap your self to when you have to go up or down them

 

[vanilla ice]

I always thought that was one of the coolest things about powered bikes. You don't have to be so preoccupied about maintaining momentum as most people are on unpowered bikes.. so you could slam on the brakes and stop at the signs, then zoom back up to speed no worries. Didn't seem to work out that way on this one though!

 

[nuevomexicano]

Well said John, this helmet preaching really pisses me off too..so much in fact that i stopped wearing mine..i did buy one...Casco Warp III carbon fibre race helmet..about $350...but only wear it now when it rains ...and that is because it has a visor
First it is helmets, then once that becomes law, then the do gooders only move on to something else..body armour , back protectors, etc etc etc... My aunt was killed when she fell down the stairs and hit her head at the bottom...what next helmets for pedestrians and those that live in dangerous houses..with staircases that do not have safety harness to strap your self to when you have to go up or down them

But we do have building codes and they already address things like falls. Its not helmets, but it is government and "do gooder" actions that you appear to so despise and claim will lead down a fictional slippery slope. For instance, I can offer an anecdote as evidence to match your aunt's story. My brother was visiting a building in New York City, fell down some stairs and permanently lost some use of his arm. It turned out the cause of the fall (unapproved, not to mention inappropriate, flooring type; lack of railing; and unapproved stair layout) was because of specific building code violations and that the cause of his loss of mobility (arm hitting a doorway at the bottom that was legally too close to the stairs) was also because of building code violations. We in civilized societies, not the Libertarian dreamland of Somalia, already have safety rules. When applied they do save injury and lives and yet, contrary to your claim, we aren't living in safety harnesses.

I'd be happy if you showed me a real study, not just anecdotes, that showed bicycle helmets were neutral, much less were outright dangerous.

 

[veloman]

I will do a full stop at a stop sign if there's anyone else present. Is what pisses me off is the drivers who won't go after stopping, when it's clear that they were there before me. What else pisses me off is the effin cyclists who blow stop signs in front of cars who have been there first. Usually its the social hipster grungy bikers, but can be any type.

I also see cars go through stop signs at 15-40mph all the time.

 

[TonyReynolds]

Helmet worshipers, the lack of a helmet had nothing to do with the accident. A helmet can never help prevent an accident. In fact, the opposite is true, which is why statistics don't support an increase in safety resulting from mandatory helmet laws. Bicycle helmets are a joke anyway, since the majority of serious head injuries on bikes involve the face.

If the idiot ran the stop sign to get whacked by the SUV, then that's the issue, period. No helmet and ebike have nothing to do with it unless he had some bike failure and no way to stop, though I'd choose something other than a car to hit.

You're right in a couple ways, i.e. bicycle helmets do nothing to protect you face or chin and the idiot ran a stop sign, but to say that bicycle helmets don't prevent injuries is ludicrous...

I've read too many reports of riders being pitched into a curb or other blunt edge where the helmet saved their bacon, or at least their brains. I get the same argument from motorcyclists; the Harley guys ride with the barest amount of protection . I choose to ride with a helmet. It's a free country, and I support your right to do as you please.

 

[TonyReynolds]

I also see cars go through stop signs at 15-40mph all the time.

Yes, especially when doing a right turn...

 

[dogman dan]

Well, here we go again. I suppose it depends on how you ride, or if you ever do anything stupid. I've been stupid enough to destroy two helmets, one motorcycle one bike. The motorcycle helmet was on my head while I plowed a furrow in the rocky desert road with my head. I was doing a 50 mph headstand for about 30 feet before i began the cartwheels. I might have survived it, but with skull exposed on the top of my head.

The bike helmet I destroyed striking my head on the curb corner. Woulda killed me for sure, I hit right on the temple. I was stupidly reaching for a waterbottle at 15 mph and went over the bars when I fumbled it into my forks.

Wear it, don't wear it. You're stuck with me preaching because of the two times I was wearing it. I can count on being stupid enough once a decade or so. But I do strive to not run a stop sign into an suv. But shit happens. The other guy could be the stupid one when, not if, you get yours.

 

[wineboyrider]

NeilP is right Dogman is right. Preach all you want about wearing a helmet, but don't make it a f### law as that just pisses some of us off. Maybe I don't want to survive my ebike accident?
NeuvoMexicano: Somalia a libertarian dreamland? WTF? I am not going to answer this stupid comment as it will definitely careen this thread into toxic territory. If you think Somalia is a libertarian paradise then you have definitely been taking too many prescription drugs or something.

8) 8) 8)

 

[nuevomexicano]

...NeuvoMexicano: Somalia a libertarian dreamland? WTF? I am not going to answer this stupid comment as it will definitely careen this thread into toxic territory. If you think Somalia is a libertarian paradise then you have definitely been taking too many prescription drugs or something.

8) 8) 8)

Umm, you did comment about it, so I'll respond (though I agree there's no need to careen this into toxic territory). Somalia is as close to the Libertarian ideal as any country today. Those with the most money, guns and ability to sway their neighbors (religion, food, hard currency, promises) have the most power. Most of the government provided functions (roads, schools, social safety net, health care, parks, water and sewage systems, police force, building inspectors, school crossing guards, etc...) that Libertarians hate about the US aren't provided by the government of Somalia. All those pesky laws and regulations are unenforced if they are on the books at all. How's that not the Randian dreamland?

 

[vanilla ice]

I also see cars go through stop signs at 15-40mph all the time.

Yes, especially when doing a right turn...

Damn I hardly ever see this! Thats scary. Here we do "california stops.." at least.

 

[John in CR]

You're right in a couple ways, i.e. bicycle helmets do nothing to protect you face or chin and the idiot ran a stop sign, but to say that bicycle helmets don't prevent injuries is ludicrous...

Typical helmet worshiper double talk, because that's not what I said. They don't improve safety is what I said, and there are many factors creating that result that have been discussed ad nauseum. There are however lots of real things that really do improve a rider's safety. That's not to say that there aren't riders and types of riding that justify helmets and other protective wear. Anecdotal evidence of helmets helping in specific instances is just as irrelevant as the fact that I rarely wear my helmet (when I perceive higher accident risk), but the two times I've hit on the ground I was wearing my helmet (I could say it causes crashes), the helmet never touched the ground (I could say helmets do no good), and one of the times I got a very slight brush burn on my chin (I could say the helmets increase injury, since without the extra weight of the helmet my chin wouldn't have scraped the ground). I could, but I don't, because I don't need to turn to invalid arguments that sound good, since I understand the risk and odds, and know how to pay attention while riding.

You can wear your helmet religiously with no comment from me. Just don't go forcing your riding insecurities on me. That includes commenting about helmets like they're the be all to end all in terms of safety at every chance. Ebike riding can be a very safe activity. In fact, riding to the store is safer than walking to the store, so until your kind gets pedestrians to wear helmets, leave the rest of us the f@^k alone, and if you do get something that intrusive on personal liberty, passed I'd move.

BTW, the building code argument is a typically invalid one for this debate. A public passageway should be safe, and those types of regulations are properly under the domain of the local government. That's right in line with the Libertarian point of view. If the Feds stepped into building code regs then a clusterfuck is guaranteed. The helmet thing is about personal choice, and as long as our choices don't impact the liberty of others then we should be free to make our own choice. That too is the Libertarian way, as would be immediately stopping the killing of people for no valid reason on the other side of the planet. Go educate yourself with some truth, and cleanse yourself of the brainwashing you've had.

 

[dnmun]

this kinda got sidetracked.

1st, there is not any evidence he ran a stop sign since he could have been right crossed by the fat car.

2nd, LeMay is a major N-S arterial and heavy traffic all the time.

3rd, helmet laws like for seat belts are there to reduce the burden on insurance companies and our social health system to reduce costs from normal accidents, not to remove your 'right' to not wear one.

 

[dogman dan]

" Witnesses say he ran the stop sign." in the first sentence of the article. Then it talks about how there is a curve or something that may be making it hard to judge safe or not. Sounds like a too fast speed limit on the road, plus a good place to actually stop and look better before entering the street.

Wear your helmet or not, your choice. I can see it being law for minors, but not for adults. Helmets should be a choice made by an adult. By then you are a big boy.

A year ago about this time a harley rider passed me with his bandanna. Two blocks later, there he is sanwiched at the stop light by the dumb bitch that was probobally texting as she drove. He may have only had his pelvis crushed, but his legs were still attached. No obvious head injury, but the point is that the only thing he did was stop in the line at the stop light. Don't go thinking I need no helmet because I can ride well.

Maybe you don't want to survive the crash. Maybe you will, and your wife will pay to have somebody change your diaper and spoon food into your drooling face for say 40 years.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Man this is sad to hear, no matter who is at fault, E-Bike VS car there is always an obvious winner. Sounds like it's a bad intersection since cars regularly have accidents, whether this guy "California Stopped" or not, it sounds like witnesses saw him blow the stop sign, I too try not to make a habit of that, but on slow residential streets with good visibility, I sometimes do too.

As for the helmet laws, I agree that it shouldn't be a law especially for adults, but I also wouldn't ride with out one, I have yet to have a bicycle accident where I've smashed a bike helmet, but I have smashed two motorcycle ones (racing on a track both times), and in both cases I either wouldn't still be here or would be severely brain damaged.

There is something to be said about false security of safety equipment, and I agree the biggest form of safety equipment is using your head, and it has been shown that people who drive "ultra safe" cars have gotten into accidents more because of that false security (Volvos back in the day) but for me, my helmet is for the time I make a mistake or am sent flying because of a car driver's mistake.

They don't call Motorcyclists "Organ Donors" for nothing at the ER, because more often than not, even with a helmet, in a bad accident, the head is destroyed and the rest of the body is prime for donation.

Just be safe out there, hope this guy comes out of this ok!

 

[wineboyrider]

...NeuvoMexicano: Somalia a libertarian dreamland? WTF? I am not going to answer this stupid comment as it will definitely careen this thread into toxic territory. If you think Somalia is a libertarian paradise then you have definitely been taking too many prescription drugs or something.

8) 8) 8)

Umm, you did comment about it, so I'll respond (though I agree there's no need to careen this into toxic territory). Somalia is as close to the Libertarian ideal as any country today. Those with the most money, guns and ability to sway their neighbors (religion, food, hard currency, promises) have the most power. Most of the government provided functions (roads, schools, social safety net, health care, parks, water and sewage systems, police force, building inspectors, school crossing guards, etc...) that Libertarians hate about the US aren't provided by the government of Somalia. All those pesky laws and regulations are unenforced if they are on the books at all. How's that not the Randian dreamland?

First, off Switzerland or the USA for the first 150 years of it's existence would be a libertarian dream land. The type of force you are talking about doesn't really enter into the mind of a libertarian, but liberals religious ,fanatical "conservatives" do. Safety nets are not anti-libertarian either as long as they are true insurance and voluntaryN (ie unemployment insurance, car insurance). Police, fire, building inspectors, schools are all easily paid for with user fee taxes like gasoline taxes, building inspection taxes ad infinity. As far as hard currency goes, yes I would like to see a hard currency, because it would keep the social programs and welfare programs in check and force a country to live within it's means. Socialists love Central Banks as it is the Fifth Planck of communism. Somalia is hardly a constitutional republic since it has only anarchy and law of the jungle, it would hardly be fit to be called a nation that endures human rights. No Mr. Nuevo Mexicano you are barking up the wrong tree, Somalia is no more a libertarian paradise than Cuba a socialists dream....Laws are only pesky if they deter a free person from engaging in activity that doesn't hurt others and forcing someone to wear a helmet fit's just that. What is absolutely hilarious too me is how much venom liberals like yourself spew towards people who believe in absolute freedom. Kind of quirky too me that you would spew so much hate towards a word like libertarianism, yet defend the absolute atrocities over the state. That's the difference in a nutshell between liberals and libertarians though we believe in the utopic ideals of freedom and liberals believe in the utopic power of the State.

 

[John in CR]

...NeuvoMexicano: Somalia a libertarian dreamland? WTF? I am not going to answer this stupid comment as it will definitely careen this thread into toxic territory. If you think Somalia is a libertarian paradise then you have definitely been taking too many prescription drugs or something.

8) 8) 8)

Umm, you did comment about it, so I'll respond (though I agree there's no need to careen this into toxic territory). Somalia is as close to the Libertarian ideal as any country today. Those with the most money, guns and ability to sway their neighbors (religion, food, hard currency, promises) have the most power. Most of the government provided functions (roads, schools, social safety net, health care, parks, water and sewage systems, police force, building inspectors, school crossing guards, etc...) that Libertarians hate about the US aren't provided by the government of Somalia. All those pesky laws and regulations are unenforced if they are on the books at all. How's that not the Randian dreamland?

Wow! Talk about drinking the koolaid.

 

[TonyReynolds]

Typical helmet worshiper double talk, because that's not what I said.

John, I'm not a helmet worshiper, just a helmet wearer. I respect your right to disagree and would respectfully ask that you respect my opinion and choice without name calling. I in no way advocate legislation to force people to wear helmets; I simply think it's a good idea. No double-talk...

Tony

 

[Rin]

For the non-helmet wearing Libertarians, and let's hope this never happens to any of you, if you are not wearing a helmet and have an accident that causes brain damage, it is then the responsibility of your family or your medical insurance to pay all medical costs and care. If the family is unable to do that then taxpayers are not responsible and the individual should be allowed to expire. Fair enough.