Cyclist death, texting the culprit?

[thwart]

Very sad story, and the second one in the area in a week.

Apparently this happened around the mid-day, so asleep at the wheel seems less likely. There is a fairly wide bike lane in this area. Pick-up truck driver was traveling in the same direction as the cyclist.

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/bicyclist-killed-in-westport-crash-identified/article_7e80a0ce-1232-11e2-b0dc-001a4bcf887a.html

[gone]

As it happens, I just read about this in the paper today. Very sad indeed. The driver was a 21 year old so at the risk of profiling I'd say distracted driving of some sort, most likely texting, was the culprit. The photo in the paper shows a very wide (4-5 foot) bike lane so it'd be a pretty good "drift" to go over far enough to hit someone.

I don't get the "authorities have not issued tentative charges or citations" part. Isn't hitting somebody supposed to be a no-no? I understand they are still investigating but to not even cite the driver at all seems strange.

[Louis]

Most of the roads I ride are pretty hilly and curvy, with no shoulders. I think quite a few folks would consider them dangerous for cyclists. However, one benefit of that type of road is that the drivers really do have to pay attention. Otherwise they are either off the road, or have Bambi sitting on the bumper.

That makes it difficult (IMO, but there's no accounting for the complete moron) to text and drive at the same time.