SF Randonneurs rider killed by motorist in San Rafael, CA on 2 December

[EB]

Details are a little sketchy at the moment but a rail crossing was involved. Andersen drive is somewhat notorious.

https://marinbike.org/news/andersen-drive-fatal-crash/

Peter Grace of Brisbane - RIP.

[spoonrobot]

He fell trying to cross the railroad tracks in traffic at a very acute angle and was crushed to death by the wheels of the trailer of a truck that was passing to his left.

The route was such that the bike lane ended shortly before the exit to a sidepath:


A cyclist is supposed to slow and exit the roadway with this behind them, at times:


If one doesn't exit the roadway, they get to cross the railroad tracks with merging traffic at a disastrous angle:


The RUSA brevets I've done have included the most harrowing sections of roadway that I would never ride under any other circumstances, their routing logic is inherently flawed due to idiotic priorities exclusive to the organization, and exposes riders to pointless increased risk.

I'll most likely never ride another RUSA event, because of things like this.

Scroll around, stupid route, tragic outcome. Sad.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.9605...n-US&entry=ttu

[Louis]

Brutal section of road.

RIP, Peter.

[EB]

Spoon I know that exact spot and it’s a terrible (and now clearly murderous) design. When forced to ride that area I ride on the sidewalk.

I hope this tragedy spurs action to address it.

I’m not deeply familiar with RUSA’s routing, but if you are trying to traverse through San Rafael south to north, the safer route is to use the bike paths through Larkspur and then climb over Wolfe Grade from Sir Francis Drake and then drop down into downtown. That route requires a tough climb and a lot of local knowledge of the area, though.

[contronatura]

What is that curb cut?! So angled and narrow, with a massive curb cut that looks (from google maps) unused entirely for the industrial parcel 500 ft to the rear. RIP.

[72gmc]

Thanks for the photos. If I was unfamiliar with the road I’d probably end up where he did. The need to paint BIKES MUST EXIT should have tipped someone that the road design was dangerous.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by 72gmc

The need to paint BIKES MUST EXIT should have tipped someone that the road design was dangerous.

There's also a second sign on a post that says Bicycles Must Exit. But, neither give you much advanced warning and they would be easy to miss.

[bironi]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

He fell trying to cross the railroad tracks in traffic at a very acute angle and was crushed to death by the wheels of the trailer of a truck that was passing to his left.

The route was such that the bike lane ended shortly before the exit to a sidepath:


A cyclist is supposed to slow and exit the roadway with this behind them, at times:


If one doesn't exit the roadway, they get to cross the railroad tracks with merging traffic at a disastrous angle:


The RUSA brevets I've done have included the most harrowing sections of roadway that I would never ride under any other circumstances, their routing logic is inherently flawed due to idiotic priorities exclusive to the organization, and exposes riders to pointless increased risk.

I'll most likely never ride another RUSA event, because of things like this.

Scroll around, stupid route, tragic outcome. Sad.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.9605...n-US&entry=ttu

I have rode local Rando routes with similar safety concerns.
There are safer routes without much diversion.
Please take them for safety.
Perhaps add a few safe laps before the finish instead to meet mileage.
Seriously.

[caneye]

Simply awful. The 3rd photo says it all. Treacherous stretch.

RIP sir.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/artic...y-18539839.php

[AngryScientist]

A real shame.

Based on those photos, that looks like a terrible road to ride on, even without the track crossing.

I have no idea how RUSA does things, but in the old days for long rides, organizers of good rides would have a Q sheet that would warn riders of stuff like this, and you would know there was a hazard ahead. These days with just a GPS file, maybe you don't get that.

In the west it seems like a somewhat typical problem that if you want to ride a lot of miles and connect some cool places, you invariably get stuck with needing to use major roads as connectors; but I would be pissed if that road was part of a route that someone organized.

[EB]

Originally Posted by caneye

Simply awful. The 3rd photo says it all. Treacherous stretch.

RIP sir.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/artic...y-18539839.php

Thank you for this link. Glad to read more details about the guy - he sounds like a good dude. And it’s a shame he missed his chance to ride PBP before the end.

[steamer]

You can't paint all RUSA regions with the same brush. I have designed, and helped to design, a few brevet routes and I can tell you that for me, and the couple collaborators I have worked with, safety is the top priority. I have to ride the thing too, and I am a chickensh_t.

With electronic proof of passage (e.g. GPS files) being commonplace now, and permitted by RUSA, I suspect even the most uptight route designers (uptight about there being significant shortcuts between controls), have relaxed a little and let safety considerations override shortcut prevention more often.

Some older RUSA routes created with different mindset may still be in use though.

I cannot comment specifically on any of the routes some of your have alluded to, or the one that this rider was killed on. They very well may be due for a 'safety update' in light of electronic proof of passage.

[FastCanon]

Thanks for the post. When I see railroad tracks, I always slow down and cross at a perpendicular angle to the track for safety concerns and so that I don't hit it too hard to get a snake bite. But at night, this might be a little difficult to see even with lights. So many variables.

And with two tracks, if you make it past the first one, there's the second one

It's sad that we had to learn it this way.

[prototoast]

That looks very dangerous. Always good to take tracks perpendicular, but with cars coming, or limited visibility, it's not always possible to set that up. This situation sounds like every cyclist's worst nightmare.

I'm not sure how widespread these are, but a little further north, in St. Helena, they have specifically built a small detour to the bike lane to allow cyclists to cross the tracks closer to perpendicular. It's a small thing in construction, but a huge safety improvement for cyclists.

[chrismercurio]

That's so sad. My heart goes out to his family.

I did a ride with SF Randonneurs in 2015 and thought it was a good group, well-organized, and the mapping reasonable. I haven't been hit for about 30 years thankfully.

At low speeds, even taking tracks perpendicular can be precarious. The last time I fell was a couple of years ago thanks to train tracks and taking them perpendicular as well.