<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
<font face="arial,helvetica"><font ptsize="10" family="SANSSERIF"
face="Arial" lang="0" size="2">In a message dated 11/3/07 8:20:38 PM
Pacific Standard Time, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:hollenbeck2001@yahoo.com">hollenbeck2001@yahoo.com</a> wri<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="CITE"
style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 255); margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px;">So
if a tree fell in the bike lane and a rider crashed into it, who would
be liable? <br>
And would anyone hear it? ;-)</blockquote>
<br>
-------<br>
to which Jon Isaacs replies<br>
<br>
<font color="#3333ff">Hello to all:<br>
<br>
My personal attitude is that this is not a laughing matter. We are
discussing a tragic situation that resulted in someone dying, a young
life is gone and a family is most certainly grieving.<br>
<br>
<font color="#000000">I think Jon's <i>personal attitude </i> is
shared by most (all?) of us whose sympathies certainly lie with the
aggrieved family. We would all like to think Eric Hollenbeck merely
"shot from the hip" - the curse of youth. I'm sure that upon actually
seeing his would-be (under other circumstances) <i>sobriquet</i> in
print, and after reflection upon those tragic circumstances, he regrets
his choice of words and the haste in which he composed them. <br>
<br>
While ultimately the responsibility for avoiding stationary objects
when operating any vehicle rests with the driver/rider, my
understanding is that public and private road-building agencies are
required to plant and maintain roadside landscaping as
environmental/erosion mitigation. It is possible that the crew whose
truck Nigel collided with were cutting back vegetation over-hanging the
bicycle lane.<br>
<br>
When tragedy strikes, so often concerned adults look for a single
entity, agency, or individual to hold responsible, castigate, and
ultimately "fix" so that the same thing will not happen again to
someone else. In the case of a drunk driver crossing into on-coming
traffic, or jumping the curb onto a sidewalk, there is clear criminal
liability that society can punish, and thereby deter others from
similar behavior. Yet so often, as with the Cedar Fire, and the
Katrina Disaster, life was lost due to a confluence of factors, some
involving negligence, some arising from people not doing their jobs as
diligently as they might, and some just plain bad luck. As one cannot
receive compensation/restitution from nature, victims turn to the human
link(s) in the causal to make their lives whole again, to the extent
possible.<br>
<br>
If,. as has been posted here, it is is indeed common (accepted?)
practice for service vehicles (telephone, utilities, even CalTrans) to
park in bike lanes where no other space is available, then the statue
should require the placement of hazard cones at an "appropriate"
distance before the obstruction - perhaps the same distance that the
CVC requires drivers to signal a lane change before initiating the
movement. Asking local PD to cite and fine repeat violators $$$ would
go a long way to improving safety of our bike lanes.<br>
<br>
While no amount of money can compensate the Clarke family for the loss
of Nigel, honoring his memory by attaching his name to such a statue,
and funneling revenue therefrom into bicycle safety programs and
right-of-ways, <i>might</i> assuage some small amount of their pain.<br>
<br>
Omar Firestone<br>
289 Sea Vale St.<br>
Chula Vista, CA<br>
91910<br>
</font></font></font></font>
</body>
</html>