I think whoever hits a cyclist is likely to be a kid driving too fast, someone distracted by their phone, someone with a vehicle with bad suspension or tires or someone unaware that they may encounter a cyclist or someone under the influence. Lack of driver training also contributes. I think in rural areas you may have more drug abuse, worse maintained vehicles, people unused to encountering cyclist and not informed about the idea of sharing the road. I don’t think it’s a conservative or liberal issue. I admire your guts for biking on the two lane roads.

I think many of the things you noted are contributing factors for sure. It is true, however, that the more rural areas are largely more conservative than the more densely populated cities and coastal areas of northern California and I have found that there are a significant number of folks who live those rural areas who don't like seeing cyclists on "their roads."

For example, a couple of years ago was riding a 75 mile route from Foresthill out and back to French Meadows. This is a very remote route with lots of climbing. I would say that I came across less than 10 cars all day. Mosquito Ridge Road is narrow and it has a fantastic 19 mile climb section that is popular with cyclists although I didn't see a single cyclist the day I was riding it.

I was on the final return climb back up to Foresthill when I heard a vehicle chugging loudly behind me so I hugged the edge of the road as best I could. A large, dual-wheeled pickup truck pulling a horse trailer pulled up alongside of me, slowed down and a guy in a cowboy hat screamed at me to "get the f...k off the road."

I hadn't seen a vehicle in a half hour and there was no vehicle coming in the other direction so he could have easily given me space. He didn't because he obviously didn't like cyclists being on the road even though I wasn't impeding his driving in any way at all.

This is not an isolated incident for me in rural areas like that. Don't get me wrong though. I know that the majority of folks in these rural areas are not like that guy. It's just that I've had many, many more encounters like that in rural areas like that than I've ever had in more densely populated areas around Winters, Napa, Sonoma and the coast etc.

I met a cyclist on the American River Bike Trail one day who was from Plymouth and we got to chatting a bit. I told how I really enjoyed riding up in that area. His reply to me was, "I don't ride there anymore. The rednecks don't like cyclists. They'll get you killed."

On a side note, two months ago I hit some uneven pavement on a high speed, downhill, curve and my front tire pinch flatted which is essentially a sudden blowout of the tube inside the tire casing. Well, I went over the bars and hit the pavement hard. I bruised and scraped up just about everything on the left side of my body but the worst was the injury to my rib cage. I'm nearly healed now although my ribs are still not quite right.

I'm getting up there in my years, 75 in a week, and I know the risks of cycling at the level that I choose to participate in it. However, it's a sport that I love passionately. I wish it were less risky but it is what it is and I choose to continue to ride on the roads in the hills as long as I can still do it.

This is horrible. I'm glad to see on a UC Davis board people reaching out with sympathy when a rival suffers a loss of life.

That's as it should be. This kind of accident brings home the point about how fleeting life is and how safety can be an illusion. We can take all the care we want in our daily routines, but all it takes is one careless idiot and it's all over. It should give you pause to think of all the things that have to go right for us to do what we do safely. And thanks to smart devices there are exponentially more idiots than there were 10-15 years ago.

Now, let's be honest here Drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians- there's lots of terrible ones to go around, and that is because at least 90 percent of the population is comprised of stupid, selfish, scum. There is no moral superiority among users of any of these methods of transportation

I deal with terrible cyclists and motorists everyday, and I see pedestrians jaywalking across ridiculously busy streets to catch a bus. Risking their lives and those of others to get somewhere 15 minutes earlier.

E-scooter riders are pure garbage though.

Now, let's be honest here Drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians- there's lots of terrible ones to go around, and that is because at least 90 percent of the population is comprised of stupid, selfish, scum. There is no moral superiority among users of any of these methods of transportation — Goags20172

90% is a bit high but your general point stands. I can't stand when bicyclists just barrel through the stop sign like cars have to wait for them. Ditto for pedestrians who don't look and just walk into the intersection. Now, I try to be as aware of pedestrians/bicyclists as I possibly can be and will let them cross in front of me even if I have the rightaway. But just acknowledge that I'm there. I don't think that's too much to ask for. More often than not, bicyclists do wait and pedestrians do look before walking into the intersection.

But yeah, like you said, tons of idiots out there regardless of the mode of transportation they're using.

Like any other group, you’ve got courteous drivers and rude on both sides. I was coming out of Mendicino once in my motorhome and had a bike in front of me taking the lane. He refused to use the turnouts - I assume bikes are supposed to use them as “slower traffic.” By the time i got around him there was an army of vehicles waiting to pass.

I love riding my bike on country roads but most don’t have a bike lane so i choose not to. Just got frightened from too many vehicles passing me so close i could feel the wind from the vehicle. There’s a guy i see who commutes from Davis to Woodland on road 99 daily. He has a stick that protrudes from his bike towards the lane with a small flag on it. I assume it’s 3’. I guess that’s his way of getting the space. And its really not much space for vehicles passing you at +50 mph faster than he is traveling.

No way! I grew up on Warm Springs Road (just north of Bennet Valley Rd) and my parents still live there. I regularly ride my MTB to Annadel. Even though my dad use to ride, he still gets grumpy about the cyclists, but always does the right thing.

It was announced yesterday that no criminal charges will be filed by San Ramon PD / Contra Costa County in the death of Greg Knapp. The 22 year old driver, a Danville resident, has not been identified.

Yep, sounds about right. Same outcome as usual, and the source of my frustration earlier in this discussion.

https://pleasantonweekly.com/news/2021/09/23/no-criminal-charges-pursued-in-san-ramon-crash-that-killed-nfl-coach-greg-knapp

I know few of the details, but it seems like driving inside the bike lane is an automatic red flag / reckless driving (?). Distracted driver, whether music, friends, or texting... it seems at least a year confined in a Club Fed, all medical costs, and probation, would be reasonable and a minimum.

it seems like driving inside the bike lane is an automatic red flag — movielover

You'd think so, right? There is no right punishment. I don't know the details of what happened either, so it's hard to say what's appropriate. Who knows, maybe the driver had a sudden health issue (highly doubtful). But when zero criminal charges are pursued, over and over, behaviors of society don't change.

Unfortunately, I'm not surprised at all because this has been happening with frequency all over the country for many years. It's essentially open season for cyclists when it comes to being hit by distracted and impaired drivers and it won't change until public outrage gets the politicians and city officials attention. The problem is that the outcry from the small number of cycling advocates simply falls on deaf ears.

Here is a list of cyclists killed by drivers in San Francisco since 1996. Note how many are hit and runs:

https://medium.com/@ptraughber/a-list-of-people-killed-while-riding-a-bicycle-in-san-francisco-1456bbd017d9

These people were friends of friends. The list seems never ending.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2009/06/30/santa-clara-county-settles-suit-in-cyclists-death-after-crash-with-sheriffs-deputy/amp/#aoh=16325273190229&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

Sad. Joggers are at risk as well. Two teens were killed jogging not far from where i live, which was also a hit and run. I’ve hoped for a dedicated bike path between Woodland and Davis for years. They actually had a great opportunity to create one on road 99 (west street) when it was blocked off near road 25, but they gave the property to landowners for private use. I suspect the main road block to enacting some sort of change, is that bike riders are few compared to the vehicle driving public.

New York Post: "“The Office of the District Attorney has determined that there is insufficient evidence to satisfy the requisite standard of criminal negligence on the part of the suspect driver,” the office said in a statement to The Post on Friday. “That dangers of distracted driving are well known. To truly promote road safety motorists need to be attentive drivers as well.”

Wouldn't it be criminal negligence to drive a vehicle inside of an occupied bike lane?

You would think so and this is exactly why cyclists are outraged by the consistent leniency and bias given to drivers who kill cyclists.

I'm no lawyer, and I could understand a bit more, say, if the cyclist were 2' outside the bike lane... but even in that situation, pedestrians have right of way... don't cyclists, in the far more vulnerable position, also deserve the benefit of the doubt? Isn't there also a statute for plain negligence?

Maybe the DA figures there will be an out of court settlement.

Police: Cellphone (hands-free) at play for driver in San Ramon crash that killed NFL's Knapp

" "... The primary collision factor was a violation of 21658(a) CVC (unsafe lane change). An associated factor was listed as inattention. This inattention factor was attributed to the driver using a hands free cellular phone -- glancing at his phone, which wasn't in his hands," Williams said via email.

"Williams also clarified that San Ramon police did not issue a traffic citation to the driver because the case was referred to county prosecutors for consideration.

"A DA's office spokesperson last week declined to answer follow-up questions about the reasoning for the no-charges decision.

"That included requests for further clarification about why the traffic violation of an unsafe lane change was not enough of a legal violation to support a manslaughter charge, as well as whether the cellphone use being hands-free -- as opposed to held-in-hand -- played a role in their decision."

I think this has been a common issue long before cell phones. Just general distraction, whether it's changing the radio station or reaching for something. There was a young man up in Santa Rosa that was hit from behind at ~50 mph on a winding back road when a lady reached back to grab a snack out of her groceries in the back seat. As she reached back with her right hand, her left hand pulled the wheel to the right. I think she mostly walked away with no charges. Ross Dillon is mostly a vegetable almost 20 years later.

To pour salt in the wound, the family's house burned down in the 2017 fires in Sonoma. The parents are his primary caretakers and lost all of the medical equipment they had accumulated over the years.
http://www.rossdillon.com/

Very sad. I have personal knowledge of a young fella with a drinking problem that had alcohol in his system and hit (and run) a transient on a bike and killed him. His family hired a top notch legal defense team, and he got off. The only positive result was the young guy got off booze and turned his life around. We have careless people in our society. I’m not sure we can regulate common sense into everyone.

I’m not sure we can regulate common sense into everyone. — agalum

That's true. However, there was a time when driving under the influence wasn't as strictly enforced and the penalties were not stiff as they are now. The public and the politicians finally took notice after MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) protested and lobbied long and hard. Chances are you'll spend time in jail and lose your driver's license if you kill someone while driving under the influence nowadays and we're seeing stricter laws and penalties for cell phone usage while driving also. We need the same kind of awareness campaigns and strict laws and penalties for driver's who are at fault when hitting cyclists as well.