A preliminary investigation by San Jose police has found that a man killed Monday afternoon was riding his bike across the lanes of westbound Brokaw Road outside of a marked crosswalk, when he was hit by a westbound pickup truck.
The man was transported to a local hospital, where he died shortly after arrival.
The collision was reported at 4:26pm along Brokaw Road near Interstate Highway 880. It brings to 11 the number of fatal traffic collisions in San Jose in 2021.
The identity of the victim will be released by the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office after confirming his identity and notifying next of kin.
The driver of the pickup remained at the scene and cooperated with police.
Anyone with information on this investigation is urged to contact Detective Bowen #4461 of the San Jose Police Department's Traffic Investigations Unit at 408.277.4654.
No matter the circumstance, no one deserves this.
That pickup driver is also going to live with that forever.
If you want this to end, build trails, go tracks to trails on light rail and make that one big trail across the city with another down the river, and enforce the Boise-rule by having non-permanent facilities available so you can keep homeless off those trails. If you have accessible facilities, you can remove homeless from public property.
This won’t end until you get bikes off the roads and on to trails.
“riding his bike across the lanes of westbound Brokaw Road outside of a marked crosswalk”
(It helps to note that bicycles are walked, not ridden, in crosswalks.)
This was a mid-block maneuver, then.
Was the driver speeding? Did the driver pass on the right without signaling?
Etc. More details are needed.
NO, more bike lanes are a “bubble wrap” solution. The real solution is education. We have a serious problem in this country of people who don’t pay any attention to their surroundings. There is no reason this could have been avoided if the bike rider was paying more attention. Everyone is so sensitive about blaming the victim, but the victim is the one who screwed up here. Everywhere you go there are people and bike riders (and drivers for that matter) that go about like they are the only thing that matters in the world. Teenagers will just walk right in front of moving cars without even a glance. It used to be we had drivers ed and parents who taught their kids to “look both way” before crossing. Years ago “eye contact” was taught to both drivers and pedestrians. Why bother looking when you can just do whatever you want and consequences be damned? That is the new attitude. I hope I’m never the victim of a pedestrian/bicyclist that isn’t paying attention. I pay close attention to those around me, but it takes this attention to be trained into us all- driver, walkers, and bicyclists (who are the worst offenders that think they own the road)
Peter – Trends are not in your favor. Putting space between a bike and a car is the only thing that can work.
California has the third lowest average IQ in the country and the public school system can barely teach its kids reading and arithmetic, teaching the population to pay attention when they drive a multi thousand pound battering ram made of glass and steel while having so many distractions programmed to occupy their attention at all times is a bridge too far.
https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/we-compared-average-iq-score-in-all-50-states-results-are-eye-opening.html
And as the article states, “But as imperfect as the IQ test is, at least it’s a consistent metric” and much of the utility of IQ is to determine if people can follow instructions well enough to operate machines of war. Cars, handled badly, operate as such on a bicycle riding population.
I agree with LOCAL YOKEL that “bike across the lanes of westbound Brokaw Road outside of a marked crosswalk” does not make any sense and leaves casual readers with the dangerous implication that bicycles should be *ridden* in crosswalks. Please do not do this! It does not matter if there is a crosswalk or not. To cross a street street when I am *riding* my bicycle, on a good day I use the preferred maneuver, which is to ride up to the next U-turn lane and make a proper U-turn, as a motorist would. Taking a shortcut and crossing the street, perpendicular to the flow of vehicles, either riding or walking, is OK only if I am damned sure that no fast-moving vehicles are approaching. If a crosswalk is nearby and I choose to use it, I can only expect vehicles to stop if I am moving at no faster than walking speed, so motorists have time to see me and stop.
This is irresponsible journalism and the cross walk reference has no bearing as cyclist have legal right to the road and right of way for obvious reason. This is victim blaming. Sounds more like distracted driver not seeing the cyclist in time. There is much more to this than being reported. Do your research and investigation properly.
Yes, it’s more crowded with worse people, and cyclists and pedestrians as well as motorists behave poorly. Pedestrians and cyclists will move in front of motorists with less than safe braking distance between them, misjudge speed routinely (and there is a huge speeding problem by motorists routinely, the worst environment to be misjudging speed), some don’t wait for green to go, red-light runners are of all kinds, including the “train” and going through late at high speed. Cyclists ride at night without lights, and cyclists and pedestrians wear dark clothing at night. Very low intelligence is routinely on display. Then there’s the poor culture and dirtbag behavior, including when defensive about criticism of improper behavior like cyclists running stop signs or red traffic lights, never mind terrorizing other trail users. (Cyclists have struck and killed pedestrians before, and with close calls the cyclists are angry at having their kiddie race imitation threatened, etc.) Then there are the intoxicated (likely worse still in Arizona) and homeless who are killed crossing streets and even freeways. With motorists, ghost bikes change nothing. Et cetera.
JERRY KRINOCK, even before starting to get selective about streets to ride on for more safety, I had mastered the alternate left turn at signalized intersections to avoid crossing lanes to get into the left-turn lane, and that applies to the U-turn lane as well. The technique is to go straight across the intersection and stop on the far side, rotate the bike and yourself 90 degrees left or re-position the bike and yourself to go left, proceed straight across when you get a green light, then proceed. It often can be faster as well then getting in the left-turn lane and waiting through a cycle, given the left-turn signals in California typically are leading, not lagging.
For a U-turn, rather than proceed straight as with a left turn, you’d go straight across the intersection and stop on the far side again, then prepare to go left again on the next cycle.
Anywhere or any time traffic is heavy or hazardous, it’s easier and again with left turns, normally is faster assuming you have to stop in the left-turn lane by the time you reach the front on your bike as the traditional or normal way.
All you need to worry about is right-turners on the cross street when you reach the far side and prepare to go straight after rotating left. (If there’s a right-turn lane you get on the right edge of the rightmost though lane, if need be you gesture to vehicles to turn right to the right of you, step off the road to let one or more turn right first, whatever.)
Mr. KULAK-Not: There is also placing a suitable (physical) barrier between bikes and cars. Those who want space or barriers (parked cars, included) often are the activist kids who hate cars (otherwise, if used as a barrier), but the fear becomes more reasonable the worse drivers get. All people are doing worse things now, but most are drivers and the consequences of what they do, or can do (if cyclists or pedestrians do stupid things that lead to a collision) are normally much the worst.
Dear Community,
I saw this accident scene.
The Bike was in the MIDDLE of Brokaw Road.
It seems to me that the Truck did considerable damage to the Bike and the little Trailer it was towing.
It seems to me that this Bike and Trailer was very visable at 4:26 pm.
The Sun was not low enough to negatively impact the Vision of anyone going West into the Sun.
I was on my way to the Airport and was forced by Community Patrol Officers to make the Left at I-880 South.
On the way back from the Airport and looking at the Accident Scene, the Bike was in the Middle of the Three Lane Road.
The Road is paid for by Tax Payers and anyone can use it.
It seems to me that the Truck Driver for some stupid reason did not see the Bike and Trailer in the Middle Lane and in a bright day light,, hit and Killed the Rider.
That is my opinion.
In Community Spirit,
Danny
Mr. Danny Garza
For the sake of argument, let’s assume your statement reflects an accurate observation of the incident. That being the case, the cyclist was most certainly at fault for the collision as the cyclist was apparently in violation of numerous vehicle code sections governing the operation of a bicycle on a public road. Particularly, cvc section 21200 states that all the rules of the road governing motor vehicles and their operation apply to bicycles and bicyclists except those which by definition cannot apply to bicycles/bicyclists.
Unless preparing for a left turn (unlikely at that location) the cyclist is obligated to remain as far to the right of the roadway as possible (cvc21202)
On a roadway with a bike lane (which I believe includes this portion of Brokaw) a cyclist is required to use that lane unless making a left turn (cvc 21208)
Cyclists are required to ride in the same direction as traffic (cvc 21650).
And, referencing cvc 21200, cyclists must obey all posted regulatory signs (stop, yield, speed limit, etc) and signals, and cannot occupy sidewalks (in San Jose). Furthermore, cyclists are required to yield to pedestrians in the same ways as the law requires drivers to do.
Anecdotally speaking, my daily observations of cyclists in San Jose are that very few ride with a respect for the rules of the road and that their ‘share the road’ philosophy only extends as far as their perception of personal convenience or entitlement. In my professional experience, most – if not all – of the traffic collisions involving cyclists I ever investigated were caused by a cyclist who failed to follow the rules of the road.
A cyist in the middle of the roadway at that location, as you described, was almost certainly cause of his own death. Had he followed the rules of the road I noted above, he would almost certainly be alive today.