Cement truck rolls a red light, kills bicyclist, sheriff blames victim and witnesses assume the same:
https://apps.sdsheriff.net/press/Default.aspx?FileLink=71347646-31dd-4b33-9462-0179831f9b48
There are SO many ways the cyclist should have avoided that - whether the cyclist was at fault by jamming through a red light, or whether he was just plain right-hooked by the truck driver, by either having the proper position left of the bike lane or by executing a quick turn.
Very sad...
And here is more advice about avoiding right-turning trucks when you're over to the right in a bike lane, etc.
http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2008/11/30/what-cyclists-need-to-know-about-trucks
I wanted to make it clear that the reason I replied to Paul's post was not to really claim that either the truck or the cyclist was at fault in the San Marcos fatality - that is still under investigation. My post and Paul's follow up link to the Orlando piece was really meant to alert cyclists that bike lanes are not necessarily a free pass at stop lights, where cars arriving first "should" move right across the dashed line to turn right, and cyclists should move left across the dashed line to go straight through the intersection, something emphasized in the TS 101 classes. If you're going to pass a long line of cars on the right who are stopped, you better by hyper-alert, because even though you may feel you have the right of way (only if bike lane line is solid), they just may not see you - worse yet, sometimes they open a gap next to a driveway so oncoming cars (who also probably cannot see cyclists moving fast in the bike lane) can turn left to "left-cross" you. Two NCCC riders told me just this weekend that they had recent incidents passing cars on the right at driveway entrances with both a "right-hook" and "left-cross". Your alertness can save you.
The key principle here, and you learned this when you got your car drivers license, is that faster moving vehicles (and bicycles) should always pass on the left. A pass on the right invites trouble as you're just not expected to do that and bad things can happen when the slower moving (or stopped) vehicle want to move into that space thinking that noone is there.
Karl
The latest info appears to show that the cyclist was in the crosswalk possibly walking his bike when the truck turned into him. The truck was turning right and at the same time merging across two traffic lanes to get into the freeway on ramp. The driver must have been only looking to his left, never forward to check if anyone was crossing with the walk signal. Another example of dangerous intersection design.