bike lane poorly marked and far too wide

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,6736920.story

COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) - Stacy Neria used to run six miles a day, six
days a week -- but she never trained on Sundays out of deference to her
husband and to God.

Now, Neria relies heavily on her husband and faith as she struggles to
push forward after a hit-and-run accident left her with brain damage and
paralyzed from the neck down.

The 35-year-old mother of three was jogging with three other women on
April 8, 2006, when she was struck by a car from behind. Her friend,
avid runner and mother Carol Daniel, 42, was paralyzed as well, but did
not suffer brain damage.

The women and their husbands held a news conference Wednesday to discuss
a settlement of about $50 million they received this week from the city
of Dana Point. Their attorney argued that the bike lane they were
running in was poorly marked and far too wide, leading motorists to
believe it was another driving lane.

The driver of the car, William Todd Bradshaw, pleaded guilty to felony
hit-and-run causing permanent injury, and is serving four years in prison.

The money will go toward the millions of dollars in medical expenses the
two women will rack up in their lifetimes, things their insurance
doesn't cover: 24-hour nursing care, intensive physical and speech
therapy and possible experimental treatments.

[follow link for more]

vey wrote:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,6736920.story


COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) - Stacy Neria used to run six miles a day, six
days a week -- but she never trained on Sundays out of deference to her
husband and to God.

Now, Neria relies heavily on her husband and faith as she struggles to
push forward after a hit-and-run accident left her with brain damage and
paralyzed from the neck down.

The 35-year-old mother of three was jogging with three other women on
April 8, 2006, when she was struck by a car from behind. Her friend,
avid runner and mother Carol Daniel, 42, was paralyzed as well, but did
not suffer brain damage.

The women and their husbands held a news conference Wednesday to discuss
a settlement of about $50 million they received this week from the city
of Dana Point. Their attorney argued that the bike lane they were
running in was poorly marked and far too wide, leading motorists to
believe it was another driving lane.

The driver of the car, William Todd Bradshaw, pleaded guilty to felony
hit-and-run causing permanent injury, and is serving four years in prison.

The money will go toward the millions of dollars in medical expenses the
two women will rack up in their lifetimes, things their insurance
doesn't cover: 24-hour nursing care, intensive physical and speech
therapy and possible experimental treatments.

[follow link for more]

and from the LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...nes-california

snip
The lawsuit alleged that the road was unsafe because the bike lane was
too wide -- possibly causing drivers to mistake it for another lane --
and improperly marked. The city has since added concrete barriers
protecting joggers and bicyclists.

The city's insurer, the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority,
oversaw the settlement discussions, Dana Point officials said. The
settlement will be paid in a lump sum from four policies, Callahan said.

Mark P. Robinson Jr., a prominent tort lawyer in Orange County, said
there have been many personal injury cases settled in the $20-million
range in recent years. "It certainly ranks as one of the top settlements
in the county," he said.

Robinson is perhaps best known for helping to win a $127-million verdict
for a boy badly burned when the gas tank of the Ford Pinto he was riding
in exploded in 1978.

In Orange County, the biggest single settlement is probably the $420
million that Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to pay in 1998 for its role in
the county's 1994 bankruptcy.

According to Dana Point officials, the settlement was $49 million.
Callahan said the figure was closer to $50 million.

City Atty. A. Patrick Munoz said the settlement was a compromise for the
city, which had maintained that its roads were safe. "Our view is the
real wrongdoer is Mr. Bradshaw," he said. "We only hope the money will
help these ladies with their lifelong needs."

Munoz said the agreement should not be construed as an admission of
fault by the city, but rather is being offered in the hopes the money
"will aid in a better quality of life for both women and their families."

Three months after the women were struck, the City Council approved
spending $350,000 to install a wall between car traffic and bicyclists
and joggers along that section of road between Camino Capistrano and
Palisades Drive. The city faces two other lawsuits filed by the families
of bikers killed along the same stretch of PCH later in 2006.

During discovery, Callahan found that the city's master plan for bike
lanes stated that no lane shall be more than 8 feet wide.

"Except this orphan stretch of roadway . . . varied from 9 to 12 feet,"
he said. "And it wasn't marked as a bike lane. We had an oversized bike
lane, the same width as a travel lane with no signs. This was an
accident waiting to happen."

Callahan said the city had a report that people were inadvertently
driving in the bike lanes in 2002 in a previous case he handled. An
expert at that time testified the lanes were unsafe but the city failed
to do anything, according to depositions of public works officials in
the Neria and Daniel case, he said.

"All they had to do was get a can of paint and stencil little bike
figures in the bike lane and drivers would have known there was a bike
lane," Callahan said.

City officials could not be reached late Tuesday to address Callahan's
contentions about the previous case.

"It's our understanding that there never was a dangerous condition out
there," Munoz said. "We created a bike lane that goes north and south
and is protected by K-rails."

Dana Point Mayor Diane Harkey said the settlement will "help provide a
better quality of life for the two survivors."

"This was a really sad accident," she said. "It upset two families and
it's just a shame that the guy driving was a criminal," referring to
Bradshaw's three previous drunk driving convictions.

vey writes:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,6736920.story

The women and their husbands held a news conference Wednesday to
discuss a settlement of about $50 million they received this week from
the city of Dana Point. Their attorney argued that the bike lane they
were running in was poorly marked and far too wide, leading motorists
to believe it was another driving lane.

What? If it was a bike lane and there was a usable sidewalk, they were
required to be on the sidewalk, so their use of the bike lane would be
illegal. Otherwise they would be required to be as far to the curb as
practicable. (At least under California law, but I'd imagine the laws
are similar in whatever state Dana Point is in.)

The width of the bike lane is irrelevant - bike lanes are demarked by
a solid 5 inch stripe, a bit wider than shoulder stripes. Lane dividers
are dashed. There is no way a driver should not be able to tell that
the bike lane was not a general-purpose lane. It is possible to
confuse a bike lane stripe with a shoulder stripe as the difference is only
the width of the stripe.

Also, if parking is allowed inside a bike lane, the minimal width is
11 to 12 feet - enough to ride in it while clearing any door that might
open unexpectedly. Traffic lanes are usually 12 feet wide.

The settlement was bogus if based on the lane width - the city may
have simply decided not to risk a sympathy verdict from a jury.
I'm not sure what "poorly marked" means. That might have been the real
issue, not the width, but you'd need some pictures to tell. Maybe there
was something else too that was not mentioned in the article.

--
My real name backwards: nemuaZ lliB

Eric Vey wrote:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,6736920.story


COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) - Stacy Neria used to run six miles a day, six
days a week -- but she never trained on Sundays out of deference to her
husband and to God.

Now, Neria relies heavily on her husband and faith as she struggles to
push forward after a hit-and-run accident left her with brain damage and
paralyzed from the neck down.

Seems faith did not help them much, eh?

The 35-year-old mother of three was jogging with three other women on
April 8, 2006, when she was struck by a car from behind. Her friend,
avid runner and mother Carol Daniel, 42, was paralyzed as well, but did
not suffer brain damage.

"Struck by a car from behind."

I learned when I was four (4) years old that pedestrians should always
travel FACING motor vehicle traffic when a sidewalk (pavement in the UK)
was not available. While the driver is still to blame to hitting the
pedestrians, the fault is not completely the driver's.

The women and their husbands held a news conference Wednesday to discuss
a settlement of about $50 million they received this week from the city
of Dana Point. Their attorney argued that the bike lane they were
running in was poorly marked and far too wide, leading motorists to
believe it was another driving lane.

The driver of the car, William Todd Bradshaw, pleaded guilty to felony
hit-and-run causing permanent injury, and is serving four years in prison.

The money will go toward the millions of dollars in medical expenses the
two women will rack up in their lifetimes, things their insurance
doesn't cover: 24-hour nursing care, intensive physical and speech
therapy and possible experimental treatments....

Someone is making a killing if these services will cost millions of dollars.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"Localized intense suction such as tornadoes is created when temperature
differences are high enough between meeting air masses, and can impart
excessive energy onto a cyclist." - Randy Schlitter

Bill Zaumen wrote:
vey writes:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,6736920.story

The women and their husbands held a news conference Wednesday to
discuss a settlement of about $50 million they received this week from
the city of Dana Point. Their attorney argued that the bike lane they
were running in was poorly marked and far too wide, leading motorists
to believe it was another driving lane.

What? If it was a bike lane and there was a usable sidewalk, they were
required to be on the sidewalk, so their use of the bike lane would be
illegal. Otherwise they would be required to be as far to the curb as
practicable. (At least under California law, but I'd imagine the laws
are similar in whatever state Dana Point is in.)

The width of the bike lane is irrelevant - bike lanes are demarked by
a solid 5 inch stripe, a bit wider than shoulder stripes. Lane dividers
are dashed. There is no way a driver should not be able to tell that
the bike lane was not a general-purpose lane. It is possible to
confuse a bike lane stripe with a shoulder stripe as the difference is only
the width of the stripe.

Also, if parking is allowed inside a bike lane, the minimal width is
11 to 12 feet - enough to ride in it while clearing any door that might
open unexpectedly. Traffic lanes are usually 12 feet wide.

The settlement was bogus if based on the lane width - the city may
have simply decided not to risk a sympathy verdict from a jury.
I'm not sure what "poorly marked" means. That might have been the real
issue, not the width, but you'd need some pictures to tell. Maybe there
was something else too that was not mentioned in the article.

The world must be about to end, since I agree with Zaumen on a post
involving "bicycle lanes".

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"Localized intense suction such as tornadoes is created when temperature
differences are high enough between meeting air masses, and can impart
excessive energy onto a cyclist." - Randy Schlitter

Tom Sherman writes:

Eric Vey wrote:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,6736920.story

The women and their husbands held a news conference Wednesday to
discuss a settlement of about $50 million they received this week
from the city of Dana Point. snip

Someone is making a killing if these services will cost millions of dollars.

Don't forget inflation and taxes, and that the settlement has to be
enough to pay for medical care and lost income for the rest of their
lives. 24 hour per day medical care is expensive, and the $50
million is apparently covering two people. Don't forget the lawyer's
contingency fee, which is probably around 30 percent of the
settlement.

It would be less if we had national heath insurance and other programs
that would provide the support these people need, but unfortunately,
the settlement is a one-shot thing, and lawyer fees are a fact of live
in the U.S. So the settlement has to be large enough for the worst
case if we aren't going to simply let these people become homeless
and die on the street.



--
My real name backwards: nemuaZ lliB

Bill Zaumen wrote:
Tom Sherman writes:

Eric Vey wrote:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,6736920.story
The women and their husbands held a news conference Wednesday to
discuss a settlement of about $50 million they received this week
from the city of Dana Point. snip

Someone is making a killing if these services will cost millions of dollars.

Don't forget inflation and taxes, and that the settlement has to be
enough to pay for medical care and lost income for the rest of their
lives. 24 hour per day medical care is expensive, and the $50
million is apparently covering two people. Don't forget the lawyer's
contingency fee, which is probably around 30 percent of the
settlement.

It would be less if we had national heath insurance and other programs
that would provide the support these people need, but unfortunately,
the settlement is a one-shot thing, and lawyer fees are a fact of live
in the U.S. So the settlement has to be large enough for the worst
case if we aren't going to simply let these people become homeless
and die on the street.

If they were dark skinned and lived in a non-G7 nation, "we" would be
happy to do just that.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"Localized intense suction such as tornadoes is created when temperature
differences are high enough between meeting air masses, and can impart
excessive energy onto a cyclist." - Randy Schlitter

In article ,
Bill Z. wrote:
vey writes:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,6736920.story

The women and their husbands held a news conference Wednesday to
discuss a settlement of about $50 million they received this week from
the city of Dana Point. Their attorney argued that the bike lane they
were running in was poorly marked and far too wide, leading motorists
to believe it was another driving lane.

What? If it was a bike lane and there was a usable sidewalk, they were
required to be on the sidewalk, so their use of the bike lane would be
illegal. Otherwise they would be required to be as far to the curb as
practicable. (At least under California law, but I'd imagine the laws
are similar in whatever state Dana Point is in.)

There is no sidewalk in that area. The northbound side of the road is next
to a cliff, and the southbound side is next to railroad tracks.

I've ridden that section of road several times and have never seen any
drivers mistake the bike lane for a car lane.

Dana Point is in California. The southern part of Orange County to be exact.


--
Mike Iglesias Email:
University of California, Irvine phone: 949-824-6926
Network & Academic Computing Services FAX: 949-824-2069