Recent Deaths Make Cyclists Uneasy Riders

In a battle between a car and a bike, the loser is guaranteed.

Three bicyclists have died in Orange County in the last month after being hit by vehicles on or near Pacific Coast Highway, a scenic artery along the coast that is popular with serious and recreational cyclists and has the added draw of bike lanes for much of the local stretch.

The deaths so close together are highly unusual, said authorities, who add that for the high volume of traffic--both motor- and people-powered--picturesque and winding Pacific Coast Highway has a good safety record. But the coincidental tragedies have unnerved many local cyclists and offer a stark reminder for everyone sharing the road.

“You’re taking your life into your own hands and weighing your chances every time you ride,” said David Powell, membership director of the nearly 600-member Bicycle Club of Irvine.

Nationwide, nearly all of the 800 or so bicyclists who are killed each year are hit by a motor vehicle, according to National Safety Council figures. About 63,000 bicyclists a year are involved in traffic accidents, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Around half of those injured are children under the age of 15.

Two of the men killed, one Aug. 25 in Seal Beach and another Sept. 11 in Dana Point, were following the rules of the road: pedaling in the bike lane, wearing a helmet, staying single file.

In the Seal Beach accident, which killed Lawrence Martin Hilbert, 56, of Long Beach and injured another man, the driver of the car, Michael Roth, 50, of Long Beach, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and felony drunk driving.

“These are victims of circumstance,” Sgt. Rick Ramsdell of the Seal Beach Police Department said. “They were doing what they were supposed to be doing. They were under control. The driver of the car was not and he would have hit whatever happened to be in his way.”

Lt. Hector Rivera of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said there should be ample room for everyone on the highway.

“Statistically, this hasn’t proven to be a significant problem,” Rivera said. Rivera described the Dana Point accident that killed David Brian Simpson, 38, of Bakersfield on Sept. 11 as a case of a van swerving into the bike lane. The accident is still being investigated, he said.

Wayne Bieske of Long Beach lost his life Sept. 13 when his bicycle slid out of control, throwing him under the wheels of a van just north of Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. The 50-year old man was wearing a helmet, said Officer Mike Kelly of the Huntington Beach Police Department.

“For some reason, the bicyclist went down and it just so happened that there was a vehicle right next to him that didn’t have any time to react,” Kelly said.

Bicyclists say their margin for error is small, especially on roads with high speed limits and lots of traffic.

Don Krueger, an avid cyclist who rides between 75 and 100 miles every week, said he would not count Pacific Coast Highway among the most dangerous places to ride a bike. Krueger, who lives in Irvine, considers the main roads in north Orange County--where cyclists share narrow lanes with moving cars, parked cars, crossways and stoplights--the most hazardous in the area.

The death of fellow cyclists, as always, makes him think about the danger of his sport.

“It’s always there in the back of my mind,” Krueger said. “Especially when I’m in a tight spot. I think about my mortality and how I could try to get out of the situation if it gets worse.”

What never changes, say both cyclists and the law enforcement officials who have handled the aftermath of accidents, is the reality of what happens when a car hits a bike.

But Powell, who has been biking for almost four decades, said he thinks of bicycle fatalities in the same way drivers think of traffic accidents. He knows they happen, he tries to do what he can to reduce the risks, and he keeps on going.

“As opposed to sitting on a couch your whole life, I think it’s a risk worth taking,” he said.