Bucking Trend, O.C. Bike Fatalities Rise

From mountain bikes climbing the hills of Mission Viejo to 10-speeds maneuvering through rush-hour gridlock on Harbor Boulevard, cycling appears more popular than ever in Orange County. But bike enthusiasts are raising concerns about a recent rise in bike fatalities.

The number of cyclists killed in accidents rose from seven in 1994 to 15 in 1998, according to an analysis of state accident data, with adults far more likely to be victims than children or teens.

Orange County posted more fatalities in 1998 than Los Angeles County, which has roughly three times the population but which recorded 14 deaths. Los Angeles County has experienced a 36% drop in bike fatalities over the same period, mirroring a statewide trend.

“It is dangerous out there,” said Lee Medrano, 40, who rides his mountain bike to his cashier’s job and classes at Santa Ana College. “You always have to watch out for the drivers because they don’t watch out for you.”

Orange County’s rising fatality count is all the more perplexing because total bike accidents--mostly those resulting in minor injuries--declined 16% from 1994 to 1998.

But much of the decrease has come because of fewer crashes involving children. Total bike accidents involving children 15 and younger dropped 14% over this period, while accidents involving riders older than 45 increased by more than 10%.

Experts and bike enthusiasts said the numbers could be a result of the growing use of bikes as basic transportation for adults who either can’t afford cars or like the health benefits that pedal power brings them.

While “bike rodeos” and other efforts to teach children about bike safety appear to be working, they argue, older cyclists face more risks as they merge onto traffic-clogged streets.

The safety problem is most severe in North County, which lacks the wide boulevards and network of bike lanes of newer communities. Of the 58 cyclists killed from 1994 to 1998, 49 died in North County cities. All but a handful were adults.

“Mom and Dad don’t allow kids to go on a 20-mile bike ride, and they also tend to stay on sidewalks close to their homes,” said Don Krueger, former president of the Bicycle Club of Irvine. “Adults tend to hit the main roads. . . . That’s where the danger is.”

Underscoring the shift, a recent federal report found that the average age of cyclists killed in traffic accidents nationwide increased from 24.1 in 1988 to 32.1 in 1998.

The rise in Orange County’s fatal accidents is relatively small in terms of raw numbers--eight over four years, yet a UC Irvine expert on crime statistics said the data is “intriguing” and merits further examination.

Gilbert Geis, a professor emeritus of criminology, said that to fully understand why deaths are rising, the numbers should be compared with data measuring the number of bike miles traveled in the county. Such figures, however, are not kept by government agencies.

But police documents do record the human toll of bike accidents, from a 57-year-old Anaheim hotel worker struck on his way home from work to the latest fatality, a 52-year-old Huntington Beach woman hit by a suspected drunk driver April 2.

Teruko Takeuchi was cycling to the local supermarket to pick up the Sunday newspaper--a ritual she started six months ago when she began biking as part of an exercise regimen. Her bicycle was dragged under the van and she died instantly of head injuries, police said.

“I never thought it was dangerous,” said Hiro Takeuchi, 52, the victim’s husband. “My children always rode bicycles to go to school through junior school and high school.”

The hotel worker, Alejandro Gonzalez, was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Orangewood Avenue near the Anaheim Marriott hotel. He hit the car’s window and was carried 30 feet before falling to the pavement. Then, as witnesses called for help, another car ran over him.

Gonzalez left behind five children, including the youngest, who suffers from Down’s syndrome.

Traveling in bike lanes far from ensures that cyclists will avoid accidents, but many riders believe more such routes would improve safety in North County.

Santa Ana has 14 miles of bike lanes and paths, compared with 350 miles in Irvine, which has about half the population. Santa Ana recorded 13 fatal bike accidents from 1994 to 1998; Irvine recorded one.

“The roads in South County are very nice. Cities like Irvine and Mission Viejo, they’ve got bike lanes everywhere,” said Jeff Rich, president of the 600-member Orange County Wheelmen. “But you get to the north, to the older, more urban streets, and the roads get narrower.”

The Orange County Transportation Authority drafted a bicycle lane and path blueprint in 1994, but officials said North County cities have been slow in implementing the proposals.

In Anaheim, for example, officials are planning to draw the city’s first commuter bike lanes on stretches of Brookhurst Street and Euclid Avenue. But they have run into opposition from local merchants who don’t want to cede the parking spaces.

“It is a sticky point,” said city traffic engineer John Lower. “In general, the removal of street parking is a hurdle. Or you have to widen the roads [to accommodate bike lanes], and that is very expensive and you get into people’s frontyards. People are very protective of their frontyards.”

In Santa Ana, officials plan to add bike lanes on a one-mile stretch of Bristol Street that is scheduled to be widened this year and another mile of bike path to connect existing paths from Alton Avenue to Maple Street. But city officials say the narrow urban streets offer few other opportunities for street widenings and bike lanes.

Local riders say more bike lanes as well as other safety improvements such as more traffic signs and crossings would help make their rides less hazardous.

Christian Hartwig, who for years has biked seven miles every day from his Irvine home to his bicycle mechanic job in Santa Ana, agreed. Recently, a driver on Harbor Boulevard made a right turn directly into his path, he said.

“I slid for like 15 feet,” he said.

Hartwig, 27, said he rides a bicycle because he cannot afford car insurance.

Medrano, the Santa Ana College student, owns a car, but he said he prefers the economy of a bicycle. “It is a good means of transportation,” said Medrano, who has ridden for about three years. “I just wish they had more bike lanes. It would tell drivers they have to share the road with bicycles, be more cautious.”

But bike lanes alone, experts say, will not make the streets safer. According to CHP figures, nearly two-thirds of bicycle accidents are blamed on the cyclists themselves.

“Most of the time it is an inexperienced rider, riding at night with no lights on their bikes and wearing dark clothes,” Rich said. “It’s also a training and education issue.”

Rich and others credit programs such as bike rodeos targeted at kids for the steady decline in the number of injuries involving younger riders. Similar safety programs for adults have just begun to spring up around the country but are not as widespread, experts said.

Because there are no statistics on bike ridership levels, it remains unclear exactly how many more adult cyclists are hitting the road and to what degree the surge in deaths is related to greater bike traffic.

A statewide crackdown on motorists who drive without valid car registrations or licenses appears to be forcing even more adults to rely on bikes for basic transportation. Last year, for example, Santa Ana police alone impounded 11,000 vehicles after drivers failed to produce proper car registrations or driver’s licenses.

“There is more need for cycling and less room for cyclists,” said Don Harvey, executive director of the Orange County Bicycle Coalition.

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Bike Deaths

The number of cyclists killed in Orange County has more than doubled in the last five years--with adults far more likely to be victims than children and teens.

1. Rising Bike Death Rate in OC

1994 - 7

1995 - 8

1996 - 12

1997 - 16

1998 - 15

2. City by city death rate 1994-1998 (in order of most)*

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Santa Ana - 13 Anaheim - 10 Costa Mesa - 4 Garden Grove - 4 Huntington Beach - 3 Stanton - 3 Fullerton - 2 Newport Beach - 2 Orange - 2 Seal Beach - 2 Westminster - 2 Buena Park - 1 Cypress - 1 Irvine - 1 La Habra - 1 Lake Forest - 1 San Juan Capistrano - 1 Tustin - 1 Unincorporated and Private Areas 4 Total 58

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3. Decline in total accidents (state/county)

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASUALTIES BY YEAR

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1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 CALIFORNIA 11985 11878 11310 12037 10962 ORANGE COUNTY 1102 1060 1041 1085 938 TOTAL NUMBER OF FATALITIES CALIFORNIA 112 127 119 105 99 ORANGE COUNTY 7 8 12 16 15 LOS ANGELES COUNTY 30 33 26 22 14

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Source: CHP and Times reports