ARTHUR — An Arthur woman who was riding a bicycle died in a crash late Monday afternoon in rural Arthur.
According to a state police report, Ella M. Yoder, 33, of Arthur, was riding a bicycle east in a paved buggy lane on Illinois 133 at Douglas County Road 200 E, about a mile and a half east of Arthur.
As Ms. Yoder was preparing to cross Illinois 133 and make a left turn at 4:45 p.m., she turned into the path of an eastbound 2003 Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Kodi D. Kauffman, 19, of Arthur, according to the report.
Police said the pickup truck was unable to stop and struck the bicyclist. Ms. Yoder was pronounced dead at the scene by the Douglas County coroner.
No injuries were reported to police by Kauffman or a passenger, Wilma F. Kauffman, 52, of Cadwell, police said.
This is a tragedy. I am a cyclist. I don't know how many times I have encountered cars and trucks who do not want to share the road and feel the need to nearly knock me off the road. Also many, many people too busy into their "so important" conversations on their phones to even see that there is a bike already crossing. I have already been hit by a careless driver who sped through a red light. If you cannot or will not share the road with cyclists, then you don't have any business behind the wheel....and a bit of exercise would do you better, I am sure.
So, cyclists, be ever-aware of your surroundings. Even when you have the right-of-way at a crossing, drivers rarely pay attention and they will cross and hit you if you are not careful. All you idiots who feel the need to be distracted by your such important calls that you don't care to pay attention to driving a very heavy vehicle that can become lethal to even other vehicles: you obviously did not learn from what happened to Matt Wilhelm a few years ago on Rt. 130 where a young lady was playing with her phone while driving. She ran into him and killed him because of distracted driving. I knew her as well as her family. She will never live it down. Don't let that happen to you. Otherwise, if you cannot pay attention to other people around you when you drive, someone needs to take your car away. Better hope you are not the next person who hits someone.
I am also a daily bicycle commuter and agree with you that most motorists are either unaware of cyclist or simply think that cars always have the right of way.
However, don't be too quick to place blame here. Cyclists can cause accidents just like motorists can. Based on the information above it seems unlikely that it was 100% the truck's fault. The cyclist turned left, meaning she crossed in front of the path of the truck. Maybe the truck could have stopped if they were paying more attention maybe not. Placing blame on someone based on this short article is not only insensitive it's just wrong. I am sure the young man driving the truck feels horrible about the accident the last thing he needs is people blaming him without considering the fact that maybe it wasn't 100% his fault.
PrideCU,
I think you should get the facts before you go off on your rant or post your rant somewhere else. I am a relative of the driver of this truck and he feels horrible about the accident. This is not the place to be blaming someone for not paying attention to cyclists. He was not using his cell phone or being distracted in any other way. The cyclist here (according to the driver, his passenger, and witnesses) didn't look before turning left across traffic on a busy highway in front of the truck. This is a sad time for the family of the woman, but is also a horrible time for the driver and his family. It's easy to jump to conclusions and ASSUME that you know all the facts, simply because you ride a bike. However, please take time to think of the young kid who's life was forever changed on that day, because a cyclist wasn't paying attention. I think you should be sensitave to the feelings and emotions they may going through during these trying times. Calling the driver an idiot is a low blow, and an easy shot!
While I appreciate your point that cyclists and drivers should all pay more attention, laying blame when you know NOTHING of the circumstances in this case is pretty immature and irresponsible.
This is not uncommon, kmill. I commonly see cyclists all over the road, and then they get irate when things don't go the way that they "think" they should.
Just this past Sunday afternoon I saw a donned out cyclist heading south on Prospect approaching Springfield. Although he was desperately trying to keep up with the traffic that the road was designed for - "I think I can! I think I can! I think I can! I know I can!" - he was failing miserably and NOT staying as far to the right as possible as outlined in the Illinois Rules of the Road. As he approached Springfield, he swerved out into traffic without signaling, and then instead of getting in line to make the east turn as he was required to the same as any other vehicle would, he continued up to the stop line, riding along the lane striping in neither lane, passing four or five cars along the way! When the arrow changed he raced ahead and again swerved into traffic only to hold back all of the traffic on eastbound Springfield. I saw him break no less than THREE rules of the road in less than one block.
What many cyclists don't realize is that along with the protections and privledges of "sharing the road" come the exact same responsibilities also dictated to vehicles. That attitude is very clear and prevalent in the sheer number of cyclists I see totally disregard stop signs. The local police really need to enforce these in the same way they enforce the laws for vehicles.
Here are the rules, cyclists - read them. Yes, they apply to you.
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_a112.pdf [10]
The Illinois Rules of the Road pamphlet is not the law or "rules", but that's a pretty common mistake for those that haven't read it in a while. At the bottom of page 1 it clearly states:
In fact the Rules of the Road pamphlet is glaringly wrong in at least one of the interpretations that I'm aware of with respect to bicycles (I've notified the SoS's office, and they said it can't be changed until the next printing).
So it is clearly not "the rules" but rather an interpretation of the rules for your average Joe American. Here are the rules, otherwise known as the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ICS) or more commonly the subsection refered to as the IVC -- Illinois Vehicle Code.
www.illinois.edu/goto/ivc
The particular statute you cite is 625 ILCS 5/11-1505, paragraph a):
The emphasis is mine, and it is key as your "as close as possible" is obviously very different than what the rules/statute/law states. However it is understable how a quick reading could result in inserting the words "as possible" for "practicable and safe". In other words, it's a judgement call, and if you know anything about the conditions of the shoulders of most roads around here, it's not safe to ride as far to the right as possible due to the plethora of potholes and grates. And if you talk to a motorcyclist, they will tell you the safest place to be is right in front of the driver behind you's eyes -- in the left-hand wheel track. Annoying yes, but safest. And covered by the law.
It is enlightening to sit at a 4-way stop and actually observe how motorized vehiclular drivers treat stop signs. Or just watch the video from Urbana:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvI7qO0FkNY [13]
I think you'll find it very enlightening -- bicyclists drive their bicycles very much how everybody drives their cars: most car drivers to not come to a full and complete stop at a stop sign when there is no rational reason to do so. AFAIK, the law makes no distinction between rolling a stop and going through at 8-12 mph (bicycle speeds). The solution to this is not to step up enforcement (this is expensive) but rather to eliminate the stop signs in favor of yield signs and roundabouts -- it saves $$$ in both time, accidents/property damage and fuel.
I wasn't placing blame on the driver in this article. Just pointing out that it is that time of year again and people need to be more alert to the fact that there are cyclist who share the road with them. We have the right, and when I am obeying the cycling laws to a "T" and I get cussed at and purposely run off even the shoulder (where the car should not even be driving in the first place), I have a right to be indignant. This is about awareness. No, I don't know all the facts behind the accident. Certianly, I admit that in this case it could be the cyclist's fault by not watching for vehicles. I never called this particular driver an idiot, but only drivers who roll through stoplights/signs and crosswalks (bike paths), especially when the markings of where they are to stop are before approaching the bike path.
I tend to be on the defensive quite a bit when I hear of any cyclist being hit. I also know that drivers do not pay attention to their surroundings, even if they have no apparent distractions such as a cellphone. When someone drives a vehicle, they need to do so with the expectation that there are cyclists who share the road and have every right to. Too often the blame is placed on the cyclist, but not those of us who follow the laws, stop at our stop signs/lights, stay to the very right of the road. There is no reason why drivers have to feel so impatient about where they are going. As another poster said here, it does not really slow down their commute by that much.
I am sorry that your family member was the driver, but I stand by my convictions to get the message out to any driver.
Maybe you should read them too.<?xml:namespace prefix = o />
"NOT staying as far to the right as possible as outlined in the Illinois Rules of the Road"
"Ride as close to the right edge of the road as practical. Certain conditions allow a
bicyclist to move farther to the left if necessary, such as broken glass, drain grates,
parked cars, left turns and passing."
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_a143.pdf
Believe it or not it is more dangerous for the motorist and the cyclist if a cyclist tries to ride to close to the right. Being to far right means the cyclist has nowhere to go, but into traffic if there is a hazard in the road. The safest place for a cyclist to ride is where the right tire of a car normally goes in the right-hand lane. Does it interfere with traffic? Yes, but it is not going to add that much time to your commute.
Some cyclists do break laws, but don't criticize someone because they are riding where they are supposed to. Granted Prospect is not a bike friendly road and the cyclist could have chosen a better route. Cyclist need to be more aware and respect the laws, but motorist need to realize that they don't own the road.
Also, I highly doubt the cyclist was trying to maintain 35+ mph, he/she was likely just riding at their ordinary pace.
One key fact that every user of the roadway needs to understand regarding cyclists and other non-motorized traffic is that roads generally do not have minimum speed limits. Limited-access divided roadways (e.g. interstates and other major highways) are the exception, and cyclists are generally prohibited from using these. Cyclists have the right to use the whole lane, though the law (and common courtesy) dictates they should be in the right lane except when passing or turning left. Certainly failure to signal a turn, riding between traffic lanes, or passing to the right of stopped traffic is dangerous and usually illegal for cyclists or anyone else. If you are driving a car and come upon a cyclist, drop the road-rage schtick, move left when it is safe to do so, and pass. Same thing with pedestrians, farm equipment, buggies, or whatever. Non-motorized traffic won't slow you down any more than the next stop sign, traffic signal, or mass of motorized traffic, and the time that you will arrive at your destination will not be signficantly impacted by the number of cyclists you encounter.
Stop signs are overused and I also believe that law enforcement and the public should not persecute or nitpick motorists or cyclists that roll through carefully after verifying that doing so will not violate anyone else's safety or right-of-way. Stop signs generally waste gas and cause unnecessary brake wear.
Regardless of the Rules to the Road; sympathy should be extended to Ella Yoder's family. If you are familiar with the area, Yoder is an Amish name. The young woman was riding a bicycle which means that she was either Amish, or Mennonite. Accidents happen every day regardless of fault. She left a family; perhaps with children. Sympathy should be extended to them; and the young driver.