Bike deaths

[Nuit]

http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/10252834-418/plano-man-teaching-overseas-killed-on-bike-ride-in-taiwan.html

Sad news.
Andrew Kuebrich, 24 - an American cyclist, was killed by a truck in Kending over CNY. Report doesn't say how the accident happened, so we'll all assume it was the truck driver at fault .
Doesn't say if he was wearing a helmet or not, or if that would've made any difference.

[tommy525]

Sad indeed. Taiwan is very dangerous in terms of traffic. Probably 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.

[the bear]

Sad indeed. Taiwan is very dangerous in terms of traffic. Probably 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.

But conversely Taiwan is relatively safe for road cyclists (IMHO). You rarely get buzzed by hooligans and, at least in my experience, drivers often slow down and drive behind you rather than force you off the road. That said it probably depends on the roads you're on and a double caveat where truck drivers are concerned.

[tommy525]

Isnt that one of the reasons they are making all these bike only lanes?

[the bear]

Isnt that one of the reasons they are making all these bike only lanes?

I avoid those like the plague. They get clogged up with families and kids on tricycles; that's where the real danger is.

[tommy525]

yeah i suppose invariably some peeps are going to get hurt on those paths too

[upandover]

even the waterfront paths are getting bad, especially on the weekends,
I popped into a Giant store down by Longshen temple on Sat, one just beside the bike path,
at the time I walked in they were cleaning up some guy on a roadie that had to swerve and crashed to avoid hitting some kid that wasn't paying attention, he had a nice gash on his knee to show for it.
he was also the third one to come in that day.
I do prefer the roads to the path, but you take your chances with idiot drivers

[Mucha Man]

even the waterfront paths are getting bad, especially on the weekends,

Yeah, they certainly can be, and I've seen some bad crashes. But on cooler or even slightly misty/rainy days they are delightfully empty. The southern city paths are almost always quieter and the paths down to Sanxia/Yingge are so wide you can ride safely most of the time.

Just avoid sunny warm weekend days. Though I guess that's when most people want to ride.

[Maceck]

From this article, written back in Chicago, it sounds like he was an experienced cyclist. I imagine he was wearing a helmet if he was on an island tour.

Impossible to speculate on what happened, but sharing the road on two wheels always comes with risks. Sounds like this youngster was living right though

Does anyone know this fella personally? Says he was teaching in Taipei....

[circleback]

RIP fellow cyclist. This is terrible news, of course.

I just want to comment that having ridden down the East Coast, North Coast, and Northeast Coast, my biggest fear are those damned big trucks and their reckless drivers. I've had a couple of close calls, especially riding on the mountain road from Xindian to Yilan. The seem to haul-arse at break-neck speed with no intention of slowing down, no matter the cost. The coastal roads are only moderately better because of the scooter/bike lanes. But those trucks still scare the bejeezus out of me and ruin what would otherwise be an awesome ride.

Otherwise, I do feel that Taiwan is relatively safe for biking. People are just used to bicycles being on the road. Making sure you are visible with bright colors and bright flashy lights for the evening is especially important.