Diligence would prevent bicycle lanes from becoming killer roads
If drivers would cut riders some slack, bicycle lanes could be used for what they were built for – and lives would be saved.
by David Whiting, Register columnist, dwhiting@ocregister.com

Two seconds.

Enough to save a life?

If Christy Kirkwood, a Garden Grove teacher, or David "Cat" Pullen, a Mission Viejo family man, were alive, they could testify. But, like their mangled bikes, their graves are silent.

Instead we're left trying to imagine what cycling would be like if drivers just waited two seconds instead of suddenly pulling in front of cyclists, cutting them off or swerving into bicycle lanes while grabbing a drink or cell phone.

Luckily, this past weekend was good for cyclists. No one was killed.

Of course there are the wounded. After all, every season is open season on bicyclists. We'll mention just three, two who made the newspaper, one who did not.

If you who read this space last week you know one of the injured: Ken Kalfin, husband, father, attorney, aspiring Ironman. Perhaps it's ironic Kalfin's accident was the one that didn't get any publicity. More likely, it's because his case was routine. He wasn't even maimed.

Kalfin, 38, was riding single file with his wife, Laura, on Santiago Canyon Road's bike lane about 8:20 a.m. Saturday when a minivan pulled out on Ridgeline Road. Kalfin says he "bounced like a ping pong ball," breaking his clavicle and scapula.

He won't be able to meet his goal of competing in Ironman Arizona on Sunday, but Kalfin hopes to be recovered by mid-August when he and his wife hope to compete in Ironman United Kingdom.

Lemonade out of lemons, Ken says.

Karl "K.C." Schaaf nearly died. While out for his regular training ride on Antonio Parkway Saturday afternoon, a Toyota Camry veered into the bicycle lane, according to deputies. The 59-year-old Newport Beach attorney suffered severe head injuries, multiple broken bones, shattered vertebrae, broken ribs and a lacerated liver. His wife, Toni, in Coto de Caza, tells me that while he remains in a coma, K.C. is a tough, determined man in great shape and if anyone can fully recover it will be him.

At about 7 a.m. Sunday morning, Gary Hoffman, 61, was riding his bike on Slater near Magnolia in Fountain Valley when he was hit. Police say the driver took off leaving Hoffman lying in the street. He was treated at the hospital for cuts, bruises and a fractured elbow. His wife, Carmen, also a cyclist, tells me the couple is going to give up riding on roads and stick to sidewalks, which she says pose their own dangers.

We have spent millions of dollars on beautiful bicycle lanes in our weather-perfect land. But at some point – soon – our collective mindset will have to decide if we want those asphalt ribbons bloodied and empty, or if we're willing to wait a few seconds in our multi-tasking lives and give riders their due.

Many cyclists already have given up road riding, saying it's just too dangerous. This in a century that begs for alternative means of transportation.

On a relatively short ride from my house in Mission Viejo to Santiago Canyon Road, I pass the memorials for Kirkwood and Pullen, both killed in just the last 11 months. In a cruel twist of fate, Pullen's life was taken on Olympiad, the very road that bore witness to the 1984 Olympic bicycle races and was renamed for that honor.

Sheriff's deputies said in both cases the cyclists were in the bicycle lane and were hit when cars veered over the white line.

Illegally jumping the white line into the bicycle lane is a shockingly common mistake. (Crossing the dotted line when turning right is fine.) Yet ask yourself when you last saw a driver cited.

Drive or ride any busy road and you can barely count the minutes before you see a vehicle straddle the bike lane. Just three weeks ago, I saw a car cross the entire bike lane and actually bounce off an asphalt curb while northbound on Santiago.

Some will say bicyclists shouldn't be on the road. (They're wrong, according to the law.) Others will say there are plenty of careful drivers. And they're correct.

But any one who rides bicycle lanes knows far too many drivers are careless, some downright dangerous.

What is especially frustrating is that overwhelmingly, these drivers save – at most – two seconds for their recklessness.

How do I know this? I've timed it.

Call it the in and out urge.

The In: A car passes a cyclist, but cuts them off with a quick right turn, usually into a shopping center.

The Out: A car stops to turn onto a busy road. As a bicycle approaches, the car suddenly pulls out

I'd like to think that most drivers simply don't realize how fast many cyclists go. Most road cyclists travel at least 15 miles an hour on the flats, and many are pushing speeds over 20 m.p.h. On a slight decline, think 30 m.p.h., 40 or more downhill.

Sometimes you get a chance to make a difference. This is one of those times.

It will only cost two seconds.

Christy Kirkwood and David Pullen can't ever thank you. But Ken Kalfin and Gary Hoffman will. And someday, maybe Karl Schaaf will be able to.

David Whiting talks about street biking and the risk of accidents, and more O.C. outdoors.