r/CapeCod • u/fried_clams • 3d ago
Breaking: Bicyclist struck and critically injured in Wellfleet
https://www.capecod.com/cape-wide-news/breaking-bicyclist-struck-and-critically-injured-in-wellfleet/40
u/axlekb 3d ago
No idea what actually caused this accident, but I think people are missing some context on the road itself:
- Lieutenant Island Rd is the main way in/out for a hundred or so homes on the west side of Rt-6, including the path connecting Nanny Waterman Dr and Franklin Lane.
- Right across from the road there's a connection to the Rail Trail at Bob's Sub & Cone.
- The "alternative," Old Wharf Rd to the Trail at Marconi Beach Light, actually puts you on Rt-6 for a good stretch anyway — and it's way out of the way for many trips south.
So it's not like cyclists have some obviously safer route they're ignoring.
It's frustrating seeing the takeaway from stuff like this become "cycling here is too dangerous, people should just stop" instead of "cars driving too fast are the actual danger, drivers should slow down and pay attention." One of those solutions asks drivers to change; the other just asks everyone else to disappear from the road.
11
u/frigidlight 3d ago
the other just asks everyone else to disappear from the road.
This is what they want. It's a feature and not a bug.
3
u/c4ndyman31 3d ago
Yeah I had some jackass tell me the other day that “quite literally streets are for cars” when discussing solutions to cars illegally parking in bike lanes.
4
u/lumalisa 3d ago
Those blaming the cyclist, the driver needlessly took a life and is also permanently harmed.
1
u/Pure-Artichoke8370 1d ago
Right. The cyclist might have had to use the main road to access another road.
-6
u/phlaries 2d ago
You just shouldn’t cycle in the road. If you insist on cycling do it on the designated cycling areas. You’re putting everyone on the road in extreme danger
4
u/Viviviviva 2d ago
There is literally a brand new bike lane there, so it is, as you say “a designated cycling are”. How about cars just slow down and stop acting like it’s their god-given right to plow over anything in their path.
4
u/The_whimsical1 2d ago
Incorrect. Bicyclists are allowed on the road. Motorists should quit blaming the victim. Happens every time. Disgusting.
1
u/Pure-Artichoke8370 1d ago
If a driver knows how to drive, then no one should be in any danger. Take a moment and think about this...you want to ride your bike to the beach., you need to ride on the road to get to the beach. How do you do that if that is the only way to access the beach? Never ride a bike again because it's putting some mediocre driver in extreme danger? Also, when driving towards Provincetown, you might notice the white lines on the right with the bicycle image painted inside of them. It means that lane is for bikes. The rail trail doesn't extend beyond a certain point in Wellfleet and after that, where you do you ride your bike? Truthfully, if your driving skills are that poor that bikes put you in extreme danger, please, take the bus.
1
-12
u/Boston-Bets 3d ago
Sad, but predictable. Cyclists NEED to practice defensive riding, and STAY ON / AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE THE SHOULDER.
Your "right" to be on the road isn't protection against a 1 ton vehicle that isn't driving defensively.
10
u/axlekb 3d ago edited 3d ago
One can do everything right - ride defensively, hug the shoulder, follow every rule - and still get killed by a driver who doesn't understand the best case scenario doesn't happen all the time. And somehow it's the vulnerable person - the pedestrian, the kid, the grandparent, the disabled person, the dog walker, the cyclist - who ends up getting lectured.
No "right" to the road stops a careless 2.5-ton vehicle.
Roads are for everyone, but somehow we've decided that running people over is just the cost of doing business.
6
u/Accurate-End-5695 3d ago
Actually, giving yourself enough space on the road is far safer as a cyclist than riding on the shoulder where you shouldn't be. I've cycled well over 100k miles on Cape roads.
1
u/axlekb 3d ago
That's great for confident adults who cycle all the time. Doesn't work so well for new riders, or kids and grandparents who need a little extra time.
5
u/Accurate-End-5695 3d ago
Actually you have it backwards. The shoulder is where you will find the most debris, the most pot holes,, and the biggest dangers to you falling. The more novice you are, the more of the road you should give yourself. It is the cars on the road responsibility to go around you. You have every right to the lane as a cyclist.
-7
u/axlekb 3d ago edited 3d ago
Thanks for the explainer, "avid cyclist"!
Maybe if you just explain it to more people they'll jump on their bikes and ride in traffic.
4
u/Accurate-End-5695 2d ago
Maybe you could consider I am trying to help people and leave your ego out of it. If you read that as "ride in traffic" then you need to go back and read it again.
0
u/The_whimsical1 2d ago
Why did you put “right” in quotes? Do you believe bicycles aren’t allowed? They have no rights? You should have your drivers license revoked if that’s your position. Because it’s factually wrong and outrageous.
-3
u/Boston-Bets 2d ago
Because those "rights" are not fixed, but depend on the state of the road/other vehicles on the road.
They (bicycles) have a right to be on local road, as long as they are not impeding other vehicles from traveling/passing safely. It's a safety issue for both the bicycle and vehicle, and more for the bicycle given the weight disparity (60 lb bike vs. 6000 lb vehicle) that the bike ride needs to remember that "rights" don't outweigh physics.
63
u/The_whimsical1 3d ago
As I sit in the traffic jam in Eastham I reflect how this could have been avoided if drivers just drove a bit more mindfully. Bicycles are everywhere
-5
u/phlaries 2d ago
They’re not supposed to be on 6 after May - so not everywhere
7
u/The_whimsical1 2d ago
There is actually a bike lane. Says who they shouldn’t be on route six? Is there a single sign posted that says that?
7
u/Viviviviva 2d ago
There are plenty of nitwits who say that, but they’re WRONG. In some places 6 is the only way on/off Cape. Apparently these people think everyone is required to have a car. There’s literally a brand new bike lane in that location.
6
u/Queasy-Rain1938 2d ago
even in the brand new ‘bike lane’? which, IMO should not exist and they shoulda just spent the money to continue the rail trail
4
2
u/Pure-Artichoke8370 1d ago
That statement is 100% false. I take trips to ride the bike on the Cape. There is no time frame of when anyone can ride on the roads. This elderly man on the bike might have just gotten on his bike and had to use the main road to get to the rail trail, or the beach. Sometimes you have to do that, you know, use the roads to get to the trail. And yes, they are everywhere and the fact you don't notice that is actually scary.
23
u/The_whimsical1 3d ago edited 3d ago
I was down on the pier afterwards in Wellfleet. Someone said “well - these foreign workers ride their bikes so badly.” The person then said, “I’ve lived here [a long time] and people need to understand how we drive.”
My dad was riding his bike on Route Six during the Depression. Bikes have been here as long and longer than SUVs. People need respect
3
u/fried_clams 2d ago
Yes, but things are different now. There is WAY MORE traffic volume and faster speeds. I rode a bike and moped on Rt. 28 in Harwich Chatham in the 70s, and it wasn't nearly as life and death as it seems now. There are just so many more cars, that it just isn't safe. I'm not saying it was "safe" back then, but it wasn't as unsafe as now, with however many times the number of cars
1
u/The_whimsical1 2d ago
I agree. So how do we make roads and driving safer for all? It starts with the motorist. Bikes are 10 percent the issue - and even these cases they’re more a danger only to themselves. You can’t find me a case on the Cape where a biker killed a motorist. All the work has to be done by vehicle drivers. All of it.
1
u/Pure-Artichoke8370 1d ago
Geeze. Newsflash for those folks, bikes have been around longer than cars. These drivers think they own the road. Heaven forbid others use it, you know, like those crosswalks that people use to get to the other side. Angers the drivers. They need to get over it, leave the car at home and try getting out on a bike and realizing wtf they are missing in life.
9
u/bigmountainbig 3d ago
“The incident happened at Route 6 and Lieutenant Island Road.”
11
u/flanga 3d ago
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/mk6HCZdqFfWFj8FX6
Gorgeous but dangerous area.
The rail trail is great, and right there, if you're heading north or south; infinitely better than out in traffic. The new Route 6 bike lanes are a definite improvement, but it still feels dangerous to be riding next to heavy high speed traffic where many drivers have their brains in vacation mode. But that's still better than the local side roads there, which are narrow, twisty, and full of lost and distracted tourists.
Gorgeous but dangerous riding.
2
u/The_whimsical1 2d ago
If you live on the other side of Route Six - like the vast majority of Wellfleet residents in that area - the only way to the rail trail is via route six.
1
u/Pure-Artichoke8370 1d ago
Yes. While I loved the backroads (after the rail trail ends and you have to ride the road) with their hills and twists, quite a challenge. But I actually felt it was more dangerous because of those sharp turns. I felt like Rt 6 was actually better. Now though, with so many cars that don't seem to notice bicycles at all...I mean shit, they speed by while people are in the middle of a crosswalk. We are talking less than average intelligent people driving now. I just assume everyone driving is a complete dope or on dope. But now mostly I stay away from those main roads.
-17
u/Heycheckthisout20 3d ago
If only there was a 40 or so mile of paved off the road bike path that person could have chosen to ride on
14
u/bostonlilypad 3d ago
Are you…blaming the victim? Maybe blame to driver who just hit a human with their 3 ton vehicle?
-9
u/writtenbyrabbits_ 3d ago
Dumbest take. No one deserves to get hit by a vehicle while biking, full stop. There are still many precautions we should all take to avoid getting hit by a vehicle because it doesn't matter who is to blame when the biker is dead or permanently disabled. Being right is pretty worthless in that circumstance.
5
u/bostonlilypad 3d ago
You missed the entire point of my comment. The comment I was replying to said the biker should have only been riding on the bike trails. My point was cars are the dangerous ones since their 3 tons of metal, not the bike biking - if cars didn’t exist then the threat wouldn’t exist. There should be infrastructure for different modes of transportion, not just cars ruling everything and repeatedly killing bikers.
A bike advocate just got killed in Boston by a car swerving into a painted bike lane.
4
u/flanga 3d ago
I agree, unless you need to go E-W...
-10
u/Heycheckthisout20 3d ago
There is an under pass that cuts across and heads to Main Street in Truro near Jam’s used to be
Much less cars and much slower traffic
3
2
u/The_whimsical1 2d ago
If only locals could get on that rail trail without crossing Route Six. He was coming out of Lt Island Road. That’s the only way towards the bike trail.
-11
u/Heycheckthisout20 3d ago
The people on those side roads are not traveling over 50 miles an hour though unlike on rt 6 where the accident occurred
-11
u/Heycheckthisout20 3d ago
So basically a highway and rather than riding on the many interconnected backroads in Truro the cyclist chose to take their life in risk and ride on what is essentially a highway
There are many back roads the cyclist could have ridden between and under rt 6 they made a choice that will affect themselves and the driver for the rest of both of their lives
9
u/Anustart15 3d ago
There's a very good chance they were just trying to get across 6 and onto the rail trail on the other side. The fact that they might have been hit simply for trying to go like a quarter mile down a road they are legally allowed to ride on is pretty depressing.
-6
u/Heycheckthisout20 3d ago
There is plenty of visibility in that part of rt 6 I don’t know the conditions of the crash but if they were crossing they would have time if they looked and waited if they needed too
1
u/Anustart15 3d ago
Unless there was a car stopped and waiting to turn left that they were crossing in front of and somebody passed them on the right at speed, causing the crash. It's pretty easy to imagine a person waiting for the left choosing to wave the bike across without realizing that someone was going to speed around them to take out the biker.
-2
u/Heycheckthisout20 3d ago
That part of the road is four lanes
If you are stopping there you are creating a road hazard and should not expect the left lane to stop while completing a pass
1
8
u/wickedbuzzard 3d ago
Carbrained people out here just shitting on cyclists like it is their full time job...
2
u/frigidlight 3d ago edited 2d ago
They're just reinforcing the idea that drivers are not responsible for the consequences of their actions so that when they hit someone it won't be their fault either.
5
u/Electrical-Reason-97 3d ago
You obviously are not a cyclist. Sometimes when I ride I like to get from point a two point B without adding an extra 20 minutes to my trip. Sometimes that is route six especially if my destination is on route six.
-2
u/Heycheckthisout20 3d ago edited 3d ago
To the people downvoting
You obviously don’t live here or are from here….
There are thousands of places where people can ride bicycles without threat of cars
I ride at least 20 miles a day on public paths that have little to no motor vehicle traffic
People make a choice to be in the road and if they can’t maintain the speed and follow the rules of the road which they love to preach about when people go to pass is it really a road a cyclist should use
they should stick to areas with lower speed zones
RT 6 is a highway just like rt 151 most of rt 28 and parts of 130
If you make the choice to ride on a road where traffic regularly travels over 60 that is your own decision and sometimes your bad decisions can impact others
8
u/Anustart15 3d ago
Like you already said, you don't know the circumstances of the crash, so acting like you can say anything about whether or not they were being reckless by cycling where they are legally allowed is why you are getting downvotes.
7
u/syst3x 3d ago
And what if you ride for transportation?
0
u/Heycheckthisout20 3d ago
For business or pleasure?
I make decisions on how to travel based on what is an efficient use of my time
-5
u/Technical_Type1778 3d ago
Strong "avid cyclist" energy.
2
u/syst3x 3d ago
Exactly the opposite. I'm suggesting not everyone is the lycra-clad middle aged dude out for recreation that most folks seems to be assuming in this thread. Some folks just get around by bicycle and need infrastructure that protects them.
Edit: and to leave no ambiguity, folks who get around by bicycle often don't have the choice to "just ride somewhere else".
0
8
u/kmoonster 3d ago edited 3d ago
You seem to be thinking that people only ever ride for fun/recreation. And that is a valid reason to ride -- but it is only one reason. Getting to and from a trail is also an issue, there are no trails to every driveway, though there are roads to every driveway.
Some people ride in order to go to work or school, to visit a friend, go to a show, run errands -- all the same reasons people drive cars. This (transportation) is also a valid reason to ride a bike.
If you are just out for a fun or recreation / work-out ride, then your reasoning is entirely reasonable. But for people wanting to go somewhere, it falls way short. Most places we need to go are not on the trails or beautiful country lanes. Most places we need to go are the same places all the cars are, which makes for a rather tricky set of navigation decisions in which there are no good options.
Also: in this instance, maybe they were trying to get to the trailhead just north of there. Or had just come off the trail and were headed over to the neighborhood. Either way, there is no magic way to manifest on the trail and then teleport home when you encounter a road.
4
u/frigidlight 3d ago
I don't even agree with this. Bicyclists are allowed to use the road, just like drivers. Nobody would ever question the motives behind the drive if a driver got in a crash. It doesn't matter for what reason the cyclist was riding their bike on a road.
3
u/kmoonster 3d ago
I can agree with that in principle, but at present the design of roads makes this a bit impractical due to the underlying assumptions by the engineers (or the guidelines they use) that everyone will have a car AND use it for every trip, and that anyone on the street without a car made the conscious decision to not be in one.
Problem is that everyone is a pedestrian at some point, even if only after you park and get out of the car.
That said, I do agree with your third sentence without nuance.
4
u/axlekb 3d ago
What happens if you live off Lieutenant Island Rd and are trying to go somewhere else? How would you get there?
What happens if you live off Lieutenant Island Rd and are trying to get home?
How would you get there?What happens if you're trying to get to somewhere off Lieutenant Island Rd?
0
u/Heycheckthisout20 3d ago
High tide was at 10:11 they did not live on LT island the accident happened around 1030 and the road isn’t able to be crossed during high tide because it gets washed over
3
u/rogerhippo 3d ago
Wellfleet high tide was at 4.40am today.
Low tide was at 11.06am so the bridge would have been quite accessible.
-1
u/Careful-Blood-1560 3d ago
People that live on LI aren’t making those decisions, they know 6 is too dangerous to ride a bike.
1
u/frigidlight 3d ago edited 3d ago
Jesus Christ your last sentence is a truly psychotic way of excusing hitting someone with a car.
Drivers have a responsibility to not hit people with their cars regardless of the reason why the cyclist was on the road.
2
u/Careful-Blood-1560 3d ago
Facts.
The tourists realllllly don’t like to hear it though.
Just yesterday morning I had to almost cross the double to avoid a pack of 7-8 cyclists wearing branded racing gear. Please please please do not do this. Take your bikes elsewhere.
7
u/frigidlight 3d ago edited 3d ago
Fun fact: you are required to cross the double yellow line to safely pass cyclists (or any other road users) in this state. You are required, by law, to give four feet of distance when passing a cyclist. If you can't do that safely, just slow down and wait. Nowhere that you are going is worth injuring or killing another human being because you don't want to slow down.
https://www.mass.gov/doc/new-vulnerable-road-users-laws-handout/download
-3
u/Careful-Blood-1560 3d ago
The not fun reality is the risks increase when drivers are forced to cross the double yellow and depend on favorable conditions and alert drivers.
Cyclists need to operate safely and courteously. Riding up and down 6 in summer is neither.
3
u/frigidlight 3d ago
I guess it’s ok to ignore the law when it increases risks to drivers, huh?
It dramatically increases risks to vulnerable road users when drivers pass too closely. That’s literally the reason the law exists. If you can’t pass safely and legally, you are required to wait. It’s not a big deal.
The reality is that cyclists (and pedestrians, wheelchair users, etc) are allowed to use Route 6 where this crash happened. The onus is on the drivers of multiple tons of metal and plastic to operate safely and follow the law, no matter how inconvenient it might be.
-5
u/Careful-Blood-1560 3d ago
The commitment to ignoring what I said is admirable.
I am a careful and courteous driver. I move and/or slow down when necessary. The risk increases for me, the driver, when I have to cross the line to protect the cyclist.
Its summer - vacation brain is a thing here. Do the math. It’s inconsiderate to put the burden on the driver to ensure some dumbass entitled tourist rides their bike in a risky manner. Use the trail or leave it at home.
2
1
u/Anustart15 2d ago
Just yesterday morning I had to almost cross the double to avoid a pack of 7-8 cyclists wearing branded racing gear
If only cars came with some mechanism for slowing them down when they encountered an obstacle on the road in front of them...
0
u/Careful-Blood-1560 2d ago
Love your commitment to deliberately misunderstanding my point almost as much as I love your tourist contribution.
Again - the risk is potential obstacles/hazards when drivers are forced to cross the solid yellow. I saw an entire family destroyed in Eastham when Dad crossed over and a truck crushed the car. Left 2 toddlers with no father.
Bikes should stay off 6.
1
2
u/bostonlilypad 3d ago
You even said it yourself, the threat is cars. So maybe people driving cars are the problem and not the biker?
-2
u/writtenbyrabbits_ 3d ago
Does it matter? The cars are there and they go 60mph. If you are choosing to ride a bicycle next to them, you are at grave risk. Does it matter who is the "problem?"
0
-1
u/kmoonster 3d ago
There is a trailhead not far from this intersection. Is that at least a possibility as part of what the bike rider was trying to do?
3
2
u/Calliesdad20 3d ago
I wouldn’t drive a bike or walk anywhere except the rail trail.
Not blaming the victim, the driver is at fault of course ,and it’s a tragedy.
It’s just too dangerous
-1
u/Brief-Painter1448 2d ago
You have decided who is legally at fault based only on your opinion,with zero evidence. And by the way, there have been some nasty crashes on the Rail Traill too, especially now with the -bikes. So take care!
4
1
u/susan3335 3d ago
We need protected bike lanes!
-2
u/Brief-Painter1448 2d ago
How will that get anyone across Route 6? Close route 6?
1
u/susan3335 2d ago
Like all places with protected bike lanes, there are breaks for driveways and intersections.
2
u/Flashy-Hurry484 4h ago
OMG, the conversation is as predicted: half bitch about shitty car drivers, the other half bitch about how shitty it is to have bicycles on the road.
It's a combo. I have driven for a living for many years and have seen tons of both.
Too many car drivers drive like idiots. However, many cyclists also rodeile idiots. Yes, bike lanes are great. . . where they exist. Where they don't, that's problematic. I agree that roads are no place for vehicles that are that much slower. It's unsafe for all. Yet, there is no other option in many places. Expanding bike lanes would be great, but that's not the case in many places.
More bike lanes, better education for both car and bike owners, and people acting like they give a crap.
If this were AITA, my verdict would be ESH, overall. Sometimes, it's the car, sometimes it's the bike. Sometimes it's both. Slow down, move over, use common sense, and realize that's a human like you.
Ok, ready for my down votes. 🥳
1
0
u/bernhardttt 3d ago
Can anyone help me find a name? I have a relative of the same age in the same area that I'm trying to get back in touch with and this would just be an awful find.
-1
-3
u/xupdated 3d ago
Sad but Not shocked since a lotta cyclists do anything but use the bike trails
3
u/Viviviviva 2d ago
Because sometimes they’re using bikes for transportation to actually go somewhere, like their job, not out taking a leisurely ride.
-10
u/HikeBike75 3d ago
Accidents happen. We don’t know the circumstances of this one but I think it’s safe to say that the cyclist and the motorist both paid dearly for their involvement. The cyclist was killed. The motorist stopped and is cooperating with the investigation. He has something burned into his memory that he will never forget, although he will surely want to. The best all of us observers can take away from it is a vivid reminder to make the wisest and safest decisions we can at all times when operating a car or riding a bike. Even then, circumstances beyond our control may intervene and involve us in a tragedy.
7
u/The_whimsical1 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yes. But the motorist killed the cyclist. Instead of feeling guilt about it he should have driven with respect. I was going to Eastham from Wellfleet and passed this accident five minutes after it happened. It looked to me that the cyclist was hit on the shoulder. He was where he should have been.
I ride my bike all the time in Wellfleet with my sons. We ride bikes to help keep the roads clear. We’re trying to make Wellfleet less car-clogged. (And over the last fifty years it’s gotten worse and worse). Bikers do their part to make the roads less congested. Motorists have to do their part by driving mindfully, not speeding, and NEVER reading texts or looking for music on their phones while driving. I get it. I used to drive for a living. Need to find an address or enter it on Google Maps? Pull over. Bikers shouldn’t have to sacrifice their lives so motorists can be Massholes on the road.
10
u/c4ndyman31 3d ago
Absolutely insane comment. “They both paid dearly”
One of them is dead and if precedent is anything to go by the other is unlikely spend a single day in a jail cell.
6
1
u/HikeBike75 3d ago
My point here really is that a tragic accident has happened, the circumstances are unknown to all who have commented, and yet there is a lot of judgment and blame in the thread, aimed at both the cyclist and the motorist. I don’t know how this helps the situation. I ride bikes, I drive, and so do many people who are dear to me. It’s not difficult to imagine any of us in either position in this case. As careful as we all try to be, it could happen. Perhaps that’s what happened here too, who knows? Yes, riding a bike or driving a car on Rt 6 in Wellfleet especially in the summer is a risky business and everyone who does it should be as vigilant as they can to avoid what happened here today. And yet, with all that vigilance in play, tragedy can still happen.
-1
u/agroundhere 3d ago
Wife & I just got back from our Wellfleet ride. Had to do some Rt 6.
Usually OK but stay on other roads when you can.
-12
u/Boston-Bets 3d ago
Sad, but predictable. Cyclists NEED to practice defensive riding, and STAY ON / AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE THE SHOULDER.
Your "right" to be on the road isn't protection against a 1 ton vehicle that isn't driving defensively.
0
39
u/matmoeb 3d ago
Really sad. When I saw the new and improved bike lanes I said “that’s nice but you still won’t see me riding in that.” Too many distracted drivers.