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Fatal Bicycle Accident in Marin County Raises Calls for Safety Measures

For decades now, the Marin County community had been calling for enhanced safety measures on a dangerous stretch of highway because of the risk of serious accidents. A bicycle accident, that left a woman seriously injured, has pushed those plans forward.

On May 26^th, Claire Diepenbrock of San Francisco was riding on Highway 1 near Tennessee Avenue when two cars struck her. She suffered multiple injuries including skull, jaw, and cheekbone fractures, a punctured lung and a broken clavicle. Diepenbrock has now been moved from a trauma center to her parent’s home in Sacramento.

Since the accident, calls for safety measures to be taken to make the dangerous road safer for motor vehicles and cyclists have grown louder. The Contra Costa Times reports that California Transportation Officials are considering a range of safety measures

Soon after the accident, residents of the area took on a letter writing campaign to transportation officials, calling for improvements including installation of signs and making improvements to intersections. Wider pathways are also expected to be created.   According to David Hoffman, who is a director of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, California Department of Transportation officials have agreed to review the proposed enhancements. DOT officials have said that they may be able to make some of the improvements within 6 months, but the others will take time.

Residents had called for changes to be made to the one-mile stretch of highway from Almonte Boulevard to Loring Avenue. These changes include dropping the speed limit from 35 to 25 mph and the installation of stoplights.  Residents are also calling for the widening of the shoulder along the highway, and for the installation of a crosswalk at one of the intersections.

According to Hoffman, these calls for safety improvements have gone back more than 30 years. The safety group has found records dating back to 1976 asking for safety improvements that were badly needed in the area. But those pleas have been ignored until now. Claire’s accident has brought the dangers from the highway into focus, and those long over due plans are now moving forward.  According to Hoffman, the cost of the project could range from a few thousands of dollars to millions.

Over the past 18 months, 77 accidents have been reported on that particular stretch of highway. These accidents involve motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. As recently as a couple of weeks before Diepenbrook’s accident, local residents were told by State Assemblyman Jarred Huffman that there was no possibility of funding for the highway improvements in the near future. But all that has changed since the accident.

Across California, there are dozens of dangerous roads that continue to be off the radar of state transportation officials. Funding shortages have been made it hard for infrastructure development projects to move ahead. While these projects remain in a state of limbo, the motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians who use the roads continue to be at risk for accidents.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of bicycle accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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