It seems entirely possible to me that the van driver was actually taking the corner "too slow" (though I'd be taking it slow too based on blindness of the turn if I wasn't used to that area) resulting in a situation where there was an obstacle in the bicyclist's path that was difficult to avoid at the speed that she was travelling.
And yes, this would also mean that turn would be dangerous for other cars as well in this situation, but modern cars actually have a much easier time of safely breaking while curving and going downhill than a person on a bicycle would (way easier to crash the bike or slide it out) and the car would be further out to the left of the lane than a bike would.
Of course, this is all speculation, and this is a horrible tragedy no matter how it happened, but I think some people are calling for the van driver's head way too early on this. And I say that as someone who does quite a lot of biking both mountain biking and on the roads.
I agree pretty much entirely. It's entirely possible that no one was at fault, or even that the bicyclist was, say, looking down and didn't notice the van until too late. And please don't think I'm "calling for the van driver's head." I have made so many mistakes while driving, riding a motorcycle, and bicycling that could easily have led to the death of me or other people if the conditions lined up right. Dappled sunlight through the trees, relatively high speeds for a bicycle, a sharp corner, and a tiny side-street are a really dangerous combination.
Yeah agreed. It is also possible the driver was at fault, I just think we don't have enough information to say what happened for sure.
Ultimately, I think most people would agree that regardless of where fault lies in this particular accident (which doesn't change the tragedy of it at all) this is a very dangerous intersection to have both bicyclists and drivers travelling at the current speed limit with such blind turns, curves and grade involved.
And yes, this would also mean that turn would be dangerous for other cars as well in this situation, but modern cars actually have a much easier time of safely breaking while curving and going downhill than a person on a bicycle would (way easier to crash the bike or slide it out) and the car would be further out to the left of the lane than a bike would.
Of course, this is all speculation, and this is a horrible tragedy no matter how it happened, but I think some people are calling for the van driver's head way too early on this. And I say that as someone who does quite a lot of biking both mountain biking and on the roads.