Category: California Driving

Seven years after fatal bike crash, a Chico doctor is still missed

It was the driver's second collision with a bike; was county, too, at fault?
by Yucheng Tang | Posted July 28, 2025
Doherty was participating in Cycle Oregon. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Whipple.

On the morning of a windless Saturday in late July 2018, Chico surgeon William Doherty parked his car at the Chico airport, unloaded his Trek Domane road bike, and rode northeast along Cohasset Road.

Cycle Oregon—a weeklong ride Doherty had participated in for many years—was around the corner. Doherty was training on Cohasset, where the road climbs up to the town on the ridge, to get ready for the Oregon trip.

He rode on the narrow bike lane at the beginning of the route. After about 7 miles, the road narrows and the lane on the shoulder disappears. Cyclists consider this part of the road dangerous, and Doherty had even created a term for it—“Paranoia Alley.” read more

Road bikers want more signage, driver education

"Bicycles are also vehicles"
by Yucheng Tang | Posted July 28, 2025
Steve O’Bryan, longtime owner of a Main Street bike shop. Photo by Yucheng Tang.

Butte County’s flat valley and curving mountain roads have long been popular with cyclists — from recreational bikers to bike commuters. But safety is a major concern—especially on a stretch of Cohasset Road outside city limits.

Steve O’Bryan, owner of Pullins Cyclery, said he now receives three to four crash-damaged bikes every month, and believes that number has increased in recent years as the city grows.

Like other cyclists, O’Bryan finds that stretch of Cohasset Road outside city limits nerve-wracking—especially where the road narrows. O’Bryan said he rides on Cohasset Road very carefully. (Butte County officials recently met with Cohasset residents. See main story for more.) read more

They were convicted of killing with their cars

No one told the California DMV
by Lauren Hepler and Robert Lewis, Cal Matters | Posted June 25, 2025

A CalMatters investigation found that courts didn’t report hundreds of vehicular manslaughter convictions to the DMV, prompting officials to belatedly take many drivers’ licenses.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

California courts have failed to report hundreds of vehicular manslaughter convictions to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles over the past five years, allowing roadway killers to improperly keep their driver’s licenses, a CalMatters investigation has found. read more