There’s a story virtually every day about cars hitting cyclists. So this got me to thinking - have any STers hit a cyclist by accident?
I was on the way to a bike race on Monday on part of the Tour of California route. Some of you know the road - Bear Creek road. It has a very wide shoulder on some parts. It was pretty early and not too many cars. I usually go around bikes pretty wide and will even cross a double yellow so they have some space. Well this particular morning I come up on two cyclists. One was basically on the yellow in the middle of the road. WTF! Well it was somewhat blind corner so I wait for him to get over and did not get too close. He does not move, so then I give the horn a soft beep and he still does not move. I hate honking the horn, but don’t want to buzz the guy or run him over. Another beep and he still does not get over. The sight opens up and I go around way accross the double yellow and he’s still out there. About another half mile and the same exact thing happens with two more guys. I am in disbelief at these idiots and even looked at the shoulder to see if there was glass. It looked surprisingly clean unless I missed something. Now I’m thinking these guys almost deserve to get hit. It’s easy to see how drivers often get pissed at bikes and I wondered why someone would ride in the middle of the road with a 50mph speed limit and a wide shoulder. Accidents are just plain awful, but I do wonder how many happen because people are just not being safe.
I see this behavior all the time too and it makes me especially mad, as a fellow cyclist. Its no wonder drivers get testy with us sometimes. I’m not sure how to fix the problem either, as a comment to those offenders (whether I’m on my bike or in my car) would naturally be taken offensively. Any suggestions?
This bothers me a lot, too. I think that behavior like you mentioned is what makes drivers aggressive for the rest of us law abiding cyclists. I also take offense when cyclists go through red lights. My feelings on this were validated when talking to a doctor I work with. He said that he treats cyclists with respect until they break a traffic law. Then all bets are off. I think about that every time I’m on the road. The last thing I want is to piss off a tired MD in an SUV!
I actually hit a “cyclist” once. I was coming out of an alleyway between two buildings and he was going the wrong way on the sidewalk at Mach 2 and ran into the front of my car as I edged forwards. The cops thought he had just stolen the bike because he didnt stop, left the bike with the bent front wheel on the sidewalk and took off running on foot!
when on a sidewalk(everywhere I have lived, unless specifically prohibited by city ordinance on specific streets) a cyclist is considered a pedestrian.
exactly which way on a sidewalk is the wrong way for a pedestrian?
my guess is you were looking to turn right out of the alley and did not bother to look left as cars wouldn’t be coming from that direction. peds and cyclists didn’t enter into your “car” equation.
I actually hit a “cyclist” once. I was coming out of an alleyway between two buildings and he was going the wrong way on the sidewalk at Mach 2 and ran into the front of my car as I edged forwards. The cops thought he had just stolen the bike because he didnt stop, left the bike with the bent front wheel on the sidewalk and took off running on foot!
There is a difference between a ‘cyclist’ and a ‘person riding a bike’. Each have their bad habits.
Here in Denver, bicycles are prohibited on sidewalks. I have had several near-misses when bicyclists come screaming across from the right when I’m coming out of a driveway or parking lot. That is a very dangerous position for a bike, if you ask me.
I have hit a cyclist, it was totally my fault and it sucked big time. I was driving to school in the AM and I was heading east on a residential street with the sun right in my eyes, I usually wear sunglasses but for some reason that morning I was without them. I went to turn left and never saw the cyclist coming the other way until he was on my hood. Fortunately I was only going 5-10 mph so he was shaken up but not seriously hurt he went to the hospital anyway but was ok (ironically he was on his way to work…at the hospital). His k-mart special bike was toast.
I felt absolutely horrible, appologized perfusely and offered to buy him a new bike. Being a cyclist myself, I think the guilt factor was increased.
I had an incident similar to yours once where the cyclist was out in the middle of the road when there was plenty of room on the shoulder. When we were finally able to pass safely (my wife was driving) I yelled out the window " I’m a cyclist and it’s riders like you that give us a bad reputation in this town!" This happened in Woodside, CA where this is lots of tension between cyclists and locals. Why can’t we just get along?
I was going straight - the guy runs a stop sign while making a right hand turn and right into me. All I could do was drop my shoulder and protect my head (Yes, I was in Aerobars).
If I was a car (going the speed limit) I probably would have killed him, they guy was lucky.
this was going to be one of my dirty secrets if i actually had the balls to write some. but i ALMOST hit another cyclist. TOTALLY my fault, i just completely missed seeing him when looking to turn onto a road (maybe he was in my blind spot as i swept from side to side - dunno) but as i pulled out i noticed the cyclist passing me by and my front bumper missing his back wheel by a fraction of an inch. WHEW. i was really shaken up and couldn’t believe i almost hit another cyclist. now i make sure i look everywhere, multiple times so that doesn’t happen again. i consider myself lucky that i got the opportunity to learn from the near-miss. but i can see how it happens…and THAT in itself is scary.
"Yeah, but you forgot the (to you) unimportant fact that he has to WALK his bicycle to be considered a pedestrian. "
Only if required by local ordinance. In a lot of places, not only is it legal to ride on the sidewalks, but it is also safer. I actually saw a street sign once, that required bicycles to get off the road and onto the sidewalk for a portion of highly congested roadway.
Sometime you should get out and ride/run/walk down an urban sidewalk and look at how many vehicles pull out onto the sidewalk without looking and/or stopping. I can’t see how it is the cyclist/peds fault when this happens. If we all get to weild around lethal weapons without considering our responsibility, then in the extreme, it might be time to just start shooting guns in public areas without looking and blaming those that get hit.
My point is, if you don’t look for cyclists on a sidewalk, you might hit one, or you might just as easily hit a runner. Much smaller chance of ever hitting a swimmer on the sidewalk that is actually swimming lest it is the 200 year storm event.
Are you absolutely sure? A lot of past co-workers told me the same about austin(their belief), however, in Austin, only specific business area streets listed inthe city ordinance prohibit bicycle travel on sidewalks.
I think the problem with riding a bike on a sidewalk is that drivers DO look right and then left (or the other way around) gauging their timing based on how fast people walk. If a driver looks right, sees nobody, then looks left and sees nobody, he/she feels OK to proceed. A cyclist coming down the sidewalk at 15 mph who wasn’t in the drivers vision a moment ago is now right there. I was almost hit broadside (while driving a car) by a cyclist in this exact scenario yesterday.
When I am on my bike, I do not ride on sidewalks unless they are termed “bike paths” and even then, I am sure to make eye contact before proceeding against driveways, alleys, side streets, etc.
As a matter of fact riding on the sidewalks was specifically prohibited in the town, and yes I did look to the right, but because of the buildings on each side you couldnt see anything so the hood of my car came out from between the buildings first.
I got called for jury duty here in Santa Monica last year. Step by step I went through the process and found myself in the box. The judge begins by saying “this case involves a cyclist and car and an accident they had - based on that info do any of the jurors feel they cannot be impartial?” My hand went up with a shot: “I’m a triathlon coach, a cycling coach, I train, I commute and I immediately think the car is the enemy”. He noted that and asked me to say a while. I was AMAZED that I stayed on the panel another 20 minutes and eventually was booted off by the cyclist’s side. As the facts trickled out during jury selection (voir dire?) I came to realize that the bike was on the side walk and the rider plowed into the side of the car as the driver inched out from an alley.
I’ve never had my perspective switched so completely.
Ian
