Still a little shaken from the experience, but luckily no one was hurt. I’ve replayed the moment in my mind a thousand times since it happened but I’m not sure where I (or the cyclist) went wrong.
I was driving home on my regular commute route around 5:30ish and know the roads are cyclist territory (since I ride them all the time too) so was making an effort to be attentive. I’d arrived at a 4-way stop sign and came to a complete stop, leaned forward and looked both ways twice, and waited for the car across from me to continue straight, which it did. I then checked the cross traffic again and saw nothing so started to pull into the intersection. For some reason I decided to look left again and caught a glimpse of a biker in the front left corner of my car. He’d come out of the blind spot on the left windshield column. I slammed on the brakes and he swerved pretty hard to miss me. He didn’t go down and gave me the evil eye (deserved). I waved sheepishly and he waved back and kept riding.
I noticed he was wearing a bright orange kit, helmet, was not being stupid, and I assume he had come to a full stop since he would’ve had to wait for the other driver I waited for. I was not texting, talking, listening to the radio, drunk, or any other silliness. The road had my undivided attention. I don’t even think I was lost in thought. Really I just plain didn’t see him in the blind spot of the windshield column. I feel stupid because of it.
If I’d hit him, it may have been a complete accident? Regardless, it was not a pleasant experience and I ENCOURAGE everyone to pay attention to the road, and check blind spots more often. I know I will be.
Still a little shaken from the experience, but luckily no one was hurt. I’ve replayed the moment in my mind a thousand times since it happened but I’m not sure where I (or the cyclist) went wrong.
I was driving home on my regular commute route around 5:30ish and know the roads are cyclist territory (since I ride them all the time too) so was making an effort to be attentive. I’d arrived at a 4-way stop sign and came to a complete stop, leaned forward and looked both ways twice, and waited for the car across from me to continue straight, which it did. I then checked the cross traffic again and saw nothing so started to pull into the intersection. For some reason I decided to look left again and caught a glimpse of a biker in the front left corner of my car. He’d come out of the blind spot on the left windshield column. I slammed on the brakes and he swerved pretty hard to miss me. He didn’t go down and gave me the evil eye (deserved). I waved sheepishly and he waved back and kept riding.
I noticed he was wearing a bright orange kit, helmet, was not being stupid, and I assume he had come to a full stop since he would’ve had to wait for the other driver I waited for. I was not texting, talking, listening to the radio, drunk, or any other silliness. The road had my undivided attention. I don’t even think I was lost in thought. Really I just plain didn’t see him in the blind spot of the windshield column. I feel stupid because of it.
If I’d hit him, it may have been a complete accident? Regardless, it was not a pleasant experience and I ENCOURAGE everyone to pay attention to the road, and check blind spots more often. I know I will be.
Please be careful out there.
not quite sure i’m understanding this correctly. so you were going straight through the intersection or trying to make a left? How many lanes were in the direction you were travelling. It sounded like that the cyclist should be the one who should have slowed down enough to be behind you at the stop sign (as opposed to getting up to where you were) and that you did nothing wrong.
not quite sure i’m understanding this correctly. so you were going straight through the intersection or trying to make a left? How many lanes were in the direction you were travelling. It sounded like that the cyclist should be the one who should have slowed down enough to be behind you at the stop sign (as opposed to getting up to where you were) and that you did nothing wrong.
4 way stop. Car straight across from him (going straight), cyclist to his left (also going straight, which would take him in front of our hero).
My only question would be if the cyclist was actually at the stop sign when our hero waited for the car across from him, or rolled up and through as the other car went. Makes a difference.
Since you did not see the cyclist in either of the two times you checked the road, for which you leaned forward, thereby supposedly minimizing the blind-spot effect of the post, why do you assume that the cyclist was in your blind spot while waiting patiently at a stop sign rather than blowing the stop sign? How fast was he going when he swerved around you? If he had just started from a standstill at the stop sign, in the distance of half an intersection, he would not have accelerated much. Since I ride and fully understand our vulnerability, I try to be on the cyclist’s side in cyclist-car interactions, but I have to admit that cyclists run stop signs more often than stopping at them.
not quite sure i’m understanding this correctly. so you were going straight through the intersection or trying to make a left? How many lanes were in the direction you were travelling. It sounded like that the cyclist should be the one who should have slowed down enough to be behind you at the stop sign (as opposed to getting up to where you were) and that you did nothing wrong.
4 way stop. Car straight across from him (going straight), cyclist to his left (also going straight, which would take him in front of our hero).
My only question would be if the cyclist was actually at the stop sign when our hero waited for the car across from him, or rolled up and through as the other car went. Makes a difference.
John
I believe he was going straight and the cyclist was making a left turn across him
three people, two different interpretations. the OP ought to phrase things better. So OP, was the cyclist travelling in the same direction as you or in the opposite direction?
No harm, no foul… But to me… If the cyclist could not make eye contact with you they should assume you haven’t seen them and proceed with great caution. That’s what I do. Here in FL this gets tricky with tinted driver side windows… So I just assume they can’t see me and proceed with extreme caution.
No harm, no foul… But to me… If the cyclist could not make eye contact with you they should assume you haven’t seen them and proceed with great caution. That’s what I do. Here in FL this gets tricky with tinted driver side windows… So I just assume they can’t see me and proceed with extreme caution.
Exactly and I do roll stop signs but never if there is a car waiting. I find normally people notice you slowing down and then waive you through. Be polite after and give them a quick wave to show appreciation.
The way I read it, the cyclist was in the cross street and attempting to go across left-to-right from the point of view of the driver.
On occasion it’s happened to me where for some reason it seems that a cyclist or pedestrian can move in such a way as to remain in the A-pillar blind spot. On all those occasions I stopped or the rider/pedestrian stopped such that there was no incident but it does make me remind myself to specifically look out for stuff like that at intersections and crosswalks.
As our cars become more aerodynamic the A-pillar has moved forward from the driving position and the windshield provides less effective field of view than it used to. I find myself looking out the left driver’s window on lefthand bends on occasion, simply because looking through the windshield does not give me enough advance warning of what I might find ahead of me.
Last: My optometrist performs a test that checks for localized blind spots… I’ve never failed or even had any concerns raised on that test, but I recognize that things can change in that regard and we should be aware of the potential safety risks in having unknown eye issues. Eye health can be an early indicator of lots of other potential health issues as well.
I almost hit a ped in a crosswalk once while making a left turn (they were coming straight across towards me)… first, they’d been shielded by the car in front of me while we were all waiting for the light (assuming the ped was already on the corner at that point), and then after the car ahead of me went straight my path appeared to be clear, only as I started into my turn the ped (already several paces into the crosswalk) came out from behind the blind spot in the windshield column like you’re describing and I had to jam on the brakes. Really startling.
If she’d been another step or two forward or behind or I’d been a half-tic earlier or later making my turn I’d have easily seen her first, or if she’d been pushing a stroller or handi-cart it would have stuck out beyond the width of the pillar from that angle & distance, but everything just lined up perfectly wrong.
Whatever the actual facts here, this is why I don’t mind being a dork in my high-vis cycling clothes. Any additional visibility over what was described as “a bright orange kit” may have made a difference. The brighter the better.
I think this is a good reminder that when we (bicyclists) or just any driver are in our cars, mentally we are looking for “cars” rather than “obstructions”. I’ve been guilty of thinking I was paying attention but in retrospect was really only looking for cars, not people or bikes.
Glad this was a close one rather than an accident. I’ve been hit before by cars at intersections who were looking for “other cars” and not pedestrians or bikers.
Still a little shaken from the experience, but luckily no one was hurt. I’ve replayed the moment in my mind a thousand times since it happened but I’m not sure where I (or the cyclist) went wrong.
I was driving home on my regular commute route around 5:30ish and know the roads are cyclist territory (since I ride them all the time too) so was making an effort to be attentive. I’d arrived at a 4-way stop sign and came to a complete stop, leaned forward and looked both ways twice, and waited for the car across from me to continue straight, which it did. I then checked the cross traffic again and saw nothing so started to pull into the intersection. For some reason I decided to look left again and caught a glimpse of a biker in the front left corner of my car. He’d come out of the blind spot on the left windshield column. I slammed on the brakes and he swerved pretty hard to miss me. He didn’t go down and gave me the evil eye (deserved). I waved sheepishly and he waved back and kept riding.
I noticed he was wearing a bright orange kit, helmet, was not being stupid, and I assume he had come to a full stop since he would’ve had to wait for the other driver I waited for. I was not texting, talking, listening to the radio, drunk, or any other silliness. The road had my undivided attention. I don’t even think I was lost in thought. Really I just plain didn’t see him in the blind spot of the windshield column. I feel stupid because of it.
If I’d hit him, it may have been a complete accident? Regardless, it was not a pleasant experience and I ENCOURAGE everyone to pay attention to the road, and check blind spots more often. I know I will be.
Whatever the actual facts here, this is why I don’t mind being a dork in my high-vis cycling clothes. Any additional visibility over what was described as “a bright orange kit” may have made a difference. The brighter the better.
This.
long live the neon
I’m also pretty obsessive about making sure I’ve made eye contact with a driver.
I experience this a lot, where a car is backing or pulling out and the door pillar or something like a “western style” truck mirror if in the line of sight between me and the driver. I assume at this point the driver doesn’t see me and will do whatever they had in mind, so I generally slow and look for a way out when they pull in front of me.
Honestly, I don’t get angry when people do this, it just happens sometimes even for a careful driver. It’s up to us as cyclists to be careful of getting lost in the blind spot.
What kind of dumbass car do you drive that has a blind spot big enough to hide a bike at a 4 way stop 90 degrees away? And how is a bike going that fast that it needs to swerve after going 4 feet? Maybe I’m an incredibly slow biker, but if it were me and the car to my right started moving, i’d just stop…
Since you did not see the cyclist in either of the two times you checked the road, for which you leaned forward, thereby supposedly minimizing the blind-spot effect of the post, why do you assume that the cyclist was in your blind spot while waiting patiently at a stop sign rather than blowing the stop sign? How fast was he going when he swerved around you? If he had just started from a standstill at the stop sign, in the distance of half an intersection, he would not have accelerated much. Since I ride and fully understand our vulnerability, I try to be on the cyclist’s side in cyclist-car interactions, but I have to admit that cyclists run stop signs more often than stopping at them.
Also, check out “Gorillas in our midst”. Just because it is there and can be seen doesn’t mean you will see it, especially if your brain perceives no threat which is what a cyclist or pedestrian is.
About a decade ago a friend who was a motorcycle rider passed on the tip to me that often drivers don’t see motorcycles that are at right angles to them due to the A pillar (that’s what it’s called? Cool now I know!). She was told in the motorcycle courses to assume that drivers often won’t see you in these situations and to proceed accordingly.
I’ve kept that in mind as a cyclist and use extra caution if I don’t have eye contact with a driver at intersections.