Takedown
This evening, I had the misfortune to see a car strike a bicyclist. There was a stopped car in the traffic lane. I had just come around a corner, and a bicycle had made a turn from the opposing direction. He was wearing a helmet, had a headlight and a flashing taillight. In short, he'd done everything right, except one thing. He passed this car, well actually a crossover SUV, on the right. As he passed, the driver decided to pull into a drive area, I'm assuming to park or stand. He was beside the vehicle when it suddenly moved forward and to the right, he was knocked sideways, and down to the pavement. He seemed to be alright, but shaken. The driver called 911. (He got them while my phone wasn't going through.) After the accident, he acted quite responsibly. I left to park after the police began arriving. The cyclist chose to be transported, and I returned and described what I'd seen to one of the police officers.
posted by Scooter at 8:35 PM
3 Comments:
Howdy Wayne! Was the driver cited for the accident? We lost a cyclist in Vegas last week who was in a bike lane that was struck by a car that fled, the driver still hasn't been found. My wife has been very paranoid lately about my riding my Trek bicycle for errands lately. Happy trails, Bruce
Bruce,
I don't believe so. The driver certainly acted responsibly, and I doubt there would be anything to be gained by citing him. I'm unsure where the responsibility lies legally, at least insofar as whether the cyclist shares responsibility. I will tell you that motor vehicles making right turns are one of the biggest dangers to cyclists. I'm unsure if in this cyclists shoes (pedals?), I'd have opted to go around left.
Wayne:
Of course a similar, more common, hazard is a driver opening his door just as the cyclist passes close because of another passing car, etc. That happened to my wife with resulting nasty cuts and bruises.
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