Maelochs

This is the meat of the nut.

The driver should have seen the bike? Maybe ... but bikes aren't supposed to blast across intersections perpendicular to traffic.

Someone said, 'What if it was a pedestrian?" Same thing---if a pedestrian stepped off the curb Right In Front of an oncoming car, it is the pedestrian's fault.

Basically, the bike was not On the road way, and thus had no "Right of Way."

I do not say this to criticize the OP. We all know how this stuff can happen. We have all done something similarly, probably.

But ... to me the issue is not Legal right of way, but how to avoid being in the same situation again.

The rider should have Stopped at the intersection and not just blasted right through. Because the rider was not on the roadway, the rider was governed by pedestrian rules.

California law says drivers should “Yield to pedestrians and bicyclists crossing the roadway.”

Florida law adds “While drivers have a responsibility to pay attention to prevent accidents on the road, pedestrians have equal responsibility to stay alert while walking on sidewalks or crossing the road.”

Basically … if a pedestrian is crossing at an approved crosswalk, and In the Road legally (not recklessly running through traffic or crossing against traffic signals) then the car should let the pedestrian cross.

If the car cannot slow safely and at a normal rate, the pedestrian recklessly entered the roadway.

In this case, the cyclist abandoned his protection as a road user by taking to the sidewalk and would thus be governed by pedestrian rules. So … the cyclist should only have crossed when doing so would Not have caused a car to slam on its brakes.

Whether the car signaled its turn is moot … and unknowable. Since the OP didn’t see the car, he has no way of knowing if the car signaled the turn before beginning the turn. In any case, the car was coming and the OP took a glance, didn’t see a car, and assumed no car would be coming.

The OP Failed to see an approaching car. Also, the car doesn’t appear to have been making an illegal turn, so ….

All that aside …. It boils down to this---The OP should not have assumed that no car was coming. The OP should have looked more carefully.

I know I sometimes get that puckering sensation when crossing major roads because I know I am counting on drivers to obey the law and be sensible. There is never a guarantee someone won’t blast though a red light or suddenly decide to make a left turn from the far right lane through a red light.

I try to keep an eye out no matter what the traffic lights say.

It is even worse when riding on major road and seeing cars in side streets. I cannot stop for every car, but I cannot ever be sure that car will not pull out and hit me until I have passed it … and then it could hit me from behind.

At some point we all make the decision the OP made---to just go for it.

What we can do is anticipate and watch more carefully. In this case, knowing I was on a sidewalk and travelling against traffic, I think I might have stopped—but I am not sure.

I bet the OP at least slows way down next time.