b_twill

I've always wondered as I watch cars as I watch cars zip around me and playing chicken with me and the on coming traffic...has any one ever caused an accident? A car stopped suddenly because they didn't see you and get rear ended, side swipe on coming traffic as they tried to pass?

fietsbob

I was at a crosswalk, wet streets, large SUV stopped to let me cross,

Operator of smaller SUV was not attentive, too late, hit the brakes,
hydroplaned their locked wheels into the back of the larger vehicle.

then I crossed the 2 lanes, safety Island, and 2 more lanes..

was I the cause ? I'd say the #2 SUV driver, was the person who was paying insufficient attention, creating their own problem..



A year earlier in downtown [one way 2 lanes], at night, a car stopped
for an elderly person to cross, .. in the crosswalk


the car behind them changed lanes , accelerated , and struck and killed
the pedestrian, the car in front of them was waiting, for the old dear, to cross..



I wait for vehicles in both lanes to stop, or be obviously slowing down..

rumrunn6

was riding a MUP in a vacation area and I was suited up in bright colors and had my commuter strobe going, and possibly my old flag before I got rid of it. I was n't going fast cuz there was a series of driveway crossing that didn't have traffic but I slowed down quite a bit because there were also many riders that day. a Mom & Dad with their young son on his 1st 2-wheeler are coming toward me. there's plenty of room but the little boy looked up for a moment and saw me and got all distracted and just lost it and fell at low speed. I felt bed like if I wasn't so obnoxiously visible I wouldn't have distracted him so much. I've toned it down quite a bit when I'm on a MUP now. the flag is long gone, the strobe doesn't get used on the MUP but I still where a bright shirt, but that's reasonable I think.

groovestew

I don't claim one iota of responsibility for this, but one day while riding in a rain/sleet/snow combination, a car passed me, then just up ahead stopped for a pedestrian at a crosswalk. A second car just behind the first one didn't stop in time and rear ended the first car. I don't know for sure, but I suspect the driver of the second car was distracted by the sight of a cyclist riding in such conditions (me).

unterhausen

I was driving down a 4 lane highway and realized there was a dump truck stopped in the lane in front of me. I changed lanes and the suv behind me drove straight into it. Does that count?

I keep waiting for one of the idiots that crosses the center line into oncoming traffic to pass me on my bike to have a head-on collision, but the opposing traffic has always managed to avoid, sometimes into the ditch

Telly

Even though this was a looong time ago, it was an accident, unfortunately quite serious but with minor injuries to others; totally my fault, even though I didn't mean to cause it, and this kept me from riding a bike for nearly half a decade:

Back in the late 70's when I was around 8-9 yo, I wanted to own and ride a bike, but my family was afraid since we lived on a hill with a large volume road at the bottom. Being at that age and not taking "no" for an answer, I managed to talk a neighbor into selling me his old bike (same age as I was) which was in horrible condition with no front brakes and a sketchy coaster which sometimes worked.
For the most part I managed to stay out of trouble with a few nicks and cuts and minor complaints from neighbors for bumping into their cars (lack of brakes!); AND concealing the actual bike from my family by leaving it at a friends garage!

Until... one summer afternoon while riding around the neighborhood with friends, I lost control of the bike on the large downhill, manage to slide off the saddle and fall back before having the bike careen onto the main road and cause a three car fender bender. The police, of course, were summoned and I ended up going for a ride to the local precinct with my mother (which knew nothing of me owning a bike!) and we (she) ended up paying quite a lot of money for all the damages to the cars.

I think I'm still grounded for that incident, and have regretted causing it and putting other peoples' lives in danger...




BTW, if there's anyone here that had a three car fender-bender in Babylon County back in the 70's than it was probably me!

Commodus

I'm constantly amazed that the idiots passing me around blind corners survive the experience. Like unter up there, opposing traffic has often had to take some drastic evasive action.

But no, none yet.

eofelis 

Not on a bike, but one day a long time ago I was walking down a sidewalk in town and for some reason I started watching a car that was driving down the road toward me. Maybe the driver was staring at me, I kept staring at him. There was nothing remarkable about either of us. Except that the car then proceeded to drive over the curb and into a planter that I had just walked past. There was nothing aggressive about it, just distraction maybe. <shrug> I don't recall if I checked to see if the driver was ok.

alan s 

No

Capt_Sensible

A couple of instances spring to mind.

1. This was about 10 years ago. I was crossing a busy 4-lane urban street; traffic was slowing for a red light a block away. An SUV stops to leave me a gap to cross and gets rear-ended by the car following. Similar to others relating similar situations, I don't feel any responsibility for this one. The driver of the following vehicle was inattentive and bears full responsibility.

2. This was in the last few weeks. No collision but a close call. I was on a moderately busy 2-lane suburban street, taking the lane as I approached a 2-way stop sign. A taxi was following behind me and decided he'd pass me at the stop sign on the wrong side of the street. As he was doing this he started moving over to the right and into me. I responded to this by thumping his door with the flat of my hand to prevent him from hitting me. I stopped at the stop line but the taxi proceeded straight through, still on the wrong side of the street, and into the path of a vehicle on the cross street. Much screeching of tires, blaring of horns, and yelling followed, before everyone went on their way in separate directions. Again I don't feel that I bear primary responsibility for this situation as the taxi driver was making an illegal and dangerous pass. However, I do wonder if my banging on his door panel distracted him from noticing the oncoming vehicle. And if there had been a collision whether I would've been judged to have been at least partially at fault.

ThermionicScott 

I appreciate it when drivers see me and give me a little room as they pass, but sheesh -- you don't need to completely leave the lane, dude.

Artkansas 

Sort of.

I was going down a short hill, in the proper part of the lane. Just ahead of me, a girl on a bicycle was going at the same speed on the sidewalk.

At the bottom of the hill was an alley with a stop sign. Suddenly, a car came out of the alley. The car stopped and because there was on-coming traffic, namely me, they remained stopped. The poor girl on the sidewalk couldn't stop in time and went into the car's fender and rolled right over the hood of the car.

When the police arrived, I had to testify against the girl on the bicycle. The driver did no wrong.

And people think riding on the sidewalk is safer.

enigmaT120

No, though I've had people pass me unsafely. Neither of the scenarios you mention would be caused by me, but by the other drivers -- the tailgater in the first, and the unsafe passer in the second.

kookaburra1701

A volunteer firefighter in Florence was just killed by a driver doing the same thing. The very next morning I stopped at the crosswalk (there were still...smears... on the road from the accident the night before) to let a woman and two kids cross. The traffic in the center lanes never stopped. Unbelievable.

Notso_fastLane

Just a couple weeks ago, driving my wife's car, I was going about 5 mph under the speed limit in the right lane of a 7 lane surface street, but still passing the traffic, and the driver in the large SUV in the center lane decided to start changing lanes right into me. Of course, he started moving over before he 1) signaled, or 2) looked, so when I honked the horn, it startled the driver enough that (s)he over-corrected, spun 180, and wound up in the middle of the left turn lane facing the opposite direction.

I suspect the driver was 'distracted', since a little honk is not usually enough to startle someone that much.

Commuter_Dan

Once a friend and I were riding single file up a slight hill on a two lane road through a village. A large pick-up passed me and moved over toward the center double-yellow line as it did so. Unfortunately, there happened to be another pair of bicyclists also riding single file over the hill toward us, and another large pick-up passing them at the same time. Both trucks squeezed toward the center as they passed the bicyclists and their drivers-side rear view mirrors neatly removed each other. There was much swearing, but no other damage done. I suppose I contributed to the collision, but I can't claim responsibility for the drivers' choices to squeeze through rather than pause briefly.

PatrickGSR94

This. I always ride to the right on the bike when I hear traffic coming and it's safe for them to pass, or walk/run to the far left facing oncoming traffic. Yet so many people completely leave their lane or move allll the way over and give like a 10-foot berth. Makes me feel like I'm being a nuisance sometimes even though I KNOW I'm not.