Drummerboy1975

This is just plain sad. How do you not know that you've hit a human being on a bicycle?

https://www.fox16.com/news/local/stor...Q.cspx?rss=315

mnemia

They knew. They just chose not to care, because they were more worried about going to jail.

Chris516

This is what I said regarding one idiot motorist(jimandvicky) who commented on the story in the OP's link:

'jimandvicky, Welcome to road congestion. Cyclists were not the first to cause it, but they sure get grief for causing it all. Cycling has been around longer than the car, yet the automotive industry pushed the idea of opting for faster transportation from the start courtesy of Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. Cyclists have just as much of a right to be on the road as cars, pickups, commercial trucks and vans. So get off your highhorse and get out n' exercise.'

myrridin

So you chose to respond with irrelevant facts and a indirect ad-hominum attack? Does not seem to be a useful response...

myrridin

So you have driven over cyclists, dogs, cats, and other wildlife? You must have to be such an expert in how to tell the difference. The women may (or may not) have been lying, but you have nothing to base that claim on (except your own prejudices)...

Digital_Cowboy

I read that as well, I'd like to know what "road congestion?" As I didn't see anything in the article to suggest that it was a "congested" road. But rather that the cyclist who had been hit was part of an organized ride.

mulveyr 

The article indicates that the cyclist was hit from behind. It's not plausible that, even in a sideswipe from behind situation, that you'd fail to notice that you were behind or beside a cyclist just prior to hearing a loud noise.

I've hit a medium-size dog while I was driving at around 15MPH, when it came out from a tree and whacked the side of my car. It was really, really loud and noticable. I find it a very large stretch of the imagination that someone who was paying even minimal attention could fail to notice hitting something much larger.

myrridin

She didn't say that she didn't notice she hit something, she said she didn't know she hit a cyclist. A very different situation and at least plausible. To claim that she had to know she knew she hit a cyclist is a simple unsubstantiated claim based upon personal prejudices.

mulveyr 

On a hit from behind, how do you explain that she didn't notice a cyclist in front of her prior to impact?

You can never know with 100% certainty what was going on in someone's mind. But you can infer based on a level of reasonable doubt and with some knowledge of the circumstances. Trying to play word games isn't especially productive, except for trolling.

Tundra_Man 

I was in northern Arkansas last week. I didn't do any cycling, but I did go running for a few times. The area I was in was rural and there were no sidewalks or shoulders, so the only place to run was right on the road. Being a pedestrian, I faced traffic and ran as far to the left as I could without falling into the ditch. I can attest that of the hundreds of vehicles that went by, not one slowed down or changed their lane position in the slightest. I found it to be a very un-nerving place to run.

Granted, the people appeared to be friendly. Many would smile and wave as they buzzed by at 55 mph with only inches to spare.

billdsd

I've hit cones in a parking lot at 15mph. They weigh maybe 2 pounds and are soft and you know you've hit something.

A 100-200 pound bicyclist at higher speeds? You're going to know damned well that you hit something substantial. If you didn't see the bicyclist because you weren't looking, you're going to at least look in your mirrors to see them after you've hit them. It was after 8am so light was not an issue.

There is no way that she didn't know that she hit a bicyclist. There is no reasonable doubt that allows me to believe her.

Drummerboy1975

Not only was this a 64 year old exsperienced cyclist partaking in a 40 miles event but the Chief of Police was also riding in the event as well.

The truck that she hit him with has considerable damage to it. There's no way one can damage a vehicle with a human and not know they did it.

ctyler

Sorry, but mnemia is right. She knew. She knew she hit a cyclist. She knew she was wrong. She was hoping she'd get away with it. All a driver has to say is I didn't know I hit anything or I didn't see anything and they expect a free pass. She knew.

Snydermann

This has me thinking.

What percentage of the population would actually come out with the truth, "Sorry Officer, I was texting and not paying attention and I hit the cyclist" and not just make up some excuse, or blame the cyclist, to save their own ass? Seems like every accident I read about the motorist has a story.

rydabent

When you consider a 25lb bike and a 160lb man being hit hard enough to kill him YOU KNOW. The woman was just plain lied. Maybe after spending 10 years in jail pondering about the fact she killed another human being because she was totally careless, she might come out a little smarter.

mnemia

My guess is that people who regularly drive with reckless disregard for the lives of those around them are disproportionately lying ********. If they weren't lying scum to begin with, they wouldn't drive the way they do that causes them to be involved in these kinds of incidents in the first place. I've been driving for over 15 years now, and I've never hit another person or car. I've only gotten one speeding ticket ever, and it was when I was 18. I don't talk on my phone or text while I'm supposed to be paying attention to the road...ever. I don't have these things happen to me, because I actually care about the safety of the strangers around me. The people who cause these incidents just don't care. And they don't suddenly start caring when something bad happens as a result of their negligence.

myrridin

I had absolutely no idea that so many members of this forum when omniscient... Amazes me that more of your aren't independently wealthy given your ability to know things mere mortals could not...

mnemia

I freely admit that my opinion is biased and based on my own experiences. I don't perform a scientific study every time I form an opinion. I don't care if this means I might be wrong. In this case, I'm quite certain I'm correct.

myrridin

And I am glad that so far the law isn't based upon opinions... Of course if opinions actually mattered virtually every cyclist in this country would be dead for a variety of sins... After all if opinions matter in a democracy, it is the majority opinions that count...

Wake

A guy hit me from behind and I rolled up the hood and crunched his windshield. He claims (so far) that he didn't know he hit anybody. He also gave a statement to his insurance company that his car had no damage. A witness who followed him said he sped up after he hit me. He knew what he did, and was just trying to run away. I assume he was drunk (at 8:30am).

I survived without long-term disablement (thank god or the Flying Spaghetti Monster). So I get to see how stupid he looks in the trial when we tell him we have a witness who followed him and a security camera video showing him getting out of the car with the windshield smashed.

KD5NRH

I've hit raccoons and armadillos in ten-ton box trucks and there was no way I could've missed the noise. I also had the common sense to stop as soon as possible to check the extent of the damage.

I've seen a driver stranded from hitting an armadillo; he didn't check for damage right then, so he didn't find out about the fuel leak until he was at the far end of his route with an empty tank. I've seen trucks overheated because whatever ran out in front of them was gumming up the fan and half the radiator coils. I stop and check any time I hit something bigger than a squirrel. If nothing else, I'm going to at least make sure my license plate isn't laying there next to somebody's dead dog.

contango 

A relative of mine was hit and killed by a motorist (while on foot) who didn't stop at the time because he thought he'd hit an animal. Having never hit either myself I figure hitting a human or hitting an animal the size of a deer would probably sound much the same, especially to someone else who had never hit either before. From what I gather the responsible motorist only came forward when he realised on the news that a person had been hit and killed on the road he'd been driving on.

I find it impossible to believe the driver didn't know she'd hit something but whether or not she knew it was a human being doesn't seem entirely clear. Of course whether it would have been a good decision to stop at the scene and figure out just what it was she hit is another issue entirely.

Mithrandir

It's only going to get worse. I was mortified when I saw some of the cars at this years auto show. It's like the entire industry has decided that the best features to add are even more electronic distractions. Car-integrated twitter and facebook... what the frak.

kuan

These are the same people who didn't know how they got pregnant.

Pscyclepath

I was privileged to know Sam, at least distantly, to to have ridden with him several times. He was riding only a couple of miles away from his home when he was struck and killed. Oddly, the woman who killed him, Shawna Scribner, lived in the same community/small town that Sam did. Sam was a slow, but persistent rider, and was most likely alone on that stretch of road when he was hit. Scribner hit him from behind, and kept going, leaving him by the side of the road like a stray dog. There's no way to tell for sure, but in most cases like this there's alcohol or maybe an illicit drug involved. The police found parts of the truck at the crash scene, determined the model and color of truck, and put out a bulletin to be on the lookout for it. The following morning an Arkansas trooper spotted the truck and pulled it over. Confronted, Scribner confessed to hitting Sam Avery, was jailed, and charged with manslaughter and felony hit & run.

We buried Sam last Thursday afternoon up by Pottsville, with a memorial ride to accompany him on his last ride.