Hit-and-run driver gets his come-uppance
04-06-12, 09:57 AM
#51
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I am hardly a vehicular cyclist, I only take the full lane in situations when there is no room to safely pass within the lane, but I am surprised by all of the bad driver apologists in this thread. Maybe he could have been a little closer to the center of the lane, but all the other drivers managed to pass him just fine. Then I realized this was moved from the roadie forum 
I can't believe the crap the cyclist is getting here.
He had the absolute right to take the lane, given that if the cyclist is as far right as practical, there's not room for a car to pass in the lane and comply with the 4 foot law. And its certainly not unreasonable in those traffic conditions, with an open lane to his left.
And as for the decision to not use the sidewalk, given that the bridge is marked as a shared lane, and the speed limit is 35mph, riding in the road was not an unreasonable decision. It may even have been illegal for him to have ridden on the sidewalk.
Personally, looking at the scene, I might have considered riding slowly on the sidewalk, or if I road the bridge I would have hauled ass. However, I don't crticize the cyclist for riding where he did in a perfectly legal fashion.
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04-06-12, 10:04 AM
#52
Descends like a rock
Yeah, I wouldn't like that bridge, but taking the lane and hauling ass is the best option IMO. Riding all the way to the right is inviting getting pushed into the wall by a close pass.
04-06-12, 10:12 AM
#53
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+1.
I can't believe the crap the cyclist is getting here.
He had the absolute right to take the lane, given that if the cyclist is as far right as practical, there's not room for a car to pass in the lane and comply with the 4 foot law. And its certainly not unreasonable in those traffic conditions, with an open lane to his left.
And as for the decision to not use the sidewalk, given that the bridge is marked as a shared lane, and the speed limit is 35mph, riding in the road was not an unreasonable decision. It may even have been illegal for him to have ridden on the sidewalk.
Personally, looking at the scene, I might have considered riding slowly on the sidewalk, or if I road the bridge I would have hauled ass. However, I don't crticize the cyclist for riding where he did in a perfectly legal fashion.
I can't believe the crap the cyclist is getting here.
He had the absolute right to take the lane, given that if the cyclist is as far right as practical, there's not room for a car to pass in the lane and comply with the 4 foot law. And its certainly not unreasonable in those traffic conditions, with an open lane to his left.
And as for the decision to not use the sidewalk, given that the bridge is marked as a shared lane, and the speed limit is 35mph, riding in the road was not an unreasonable decision. It may even have been illegal for him to have ridden on the sidewalk.
Personally, looking at the scene, I might have considered riding slowly on the sidewalk, or if I road the bridge I would have hauled ass. However, I don't crticize the cyclist for riding where he did in a perfectly legal fashion.
What should happen is based on this incident and the video, is that police need to start ticketing motorists who speed across the bridge. They can do so by setting up a radar speed gun on the bridge itself and then pulling over drivers after they leave the bridge.
04-06-12, 10:14 AM
#54
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I'd go several miles out of my way to find a better bridge. But if there wasn't one, I'd take the lane, too, and cross as quickly as possible. Er, since this came outta the 41, I'd drope the hamer and dial it up to 400 wats.
04-06-12, 10:31 AM
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Kudos. +100
What should happen is based on this incident and the video, is that police need to start ticketing motorists who speed across the bridge. They can do so by setting up a radar speed gun on the bridge itself and then pulling over drivers after they leave the bridge.
What should happen is based on this incident and the video, is that police need to start ticketing motorists who speed across the bridge. They can do so by setting up a radar speed gun on the bridge itself and then pulling over drivers after they leave the bridge.
+1 more. the cyclist breaking the law so that ignorant distracted motorist don't isnt the answer. I'd like to buy that bus driver a beer btw.
04-06-12, 10:41 AM
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04-06-12, 10:44 AM
#58
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The thing is there are bridges like this everywhere... built primarily for motor traffic, with nothing in the design for pedestrians or cyclists. This bridge had barriers for peds, but often such bridges accommodate only motorists.
04-06-12, 10:45 AM
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04-06-12, 10:49 AM
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I hope someone sent this video to Ray Lahood, Sec. of Transportation. If this is the best bridge for a cyclist to cross there needs to be some speed limit enforcement and bike sharrows, at the very least.
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04-06-12, 11:15 AM
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Despite your claims the video shows otherwise.
No less than 4 cars and a friggin bus are on the bridge while he is. In fact i thought he was goibg to get clipped by the first passing truck. Even when cars pass, its obvious it is so dangerous that its luck that the car behind has enough time to slow before killing hom.
At least during the time the vid was shot that is a horrible road for cyclists and you are asking to be hit by riding on it then.
No less than 4 cars and a friggin bus are on the bridge while he is. In fact i thought he was goibg to get clipped by the first passing truck. Even when cars pass, its obvious it is so dangerous that its luck that the car behind has enough time to slow before killing hom.
At least during the time the vid was shot that is a horrible road for cyclists and you are asking to be hit by riding on it then.
The cyclist was 100% in the right, legally and practically. If you can't understand that, you shouldn't be driving or cycling.
04-06-12, 11:23 AM
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Keep winning those hearts and minds! 
04-06-12, 11:24 AM
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At the minimum, if you are dead set on crossing that bridge with that kind of traffic (which I acknowledge may happen once in awhile, for example, if you get lost and it's the only way back, or you end up taking longer than you thought and end up getting caught in rush hour), you should exercise the judgment to either wait until the traffic is clear before booking it across to make as big a gap between you and the next car as possible, or suck up your pride and walk/roll the bike slowly on the separate MUP.
04-06-12, 11:26 AM
#65
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simply put, if you ride closer to the right, people will try to squeeze by and endanger you more. They need to slow down the traffic on that bridge. I don't really believe most of the people here would walk their bikes across that bridge. It's a long bridge, and there is really no other choice for crossing that river.
I think the days of making every road look like a freeway are over, but they really screwed up with the design of this bridge. It suggests that going fast is ok. It's not, and there is no reason to go fast. You get on the other side of the bridge and get to wait at traffic lights every block.
I think the days of making every road look like a freeway are over, but they really screwed up with the design of this bridge. It suggests that going fast is ok. It's not, and there is no reason to go fast. You get on the other side of the bridge and get to wait at traffic lights every block.
04-06-12, 11:29 AM
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No shoulder, and high odds of the driver getting himself , the cyclist, and other drivers injured by parking a car in the only open lane of a 35mph roadway, especially if he jumps out of his car and starts mucking around in the road after the clip.
Also, was the driver speeding?
04-06-12, 11:36 AM
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The cyclist was a League of American Bicyclists instructor.
Last edited by benjdm; 04-06-12 at 11:42 AM.
04-06-12, 11:53 AM
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this bridge connects two surface streets with low speed limits. You have to ride across a bridge somewhere and this is the best one. There is no reason to speed across the bridge, and the cars speeding across it are doing so illegally. I ride across this bridge fairly often. I can't believe the "giving us a bad name" nonsense. There is no good reason for this bridge to even be 4 lane, and it's purpose could be met with only one travel lane each way. It's not like this is taking massive traffic volumes. People are just idiots when they get behind the wheel, if there is open road they want to go fast. Why aren't the speeding reckless motorists giving motorists a bad name?
04-06-12, 11:59 AM
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04-06-12, 12:04 PM
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It's nothing to do with respect. There are certain laws you need to know to operate a vehicle safely, and certain skills you need to have. That's it.
04-06-12, 12:07 PM
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I don't really understand how this is confusing for people. I thought it was common knowledge that if you rear end somebody you're at fault automatically (excepting some situations like the vehicle in front of you not having its lights on at night).
04-06-12, 12:48 PM
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hmmm... you may be right. i was looking at the google maps sat. image: link and zoom. but, in the google street view, i don't see the sharrows, granted it is from the other side of the road. but, i also don't see the sharrows in the bing sat. images.
04-06-12, 12:54 PM
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hmmm... you may be right. i was looking at the google maps sat. image: link and zoom. but, in the google street view, i don't see the sharrows, granted it is from the other side of the road. but, i also don't see the sharrows in the bing sat. images.
04-06-12, 01:20 PM
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04-06-12, 01:46 PM
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Far right as possible doesn't mean the cyclist has to endanger his life.
The cyclist was doing absolutely the right thing in this situation.
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