RT

Word.

Second the Word.

Motion carries.

shokhead

Not someplace I'd ride for sure.

WhyFi

Where's the comeuppance? Did I miss the part where he was pistol whipped?

mocolotion

I'm glad they caught the kid for sure, but I also have to agree with some of the previous posters that the guy was riding his bike like a complete idiot in this instance. Who decides they're going to hug the dashed line separating lanes? He should have been a good eight feet to his right and hugging the divider between the right lane and the foot path.

Snapperhead

If that's the case, then you should NEVER ride on the road unless you are 100% certain that there will be 0 traffic.

hhnngg1

No, but you should NOT ride on roads like that during times when you cause a big backlog of traffic behind you, and with large vehicles no less, when you're so far under the speed limit that even the car behind the trailing car may very nearly hit you after the one right behind you passes.

Nobody's saying to avoid ALL traffic, but it's pretty stupid to be out on roads like that with traffic like that, period.

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.

pallen

Normally, I don't mind slowing traffic when there is a second lane for cars to go around, but in this case, traffic is moving way to fast for my comfort. Cars don't have time to react and hump of the bridge could further limit the time they have to see you. I understand though, that sometimes you find yourself in places you didn't intend to be, and that in no way justifies a hit and run. I wonder what happened to the driver?

blcknspo0ln

Wow, I didn't realize this just happened yesterday. I don't care if he's 17 or not, I'm glad he was caught and surely punished.

hhnngg1

Also, for all the folks who think the driver is so evil:

Where did you want to driver to stop on that road after the clip? 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.

I don't know what he should have done, but it's not unreasonable to think that in the panic of the post-hit situation, that the driver may have made a snap judgment to drive to the end of the bridge to pull over the vehicle and walk back. Even after the bus stopped him, I'm not sure it would be a clear decision to get out of the car on that roadway - doing that instantly changes the situation from a one-potential death hazard (cyclist) to a multiple death hazard (cyclist, driver, and other people trying to help in the middle of a 35mph roadway where approaching traffic is not yet stopped by a cop.)

Also, was the driver speeding? Swerving? No. He might have been texting, sure, but we have no evidence of that. Was he driving terribly? I'd also say no - he just happened to be a hair too close on a tight pass, with a cyclist who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. How many times do we drivers have to deal with that situation with no shoulder, cyclist in the MIDDLE (not right) of the lane, and several cars backed up? I'd bet you put 1000 drivers on that road in that situation, and a shockingly high percentage of these perfectly good drivers would clip that cyclist just the same.

DropDeadFred

I live in a town where cycling is becoming more and more popular as gas prices go up and people become more health conscious, unfortunately this leads to idiots riding on the opposite side into traffic or in the middle of the road...when I see it I want to pull over and yell at them for making people want to run us off the road when we are riding the correct way. It's not often that I get out on to busy roads but when i do we keep our paceline tight and to the right.

Hiro11

I'd have to agree that my reaction watching this video is the cyclist made some pretty big mistakes here. It's clearly a busy time of day given the shining sun and traffic volumes, he's going very slowly over the bridge and taking the entire lane. Not only that, this bridge has no shoulder and giant jersey barriers, it's a basic cycling nightmare. The wide, two-lane running path seems to be the obvious solution if he absolutely needed to ride over this bridge. It's not even that long a bridge, I would consider walking my bike over it if riding isn't allowed on the path. I know motorists should share the road and I know that most states give cyclists the right to take en entire lane, but there's the law and then there's common sense. This guy was showing very little of the latter. I actually got a little irritated just watching him lolly-gag over that bridge riding down the middle of the road.

On the other hand, if you hit someone and run, all bets are off no matter what happened. The driver should be in pretty big trouble.

CbadRider

Moved from Road to A&S.

fly:yes/land:no

just so you all know, that lane is a designated share the road bike lane and a 35mph speed limit. yes, i anticipate the onslaught of the "doesn't matter what the law is if you get hit" comments, but there is something to be said that the rider was riding in a spot that local government has designated for cycling use. granted, i ride a bit faster than the guy in the video (no backdoor bragging intended), but i would ride the bridge with as much traffic as is in the video, albeit more to the right.

fly:yes/land:no

fail.

lineinthewater

This is totally ridiculous. The guy was clearly trying to run. And, by moving from behind the cyclist, he puts the cyclist at risk (again) for getting hit.

lineinthewater

BTW, am I seeing that video correctly - that there was a cop right there on the scene (the cyclist signalling to him just after being hit)?? Talk about all the cards falling into place to nail a hit-and-run motorist - if only life were really like that.

Nitram612

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

dynodonn 

On one section of my commute, I ride the same as the cyclist in the OP video, on a 3 lane one way. Every time I try to ride further right than the center of the lane, motorists generally repay me back with very close passes, it seems that the average motorist knows where the front of their vehicle is better than their vehicle's right side.

MikeyBoyAz

HAHA... That's Funny! btw it's call the 41! Get it straight!

genec

And the alternative is???

genec

How about turning on the emergency flashers and staying there to offer protection for the downed cyclist. By leaving there is no protection for the cyclist who is now down in the road.

BillyD

Exactly.

Bottom line is you're no match for a 2 ton vehicle. Period. It doesn't matter if you're in the right, because you could be "Dead Right", and a lot of good that's going to do you in the casket.

You have to ride intelligently if you want to last very long riding in traffic, doesn't matter what the law says. Use your head or you'll be dead!

Average Killer

Was he driving terribly???? I'd have to say he was. Watch the video again. At the 22 second frame you see the bus, then the silver car, then the black car (the one that eventually hits the guys) all in the right lane. At the end of that clip you notice that the black car jumps into the left lane to pass the silver car. The next clip is the accident scene with the bus in the left lane, the black car rear ending the cyclist, and then the silver car. I may not be a rocket scientist, but even I can figure this one out. The 17 year-old wanted to pass both the silver car and the bus but the bus moved over and he cut back over into the right lane to pass the bus. I live in PA and the last time I checked the left lane was for passing not the right.

on the path

Really? REALLY??

What is this traffic of which you speak? The traffic in the entire video was relatively light and the motorists weren't optimally utilizing both lanes.

I stopped the video at the point of impact. There is exactly ONE car behind the offender. And that car is following at a reasonable distance.

To be clear, I would not on my boldest day ever cycle on that roadway. But the fact remains that the cyclist in the video had every right to be there and was entitled to the entire lane. The driver that hit the cyclist was clearly at fault, and that fault was multiplied by fleeing from the accident.

WhyFi

Do you actually ride in traffic? What you advocate encourages drivers to squeeze in a same-lane pass.