Originally Posted by
UniChris
This is obviously a tragedy, but to say anything meaningful about it, we need to know the actual details and timing of what happened, and consider them in light of the relevant actual laws.
Although it may socially increase the due care obligation, neither the fact that someone is a cyclist, nor technically in law that someone is a child, changes the actual laws governing who must yield the right of way at an intersection - we have such laws to create a degree of predictability and shared expectations, and we train children to navigate a world governed by those rules before we allow them to attempt to do so unsupervised.
A cyclist riding on the sidewalk who then enters or crosses a roadway without exercising pedestrian-level hesitance and caution is well known to be at an extreme of risk.
Although some reports are claiming the driver had a stop sign, the report I read said she was westbound on Kings Mill and turned left onto Gallant Knight. If you look at streetview imagery from February of this year, there is not in fact a stop sign for such traffic, though there is for those entering the intersection from the other two directions.
That imagery also makes it clear that this is not an area that should be difficult to navigate on foot or by bike if one takes note of approaching traffic.
i feel you have presented a fair analysis based on the information presented. Having said that, until we change our attitudes about responsibility of managing a motor vehicle, we will not have safe streets. In a residential area, with or without stop signs, does not and should not impact a motorists view and decision making. The bottom line for me is the motorist missed an opportunity to check for a vehicle moving at 8 year old bicycle speed. This was a miss by the motorist either while approaching the intersection, the speed of her turn given the weight of the vehicle (stopping distance), distraction, or ?
Data shows the more people cycling on a street, the fewer collisions. The key reason is the higher motorist awareness. To excuse a motorist who lowered their guard because not many non-motorized vehicles are present for me is not acceptable. And whoever reported that the area was not safe for bicycles was really saying, it’s understandable that the motorist was not paying attention since 8 years do not frequent that area. When I look at the pictures, that could easily be a place an 8 year old rides their bike.