CB HI

I hope the van driver sues the OP. Then the OP can report back on what the judge said.

I-Like-To-Bike

No, the bottom line is that YOU are nothing more than a Monday Morning Accident Analyzer, overloaded with gibberish and guesswork about how YOU (and similar soothsayers) would have avoided every possible accident scenario through your clairvoyant power of analysis gained post accident.

noisebeam

From your first two paragraphs it seems you know more about the OP situation than I do.

The other reason you have been able to avoid hitting motorists who don't stop at red light or stop sign is luck that you had space or time to evade. If one of those motorist had not stopped a bit later you may have not been so lucky.

I have never had a motorist not stop for me yet, but that is partly because I ride well into the lane with a flashing strobe headlight in daylight.

Anyway, I do have to remember the next time we hear of a cyclist who is hit by a motorist blowing a red light or stop sign to blame the cyclist for going to fast to stop or turn in time.

otis66

Your suppose to stop at a stop sign. If the driver had stop at the stop sighn you would not have ran into his car. Driver is at fault.

oban_kobi

Didn't even have to read the rest to know you were 100% to blame. Stay in the road, stop at stop signs. Make a habit of it and this won't happen to you again.

noisebeam

Incorrect. The motorist did not stop at stop sign.

Excellent advice which will help reduce similar potential incidents if followed


Incorrect. Other drivers may suddenly pull or turn right in front of you even if you are on the road.

howeeee

the thread is outta control lol,,nobody is suing anyone,,we shook hands and went our own way,,I have no idea who he is,,he has no idea who I am lol...

I made the original post cause I found humor in how a 64 year old Schwinn Autocyle is so indestructable that it could run into the side of a van and the van was damaged but not the bicycle,,thought others would see the humore,,somehow it turned into a argument about sidewalk riding lol

Daves_Not_Here

This thread is stupid and anyone who adds to it needs to Getalife. I shall now proceed to add to it.

The Univeral Law of Sidewalk Riding is that you slow and prepare to stop prior to entering the street. It's only common sense. You don't go blasting into the street like some clown who peppers his sentences with "lol" lest ye inherit the earth. (and fer Chrissakes OP, if you're going to Laugh Out Loud all the time, then be a man and Spell It Out - you know, Ha Ha HA! Give the hip internet acronyms a rest already. WTF?)

Yes, it's amusing that you T-boned a van and won. Less amusing would have been the scene had you arrived earlier. And far less amusing would have been the aftermath had the van swerved into others to miss you.

Ignore the tedious circular legalistic arguments here that vary based on locality and menstrual cycle, the laws of physics govern.

lol

I-Like-To-Bike

Thatz what happens when a thread is hijicked from a more reasonable list and placed in a Snakepit of Second Guessers, Vehicular Cycling "Advocates", Clubhouse Lawyers and SideWALK Demonizers.

Digital_Cowboy

CB,

I agree with you.

Digital_Cowboy

Actually, all we have is the OP's word for what happened. We have NOT heard the owner of the van side of things.

And again, given that by the OP's own admission that he "wasn't able to stop on a dime" reinforces that he was traveling too fast. As I know that Florida law makes it very clear that one is suppose to be able to stop within X distance at 10MPH. I am sure that every state has similar language in their laws.

JonathanGennick 

Wow! Blast from the past. Did you also need to get written permission from your parents. I remember having to do that. Detroit law used to be such that from 12 onward you technically needed written parental permission to ride on the street. And my mother was a stickler for the rules.

Digital_Cowboy

I think that the main problem is that you think that it's "funny" that you damaged someone else's property. And is unwilling to except responsibility for your actions.

The bottom line is that you got lucky.

Digital_Cowboy

Was that a one time written permission, or did one need a new written permission every time one went for a ride?

noisebeam

funny? Why do you think he thinks its funny?

SteamingAlong

N/K. If it was my van, I probably would have punched you in the side of the head. sideWALK.

njkayaker

You miss that the cyclist (it appears) didn't even slow down before entering the crosswalk. Not slowing is foolish (and illegal).

Sorry, this is nonsense. The cyclist should have slowed down and looked (just like any other careful pedestrian should have done). Clearly, given the story as written, the cyclist was going too fast and not looking.

(Just to be clear, that the van driver made a mistake doesn't mean the cyclist didn't make a mistake either. And the cyclist, very likely, should have had enough control to avoid the collision).

This cyclist was entering a crosswalk. He should have nearly stopped before entering it.

So, given this, the reasonable, prudent, cautious thing to do is slow down and check before entering the crosswalk.

There are two "real problems": one (as you said) is the motorists; the other is cyclists entering crosswalks at unreasonable/unexpected speeds without really looking. As should be obvious, the cyclist can't control what the motorist does but he can certainly slow down and look (and take control of his own safety).

njkayaker

This is true but incomplete. The pedestrian is supposed to make sure there isn't traffic before entering the crosswalk. Thus, in fact, both parties made errors.

Anyway, the real goal is not to assign fault. The real goal is to avoid getting hit in the first place. It doesn't seem that this collision was unavoidable. That is, the cyclist-pedestrian didn't take enough care.

I-Like-To-Bike

Doesn't this all purpose criticism/fault finding conclusion/solution apply to everybody involved in every accident, no matter what the vehicle?

Digital_Cowboy

Because of the way on just about ecru one of his posts he has at least one lol, and that by his own admission he thinks it's "humorous" that he not only ran into the side of the van, but that he did so while causing damage to it, but didn't suffer any damage himself.

noisebeam

I missed that. I saw the lol, but i didn't read it as oh, that was funny.

To be clear I would never argue that the cyclist did not have personal responsibility to avoid the accident. That is a given.

njkayaker

It doesn't apply to every accident. In this case, it would seem to apply and it appears the cyclist was oblivious to it.

The van driver isn't around to hear suggestions as to how to avoid collisions. The cyclist is.

And the cyclist got into a collision which appears to have been quite avoidable. It doesn't seem that the cyclist has any idea that what he appeared to have failed to do (slowing down and looking) was a contributing factor that was under his control.

rando

were you riding against the flow of adjacent auto traffic? that can be dangerous because people are looking left for oncoming traffic, not to the right for bikes coming at them. it's also illegal in many places.

howeeee

lol

adamhenry

I don't like riding on the sidewalk and seldom do it. Sometimes for me though it seems to be a necessary evil. If I find myself in the middle of a block and have a choice to cross 4 lanes of busy traffic, going out of my way to the next cross street, salmon the bike lane, or make a dash up an empty sidewalk I sometimes take the sidewalk. Taking the bike lane down to the next cross is the more correct move but sometimes it seems to be a long way to the next cross. The LBS is a good example, It is on one end of a long block.

When I do ride the sidewalk, I am very observant and careful. I nearly hit a young boy who was riding on the sidewalk once. I was making an exit from a parking lot onto a busy street. I checked for traffic in both directions but failed to check the sidewalk. I barely missed him and it scared the daylights out of me.