K'Tesh

Tonight (2013/2/27) as I was commuting home on the bus, I saw a bunch of police lights on a stretch of 99W I've come to LOATH.

Sure enough, another cyclist was hit by a right turning car. Looks like he took it in the rear wheel and was knocked off the bike. His leg had some minor abrasions, near the knee and ankle. But he was up and about talking with the officer.

Happened at the uphill entry to the Fred Meyers (the one that's closest the the US Bank drive up ATM). Two blocks from where I was hit in 2011 (This makes that stretch of 99W's toll about 10 that I know of)

I went back and talked to him after the police took his statement, and gave him some advice on what he's going to need to do (first hand knowledge).

Go to get the leg looked at tonight... I told him about my experience from 2007

Take the bike into the Bike Gallery and get it inspected (rear wheel is thrashed). Since the bike wouldn't need to be inspected except for the crash, the $35 fee is completely on the insurance.

Report the crash (not accident) to the DMV within 72 hours.

I gave him the name of a good law firm (I use Swanson Thomas and Coon) (that's Ray Thomas's firm... (see Williams v. Philip Morris)).

Hopefully he'll be made whole quickly.

Ride Safe Out There, Motorists still aren't looking
God Bless
K'Tesh

Roushe

Do you know if he was riding the shoulder or taking the lane? I'm not trying to lay blame, I am just curious.

Russ

kmv2

was he wearing a helment

howsteepisit

Since he was ht in the rear, seems like either the car deliberately hit him, or he passes on the right when the car slowed to turn. or possibly it was just the timing where the car passes then turned quickly and there was enough time after the car started the turn for the cyclist to catch and pass the car. Culpability seems to be in doubt in my mind. Once again, a dearth of facts allows jumping to conclusions such as needing a litigation based law firm to represent the maybe oppressed cyclist. Once again, we can all jump about and wring our collective hands about even more atrocities heaps and the poor cyclists fate at the hand of killer cars.

K'Tesh

I'm sorry,
It was late when I posted, and I should have added some links into the post that more closely showed the situation.

He was in the bike lane, the motorist failed to see him and turned.

Again, I was tired when I posted, and didn't provide the usual info.

99W backs up with cars frequently in this stretch of road during the evening rush hour.

It's long, it's straight, and there's a bike lane. Like my situation the cyclist was the one who was passing. The motorist (as in my situation) didn't expect that they'd be passed by a bicycle on the right, and made a turn without looking. I my situation, I was cut off and plowed into the fender in front of the front wheel. This guy nearly made it across the driveway when the motorist hit him. Both of us were riding slower than possible (or posted) when our collisions occurred. I was past the worst part of the road (Fred Meyer's) and was doing between 20 and 25 miles per hour. This guy said he was going slow, and I THINK I overheard him say he was doing 15 mph. The posted speed is 35, and one night, a very long time ago, when traffic was nearly non-existent I hit 40mph (in the traffic lane).

Him wearing a helmet did not cause the collision, but I'm sure that he's glad he was. I know I was when I was hit.

dynodonn 

Another one of our local cyclists was killed last Sunday afternoon, the motorist let their vehicle drift into the shoulder. The motorist was definitely looking at something, but obviously not at the road in front of them.

genec

The one think about being hit in the rear like that is that it is probably unlikely that the cyclist was aware of what was about to happen... it just became one of those "WHAT!!!" situations.

K'Tesh

I think he was aware it was about to happen once the motorist started her turn, but it happened so fast (due to proximity) that he couldn't avoid it.

K'Tesh

Sorry to hear about that. Hopefully it wasn't a hit and run. Nothing is worse for the family of the victim than having the coward run and try to hide the evidence.

dynodonn 

The motorist didn't run, was operating one of our county's recreational and parks vehicle at the time of the collision, and on the clock. The state highway patrol had the vehicle towed away for evidence purposes, and the county employee had a blood test done, with the results coming back negative for drugs or alcohol.

genec

The reason I made my comment was that I was once hit in the rear wheel by a left turning motorist... they should have been able to clear me fine, but somehow managed to knock me down... I had no idea they were about to do that. You can be aware of motorists around you, without being aware of what they are about to do behind you. Granted, at the time I did not use a mirror, but it would not have been likely that I would have watched a motorist that seemed to be well clear of me.

bhtooefr

Sounds like a combination of motorist and traffic design fault.

(Bike lanes + areas where cars will be turning across them == bad idea, unless it's a protected bike lane more than a car length from the road, with a stop sign positioned such that the car is 90 degrees to the bike path at the crossing, and must stop before crossing it. If there's not enough space for that, right lane sharrows.)

K'Tesh

I'm trying to see if we can do something better along here (like getting rid of right turn driveways along here).

Chris516

This indirectly reminded me of something that happened today. I was on my ride, in the merge lane, when I heard a loud vehicle behind me. The plus(and minus) of the vehicle was, his twin exhaust pipes making a monstrous racket. While it was noise pollution. There was no way for any other driver to not hear his car.

I-Like-To-Bike

You would just love being on the road when a gaggle of Harley Riders bears down on you.

CB HI

I have had only one problem with a Harley Rider. He ordered me to get out of the bike lane so he could move to the head of the bike lane que at a red light. I was laughing my ass off at that order.

B. Carfree

For those who want to blame the cyclist here, remember that Oregon is one of two states, along with Arizona, that gives cyclists in a bike lane the right-of-way over right-turning motorists. Legally, it is the motorist's responsibility to make sure the bike lane is clear before crossing over it and the motorist is not allowed to "take" the bike lane prior to making his/her turn.

This strange part of the vehicle code takes some getting used to. I'm much more comfortable taking the lane anywhere near potential right-hook problems, but this is what we deal with here.

agent pombero

I hope this guy gets a PHAT payout in the $100,000+ range

ItsJustMe

Don't states that don't require a clear path through the bike lane require right turning cars to merge with traffic in the bike lane (safely) before turning, just as if it were a motor vehicle lane?

That's the only thing that actually makes any sense anyway. Nobody would think that it would be a good idea to turn right from the 2nd motor lane over, there's no reason to think that the fact that the rightmost lane is really narrow is an excuse to cut across it.

Chris516

I would not be offended by a bunch of Harleys on my tail. Sure they can be loud, depending on the exhaust pipes on the Harley. But at least they would have 'class' and thought into their motorcycle. The car with the twin pipes that passed me, certainly didn't look deserving of loud exhaust pipes. It was only deserving of calling a junkyard 'Home, Sweet, Home'.

Chris516

I will gladly share the lane, with a Harley. But not with a vehicle with more than two wheels.

mconlonx

No one who bolts chrome and open pipes onto their Harley has "'class' and thought into their motorcycle." They have a catalog/internet connection, a credit card, and an enabling peer group...

CB HI

Chris, the Harley Rider wanted to share a 3 foot bike lane. He did not want to wait in the stopped rush hour traffic.

Chris516

I was speaking in general. But yes, wanting to share a 3ft. bike lane is crazy.

I-Like-To-Bike

And a need to say to everyone on or within 300 feet of the road, "Hey You, Look at Me!!" by being obnoxiously loud