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Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

oregonlive.com

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Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#211

Post by Gud »

seer wrote: post #182
acomjean wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been urban biking for years. It's no doubt dangerous. I don't think you become complacent like you do when when driving. You are pretty aware that these heavy fast moving vehicles are on the same road as you. Part of my commute was on a path off the roads, it was nice. I always leave plenty of time when riding so im not rushing. even when there are separate lanes it's important to stay alert for cars turning ont…

I think the problem is that in a lot of places in the west bicycles are forced to mix with motor vehicles, and away from pedestrians. This always seemed like a weird trade off to me - “you are inconveniencing some pedestrians, so go in this other lane where you can die” I grew up in Eastern Europe, where technically the laws are similar, but no policeman is going to stop you for riding on the sidewalk. So you natural…

Bicycles and pedestrians should absolutely not be mixed! What needs to happen are dedicated bicycle lanes and reduced car traffic.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#212

Post by faer12321 »

mmooss wrote: post #158
paulproteus wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am honestly not so sure. What's the evidence for this claim?

Do you see drivers regularly hitting people? You don't think almost anyone would be horrified if they hit a person? I don't have evidence, but let's not imagine people are the sociopaths they claim to be on the Internet.

I see drivers regularly perform dangerous overtakes. They do these stuffs and expect the other person to avoid them instead. To me that is very much not "drivers are very adverse to hitting people".

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#213

Post by totalcode »

mmooss wrote: post #47
nritchie wrote: post #13

As a bicyclist, I'm constantly told how dangerous bicycles are. Usually, I get a blank look when I explain, bicycles are very safe, it is the cars that are the dangerous part of the equation. Now I'll have to add fast billing ambulances to the list of dangers.

You could say that jumping out of a plane without a parachute isn't dangerous, it's the ground that's dangerous. Cyclists make mistakes, make bad judgments, take big risks, just like car drivers. They are human too. You could say cyclists have a bigger incentive to avoid problems, but no driver I know wants to hit someone and injure them, and cyclists I know become inured to the risks after riding for years without i…

Of course no one wants to hit and injure other people. But every one want to get ahead of traffic, and then ignore the fact that more dangerous maneuver = more chance of hitting someone. Saying "no driver I know wants to hit someone and injure them" is just playing with semantics.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#215

Post by opless »

the_sleaze_ wrote: post #176
marxisttemp wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not quite an acronym but to complete the trifecta, sometimes nobody was at fault and you just haddalayerdown (because we all know steel and human flesh are much better at slowing a motorcycle down than wimpy old rubber)

Cue an extremely vivid memory of a rainy drenched Washington DC street awash with glare and sparkle from the street lights. Car in front of me lit the brakes, and I grab the front handbrake on my little 250 to.... nothing. No result. "uh" escaped my mouth as I grabbed a somewhat panicked handful of brake and slammed on the rear again to.. absolutely nothing except a lighter rear wheel. Finally had to just lean into a…

I've a similar story, but 35 years ago, a situation which was entirely my fault, 100cc and 'shit'.

Ended up with a sore knee, bent forks and a realisation that leaning plus braking in the wet is a great way to make a nice groove into the asphalt!

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#216

Post by bagels »

mmooss wrote: post #147
bagels wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of the dangerous interactions that I've had while riding were caused by automobile drivers, and not myself.

Unless you have very little experience riding around cars, here's how I read that comment: 'I'm either too defensive/argumentative to tell the truth or I'm not honest with myself.' Analogously: Since the the election, I've seen endless people blaming Biden, 'the media', etc etc. The only one I'll take seriously is the person who says: 'I failed; I should have done better.'

I have tens of thousands of miles of experience, and have studied the law and best practices around cycling.

I vividly remember exactly the circumstances of each.

Most involve me riding as far to the right as practicable while someone driving a car hits me from behind, or quickly passes and does a right hook.

My favorite was the national parks employee who was drunk driving in Yosemite and hit me from behind. I'd love for you to explain how that one was my fault.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#217

Post by kmoser »

nl wrote: post #209
mmooss wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could say that jumping out of a plane without a parachute isn't dangerous, it's the ground that's dangerous. Cyclists make mistakes, make bad judgments, take big risks, just like car drivers. They are human too. You could say cyclists have a bigger incentive to avoid problems, but no driver I know wants to hit someone and injure them, and cyclists I know become inured to the risks after riding for years without i…

> no driver I know wants to hit someone and injure them As a cyclist I don't think this is completely true. I've been in cars with drivers who do dangerously close passes on cyclists and the common excuse is "oh I just want to scare them" or similar. So while I guess it's technically true that even these drivers don't technically want to hit the cyclist the distinction is somewhat moot.

There is something about bicyclists, and especially skaters, that leads to active hostility from drivers.

On at least two occasions, I've had cars purposely try to hit me when I was skating. I know it was on purpose because in one case the driver said "you're not a vehicle" as he came within inches of hitting me, and in another case the driver, completely unprovoked, began cursing loudly and tried to run me off the road.

You might argue that the first one didn't actively "want" to hit me, but he certainly wouldn't have cared if he did.

> Cars and bikes don't mix except when cars are going bicycle speed.

I wouldn't want to get hit by a car going 15 mph. Or even 1 mph. So I would say cars and bikes don't really mix at all, especially since many drivers are either actively hostile to bikers and skaters, or indifferent about hitting them.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#219

Post by bagels »

nextworddev wrote: post #145
2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not symmetric though. In a car your mistake has a much higher ceiling to the negative consequences. And with great power comes great responsibility. I’ve been honked for waiting for a safe way to pass a cyclist. The car behind me then just zooms past the cyclist after I make a manoeuvre. It’s not like all driver are out there trying to be responsible as much as possible.

Most roads aren’t even meant for cyclists but they feel so entitled as to take up entire lanes sometimes.

What state do you live in?

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#220

Post by worik »

acomjean wrote: post #68
mmooss wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could say that jumping out of a plane without a parachute isn't dangerous, it's the ground that's dangerous. Cyclists make mistakes, make bad judgments, take big risks, just like car drivers. They are human too. You could say cyclists have a bigger incentive to avoid problems, but no driver I know wants to hit someone and injure them, and cyclists I know become inured to the risks after riding for years without i…

I've been urban biking for years. It's no doubt dangerous. I don't think you become complacent like you do when when driving. You are pretty aware that these heavy fast moving vehicles are on the same road as you. Part of my commute was on a path off the roads, it was nice. I always leave plenty of time when riding so im not rushing. even when there are separate lanes it's important to stay alert for cars turning ont…

> I've been urban biking for years. It's no doubt dangerous

Yes

I gave up using my bicycle in the city. It was very good for me, but one mistake and it would be very bad, easily terminal

It is easy to make bicycling safe(r): get rid of the cars

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