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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

#41

Post by dasil003 »

gruez wrote: post #33
jordanb wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not pedantry when it's the root of the problem. Cycling isn't dangerous, being on the street with cars is dangerous. Being on the street on a bike is dangerous, walking down a street is dangerous. Heck being in a compact car on today's streets with oversized/overweight vehicles is dangerous. It's important to be precise about the source of the danger because it correctly identifies the problem. There's a big pus…

>It's not pedantry when it's the root of the problem. How is this any different than "guns don't kill people, people kill people?"

Because whether it's people pulling the trigger or the gun itself, both are the direct source of harm. Bicycles are not the source of harm, cars are.

The analogous argument one way would be quibbling over whether it's the driver or the car. The analogous argument the other would be saying it's the shooting victims fault for being in a place where they are likely to get shot (bad neighborhood, in a position to surprise or threaten an armed individual, or maybe just in America)

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

#42

Post by alpaca128 »

treyfitty wrote: post #21
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.

Cars are more dangerous than bicycles because they’re larger and faster, yes. But when you compare cars vs. bicycles on the same road, together, bicyclists are in more danger. I can only surmise the people that tell you “bicycles are dangerous,” are just looking out for your well being and meant “you’re putting yourself in danger.” Unfortunately, roads were designed for cars first. Even more unfortunate, people are n…

> you think bicyclists have the de facto right of way and everyone should adjust to your presence

They think that because that's how the law works, yes. Also many roads aren't designed for cars either, at least not in terms of safety or efficiency.

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

#43

Post by JumpCrisscross »

cafard wrote: post #4

A kid I knew in high school was knocked off his bike by an ambulance. He'd have come out of the incident better if the ambulance hadn't backed up to see what happened, for it backed over his legs. The city settled with him for what sounded like a lot of money in 1971, but not so much ten years later.

> if the ambulance hadn't backed up to see what happened, for it backed over his legs

Was the driver drunk? Whose first instinct after possibly running over something is to back up?

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

#44

Post by JumpCrisscross »

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.

> I'll have to add fast billing ambulances to the list

As another comment mentions, this is a standard vehicle-cyclist collision lawsuit with some hilarity added by automated billing.

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

#45

Post by frankgrimesjr »

danielmarkbruce wrote: post #28
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.

"it was his fault" - not sure you want that on your tombstone.

Would you want "Enjoyed blaming the victims" in yours?

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

#46

Post by jimt1234 »

rconti wrote: post #25

It sounds like what's actually happening here is that the cyclist's auto insurance is picking up the tab, and in turn suing the ambulance company to get their money back. I always find this intersection of the auto and cycling worlds so strange. If he didn't have a car, he wouldn't have auto insurance, so I guess his health insurance would be covering the initial tab, and then suing the ambulance company to get their…

> If you get a moving violation on your bicycle and show a driver's license to the police, it seems you get points in your license ...

Can confirm. A friend got a DUI while riding his bicycle. He was guilty as hell, just didn't realize it would affect his driving record.

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

#47

Post by mmooss »

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 injury - it seems to me that human attention loses focus unless something reinforces it; as a result 1 in 1,000 risks are very hard to focus on.

Cars and bikes don't mix except when cars are going bicycle speed. If your system kills people when they make a mistake, your system is very badly designed.

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

#48

Post by yunwal »

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…

> it's the ground that's dangerous

Sure, but there’s nothing we can do about the ground

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