Why are so many comments here raising the straw-man argument of a cyclist flagrantly disregarding all traffic laws and common sense? No one is suggesting that the driver should be at fault in such cases.
Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
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Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
#72>So here’s my proposal: Every time you get on a bike, from this moment forward, obey the letter of the law in every traffic exchange everywhere... Hahahahaha. I see a flaw in this plan. I don't see why the author views a lack of criminal charges as evidence of some kind of travesty of justice. If a cyclist gets run down by someone who didn't see him, that's an accident, not a crime.
You would be more likely to see the cyclist if you were faced with jail time for not seeing him. There is something deeply wrong with the attitude of "whoops, didn't see him, guess he's dead now, YOLO."
>you would be more likely to see the cyclist if you were faced with jail time for not seeing him.
If that's the proposal then my counter-proposal is to ban all bicycles from the streets. People make mistakes, and it's simply not reasonable to put someone in jail for a mistake a normal person would have made.
Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
#73I got run over from behind by an MTA bus in New York several years ago and the bus driver drove away. I called the local police precinct (non-emergency line) to report it with the bus number (the 4 digit one on the back) and they repeatedly hung up on me when I told them I was run down by a city bus who drove away.
>> "I got run over from behind by an MTA bus in New York several years ago and the bus driver drove away. I called the local police precinct" What do you mean you got run over from behind? When I picture that collision the cyclist would be killed or horribly injured. Certainly not able to call the police - and if able to call anyone they would probably call an ambulance. I'm not doubting you, just confused by the way…
Sure. I was cycling down 21st in Astoria and staying to the right. I passed a bus that was picking up a line of passengers and still had about 5-6 more to go as I was passing it. I was already about 3/4 of the block away from the stop when the bus ran me over.
Basically the bus immediately pulled out after picking up the last passenger and was going way too fast not looking ahead. I got hit from behind on the front-right side of the bus and fell to the right and ended up in the bus' right front wheelwell which I rolled out of before it ran me over completely. My bike took more damage than I did -- I was lucky.
Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
scratch off point d. Helmets don't really do anything to protect you unless you practically fall off your bike standing still. I've seen brains on the street from at least two low-speed bike accidents where the cyclist was wearing a helmet. Also, it's not that all cyclists are disobeying the law. Those are just the ones you choose to see. Drivers and pedestrians alike just aren't looking. I always obey traffic laws o…
> pedestrians alike just aren't looking You mentioned you obey the law so you probably don't do this. Even if the law does not prohibit riding on the sidewalk, you should never ride on the sidewalk. Just wanted to take this time to remind everyone that bicycles do not belong on the sidewalk.
There's nothing wrong with riding on the sidewalk as long as you're careful and it's not crowded. You shouldn't go blasting down it, but if it's safe and legal, what's the problem?
Sometimes it's the only sane option. While I can legally ride my bicycle on a four-lane road with a speed limit of 45MPH and no real shoulder, I'd have to be crazy to prefer that to the sidewalk that sees perhaps one pedestrian an hour.
Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
#75It's just completely surreal driving a bicycle in car traffic. The vast majority of car drivers simply lack the moral character and should not ever be allowed to drive such dangerous machinery. Cycle paths are optional here, and I very regularly opt out of driving on them because they are in a constant state of disarray, had snow and glass shoved on them, are too close to parking cars or end abruptly, forcing me to m…
You've answered your own question.
Why would people be upset when you've ignored the lane provided for you and instead decided to slow traffic to a grinding halt by taking up an entire lane? Certainly, it's unfortunate that the bike lane is poorly maintained, but to wholly place the blame on the drivers strikes me as questionable.
Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
#76Perhaps the physical disparity between these two modes of transport makes them so incompatible they just shouldn't be sharing the same space at all. Unfortunately cities just haven't been built with this in mind, so making the adjustment seems near impossible at this point.
Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see them too. I also see them got ticketed heavily and some even lost the privilege to drive. But I can't say that vast majority of cars run stop signs. Your link is not relevant, sorry.
You're not a cyclist so you judge them differently than you judge cars. Cyclists do get ticketed, even when they are commiting crimes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhWCFi3JIcU
I do not bike to work, right, it's 50 miles one way. But I ride the bike for recreational purposes.
Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
scratch off point d. Helmets don't really do anything to protect you unless you practically fall off your bike standing still. I've seen brains on the street from at least two low-speed bike accidents where the cyclist was wearing a helmet. Also, it's not that all cyclists are disobeying the law. Those are just the ones you choose to see. Drivers and pedestrians alike just aren't looking. I always obey traffic laws o…
> pedestrians alike just aren't looking You mentioned you obey the law so you probably don't do this. Even if the law does not prohibit riding on the sidewalk, you should never ride on the sidewalk. Just wanted to take this time to remind everyone that bicycles do not belong on the sidewalk.
But if you do then do it at the speed of the pedestrians.
Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
#79No, it is not. But it is also not OK to prevent cyclists to kill themselves by car. I've witnessed an accident recently when the car in front of me hit a cyclist. He was: a) riding at night without lights b) running red light c) against the traffic d) without a helmet I'd say this guy (Stanford student, which IMHO implies some intellect) could serve as an encyclopedic definition of our Bay Area cyclist. Cyclists who…
Cyclists running red lights are a big problem in LA. I am very much in favor of cycling, but you have to follow the laws. I know it is a pain in the ass to stop at every stoplight when you have to use your own muscles to accelerate, but you have to do it.
Cycling laws are the biggest problem in LA. Depending on where you are in LA, you're either can ride on the sidewalk or you can't. There's no consistency. I'm not in favor of ANYONE riding on the sidewalk, but cops in LA in areas where you can ride on the sidewalk like to be dicks and give cyclists bogus tickets for riding in the street.
http://ladotbikeblog.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/la-county-side...
Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
#80>So here’s my proposal: Every time you get on a bike, from this moment forward, obey the letter of the law in every traffic exchange everywhere... Hahahahaha. I see a flaw in this plan. I don't see why the author views a lack of criminal charges as evidence of some kind of travesty of justice. If a cyclist gets run down by someone who didn't see him, that's an accident, not a crime.
If a child gets run down by someone who didn't see him...
...an investigation will be launched to find out whether it was an accident (i.e. child did jump in front of car) or a crime (i.e. driver was texting, easily could have spotted child).
Similarly, an investigation should be launched if someone runs down a cyclist. Could be the cyclists fault (i.e. running a red light) or the drivers fault (i.e. running down a cyclist on a cyclist lane where the driver should take care not to run over cyclists...).