Yup, I almost killed a guy today, and it no doubt would have been my fault. I'm in the right lane when a big truck pulls out of a shopping center. I had to slow down just a bit, but I wasn't upset at him since he was at least pulling into the center lane and not staying in mine. Once he was completely out of my lane I had to SLAM on my brakes and nearly swerved into the truck! What caused this? There was a bike rider in my lane! I understand sometimes there are the white lines near the curbs that are there for bike riders and/or runners, but there were none. Why the F--K do you need to be on the street when there's a perfectly legit sidewalk right there?!? He wasn't even one of those big time bike riders that you sometimes see in the middle of the lane, he looked like a normal guy on a mountain bike. I probably missed the bike rider by no more than 18 inches, and it definitely could have been more like 3-4 inches. I probably was to blame a bit because I didn't slow down as much as I could/should have when the truck was pulling out, so I was going at a decent speed the moment he was completely out of my lane. Even still, the sidewalk is there for a reason, and there are no lines on the road saying you can ride a bike there. I guess he was a pedestrian, so he would have had the right of way one way or another. At least nobody was hurt and there were no accidents. Pugs
I'm pretty sure bikes are considered moving vehicles, therefore they have a right to be on the road even if there are no bike lanes. I know they still have to observe all traffic signs such as stopping at a light or sign. So the bike rider was actually legally correct. And technically, sidewalks are reserved for pedestrians only. These laws make no sense, but laws rarely do.
Bike are allowed on most non-highway roads, regardless of "bike lane" markers. They are supposed to stay no more than 3 feet from the curb. Riding a bike on the sidewalk is actually more dangerous, and in most cases illegal (iirc), as the speed difference between a bike and pedestrians is much greater than that of a bike and a car, and also, a bike coming onto the road suddenly is a huge hazard, compared to riding legally on the road and maintaining a presence in a lane. Sorry, that's my "share the road/bikers are vehicles too" tirade. Glad no one was hurt.
This may be a surprise for many people, but you can't ride bicycles on sidewalks. In cities like Austin, the police can give you a ticket. A lot of the times, a cyclist will ride close to the sidewalk out of courtesy but debris and broken glass forces him to move closer to the center lane. In an America with amazing infrastructure, there would be dedicated bike lanes like in Germany that have protection from automobile traffic.
I always ride on the sidewalk when possible, but they are called sideWALKs. That doesn't make you any less dead though.
You do realize riding a bike on the side walk is technically against the law in many parts of Houston. And in many other cities. Share the road.
To be honest I didn't realize this and figured it made more sense for them to be on the sidewalk where there is less chance of an accident. I always figured they put the lines on the road for bikes/pedestrians for a reason, and if the lines weren't there, then the rider shouldn't be either. I knew one way or another if the accident had taken place, it would have been my fault. Pugs
I don't know if drivers have fault beyond what would have happened it you hit a car in the same situation. I do know, as you stated, the biker has no exoskeleton. I don't treat myself as a car. I always think the car doesn't know I'm there. That's survival. And sometimes, it is safest to take over the lane. As long as I'm going 25mph, or 30, it's often safer for everyone if I'm in the middle of the lane....just for 5 seconds or so. Or I'll just stop and wait. cars usually respect ... if they realize you are taking over the lane just for a short, safe period.
Aren't you required to do a full stop in that situation? I think, if you did hit that guy, you'd be guilty for manslaughter.
Yeah, I can see what you mean. It just seems so dangerous to be going 10 mph (or so) slower than the traffic and constantly force cars to go around you. I always had it in the back of my mind that the "sideWALK" was for more than just walking. Growing up I rode my bike on it and even while attending college when I used my bike to get around....yup, I rode on the sidewalk. It just seems like it would be a lot safer. Donny does make a good point though, about the speed differences. Either way, I would think a vehicle/bike accident would turn out much worse than a bike/pedestrian accident a majority of the time. Pugs
Why make a full stop if the biker is in constant motion? I could understand slowing down and waiting to go around the biker, but don't see why someone would be required to make a full stop? I don't know a lot of the specifics about laws (obviously), so I could definitely be missing an obvious point here. Pugs
you know, Pugs...if the bike was already there when the truck cleared your space, I think it means you couldn't see what you were cruising into, and were going too fast in those circumstances. Could have been a slow car, or any other obstruction. From your description, doesn't sound like the bike swerved into your space (they do that sometimes), but rather, when the truck cut you off, you assumed the space in front of him -- that you couldn't see -- was clear and didn't slow down enough. You don't need to come to a full stop -- but you need to be going at a speed at which you can safely react if there's something there... Glad it turned out OK. You probably owe the cyclist laundry money and a scotch.
I ****ing hate bikers that drive in the road like they are a car, they completely shut off the entire lane to vehicles other than bikes because they go so damn slow I dont see why they dont ride on the sidewalk, makes no sense to me When I have to ride my bike somewhere, I always use sidewalks because I know how much of a pain in the ass me riding on the street is for a driver
I suppose you don't do this much, because it IS AGAINST THE LAW! I guess you have never been given a ticket for riding a bike on the sidewalk.
ugh. cars man WHY?! <object width="512" height="288"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/Rg6G5EFFwuYwTT_VSBZoZQ"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/Rg6G5EFFwuYwTT_VSBZoZQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" height="288" allowFullScreen="true"></embed></object>
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