Bike Lobby and Dishonesty

[Anonymous]

Anytime a bicyclist dies in a collision in this town, I think we all agree it's terrible, even if it was the cyclist's fault.

This latest one- the State Department woman- though is just a complete rewrite of history. The woman was traveling against the permitted flow of traffic (wrong direction on a one way street) when she was struck.

Why has the response been to again rail against vehicles as if they are at fault?

[Anonymous]

The bicyclist was riding in the correct direction for the street.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/21/cyclist-dies-crash-northwest-dc/

"The driver of a Mack truck was traveling southbound in the 900 block of 21st Street NW, a one-way travel lane, and Shawn O’Donnell was traveling southbound on the right side of the truck, according to police."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bicyclist was riding in the correct direction for the street.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/21/cyclist-dies-crash-northwest-dc/

"The driver of a Mack truck was traveling southbound in the 900 block of 21st Street NW, a one-way travel lane, and Shawn O’Donnell was traveling southbound on the right side of the truck, according to police."

That's the complete opposite of what was originally reported by various sites. She was identified as traveling northbound while the truck was traveling southbound. Let me see if I can dig some of them up.

[Anonymous]

Here's the police report: https://mpdc.dc.gov/release/traffic-fatality-intersection-21st-street-and-i-street-northwest

"The preliminary investigation revealed, at approximately 8:09 am, a driver operating a Mack truck was traveling southbound in the 900 block of 21st Street, NW, which is a one-way travel lane. A bicyclist was also travelling southbound in the same block and on the right side of the Mack truck. At the intersection of 21st Street and I Street NW, the Mack truck began to make a right hand turn onto I Street NW. The bicyclist attempted to ride ahead of the Mack truck and was struck by the front passenger side of the truck, causing significant injuries."

[Anonymous]

The cyclist was at fault here:

O'Donnell was hit near 21st and I Streets in Northwest when a Mack Truck attempted to make a right turn.

O'Donnell tried to ride her bike ahead of the Mack Truck but was struck by the front passenger side of the truck

Applicable law:

Title 18 (2203.3) requires that both the approach
for a right turn and the turn itself shall be made as
close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge
of the roadway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The cyclist was at fault here:

O'Donnell was hit near 21st and I Streets in Northwest when a Mack Truck attempted to make a right turn.

O'Donnell tried to ride her bike ahead of the Mack Truck but was struck by the front passenger side of the truck

Applicable law:

Title 18 (2203.3) requires that both the approach
for a right turn and the turn itself shall be made as
close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge
of the roadway.

How does that law mean she was at fault? How do you know the truck was "close as practicable to the right-hand curb"? I could have been in the middle of the lane with her next to him ready to go froward when he decided to try to turn from the lane that he should have been going straight in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cyclist was at fault here:

O'Donnell was hit near 21st and I Streets in Northwest when a Mack Truck attempted to make a right turn.

O'Donnell tried to ride her bike ahead of the Mack Truck but was struck by the front passenger side of the truck

Applicable law:

Title 18 (2203.3) requires that both the approach
for a right turn and the turn itself shall be made as
close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge
of the roadway.

How does that law mean she was at fault? How do you know the truck was "close as practicable to the right-hand curb"? I could have been in the middle of the lane with her next to him ready to go froward when he decided to try to turn from the lane that he should have been going straight in.

The street is one lane; she attempted to pass a turning vehicle where there was no lane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cyclist was at fault here:

O'Donnell was hit near 21st and I Streets in Northwest when a Mack Truck attempted to make a right turn.

O'Donnell tried to ride her bike ahead of the Mack Truck but was struck by the front passenger side of the truck

Applicable law:

Title 18 (2203.3) requires that both the approach
for a right turn and the turn itself shall be made as
close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge
of the roadway.

How does that law mean she was at fault? How do you know the truck was "close as practicable to the right-hand curb"? I could have been in the middle of the lane with her next to him ready to go froward when he decided to try to turn from the lane that he should have been going straight in.

It doesn’t. The truck made a right turn from the center lane without bothering to check whether there was anyone in the right lane. This unfortunately happens all the time with trucks and bicyclists, because larger trucks can’t make tight turns from the right lane so they do it from the center lane (even though it’s illegal) and if they bother checking the right lane at all before turning, it’s usually not until right before they turn when the bicyclist may be In their blindspot. This is why it’s important to monitor what’s happened around you, not just in front or you, while you’re driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cyclist was at fault here:

O'Donnell was hit near 21st and I Streets in Northwest when a Mack Truck attempted to make a right turn.

O'Donnell tried to ride her bike ahead of the Mack Truck but was struck by the front passenger side of the truck

Applicable law:

Title 18 (2203.3) requires that both the approach
for a right turn and the turn itself shall be made as
close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge
of the roadway.

How does that law mean she was at fault? How do you know the truck was "close as practicable to the right-hand curb"? I could have been in the middle of the lane with her next to him ready to go froward when he decided to try to turn from the lane that he should have been going straight in.

The street is one lane; she attempted to pass a turning vehicle where there was no lane.

I believe just past that intersection it expands to three lanes in the morning/evening while parking restrictions are in effect. If so, and if the truck did not use it’s turn signal, it’s entirely possible the bicyclist was trying to move into the right lane on the next block.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's the police report: https://mpdc.dc.gov/release/traffic-fatality-intersection-21st-street-and-i-street-northwest

"The preliminary investigation revealed, at approximately 8:09 am, a driver operating a Mack truck was traveling southbound in the 900 block of 21st Street, NW, which is a one-way travel lane. A bicyclist was also travelling southbound in the same block and on the right side of the Mack truck. At the intersection of 21st Street and I Street NW, the Mack truck began to make a right hand turn onto I Street NW. The bicyclist attempted to ride ahead of the Mack truck and was struck by the front passenger side of the truck, causing significant injuries."

It's the bolded part of the police report that gives me pause, because it PRESUMES right of way for the truck and essentially assigns blame to the cyclist for riding ahead. But she wasn't "riding ahead" - she was continuing straight in the lane where she had been traveling. Also, since the cyclist is dead, she cannot tell her version of what happened. And it is in the cops' interest to blame the dead person because that is the path of least resistance for them to close out the file.

It is a tragedy that this cyclist died. It is a tragedy that TWO CYCLISTS have been killed on DC streets in the past week. It is a tragedy that this city will not enforce traffic laws or implement infrastructure to keep cyclists and pedestrians safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cyclist was at fault here:

O'Donnell was hit near 21st and I Streets in Northwest when a Mack Truck attempted to make a right turn.

O'Donnell tried to ride her bike ahead of the Mack Truck but was struck by the front passenger side of the truck

Applicable law:

Title 18 (2203.3) requires that both the approach
for a right turn and the turn itself shall be made as
close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge
of the roadway.

How does that law mean she was at fault? How do you know the truck was "close as practicable to the right-hand curb"? I could have been in the middle of the lane with her next to him ready to go froward when he decided to try to turn from the lane that he should have been going straight in.

It doesn’t. The truck made a right turn from the center lane without bothering to check whether there was anyone in the right lane. This unfortunately happens all the time with trucks and bicyclists, because larger trucks can’t make tight turns from the right lane so they do it from the center lane (even though it’s illegal) and if they bother checking the right lane at all before turning, it’s usually not until right before they turn when the bicyclist may be In their blindspot. This is why it’s important to monitor what’s happened around you, not just in front or you, while you’re driving.

Yeah I’ve had a bus nearly turn on top of me in this way before. Fortunately both the bus driver and I were paying attention and moving slowly so we both stopped and nothing bad happened but it was a scary moment there. I don’t necessarily think this truck driver should be punished severely but I do think these situations should be a big reminder for people to be closely paying attention to their surroundings and driving (and cycling) carefully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cyclist was at fault here:

O'Donnell was hit near 21st and I Streets in Northwest when a Mack Truck attempted to make a right turn.

O'Donnell tried to ride her bike ahead of the Mack Truck but was struck by the front passenger side of the truck

Applicable law:

Title 18 (2203.3) requires that both the approach
for a right turn and the turn itself shall be made as
close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge
of the roadway.

How does that law mean she was at fault? How do you know the truck was "close as practicable to the right-hand curb"? I could have been in the middle of the lane with her next to him ready to go froward when he decided to try to turn from the lane that he should have been going straight in.

It doesn’t. The truck made a right turn from the center lane without bothering to check whether there was anyone in the right lane. This unfortunately happens all the time with trucks and bicyclists, because larger trucks can’t make tight turns from the right lane so they do it from the center lane (even though it’s illegal) and if they bother checking the right lane at all before turning, it’s usually not until right before they turn when the bicyclist may be In their blindspot. This is why it’s important to monitor what’s happened around you, not just in front or you, while you’re driving.

That is false. There is no "center lane" there. It's one lane. It sounds like the bicyclist had made a lane for herslef between the truck and the curb and got hit by a truck making a legal right turn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the police report: https://mpdc.dc.gov/release/traffic-fatality-intersection-21st-street-and-i-street-northwest

"The preliminary investigation revealed, at approximately 8:09 am, a driver operating a Mack truck was traveling southbound in the 900 block of 21st Street, NW, which is a one-way travel lane. A bicyclist was also travelling southbound in the same block and on the right side of the Mack truck. At the intersection of 21st Street and I Street NW, the Mack truck began to make a right hand turn onto I Street NW. The bicyclist attempted to ride ahead of the Mack truck and was struck by the front passenger side of the truck, causing significant injuries."

It's the bolded part of the police report that gives me pause, because it PRESUMES right of way for the truck and essentially assigns blame to the cyclist for riding ahead. But she wasn't "riding ahead" - she was continuing straight in the lane where she had been traveling. Also, since the cyclist is dead, she cannot tell her version of what happened. And it is in the cops' interest to blame the dead person because that is the path of least resistance for them to close out the file.

It is a tragedy that this cyclist died. It is a tragedy that TWO CYCLISTS have been killed on DC streets in the past week. It is a tragedy that this city will not enforce traffic laws or implement infrastructure to keep cyclists and pedestrians safe.

What traffic laws did the truck driver violate?

[Anonymous]

I can't comment on this incident, but generally, as a cyclists I have to anticipate that the truck might be making that right turn.
And I've seen personal instances where the auto drive really makes the mistake and almost runs me over.
I agree with the above statement: The cyclist is dead and she is unable to tell her side of the story.
Luckily, there are probably many cameras in the area that most likely caught the incident in really time but not sure that will be shown to the public.

[Anonymous]

If she was riding on the right of the truck and the truck started to turn right, then it makes sense that she tried to ride ahead of it — she would have been trying to avoid being hit, just the same as if she'd stopped suddenly instead.

The bicycle has the right of way in this kind of crash, according to DDOT: https://ddot.dc.gov/page/ddot-bicycle-and-pedestrian-safety

"One of the most common bicycle crashes is known as the right hook, when a right-turning motorist hits a bicyclist traveling straight through the intersection. In this case, the bicyclist has the right of way. Motorists should let bicyclists clear the intersection before beginning their turn. As a precaution, bicyclists can look over their left shoulder to check for cars before traveling through an intersection."

The turn is legal, in the abstract, yes, but the turning vehicle has to yield to a bike continuing straight.