Beware of bikers: Elderly D.C. man hit by bicyclist dies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here but I've posted on other threads before. I was both hit by a bike as a pedestrian (messenger while I was walking downtown, hit me, knocked me into the street, and I had a broken shoulder and tire tracks up the back of a leg (really) as a result) and have been hit by a car as a biker (my fault, I was biking on the sidewalk and a car pulling out of the driveway hit me).

Both times were accidents, both were the biker's fault. Just my experience, which I'll caveat is not to be construed as "typical."

Actually, you were probably not at fault when hit riding on the sidewalk. A car pulling out of a driveway is supposed to yield to those on the sidewalk, cyclists or pedestrians. Again, riding on the sidewalk is generally not a good idea, but does not absolve the car driver from looking for those crossing the driveway.

One thing I have not seen in all the comments and limited reporting on the original incident is information on where the bicylist hit the pedestrians. The collision occured in an alley, not on a sidewalk or MUP. How close to the intersection with the street was it? As I read the article, the cyclist may have been turning from the street into the alley and would have had little time to react to pedestrians in the middle of the alley. Doesn't excuse running away though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here but I've posted on other threads before. I was both hit by a bike as a pedestrian (messenger while I was walking downtown, hit me, knocked me into the street, and I had a broken shoulder and tire tracks up the back of a leg (really) as a result) and have been hit by a car as a biker (my fault, I was biking on the sidewalk and a car pulling out of the driveway hit me).

Both times were accidents, both were the biker's fault. Just my experience, which I'll caveat is not to be construed as "typical."

Actually, you were probably not at fault when hit riding on the sidewalk. A car pulling out of a driveway is supposed to yield to those on the sidewalk, cyclists or pedestrians. Again, riding on the sidewalk is generally not a good idea, but does not absolve the car driver from looking for those crossing the driveway.

One thing I have not seen in all the comments and limited reporting on the original incident is information on where the bicylist hit the pedestrians. The collision occured in an alley, not on a sidewalk or MUP. How close to the intersection with the street was it? As I read the article, the cyclist may have been turning from the street into the alley and would have had little time to react to pedestrians in the middle of the alley. Doesn't excuse running away though.

Perhaps. I was not badly injured in this case, just shaken up, and I assumed it was my fault because, frankly, I wasn't looking. I was badly injured while walking on a sidewalk when I was hit by a bike -- that one was the biker's fault.

To the person picking apart the law on bikers. My point is that the rules are substantively the SAME for cars and bikes. Both are treated as vehicles. While bikes are exempted from a SMALL number of rules, it's not like they aren't required to stop at stop signs, etc. In DC, MD, and VA, the only difference between bikes and vehicles is that bikes are exempt from minimum speed laws on highways where bikes are not prohibited. In DC, bikes are also allowed on the sidewalk in certain areas (but not downtown, or in the business district).