Reply to Question about bikes in bike lanes and right hand turns.

Forum Index » Cars and Transportation

Reply to "Question about bikes in bike lanes and right hand turns. "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I was driving on Irving st NW a few hours ago, and also had a crash involving a cyclist.

The street has a dedicated, marked bike lane on the right side of the roadway. I came to a 4-way stop sign, and was going to turn right. I had my turn signal on and was sitting there for a moment because the car to my left had already stopped for the stop sign on their side, and had started to move across the intersection, so I had to wait for a bit longer than a normal stop before I could turn right.

As I started to pull away from the stop sign and make the turn, this I hear a loud shout, and then a thump, and look over my right shoulder and this guy on a bike was all the way up against the rear right side of my car and just slammed his hand down on the back window.

I stopped right there in the middle of the turn because I didn’t realize right away what had just happened. For a second I thought I’d run over him, but then realized I couldn’t have. And then he pedals around beside and is yelling about how I almost ran over him. Then he kept going. He looked unharmed to me.

Then I started thinking about what had to have happened, and if I was already stopped, and had my signal on and was turning, how could it be my fault? Don’t I have a right of way since I’m already at the stop sign? Is a cyclist allowed to pass a car in front of them that is turning right at a stop sign, if the car is already at the stop sign and starting to make a turn? The only possible way he could have been trying to go around me mid-turn was if he hadn’t stopped at the stop sign, and bikers are supposed to stop at stop signs. So I don’t see how any of this could’ve been me “almost running over him”.

Who is in the wrong here? [/quote]

You were. Just another oblivious driver behind the wheel not paying attention to your surroundings. People like you are the bane of people like me. The exact same scenario has happened to me several times. I’ve almost run into the sides of cars on several occasions because some idiot turns in front of me. [b]Most cyclists don’t do stop signs. We’re not a car so we’re not required to[/b] and it takes too much energy to stop at every block and then get back up to speed again. So we’re trying to maintain our cadence and momentum and when you stop and then turn you literally force us to run into you if we don’t take evasive action. You’re lucky he just pounded on your window. I would’ve smashed your car with my lock. [/quote]

I agree that the OP did a couple of things wrong (not merging all the way to the right, not checking to see if she was clear).  But please cite the DC law or regulation that supports your position that since a cyclist isn't a car, she isn't required to stop at a stop sign.  [/quote]

+1  I agree that the driver is responsible for not ensuring that the path was clear to make that right and it’s somewhat hard to believe that a cyclist pulling up to a car stopped at an intersection with a right hand turn signal flashing would attempt to draw parallel.  [b]That said, cyclists enjoy the rights of a car on the streets but also bear the same responsibilities[/b].  [/quote]

Yes and no. I have the same right to the road as any car. But I don’t bear the same responsibilities. If cyclists had to stop got every stop sign and wait for every red light then there would be no point in riding a bike. It would take too long to get anywhere on a bike and there would be an added physical burden of having to get moving again from a stop every block or every intersection. The whole appeal of a bike is to be able to zip through traffic past the masses of idiots stuck in cars. If you followed the same practices on a bike as car drivers do you’d basically be reducing the benefit of riding a bike to make it the equivalent of using a really slow car + added fatigue. Who would do that? No one. [/quote]You suck and bikers like you are a menace on the roads. If you are the one in the most danger (and of your choosing by the way) take some effing personal responsibility. Just because you decide to play in traffic doesn't make every driver on the road your mom. Do better.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics