out_spokin'
01-07-2011, 09:19 PM
Bicyclist saves motorist? Girl gets boy out of a big jam?
So late this afternoon I'm on the trail, commuting home at dusk. I approach a major intersection, 2 lanes each of high-speed traffic parallel to the trail, 2 lanes and a turning lane each way intersecting the highway. In the left-most (thru) lane, a minivan is stuck at the light, driver anxiously trying to restart the engine while also starting to get out of the car.
I watch the almost instant road rage form around him. By the time I get the signal and cross in front of him he's given up on starting the car and is half pushing, half steering, not getting ANYWHERE. I ditch my bike and backpack on the far side, run back to the middle lane, and let him know I'll help. There's no good solution, but the only realistic one is to jump at the green light, push the car a bit ahead, turn into the right thru lane, then aim it right down the highway and get it far enough down the turning/acceleration lane so that drivers turning right onto the highway have enough room to avoid the van and safely merge.
So just me, with biking duds, helmet, lobster gloves and all, getting up to a run and pushing this guy's van into the shoulder, highly aware that I'm counting on the other motorists to be safe (I think the novelty of the situation helped!) as I did my best to position myself on the most protected side of the van. I then jumped the fence, jogged back to get my bike, and rode back up to ask the driver if he needed a phone. He thanked me enthusiastically and showed me he'd already started dialing his phone, and I rode down the trail into the twilight, blinky red lights leaving the scene of a most unusual encounter.
So late this afternoon I'm on the trail, commuting home at dusk. I approach a major intersection, 2 lanes each of high-speed traffic parallel to the trail, 2 lanes and a turning lane each way intersecting the highway. In the left-most (thru) lane, a minivan is stuck at the light, driver anxiously trying to restart the engine while also starting to get out of the car.
I watch the almost instant road rage form around him. By the time I get the signal and cross in front of him he's given up on starting the car and is half pushing, half steering, not getting ANYWHERE. I ditch my bike and backpack on the far side, run back to the middle lane, and let him know I'll help. There's no good solution, but the only realistic one is to jump at the green light, push the car a bit ahead, turn into the right thru lane, then aim it right down the highway and get it far enough down the turning/acceleration lane so that drivers turning right onto the highway have enough room to avoid the van and safely merge.
So just me, with biking duds, helmet, lobster gloves and all, getting up to a run and pushing this guy's van into the shoulder, highly aware that I'm counting on the other motorists to be safe (I think the novelty of the situation helped!) as I did my best to position myself on the most protected side of the van. I then jumped the fence, jogged back to get my bike, and rode back up to ask the driver if he needed a phone. He thanked me enthusiastically and showed me he'd already started dialing his phone, and I rode down the trail into the twilight, blinky red lights leaving the scene of a most unusual encounter.