Got hit by a car on my bike yesterday

[kjay]

I'm seeing more and more bicyclists biking in crosswalks. Here in CA, a bike must follow the rules of the road as they pertain to cars, so legally the biker would be "at fault," I believe. I know when I'm driving my car, I don't expect to see bikes in pedestrian crosswalks, and when I do, it really takes me by surprise.

[KnottedYet]

I'm sorry you got hit! And I'm very surprised the police just blew the whole thing off. If you need help finding advocacy, maybe try getting ahold of Cascade Bicycle Club and see if they can help? www.cascade.org

When an intersection looks too hairy for me to be comfortable riding through on the road like a car, I get off the bike and walk through in the crosswalk.

The nice thing about using the "now I'm a vehicle/now I'm a pedestrian" technique is that in weird visibility conditions like you had with the SUV, I can (and often do) push the bike *ahead* of me as I walk, so cars on the other side of a blocking vehicle see the bike's front end first, then me walking behind it.

That also helps with cars who want to turn right on red. The bike enters the crosswalk first as I push it by the saddle, and the right turners realize they can't turn right yet.

Actually, I feel safer walking in a crosswalk pushing the bike than I do walking alone. The bike is like a big signal flag and takes up space!

[arielmoon]

(((((RR))))) I am so glad you are ok!

[Geonz]

Very glad UROK !!!

Twice in two weeks I"ve had drivers ask me about right turns and cyclists they've hit or almost hit (in the former, only damage to the bicycle) - in both cases, the bicycle was coming from across the street on the crosswalk, riding. In the latter, it's a lady from the UK who totally did not understand why a cyclist would be on pedestrian turf riding at bicycle speed and giving the glower when she "dared" make her turn. I told her the whole right-of-way thing in that situation was ambiguous (in the first case, it was a right turn on red so we surmised that a judge might have decided that no matter what, the car was supposed to yield, period; I didn't think to ask in the latter whether it was a stop sign or traffic light).
At any rate, I have also hopped off and walked (in one of our intersections because it's faster as well as safer... it's a *long* cycle with a 35 second "pedestrians only" period in the middle of campus).

[mayanorange]

Really scary- is it me or have people forgotten how to drive with a bicyclist around? Maybe it's just that I grew up in a small bike friendly town. I honestly thought it is illegal to bike on sidewalks (not that I and other people don't do it). I try to stay in the roads and be brave, but there's one patch near our house on a 4 lane road that has sooo many patches and dips to sewer drains in the nonexistent shoulder that has a beautiful paved path next to it that most people ride there instead.

As for right turns, this seems to be a prevalent problem- I was watching CBS Sunday Morning yesterday and even Portland (land of bikers galore) has put in Green boxes at lights so the bikes can move in front of the cars to wait so the drivers have to see them. Really great idea IMHO.

[spokewench]

There were some comments here that it is legal to ride a bike in a cross walk. In my state, Arizona, this is illegal. If you want to use the crosswalk to get across an intersection, you must dismount and walk across as if you were a walking pedestrian. The reason is that you are moving faster on a bike than a pedestrian and could zip out into the intersection quicker and not be seen by a car, or move too fast for a car to see you before it could brake.

I'm really sorry that you got hit and its sounds like you were soundly in the crosswalk before you got hit so it was probably the car's fault, but if the law is the same in WA as it is here, you may have a hard time fighting that in court.

This is why I am always a proponent of ride like a car, act like a car, be predictable, cross intersections just like you would if you were driving a car. This avoids confusion and you are predictable. It may seem to you as being less safe, but I have found that this is the safest choice in almost any situation. If you deem the intersection is too unsafe, get off and walk your bike across. That way, there will be no argument if someone does hit you as a pedestrian.

spoke

[Eden]

'm really sorry that you got hit and its sounds like you were soundly in the crosswalk before you got hit so it was probably the car's fault, but if the law is the same in WA as it is here, you may have a hard time fighting that in court.

The law is different in different places. I do not advocate sidewalk riding - I think its dangerous for myriad reasons *but* in WA state unless specifically prohibited (this is usually only in downtown business districts and on some university campuses) a bike is legally allowed on the sidewalk and is legally a pedestrian if walked or ridden in a crosswalk or on a sidewalk. The driver was clearly in the wrong in this case and it is a shame that the police officer did not take it seriously. The next time she runs a red light (which RR said she did) she may severely injure someone or worse.

RCW 46.61.755
Every person riding a bicycle upon a sidewalk or crosswalk must be granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to a pedestrian by this chapter.


RCW 46.61.235
Crosswalks.
(1) The operator of an approaching vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian or bicycle to cross the roadway within an unmarked or marked crosswalk when the pedestrian or bicycle is upon or within one lane of the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning. For purposes of this section "half of the roadway" means all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction of travel, and includes the entire width of a one-way roadway.

[Irulan]

There were some comments here that it is legal to ride a bike in a cross walk. In my state, Arizona, this is illegal. If you want to use the crosswalk to get across an intersection, you must dismount and walk across as if you were a walking pedestrian. The reason is that you are moving faster on a bike than a pedestrian and could zip out into the intersection quicker and not be seen by a car, or move too fast for a car to see you before it could brake.

I'm really sorry that you got hit and its sounds like you were soundly in the crosswalk before you got hit so it was probably the car's fault, but if the law is the same in WA as it is here, you may have a hard time fighting that in court.

This is why I am always a proponent of ride like a car, act like a car, be predictable, cross intersections just like you would if you were driving a car. This avoids confusion and you are predictable. It may seem to you as being less safe, but I have found that this is the safest choice in almost any situation. If you deem the intersection is too unsafe, get off and walk your bike across. That way, there will be no argument if someone does hit you as a pedestrian.

spoke

ditto - in the Effective Cyclist classes taught around here by the Bicycle Advisory Council, it's emphasized that you can be a vehicle, or a pedestrian, but not both. It's taught to not use the crosswalks unless dismounted and following the lights, as it's confusing for vehicles; they are looking for pedestrians, not bicycles. The preferred method that they teach is to use the lane like any vehicle.

I am sorry you got hit, that's a bummer for anyone.