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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Sammamish, WA
    Posts
    15

    Got hit by a car on my bike yesterday

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    Hi everyone!
    I got hit by a car on my bike in a cross walk yesterday! Thankfully I am doing ok...got a couple big bruises and a big raspberry on my arm. The driver didn't even get a ticket. The crazy part is that I almost got hit right before that while entering the crosswalk, then proceeded to make it through when this lady flew right though the intersection and I collided with her car! I turned my wheel to not hit her head on and hit her with my right side and landed on my left. It was so scary!! I just started road cycling in May and had finished one of my longest rides with my boyfriend. We were right out side his apartment complex. It was during rush hour microsoft traffic!! People are in such a hurry these days and don't even pay attention. I am definitely going to get back on the bike after I feel better but I am still a little hesitant. My boyfriend says that the majority of bike/car accidents happen in the crosswalk. Should we be just riding in the road? It was only for a very, very small portion of our ride. We were on the bike trail all day. I am very thankful that I am not seriously injured.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Blessed to be all over the place!
    Posts
    3,433
    Quote Originally Posted by RockyRaquel View Post
    Should we be just riding in the road?
    Yes, yes, yes...drivers are careless with the trails.

    I'm glad you're OK!

    I encourage you to take a Road I safety course; I'm sure one is offered in your area. It will help build your awareness and confidence.
    If you don't grow where you're planted, you'll never BLOOM - Will Rogers

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Riding my Luna & Rivendell in the Hudson Valley, NY
    Posts
    8,408
    Hard to tell what might have led to this aside from the driver's inattention, but....do you think she would have hit you if were a pedestrian?- and if not, why not? Food for thought.
    My suggestion would be for you to not cross the crosswalk if there is a car coming. Assume they are not going to stop. Assume they don't see you and are not paying attention. Wait until either the car has completely stopped for you or until there is no car approaching within hitting distance of you at all.
    It is frustrating when bikers have the right of way but are hit anyway, but if we ride as though they are not seeing us and as though they are going to do the wrong thing, then we greatly increase our chance of survival. The fact is that it's very common for drivers to not see a bike in plain sight- simply because they are not LOOKING for a bike.
    I'm so glad you didn't get badly hurt.
    Watch those crosswalks- they are highly dangerous places for bikes.
    Lisa
    My mountain dulcimer network...FOTMD.com...and my mountain dulcimer blog
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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    WA State
    Posts
    4,364
    Quote Originally Posted by RockyRaquel View Post
    Hi everyone!
    I got hit by a car on my bike in a cross walk yesterday! Thankfully I am doing ok...got a couple big bruises and a big raspberry on my arm. The driver didn't even get a ticket.
    I am assuming you were crossing on a walk.... The driver definitely should have gotten a ticket (were the police called?). In Washington state a cyclist in a crosswalk is a pedestrian. She should get the same punishment as a driver who hits someone walking in a cross walk. If the police were involved, I would complain to the Redmond (I'm assuming - or Issaquah or Bellevue - which ever) police about the officer if he/she was disinclined to ticket the driver...

    What were all the circumstances? Was the driver also making an illegal right on red.... (turned on a red without stopping behind the crosswalk first) or did she turn into you from the other street on her green?

    It's good that you are OK, but the driver shouldn't be allowed to get away with what she did. She could have hurt you severely or worse.
    Last edited by Eden; 07-26-2008 at 01:50 PM.
    "Sharing the road means getting along, not getting ahead" - 1994 Washington State Driver's Guide

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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Indianapolis, IN
    Posts
    739
    I'm glad you weren't hurt more seriously either. My front wheel was clipped by a motorcycle in a crosswalk when I had the walk signal shortly after I first got my bike. I'd checked for traffic coming from beside me and ahead of me before I started to roll into the intersection. They pulled a right turn just as I left the curb. They didn't stop and the second motorcycle that was following with them had to swerve to miss both of us. Luckily I stayed upright and my bike wasn't damaged, but it scared the bejeebies out of me and I was 30 miles from home, 10 miles from my LBS which I did have them check the wheel before I rode all the way home. People don't look and don't care.
    Don't think of it as getting hot flashes. Think of it as your inner child playing with matches

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Vancouver, BC
    Posts
    3,932
    Scary moment, I'm glad to read you're mostly okay.

    Quote Originally Posted by RockyRaquel View Post
    My boyfriend says that the majority of bike/car accidents happen in the crosswalk. Should we be just riding in the road?
    In a word: yes.

    What happened was wrong and the driver should have yielded to you. Nonetheless, those places made for pedestrians (sidewalks and crosswalks) do not work well for cyclists. I strongly encourage you to check out one of those skills classes pointed out by an earlier poster, they will cover this much better than I can!

    Good luck! And heal fast.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Perth, Western Australia
    Posts
    5,316

    oh

    Eee!

    I hope you're feeling better soon & back biking!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Limbo
    Posts
    8,769
    Quote Originally Posted by mary9761 View Post
    People don't look and don't care.
    AmIThereYet and I were riding in the Gettysburg Battlefield Park today. The roads are designed for slow traffic with parking on the right side. A pedestrian walked right in front of us, if I hadn't shouted "HEY, WE'RE VEHICLES TOO!" we would have run in to him.
    Then there were the Segue riders...
    Oof.
    2008 Trek FX 7.2/Terry Cite X
    2009 Jamis Aurora/Brooks B-68
    2010 Trek FX 7.6 WSD/stock bontrager

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    307
    In my country the law is clear that if a cyclist wants to use a pedestrian crossing (i'm assuming a crosswalk is a pedestrian crossing with a traffic light coz i've never heard the term before), she has to dismount and push. Cars do not have to yield to a cyclist who decides to cycle across a pedestrian crossing. (Coz we're the ones doing the illegal thing) so if anything happens in such a situation they're usually not held very accountable either.

    I think when drivers come to pedestrian crossings they expect pedestrians and therefore they think if they can go fast the pedestrians will be fine as well. So when a bicycle comes rolling out... the speed is different and things happen. I'm sure no driver wants to intentionally hit another person. (Those who do need help for sure)

    I'm glad you're alright, I got hit by a car earlier this week too. fortunately we were both going slow so I just got a bruise and a slight knock on the head. But I know what you mean about being apprehensive about getting back on.

    I decided to just go ride with my friends today and it wasn't so bad, except I kept looking for vehicles that wanted to cut me. heh.

    I'd say if you had some of those skills courses in your area do attend one so you learn faster how to negotiate traffic. on a bicycle you can't rely on trial and error thats for sure...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    WA State
    Posts
    4,364
    Quote Originally Posted by deeaimond View Post
    In my country the law is clear that if a cyclist wants to use a pedestrian crossing (i'm assuming a crosswalk is a pedestrian crossing with a traffic light coz i've never heard the term before), she has to dismount and push. Cars do not have to yield to a cyclist who decides to cycle across a pedestrian crossing.
    The law is different here. Here mounted or dismounted a bicycle in a crosswalk is a pedestrian and a pedestrian in a crosswalk nearly always has the right of way. You just cannot cross against a signal or in an intersection that does not have a signal you have to be sure you don't step out in front of traffic that cannot reasonably stop for you. So you can't jump out in front of a car that is 2 feet from you, basically, but once you step off the sidewalk, legally all traffic that reasonably can, without endangering anyone, should stop to allow you to cross.

    Now I won't claim that this is what actually happens.... (and I really hate right on red, because people are so busy looking to their left for traffic that they forget about looking right for pedestrians!)but as long as the OP was crossing with the light she was the one legally correct. Now, there's also a difference between legal and safe too though. Riding on the sidewalk is one of the most dangerous things that you can do for just this very reason. Most drivers a) are not really attentive enough and b) are not expecting something that can move as quickly as a bicycle to come off of the sidewalk into the crosswalk.
    Last edited by Eden; 07-26-2008 at 10:33 PM.
    "Sharing the road means getting along, not getting ahead" - 1994 Washington State Driver's Guide

    visit my flickr stream http://flic.kr/ps/MMu5N

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    59

    Confusing rules

    It's a bit tricky in the city I live in.

    If the pedestrian crossing has lights that show pictures of both cyclists and walkers, the cyclist has the right to ride across the crossing. If however, there is only a picture of a walker or a green walk sign, the cyclist has to walk across the crossing.

    All this is well and good, except of course drivers can't see who should be walking / riding and treat all crossings as not applying to cyclists. So you really do have to stop and look really carefully, to make sure the cars don't begin moving through the crossing before you are across.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Honolulu, HI
    Posts
    510
    Scary. I'm glad you are okay. I would still file a police report and get the driver's insurance information to pay for any damages or medical attention you needed.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    307
    Eden, I see what you mean.

    I think the consensus is that riding across a pedestrian crossing is a very dangerous to do because Drivers do not expect the speed of anything more than a WALKING pedestrian.

    And at the end of the day, whether or not it is legal, As cyclists we'll always be on the losing end. No point in someone getting a ticket if we're already injured...

    Oh yeah and I agree with Ilima. Still file a police report. Some injuries only surface later, so at least if u have something surface later you still can make a claim.
    Last edited by deeaimond; 07-27-2008 at 07:56 PM.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Sammamish, WA
    Posts
    15
    Thank you for all of your replies! We had dodged the first car that was taking a right into the cross walk - that slowed us down and we also had to go around an SUV that was hanging out into the crosswalk then BAM! I got hit on the far right lane...I remember the traffic light turning yellow right before I got hit which should have given plenty of time for us to make it through to finish. All of the other cars were stopped and waiting for us. The police and ambulance came to the scene but the police sided with the driver and neither of us got a ticket. I am so angry about this because she clearly ran a red light and was apologizing right after it happened. She said she had a green and that she couldn't see us (that SUV was blocking her view and they were no where to be found after it all happened) I believe that this case may need a personal injury attorney which is going to be a big hassle. I went to the chiropractor (which is what I have done in the past after being rear-ended in my car) Where should I go from here? Besides trying to find a course to learn how to dodge crazy drivers!!

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Sf Bay Area
    Posts
    455
    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.

 

 

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