Originally Posted by
B. Carfree
According to the cyclist, he entered the intersection while the light was yellow, which is legal and, if true, gave him the right to continue through the intersection. Unfortunately, while he was crossing the intersection the pedestrians received a walk signal and immediately entered the crosswalk, which left the cyclist no where to go. If the cyclist's account is accurate, then the fault lies with the pedestrian since once the cyclist legally entered the intersection he had the right-of-way. If the light had turned red prior to the cyclist crossing the limit line, then he's at fault.
Either way, pushing a stale green, especially when there are hordes of peds. preparing to cross, is bone-headed at best. I understand the desire to stay in that clear zone that occurs late in the signal cycle when the cars aren't stacked up on you, but it's still a stupidly dangerous idea.
Some of the story doesn't really add up. If they were indeed travelling at 35mph at the time of the accident (as claimed in the yahoo article), they should have easily been clear of the intersection entirely before peds started crossing - unless people were already walking into the street before the light turned red. Either that or the light turned red before he entered the intersection. Or they were (and this seems most likely) moving well below 35mph when they got to the intersection.