Advocacy & Safety - I hit a cyclist in the bike lane yesterday.

I saw him coming up the wrong way on a one-way street in the bike lane. There was not enough room for two bikes, and I did not want to veer into traffic, so I maintained my course and just slowed down to <8mph. I assumed he'd get off the road since he was in the wrong. Well, we clipped handlebars. I was ready for it, and rolled through unaffected, but he ended up over the bars on the ground.

I stopped and turned around.

"Are you ok? I hope you are ok, but you were going the wrong way" I said.
"It's a bike lane. You can go either way." he said, looking very agitated.
"You're wrong. You can only go one way."
"No, you're wrong. You can go either way."
"You're right that it is a bike lane, and you can go this way, but not that way. I hope you're ok."

With that I left since the conversation was obviously leading nowhere and he seemed to be fine, and was more interested in his theory about bike lanes than any pain or injury. I actually shortened it, but you're not missing anything. Is there anything one can do in these cases to convince the other party of the law, other than just hitting him again next time I see him?

Sigh
This is one of the problems with bike lanes. They create confusion since they are a special class of lane. There would have been no doubt (I hope) if there had been no bike lane on the street.

Just out of curiosity, does the bike lane indicate that it's only one way? (that is, is there a bike lane on the other side of the street). I know some cities have dual-direction bike lanes (bad idea IMO). Some people are hard to convince of what the law is unless you get a cop or some other authority to prove it to them.

I don't believe there is a sign that specifically says the bike lane is one way. There is, however, a sign that says the street is one way, and the bike lane is part of the street, so I'll leave it to you whether that counts.

I have seen one of these 2-way bike lanes too, and it was quite clearly marked as such.

This was teken from a web site about Madison bike commuting.


Always ride with traffic. Riding against traffic is unpredictable, especially to drivers at intersections, driveways or parking spaces. Bike lanes go one way only, in the same direction as adjacent traffic, unless otherwise signed.
http://danenet.wicip.org/bcp/bch.html

So unless it was marked, I guess this guy should have been more careful.

Pretty much no one rides in BLs the wrong way on the high speed 45mph+ roads around here, but as soon as you get on residential streets and even more so around college campus where the roads are 25mph and very wide lanes where there are many more cyclists, it is a free for all as to which way to ride in the BL. Partly because of the chaos I have never once ridden in the BL in these areas and ride fully in the primary lane as it is much safer. Interestingly the 'authorities' have also noticed this problem in the campus area and put up red colored signs that say something like "WRONG WAY (bicycle symbol)" on the backs of the bike lane signs, but obviously no one pays attention.

Al

two-way lanes in NYC, like the west side MUP bikes share w/ rollerbladers (and scofflaw pedestrians) and the Manhattan bridge path are marked by dividing lines. (tho' ocean pkwy's lane isn't. hmmm.)

I have seen many two-way bike lanes on one-way streets, but these have all had a dividing line going down the middle. If it is 2 way it should also be on the LH side of the road so the bike nearest to the motor traffic is going in the same direction. If this was intended to be one way, it should have had arrows painted on the surface to indicate so. If it was intended to be 2 way it should have been wide enough for 2 bikes & with centre marking. Write to your local traffic dept pointing out the dangers of their lane marking.

i always hate it when someone argues a point that is just dead wrong.

well besides using a large club (G) pointing out the arrows on the road?? throw him a bicycle law book? I hate doging idiots going the wrong way.

I am not in any way defending the other cyclist, but merely observing that he was probably frustrated that the one-way street was not configured to take him in his desired direction of travel. In this specific instance only, would it make sense to have a contraflow bike lane, perhaps on the other side of the street? Of course, if there are driveway cuts, intersections, and/or onstreet parking on both sides of the road, this is probably a very poor, dangerous idea which should be rejected.

I encounter a few wrong-way cyclists in my neighborhood. In one case, they are trying to avoid making two sequential left turns. In the other case, the street is a northbound 25mph residential one-way (Neptune Av. in Encinitas), fortunately without bikelane stripes. Most of the wrong-way (southbound) cyclists at least have the decency to use the west (rightmost to them) side of the roadway.

I saw him coming up the wrong way on a one-way street in the bike lane. There was not enough room for two bikes, and I did not want to veer into traffic, so I maintained my course and just slowed down to <8mph. I assumed he'd get off the road since he was in the wrong. Well, we clipped handlebars. I was ready for it, and rolled through unaffected, but he ended up over the bars on the ground.

Sigh

Deinde, ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

http://totl.net/InstantAbsolutionOnline/saint.jpg

I am not in any way defending the other cyclist, but merely observing that he was probably frustrated that the one-way street was not configured to take him in his desired direction of travel. In this specific instance only, would it make sense to have a contraflow bike lane, perhaps on the other side of the street? Of course, if there are driveway cuts, intersections, and/or onstreet parking on both sides of the road, this is probably a very poor, dangerous idea which should be rejected.

In this case, he could have moved over one block in either direction and gone the way he wanted.

My usual avatar is the bike lane direction symbol here in Corona.

I saw him coming up the wrong way on a one-way street in the bike lane. There was not enough room for two bikes, and I did not want to veer into traffic, so I maintained my course and just slowed down to <8mph. I assumed he'd get off the road since he was in the wrong. Well, we clipped handlebars. I was ready for it, and rolled through unaffected, but he ended up over the bars on the ground.


Cool. :) I hate wrong way cyclists. And when confronted about it, they always have rocks in their heads, so it shouldn't hurt when they land on it.

I just remembered a 'wrong way bike lane' story from this past weekend.
My wife and I were riding back to home in the BL, we approached an intersection, about 20yrds from it a family came round the corner in the BL the wrong way. Kid in front had a fishing rod across his back, nearly clipped my wife who swerved toward a parked car to miss the rod hanging to the side and while she didn't fall, she stopped abruptly. Then came mom and dad, as I passed dad I yelled 'your going the wrong way'. His reply in a taunting voice "oooh, what ya gonna do, call 911 on me'. I so wanted to turn around and deck him, but it wouldn't have gone over well with my wife who was back on the bike and we were on our way.

Al

....I assumed he'd get off the road since he was in the wrong.....
Better to protect yourself than assume the other guy will do it for you.

Wheter or not the other cyclists was legally in the wrong, since you both could see each other coming, you both should have been trying to avoid a collision. You slowed down, but did he do anything to slow down or avoid you? Was there anything more you could have done that wouldn't have put you at risk?

Even if you both had to stop and creep around each other, it sounds like the collision was avoidable.

I think you did the right thing. I am glad you weren't hurt and I guess i am glad that the other guy wasn't either. I find when I get in to an intractable argument, i point out signs, quote the rule, or I try to get the other to say where they saw that written, sometimes it helps.

I really hate wrong way riders, within or without BLs,and they take the inside then force me into traffic,, even though they can see what is coming at us.

Sigh
This is one of the problems with bike lanes. They create confusion since they are a special class of lane. There would have been no doubt (I hope) if there had been no bike lane on the street.

My only beef with your statement is it should say "this is one of the problems with some bike lanes". The lanes around here have arrows in them so it is pretty hard to argue the both ways point.

Better to protect yourself than assume the other guy will do it for you.

Wheter or not the other cyclists was legally in the wrong, since you both could see each other coming, you both should have been trying to avoid a collision. You slowed down, but did he do anything to slow down or avoid you? Was there anything more you could have done that wouldn't have put you at risk?

Even if you both had to stop and creep around each other, it sounds like the collision was avoidable.

Absolutely, it was avoidable. I just didn't feel particularly like avoiding it. My goal was to avoid falling, and I did that by slowing down. If the other guy wants to run into me, I guess that's his choice. And it was his choice. I made eye contact before physical contact, and he knew I was coming. I'm not normally this agressive, but I don't feel like going too far out of my way to accomodate people who have no regard to following the rules. Almost a little bit of vigilante justice if you will. If I see the same situation again today, I'll handle it the same way.

He could have avoided it too, and should have. I felt confident I wouldn't go down, so my only concern would have been for him, and I wasn't particularly concerned about him since he apparently wasn't concerned about anyone else.

The people that go the wrong way on the bike lanes in my city aren't really "cyclists", they are usually teens on Huffy bikes or shady looking adults riding kids bikes or old rusted 10 speeds with a plastic bag in one hand. I've had to look for traffic and ride around them in the road. Doesn't make sense and it's not as safe for me, but these people won't ever get it. There is a bike painted inside the lane every several feet. You would think someone would stop and think and go "why is the painted bike upside down?" It's frustrating! I feel your pain!

... "Are you ok? I hope you are ok, but you were going the wrong way" I said... I think you did what you could. Here's a hint ... never tell anyone that they are going the wrong way. Rather tell them they are on the wrong side. He was going the right way just not in the right place on the road.
I meet riders like this all the time and my comment to them is "Wrong Side!".

The only BL I have the opportunity to ride in has lane markings with a bike, then the word "only", then an "arrow" (arrow is going with flow of traffic for that side of the roadway). Still find cyclists and pedestrians in the lane going against the flow. The odd thing is this road is very residential and has another perfectly fine BL in the opposite direction on the other side.

I have a few Florida DOT cycling brochures stuffed into my bike bag. If I every get into an "is to - is not" discussion, I'm ready to whip them out.

d.tipton

I think you did what you could. Here's a hint ... never tell anyone that they are going the wrong way. Rather tell them they are on the wrong side. He was going the right way just not in the right place on the road.
I meet riders like this all the time and my comment to them is "Wrong Side!".

Sounds like a good tip. In this case though, he would have been going the wrong way on the other side too, as it was a one way street.

This is one of the problems with bike lanes. They create confusion since they are a special class of lane. There would have been no doubt (I hope) if there had been no bike lane on the street.

Nonsense, there is no need to jump on the "blame the bike lane" bandwagon! A bike lane is a traffic lane and operates on the same rules as any other.

One way bike lanes here have signs pointed toward the wrong-wayers telling them they're going the wrong way.

When I ride the wrong way on a one-way street I use the sidewalk. Only one place I can think of where I do it, though.

Last week I was riding my fixed gear bike down a bike lane when a wrong way biker came straight at me. I managed to avoid them, but nearly got rewarded by being hit by a car pulling out, one I would have seen if I hadn't been dodging the wrong way rider.

Nonsense, there is no need to jump on the "blame the bike lane" bandwagon! A bike lane is a traffic lane and operates on the same rules as any other.
I know it operates under the same rules, but it's obvious that not everybody else does. For example, I personally hit a guy who didn't know that.

There's a bike lane I use almost every day, curves up a hill, and wrong way users are a big hazard. The worst are the high speed unlit downhill riders after sunset. I am not going to veer into traffic to avoid them so I slow and hug the curb (at least there's no parking lane and ring my bell, and if they're really fast I say "moron" quietly, just as we pass, knowing they'll be way down the hill before they realize they've been insulted. There's also a local running group that sometimes train up and down the hill in the bike lane, and when they come down en masse they really swarm you. The first few flow around you, but those farther back in the pack might not even see you til the last moment and I've had some close calls. I've pointed at the stylized cyclist symbol painted in the lane and said "Hey! that isn't a running stick figure!", but they just smile as if I've made a good joke. I'm tempted to just put my head down and my fist and arm straight out like a jousting lance and see if I nail anyone.
Robert
ps But I won't

I know it operates under the same rules, but it's obvious that not everybody else does. For example, I personally hit a guy who didn't know that.

Not to beat this into the ground, but my nit was that you implied it was a bike-lane related problem, not an idiot-related problem. When you said, "This is one of the problems with bike lanes. They create confusion since they are a special class of lane. There would have been no doubt (I hope) if there had been no bike lane on the street" to me that sounds like you mean the root problem is the bike lane.

Ottawa may be unusual in this, but its hard to drive more than a block or two in the urban core without seeing a special-use lane. Bus lanes, HOV lanes, taxi lanes, bike lanes, etc. I see the occasional confusion - like a car heading down the bus lane - but generally it works. I never see anyone, here or elsewhere, say that the problem is with bus lanes, or taxi lanes, etc. They either point to a specific problem with that specific lane (e.g. a sign is missing or confusing) OR they correctly blame the confused/under-educated/idiot person who doesn't use the lane properly. When it comes to bike lanes, though, people always blame the pavement and paint and not the person!

Personally, I don't get the confusion. Its between the right-hand curb and the yellow line, so why should it not be going the same direction as all the other lanes between that curb and yellow line?

Sorry to pick on you, just illustrating a pet peeve.

I see people driving cars the wrong way on multilane median divided streets at least half dozen times a year.

Al

Personally, I don't get the confusion. Its between the right-hand curb and the yellow line, so why should it not be going the same direction as all the other lanes between that curb and yellow line?

Sorry to pick on you, just illustrating a pet peeve.

Ok, just to be clear, I don't get the confusion either. But there's no denying that it is there, at least a small amount of the time. I probably shouldn't have even mentioned that as I agree that the main problem here is dumb people, not bike lanes.

How about complaining to the city and having directional arrows added to bike lanes for the idiots, just like the wrong way signs. Or both, directional arrows, and wrong way upside down to traffic flow.

The problem seems to stem from the fact that we don't consider bike vehicles. If we did, everyone would have to know the law before getting out on the road.

Having said that, I have to say I enjoy the lack of regulation for bicycling. I'm not sure I want to have to be examined for a license just to ride a bike. Want to have my cake and eat it, too...

What's wrong with slowing down, or getting off your bike or something to avoid hitting the other person and going into traffic? I mean, we're on bikes - we can do that. One of the safety features of a good fitting bike is that you should be able to easily come off the seat and onto your feet, if need be. I just think it doesn't matter who is in the right or the wrong - if there's something you can do to avoid harm, do it.

if there's something you can do to avoid harm, do it.

I did avoid harm, but thanks for your concern.

Except that you didn't avoid harm. You both collided and went down.
And as you said earlier, you didn't feel like avoiding it. You assumed that the other guy would give way, so you didn't.

Ok, just to be clear, I don't get the confusion either. But there's no denying that it is there, at least a small amount of the time. I probably shouldn't have even mentioned that as I agree that the main problem here is dumb people, not bike lanes.

Well, maybe your run-in with him will teach him a lesson that may save his life later.
(OK, maybe that's too optimistic. Evolution in action isn't always pretty.)

Except that you didn't avoid harm. You both collided and went down.
And as you said earlier, you didn't feel like avoiding it. You assumed that the other guy would give way, so you didn't.

Sorry if I wasn't clear before, but I didn't go down at all. Only he did, which I find to be a fitting result.

I saw him coming up the wrong way on a one-way street in the bike lane. There was not enough room for two bikes, and I did not want to veer into traffic, so I maintained my course and just slowed down to <8mph. I assumed he'd get off the road since he was in the wrong. Well, we clipped handlebars. I was ready for it, and rolled through unaffected, but he ended up over the bars on the ground.

I stopped and turned around.

"Are you ok? I hope you are ok, but you were going the wrong way" I said.
"It's a bike lane. You can go either way." he said, looking very agitated.
"You're wrong. You can only go one way."
"No, you're wrong. You can go either way."
"You're right that it is a bike lane, and you can go this way, but not that way. I hope you're ok."

With that I left since the conversation was obviously leading nowhere and he seemed to be fine, and was more interested in his theory about bike lanes than any pain or injury. I actually shortened it, but you're not missing anything. Is there anything one can do in these cases to convince the other party of the law, other than just hitting him again next time I see him?

Sigh
This is one of the problems with bike lanes. They create confusion since they are a special class of lane. There would have been no doubt (I hope) if there had been no bike lane on the street.

Do what I do, look them in the eye on approach and advise them to yield in the tone you'd expect from a law officer. If they look at you cross eyed after yielding (they will yield) Tell them they have to follow the traffic direction as you pass. Their mis-perception doesn't allow them to endanger you (or even themselves, but look out for #1 first). I've never had a problem. In your situation I'd politely tell them that if they are willing to wait with you there they can explain their position on the subject to a law officer and recieve a ticket for their troubles.

Naturally you'll want the officer who doesn't know you have a responsibility to avoid the accident by coming to a stop, yield or no. Get in front of them, stop with both feet down if you don't want to yield right of way, but to accept a collision to avoid a delay or losing the right of way unjustly is an offence, gotta be civilized. You're lucky they didn't have a serious injury.

Cool. :) I hate wrong way cyclists. And when confronted about it, they always have rocks in their heads, so it shouldn't hurt when they land on it.

I got on to a couple kidsabout riding the wrong way (not a bike lane) at my local i guess youd call it work out park. I was coming down a grade 6 avarage hill trying to stay close tot he speed limit of 25 im guessing i was close to 35. These 2 kids are coming down the road on the wrong side not paying any atention at all doing 20 or so 2 abreast. I ended up threadign the needle. One to my right one to my left. I stoped and made them do the same. Told them that i was doing about 45 (lied i think) to drive the point home i lied some more made up some bs math about impact at thos speeds. Said i guessed they were doing around 20 or 25 i was doing about 40 45. Said that for each mph of speed you hit for weight x speed. I am 150 pounds my bike is right around the 18 or 20 pound mark the total by my math would be 6768 pounds of force hittign them they were in the 130 140 range plluss mtbs at 25 pounds for 3250 pounds of force. Combined total 250x6768=10018 pounds of force. i told them that was about 5 tons twice that of most cars.

Ive got no clue on how to realy get the force at impact for a object based on weight and speed. But well this one seemed to work for my purps quite nicly. As they moved to the correct side of the road after that. Infact the next 4 times ive seen them they have always been on the correct side heh.

Just curious any one know how to work out the amount of force a object has based on speed and weight? Somethign tells me my little bs math could be on the low side lol.

Remember that the law charges the one with the "last clear chance to avoid the accident" with the responsibility to do so, no matter what the conditions are.

p.

It's been a while since I lived in Madison, but I thought that there where places where the direction is marked in the bike lane. On another note-- If a motorist admited that they saw an accident developing but did nothing to stop it the'd be in trouble--even if the other guy was wrong and they where right!

I understand that I may not have lived up to my legal obligations, but I am OK with that, and prepared to accept the consequences. In this case, I felt bound to pursue the greater good, ie hitting that guy. If there had been a cop there to write me a ticket, I would have co-operatively accepted it.

Sometimes we need to make an 'educational statement' or things will get out of control. Just wanted to make sure you are aware of the way these things work, my friend. Good luck.

Just out of curiosity, does the bike lane indicate that it's only one way? (that is, is there a bike lane on the other side of the street). I know some cities have dual-direction bike lanes (bad idea IMO). Some people are hard to convince of what the law is unless you get a cop or some other authority to prove it to them.

Well, according to the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, bike lanes "encourage bicyclists to ride in the correct direction of travel" all by themselves! See
http://www.cambridgema.gov/~CDD/et/bike/bike_safety.html

Sorry your real-world experience is incorrect. You must be wrong. Hey, Cambridge is a Bike Friendly Community! Where are your credentials, eh, pal?

But seriously, you've identified a problem with bike lanes that derives from the general public's belief that bike lanes create safety, and that cyclists should ride in them, wherever they exist, for their own good. The novice cyclist who doesn't want to ride around the block to avoid an unfavorable one-way is easily lured into a "safe" short-cut provided by the bike lane, whether or not it's going that cyclist's way.

Incidentally, Cambridge also used to claim in the essay cited above, that bike lanes show cyclists "the proper place to ride" in the roadway. This claim was removed after a cyclist was killed in the summer of 2002, when she was knocked off her bike by a door-opening idiot while she was riding in a bike lane that was almost entirely inside the open door-zone along parallel parked cars. That cyclist tumbled under the wheels of a passing bus, and is with us no more. And Cambridge won't say whether their bike lanes are the "proper place" for cyclists anymore.

I understand that I may not have lived up to my legal obligations, but I am OK with that, and prepared to accept the consequences. In this case, I felt bound to pursue the greater good, ie hitting that guy. If there had been a cop there to write me a ticket, I would have co-operatively accepted it.

I would have expained to the officer, that I was trying to avoid the rider, really, but he zigged when I zagged. He was the one going the wrong way, end of story.

Everyone has a right to their high horse.
But from my standpoint, sharing the road, I'd rather not have anyone on it that relates "the greater good" with intentionally causing an accident that could be avoided. I'd expect that among those drivers willing to nudge a bike out of the way thereby endangering the riders life most would agree with your motivations. When it comes to safety at the level you're discussing, avoidable accidents, you are part of the problem or part of the solution.

Don't go about causing accidents and encouraging it online by defending it as standing up for yourself. Please give my method a shot next time, it's never failed me and I get to ride away everytime knowing I'm not a jerk. In most cases the folk I encounter actually hear me and believe me when I tell them it's the right way to ride, with traffic.

That "greater good" line was a little bit of humor. I didn't intentionally cause an accident. It was actually never my intention to hit him, since I thought he would yield. Next time I see the situation, I think I will slow down more, possibly to the point of stopping, but not yielding. I'm not swerving into the next lane if there's traffic. This will probably force a verbal confrontation which would probably even better.