General Cycling Discussion - Cyclist almost hit by car

and it was the cyclist fault. The idiot went right through a red light at full speed and almost got flattened by a car. Luckily the driver was able to stop in time and rider swerved at the last second to avoid getting hit. He's very lucky he didn't get hit or they would've been scraping him up with a spatula.

I'm sure he had to clean out his short when he got home...

Well, I guess it just goes to show you that Cagers aren't the only ones who can flat-line their brain waves! :confused:

Originally posted by Joe Pozer
and it was the cyclist fault. The idiot went right through a red light at full speed and almost got flattened by a car.
There's a guy at work that I gave my old bike to that sometimes walks 15 miles at a time, just for fun (ex-military.) He really wants to cycle.

He actually witnessed this same maneuver (running the red light,) as we all have, but what he saw a few months ago impressed him deeply: the cyclist was dead on the scene.

In an ideal world, motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists alike would all understand this simple truth: traffic lights exist for a good and valid purpose.

It would help if cities synchronized lights properly (it can be done, but rarely is, and cities cite expense, as they do for every duty they neglect; I'm not buying that one, because if they can afford to keep up sports stadiums and give tax breaks to giant corporations, they can sure afford to save people's lives). It would help if they made sensor-activated lights responsive to bicycles (this, too, can be done).

But in the meantime the lights, well maintained or not, exist to protect people.

I will go through on yellow if I would probably crash otherwise; but I'm good at swift stops and if there's nobody on my tail I'd rather put wear on my brake pads than set a bad example.

I heard on NPR today that 12% of fatalities in traffic accidents were pedestrians. Wonder what % were on bikes.

Originally posted by mwmw
I heard on NPR today that 12% of fatalities in traffic accidents were pedestrians. Wonder what % were on bikes.
I've heard, and I believe it's a very, very small percent. Not sure where to find the statistic.... Maybe some other forum member knows.

I read earlier today on another website (search on "pedestrian fatalities") that (I think it was) 5,200 U.S. pedestrians were killed by motorists in 1998. A rough guess as to the cyclists killed would be about 1/4 or less of that. Then again, there are fewer cyclists than pedestrians.

Another 69,000 were injured.

A more telling statistic would be a comparison among cyclists of different ages and habits. From what I understand, there is as much a difference as 500% between the safest cyclists and the most unsafe cyclists in their accident rates.

The same thing might also apply to pedestrians and motorists. While some risk is unavoidable, most of the assumed risk is avoidable, dependent upon our own vigilance and habits.

Originally posted by JonR
In an ideal world, motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists alike would all understand this simple truth: [b]traffic lights exist for a good and valid purpose.

Thank you Jon R. Perhaps if a few more people go the way this idiot did, they might start to get the message.



Originally posted by JonR It would help if they made sensor-activated lights responsive to bicycles (this, too, can be done).

Even so. One should at least stop at a red light to ensure nothing is coming the other way. Heck, If it's 5.30 am, quiet roads, no traffic and a non-responsive sensor, I have no problem with people going AFTER they have stopped and ensured the coast is clear. It just takes a little commonsense. That is all.

Chris