Commuting - Almost hit a cyclist

EDIT: Change right to left

So this morning was a beautiful morning and we took the 3 kids to a park to have some outdoor fun. I did notice many cyclists out this morning including many (way too many!) sidewalk cyclists. After a good time at the park we went to a couple of stores to pick some stuff up and do some errands. As I was pulling out of on store's parking lot I was making a right turn on a 4 lane 2 way road. I was looking left and as soon as traffic cleared I began to accelerate when my wife yell's BIKE!!. I turn my head and slam on my brakes as a sidewalk cyclists darts in front of me and swerves to avoid me hitting her. I was literally a few inches from taking this person out.

I feel very stupid for not looking to my right before making the turn and guess I would probably be at fault if I had hit her. Wouldn't I? On the other hand she was riding on the sidewalk (against traffic). Now I ride on the street and the MUP. There is one spot where the MUP turns on the sidewalk and I cross an intersection from the sidewalk to get back on the MUP. I always am certain to make eye contact with right-turners to make sure I'm not hooked.

Anyway I wanted others takes on who was at fault and to hear stories you may have of near-hits (or hits but I hope not) involving you in a car and a cyclist.

AS A SIDE NOTE: A few minutes after this incident I was on a side street and a marmot was crossing the road (ground-hog like creature for those in the east). This was here in town and marmots generally live at or above tree-line so somehow this critter was about 5000-6000 feet and 50 or 60 miles away from home. Anyone in the Rocky Mountains ever see these guys at lower elevations? Very bizarre.

I am wondering if there's a mistaken word--you said you were watching to the right, just before you pulled out? Usually if you're pulling into traffic you'd have been looking left...

I am no expert but I do know that in driver's ed (way back when!) I was taught to look left, right, then left again before pulling out--so the last look being to the left would be correct (if I'm making a good assumption!). I guess she could have easily been a pedestrian who was crossing in front of you from the wrong side, but pedestrians are slower moving and you'd think you'd have seen one of THEM.

It seems to me that she'd have been at fault for riding against traffic? Either way, darting in front of a car doesn't seem like a good idea. :eek:

I'll get it started.. I think you were OK...bicycles on sidewalks, or mups, need to be aware of 3-ton machines....That is if one is a consciencious, careful, common sense rider. After all you were trying to be safe. peace

It's a good question, and I don't know the answer as far as the law goes. It may even vary by state. But as a cyclist, when I have occasion to ride on a stretch of sidewalk (I don't do it much, but do so in certain situations) I am on the lookout for cars doing just that sort of thing. And if I were to collide with one, I personally wouldn't consider the driver to be at fault. Since I'm riding where I shouldn't be riding, I feel it's my responsibility to avoid any possible collisions. If I was the cyclist in your scenario, I would have looked to see if you were aware of me before proceeding in front of you. And if it looked like you didn't see me, I would stop and wait for you to make the turn.

Depends on your local laws as to who would be held at fault, most likely the cyclist though.

When driving through Eugene, OR (college town). It was nighttime, I was fully stopped at the crosswalk at a red light at which I was turning right. I look to the right to check the sidewalk clear. There are no pedestrians, but I am unable to see very far due to some hedges. I think to myself that it is a college town with a lot of stupid cyclist, so I decide to just play it safe and wait for the green light. Just then a cyclist (college age), comes out from behind the hedges, with no lights, dark cloths, riding wrong way on sidewalk and screams "f*** you, dumb a$$, watch where your driving", while giving me the one finger salute.

I just thought, how lucky this college kid was on that particular night to came across a driver that was a cyclist and knew just how stupid many college kids cycled.

I feel very stupid for not looking to my right before making the turn and guess I would probably be at fault if I had hit her. Wouldn't I? On the other hand she was riding on the sidewalk (against traffic).You would be at fault for not looking before making the turn. She would not be at fault unless it's against state or local law for her to ride on the sidewalk (in which case, you would both be at fault.). There's no law against riding against traffic on the sidewalk. It is, however, an extremely stupid practice to ride against traffic on the sidewalk, for precisely the reason you both discovered today.

Depends on your local laws as to who would be held at fault, most likely the cyclist though.

When driving through Eugene, OR (college town). It was nighttime, I was fully stopped at the crosswalk at a red light at which I was turning right. I look to the right to check the sidewalk clear. There are no pedestrians, but I am unable to see very far due to some hedges. I think to myself that it is a college town with a lot of stupid cyclist, so I decide to just play it safe and wait for the green light. Just then a cyclist (college age), comes out from behind the hedges, with no lights, dark cloths, riding wrong way on sidewalk and screams "f*** you, dumb a$$, watch were your driving", while giving me the one finger salute.Yeah, I just love the attitude crappy JABs adopt to cover for their own lack of cycling savoir faire.

I also wanted to note that this was along a street with bike lanes in both directions.

Anyway I wanted others takes on who was at fault and to hear stories you may have of near-hits (or hits but I hope not) involving you in a car and a cyclist.My Mother Almost Hit a Cyclist (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=229587&highlight=mother)

As a motorist, I am always aware of my surroundings. If it's a parking lot or park or road or something, I know the hazards of that particular environment. That, and I always keep tabs on whats in front, behind, and to the sides.

As a cyclist, I am always aware of my surroundings. Likewise, depending on the environment, I know what to look out for. Blind corners, crazy motorists, and other hazards. While cycling, I constantly scan what's around me at 180*. I use my mirror for the remaining degrees in the back.

In California I believe the cyclist would have had at least a share of the blame (illegal to ride on sidewalk, illegal to operate a vehicle against traffic). If you're on a sideWALK or crossWALK my opinion is you should walk your bike or operate it at a walking pace. Any faster and the cyclist may not be seen by vehicles exiting driveways, frequently because sight lines at driveways crossing sidewalks are designed for pedestrians traveling at a walking pace. Especially riding against traffic, if the driver looks left, then right, they'll start going and look left again. If they missed you when they looked right, or you weren't visible due to an obstructed view, they're probably going to continue their turn without seeing you. Riding a bicycle in front of a car in this situation is negligent and bordering on suicidal.

That cyclist was very lucky you had a passenger. I was in a similar situation with a friend of mine. I was front seat passenger, he was driving. As we were proceeding through a 4-way stop sign controlled intersection a cyclist riding the wrong way in the crosswalk at relatively high speed (didn't stop for the stop sign) rode right in front of him without him seeing...I yelled "bike" and he slammed on the brakes, stopping in the intersection. The guy on the bike didn't even slow down (and yes he was a college student...this was at the intersection leaving campus).

I have seen a couple of state/city laws that require sidewalk cyclist to ride with the flow of traffic. Wish I could remember which states/cities off hand.

Also the cyclist could be held at fault if she was exceeding the speed limit. In Hawaii, the sidewalk cyclist speed limit is 10 mph. That is why I think the police would most likely find the cyclist at fault unless she had a cycle computer and was insistant that she was traveling less than 10 mph. Might check your local law to see if CO or Fort Collins have such a speed limit.

Yeah, I just love the attitude crappy JABs adopt to cover for their own lack of cycling savoir faire.
That is true, especially the ones that like to ride the wrong way in bike lanes.

And one guy who rides his electric bicycle to the beach (wrongway on a very narrow sidewalk). He now has a clear understanding that when I am a pedestrian, he is expected to yeild to me.

You can hypothetical-lawyer this one forever; the bottom line is that any time you're in an accident, even if you're totally in the right, it's never worth the grief. There are limits to what you can do to save people from their own stupidity, but OTOH you wouldn't close your eyes and drive through a green light on the strength of the idea that you should have right of way, would you?

When turning onto busy streets, drivers do get into the habit of looking left only, because that's the only direction from which traffic should come. OTOH, I've seen situations where people have come to grief doing this because the traffic in front of them was stopped. It's fairly common in rotaries: driver looks left and assumes that the vehicle in front is able to proceed, and then *bam*. I had a friend on a motorcycle get sent to the hospital that way. Whenever you're moving, you should have at least a peripheral awareness of what's in the direction of your motion.

The car driver would likely take at least the majority of the blame.

Check all directions. Looking only to the left is a dangerous habit when we assume that we should only be concerned by car traffic. The next time this happens, you might take out a pedestrian (who is NOT in a grey area, unlike a sidewalk bicyclist).

EDIT: Change right to left

So this morning was a beautiful morning and we took the 3 kids to a park to have some outdoor fun. I did notice many cyclists out this morning including many (way too many!) sidewalk cyclists. After a good time at the park we went to a couple of stores to pick some stuff up and do some errands. As I was pulling out of on store's parking lot I was making a right turn on a 4 lane 2 way road. I was looking left and as soon as traffic cleared I began to accelerate when my wife yell's BIKE!!. I turn my head and slam on my brakes as a sidewalk cyclists darts in front of me and swerves to avoid me hitting her. I was literally a few inches from taking this person out.

I feel very stupid for not looking to my right before making the turn and guess I would probably be at fault if I had hit her. Wouldn't I? On the other hand she was riding on the sidewalk (against traffic). Now I ride on the street and the MUP. There is one spot where the MUP turns on the sidewalk and I cross an intersection from the sidewalk to get back on the MUP. I always am certain to make eye contact with right-turners to make sure I'm not hooked.

Anyway I wanted others takes on who was at fault and to hear stories you may have of near-hits (or hits but I hope not) involving you in a car and a cyclist.

AS A SIDE NOTE: A few minutes after this incident I was on a side street and a marmot was crossing the road (ground-hog like creature for those in the east). This was here in town and marmots generally live at or above tree-line so somehow this critter was about 5000-6000 feet and 50 or 60 miles away from home. Anyone in the Rocky Mountains ever see these guys at lower elevations? Very bizarre.

In Colorado a cyclist on the sidewalk is considered a pedestrian. So, yes... you'd have been at fault for hitting her.

One of my biggest peeves against motorists is when they pull out across the sidewalk or bike lane before stopping to look for traffic... they're supposed to verify that THOSE areas are clear of traffic as well before pulling across them!

There are a few places where I'll ride on the sidewalk, but I'm always very careful to watch for drivers, since I know most of them don't bother to check before pulling across the sidewalk.

And to answer someone else's question in this thread: Speed limit for bikes on sidewalks or MUP's is 15 mph in Colorado.

I saw this exact thing happen a few weeks back...car turning right, bike going wrong way off sidewalk into intersection. Car going slow enough not to hit him too hard but knocked him down and bent his wheel...

At first I was indignant toward the car...
"He was in a crosswalk...didnt you see him? "

Then I realized that in my city its against the law to ride your bike on the sidewalk. Worse still is to ride against traffic on the sidewalk. Good one for the lawyers and a Judge to hash out...

A very experienced commuter friend told me this is the most common accident involving cars and wrong direction sidewalk bicyclists.

Yesterday an idiot cyclist was going the wrong way on the street...coming right towards ME on my bike as I was riding legally. Grrrr