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We all ride and the vast majority of us drive. Have you ever hit or come close to hitting a cyclist?
I caught a guy on PCH with the door of my Camry. Checked my rear view before opening the dor- he clipped the door. In my opinion, he was riding way to close to parked cars. I'm sure he has a different version. Brief exchange of profanities, and he was off.
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A roadie almost hit me coming off of Killington Rd onto Rt. 4 in VT.
He was going about 40mph when he passed through his stop sign at the intersection.
He was so close I braced in the car for the 'ThuD' but it never happened, how I
dont know....does that count ?
"Almost" been hit many times. "Been" hit a couple of times.
Once, a wrong way rider (direct head-on hit), another time, a JAC who decided to cross directly in my path just after he looked right at me (T-Bone). Both times, my bike was wrecked and I had minor injuries.
I hate spring because of all the JAC's who come out riding bikes
*did I mention that I'm talking about when I'm riding a bike? I've never hit a cyclist while driving*
This post once contained information, the author has chosen to remove his intellectual property: web 2.0 is a *****.
Had a student go over my hood when I was in college delivering pizzas! It was dusk/dark and he was riding on the sidewalk on a busy intersection. Came flying out of nowhere when I was taking a left turn. He nor his bike was damaged, my fender had a tiny dent. He apologized profusely as he had no lights of any sort. It was the law at the time to have them. I believe he would have been issued a ticket. Then again, with me in a Domino's outfit I doubt the police would have viewed the situation in my favor. Either way, no harm no foul. I gave him $10 and told him to get a light.
I haven't, but my mother almoist hit a cyclist sometime in the past year (I posted about it here). She was leaving a parking lot, stopped at the sidewalk to check oncoming traffic and pedestrians, then just as she was starting to apply the gas, a cyclist crossed her path-- no lights (it was nighttime), riding against traffic on the sidewalk. She hit her brakes, and he didn't get hit.
Once a wrong way bike ninja at nite, our coats only brushed against one another tho. Another time some guy burned the red out from behind a row of cars as I was going real fast downhill towards the intersection, barely avoided him. In both cases I think I could have done better by paying more attention.
Not hit anyone in a car, but this one time as a kid I thought I heard one of my buddies calling me so I turned around to look for a second or two, ran into a parked car.
Yes...
he was riding on the sidewalk in the same direction i was driving. i took a right turn, he was behind parked cars, i did not see him. messed up my antenna, his frame/wheel bent. not my fault, but felt bad for fellow bicyclist.
i took him to local used bicycle part dealer (1983), got him a replacement bicycle ($10), and he came out ahead of the deal with a better bike. my antenna cost about $45...to replace.
vb ride and be seen!
Yes...
he was riding on the sidewalk in the same direction i was driving. i took a right turn, he was behind parked cars, i did not see him. messed up my antenna, his frame/wheel bent. not my fault, but felt bad for fellow bicyclist.
i took him to local used bicycle part dealer (1983), got him a replacement bicycle ($10), and he came out ahead of the deal with a better bike. my antenna cost about $45...to replace.
vb ride and be seen!
Wow, interesting -- that's just like what I wrote in this post in another thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=6546969&postcount=47), thinking about what a driver sees during a right turn.
I haven't hit or been hit by any yet, been close a few times. Once, it would have been my fault, as I was riding, saw another cyclist fixing a flat on the other side of the path, and slowed & turned to ask if she needed anything. My problem was that I also turned into the oncoming lane, and a third cyclist had to warn me. :o
My mom once backed into a recumbent trike rider in a parking lot in California (Van Nuys, maybe?). She was coming out of her space, didn't see anything (he may not have had a flag, either), and heard a crunch-like noise. She stomped on the brakes and got out to check -- he was fine, I think his bike was alright, and both of them apologized to each other. Sort of like being doored, but call it "bumpered". When you're lower than the trunk lines of the cars around you, the risks increase.
I have not, closest I came was a wrong-way sidewalk cyclist as I was turning left at a light, but I caught him in time and delayed my turn.
But I must say, I'm intrigued by the amount of "came out of nowhere" reasoning in this thread already, especially from those who hit sidewalk-cyclists. I can't square it with the replies in this thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=408773), where it is mentioned many times that the motorist has a responsibility to yield to those in the sidewalk, even if it's a person illegally on a bike.
I'll mention that I agree more with that other thread, in that I hold drivers to a higher degree of responsibility than they are already. Too many people, I think, see the default state of a car as "moving", and "stopped" is an inconvenience to be avoided. More care should be taken before pressing the gas pedal when pulling out of a driveway or a stop sign. I've said before that when I'm turning right, I want to be looking where my car is pointing, not in the other direction at oncoming traffic; if I can't do that, if I have to gun it out into traffic while looking behind me to make sure I don't get hit, then it's not a safe move to make and I wait.
Of course this won't solve all problems, but it's something I feel is important and more drivers should exercise. The attitude I see in this thread already mirrors what we hear all too often from motorists, and which I think is only accepted because of built-in prejudices towards common driving habits.
But I must say, I'm intrigued by the amount of "came out of nowhere" reasoning in this thread already, especially from those who hit sidewalk-cyclists. I can't square it with the replies in this thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=408773), where it is mentioned many times that the motorist has a responsibility to yield to those in the sidewalk, even if it's a person illegally on a bike.
Here's what I posted in that thread (and linked above) --
Right, a riding cyclist isn't a pedestrian -- but then again, a cyclist riding on the same path as a pedestrian (in your scenario, taking a crosswalk) is NOT behaving as a vehicle would, either.
That's really the difference, and why it's more dangerous to continue riding into intersections. Drivers are looking in the road for other high-speed users, and sidewalks are almost exclusively used by pedestrians, not other high-speed users.
Look at it from the other side, from the driver's seat, even as someone who's trying to do the right thing. Picture driving up to an intersection where you're planning to turn right. Put on your signal, start braking, check to the right to see if there's anyone standing on the corner or already walking in the intersection, and you don't see anybody. Then, start looking left to find a big enough gap in traffic. You might wait for the clump of traffic to pass, so before the clump passes, you glance right again to make sure that there isn't a pedestrian either in front of you or standing & waiting to cross the same street you're turning onto. You still don't see anyone, so you look left again, the clump passes, and you start your turn.
The actions in that last sentence can take only two seconds, and those two seconds are NOT spent looking to the rear right quarter. Realize how far a cyclist can move in two seconds at even moderate speed -- far enough to go from being hidden behind the cars parallel parked on the side of the street to being IN the intersection.
So, no, despite the vagueness of cyclist-as-pedestrian laws, a cyclist should NOT behave as a cyclist when using a pedestrian crosswalk. Just like a pedestrian, you should stop and wait, because you're coming from the blind spot in the second-least important quadrant of a right-turning car (least important being to the rear left, of course).
Basically, that's how a cyclist can "come out of nowhere", even if a driver is trying to drive properly.
And, again, I say, "Never forget what it's like to be a cager." Know how to drive a car well, and know how badly people often drive. ALWAYS look for their possible errors, know where they can and can't go even if they do something stupid, and come up with options to keep yourself safe.
(BTW, I said specifically "know how to drive a car well", because once you get to that level, you'll have a good understanding of the mistakes that bad drivers can make. If you're a bad driver, you're clueless already, and don't understand the mistakes that YOU make -- which will make it unlikely that you'll ever anticipate other drivers' mistakes while riding your bike.)
I've never hit a biker or, as far as I know, come close to hitting one - but I've been startled a couple of times when I realized that there was a bike ninja in my path - usually someone who appears to be from a lower socio economic level, but often students or roadies in full uniform. To my mind, law enforcement resources would be better spent ticketing people riding bikes at night without lights and paying less attention to bikers running stop signs in broad daylight when there are no oncoming cars.
To my mind, law enforcement resources would be better spent ticketing people riding bikes at night without lights and paying less attention to bikers running stop signs in broad daylight when there are no oncoming cars.
But ninja cyclists are too hard to see... ;)
Yep, I hit a biker once. I was on my bike, and it was totally my fault. I was commuting on the street, with a two-way bike path to my right separated by a shoulder. There was a break in the shoulder and I attempted to merge onto the bike path, crossing the oncoming lane of bike traffic. I did not look ahead of me and ran square into another biker coming the opposite way. Neither of us fell off our bikes and the other rider wasn't hurt. I, however, got a cut on my thumb that required stitches from a protruberance on one of our bikes. So I basically got what I deserved, haha.
Had one case in the car when making a right hand turn onto a reasonably highly traveled two-lane, when a wrong-way cyclist riding through the parking spaces on the median (at a reasonably good clip) cut in front to switch onto the sidewalk.
Only time on the bike that I can recall that was particularly close to potential collision was when a JAC on his Trek 4300 came at me for a classic wrong-way head on. Once I realized he had no intentions of letting me through in my legal direction, I pulled out wide to the left to clear him.
Murphey's law kicked in - he mirrored my exact movement at the same moment - now we were coming in for a head-on in the center of the lane. I then pulled back to the right...and he pulled back to the right. At that point, I made a quick move for the center again, and sure enough, Mr. Mirror did so as well.
Figuring that I might as well leave an impression on him if we were lucky enough not to slam into each other (and figuring that he'd likely hit the brakes just the same), I locked up the rear KoolStops to slide into a stop, sideways - a-la ricer "drifting."
Needless to say, I was in the mood to show off that time :D . Either that, or I subconsciously was reminding myself that I needed a good story that I could repeat here on A&S whenever these type of posts come up :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:
-Kurt
On Thursday my negligent behavior almost caused me to hit a cyclist.
I was speeding along a bike trail, decided to take a side nice curving route to the left, did not signal, did not check mirror and, the very instant before I darted left, heard "On your left."
It was not driving a car and I guess the cyclist would have hit me, but it's a fine example of how it's easy to be the cause of hazard.
[QUOTE=BarracksSi;6548903]Wow, interesting -- that's just like what I wrote in this post in another thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=6546969&postcount=47), thinking about what a driver sees during a right turn.
clearly the bicyclist's fault, riding on the sidewalk, not a pedestrian, not a police officer.
"vb" represents Vehicular Bicycle, same road/same rules...! if on the sidewalk with bicycle, get off and walk it as a pedestrian. follow the rules of the road you're on... :=)
This forum never eases to amaze me: the posts about motorists, from the cyclist's POV, invariably conclude that the "cagers" are 100% at fault in every possible instance. And yet when the forum denizens trade their bikes for their cars, it suddenly becomes the cyclists who are always at fault.
Accountability merit badges have to go begging in this crowd!
We all ride and the vast majority of us drive. Have you ever hit or come close to hitting a cyclist?
No, not even a close call. If I ever hit a cyclist while driving, I would consider it my fault.
where it is mentioned many times that the motorist has a responsibility to yield to those in the sidewalk, even if it's a person illegally on a bike.
I don't believe that a motorist has a responsibility to yeild to a someone operating illegally. I would reccomend Bob Mionske's book Bicycling and the Law. You would learn that everyone on the road owes everyone on the road a certain duty of care, but that duty does extend to expecting others to violate thier duty(s) to others. If we had to be responsible for everyone else's illegal actions we'd never get anywhere.
[QUOTE=BarracksSi;6548903] if on the sidewalk with bicycle, get off and walk it as a pedestrian. follow the rules of the road you're on... :=)
In some places you can ride on the sidewalk and still be considered a pedestrian if you are riding at a walking pace and otherwise following pedestrian rules.
I was riding in the passenger seat of a car that hit and killed a young boy on a bike. He had been sitting on his bike leaning against the guard rail at a rather sharp bend in the road that also sat at the top of a rise. We crested the rise just as a tractor trailer did the same from the other direction. He (the boy) either lost his balance or had begun to push himself off from the rail. The roadway had rather narrow shoulders as I remember.
Anyways, through a combination of narrow road, poor line of sight, airflow from the truck and the boy apparently moving, we struck him with the front fender.
I still see vividly recall the imagery even though it's been over a quarter century.
The body suddenly there in the windshield in front of me and then as quickly gone.
Cars skidding to a stop.
My friend jumping out and racing back up the road.
The pair of shoes in the middle of the road.
Our frantic search for the boy.
Finding his crumpled body down the side of the hill.
My frantic but futile attempt at resuscitation.
The stillness of death.
An inquiry ruled it an unfortunate accident. Unforeseen circumstances. I've driven by the scene over the intervening years. A blinking caution light and signs mark the approaches. The shoulder is much wider.
Time has passed. It's been 20 years since I've spoken with my friend, he's been very successful at his profession but I've often wondered how it affected him.
i hit one about 2 years ago i was making a right turn when he came across the front of my truck in a attempt to beat the light he caught the ram bar and got thrown into oncoming traffic lucky for me a beat cop saw the whole thing and gave him a citation for operating a unsafe vehicle.
Yes, I hit one once...but it wasn't with my car - and I waited till he got off his bike. :D
I don't believe that a motorist has a responsibility to yeild to a someone operating illegally. I would reccomend Bob Mionske's book Bicycling and the Law. You would learn that everyone on the road owes everyone on the road a certain duty of care, but that duty does extend to expecting others to violate thier duty(s) to others. If we had to be responsible for everyone else's illegal actions we'd never get anywhere...
actually, it doesn't matter if the other person is legal or not, if you have the opportunity or ability to avoid a collision you must do so or be partially responsible for your actions. That's basic law.
actually, it doesn't matter if the other person is legal or not, if you have the opportunity or ability to avoid a collision you must do so or be partially responsible for your actions. That's basic law.
Right, and it doesn't matter which seat you're riding on or sitting in (or shoes in which you're standing).
Yes, I hit one once...but it wasn't with my car - and I waited till he got off his bike. :D
I wanted so much to hit that wrong way cyclist after he ruined my bike for his idiotic action but after I got up and went over to him, I saw him on the ground desperately gasping for breath while holding his chest, I realized that I couldn't possibly hit him harder than I just had.
This forum never eases to amaze me: the posts about motorists, from the cyclist's POV, invariably conclude that the "cagers" are 100% at fault in every possible instance. And yet when the forum denizens trade their bikes for their cars, it suddenly becomes the cyclists who are always at fault.
Accountability merit badges have to go begging in this crowd!
That's not how I read this thread at all. All I'm seeing is that cyclists aren't immune from doing stupid, dangerous and illegal things. No-one's said anything about 'always', but I guess it suits your petty little agenda to think that.
That's not how I read this thread at all. All I'm seeing is that cyclists (not me, of course, but everyone else) aren't immune from doing stupid, dangerous and illegal things. No-one's said anything about 'always', but I guess it suits your petty little agenda to think that.
Fixed it for you. No need to thank me.
Fixed it for you. No need to thank me.
Way to go, champ. Nice to see you staying true to form.
I have not, closest I came was a wrong-way sidewalk cyclist as I was turning left at a light, but I caught him in time and delayed my turn.
But I must say, I'm intrigued by the amount of "came out of nowhere" reasoning in this thread already, especially from those who hit sidewalk-cyclists. I can't square it with the replies in this thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=408773), where it is mentioned many times that the motorist has a responsibility to yield to those in the sidewalk, even if it's a person illegally on a bike.
I'll mention that I agree more with that other thread, in that I hold drivers to a higher degree of responsibility than they are already. Too many people, I think, see the default state of a car as "moving", and "stopped" is an inconvenience to be avoided. More care should be taken before pressing the gas pedal when pulling out of a driveway or a stop sign. I've said before that when I'm turning right, I want to be looking where my car is pointing, not in the other direction at oncoming traffic; if I can't do that, if I have to gun it out into traffic while looking behind me to make sure I don't get hit, then it's not a safe move to make and I wait.
Of course this won't solve all problems, but it's something I feel is important and more drivers should exercise. The attitude I see in this thread already mirrors what we hear all too often from motorists, and which I think is only accepted because of built-in prejudices towards common driving habits.You're confusing legal and safe riding, which the cyclist in the other thread was doing, with legal but unsafe, perhaps even reckless riding. They're not the same thing. It may be legal to ride at high speed against traffic while on the sidewalk, but it's also foolhardy, and not equivalent to what happened in the other thread.
I would be just horrified and traumatized if I killed anyone while I was driving, be they cyclist, pedestrian, other driver, whatever. For that reason I tend to drive very defensively and cautiously in built-up areas and/or heavy traffic nowadays!
When I was a petulant young whipper-snapper (i.e. aged 18 and just passed my driving test), I had the kind of attitude that really pisses me off today - I would drive aggressively, jump long queues of traffic and barge in at the front, deliberately shoot red lights for fun, etc, etc. (It's needless to say that by the age of 19 I had been stopped by the police 7 times). I almost killed myself once (nearly flipped the car going round a bend at 110mph) and I had various high-speed near-misses with other drivers.
When I see that kind of driving today it really pisses me off! It also worries me when I'm on a bike! - There are plenty of hot-headed 18-year-old drivers out there who probably think that "old has-been" 30-somethings like me are just so uncool in our sensible cars and with our sensible driving ways ... until they hit a cyclist. I am so grateful that I never killed anyone when I was very young and very stupid!
Had a near miss about a month a go... it was just after dusk, I was driving and had just crossed an intersection after a light turned green. I was moving well below the speed limit when a wrong way no light "ninja" cyclist came at me and then turned right in front of my car as he crossed the road. Traffic was light, and he made it.
But it all made me realize that some folks on bikes take some real chances as they cycle along. Dark bike, dark clothing, no lights and crossing in front of on coming traffic... it was as if this guy had a suicide wish.
I would be just horrified and traumatized if I killed anyone while I was driving, be they cyclist, pedestrian, other driver, whatever. For that reason I tend to drive very defensively and cautiously ...
I concur.
I have never struck a cyclist with my car, but a cyclist did strike my car in the early 1980s, fortunately with only trivial consequences. I was accelerating slowly from a two-way stop sign while a young adult was riding a BMX bike down a hill on the wrong side of the road. He struck the right front corner of my green 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle (a full two tons of Detroit iron, fondly labeled "the dinosaur" by my carpool buddies, and euphemistically classified as "midsize" in those days :) ), picked himself up off the pavement, and said, "Sorry, man. My fault!" I made sure he was OK before we both left the scene.
For many reasons, I am very glad to be driving shorter-nosed cars (1996 Audi A4, 2001 VW Passat wagon) today, so that I do not have to ease the front bumper as far into a blind intersection to obtain proper visibility.
Had a near miss about a month a go... it was just after dusk, I was driving and had just crossed an intersection after a light turned green. I was moving well below the speed limit when a wrong way no light "ninja" cyclist came at me and then turned right in front of my car as he crossed the road. Traffic was light, and he made it.
But it all made me realize that some folks on bikes take some real chances as they cycle along. Dark bike, dark clothing, no lights and crossing in front of on coming traffic... it was as if this guy had a suicide wish.
Anyone in the boston area knows this one. Mass Ave going into Arlington, where it crosses route 16.
I was driving. I was in the rightmost lane and came to the lights to turn right onto RT 16 (light was green so I was slowing down to turn right). Little did I know that there was a ninja cyclist wearing all black (it was at night) hammering it on the sidewalk to my right going the same direction as me. He was going straight, and right as I begun taking the right I see something out of the corner of my eyes. So I slam on the brakes and the driver behind me almost rear ends me. The cyclist flies off the sidewalk and across the crosswalk on RT 16 and right into the space where I would have been had I not seen his shadow block the light from a street light for a second (that was the flicker). Unbelievable.
I've come very close about three times. All times they were unpredictable and not following traffic law. I think in all cases they saw me, but mis judged my speed or assumed I'd slow for them.
Al
In college, at University of Illinois. Along many streets there were (are?) bike lanes parallel to the street separated by a median. Wright Street is a one way street, I was in the rightmost lane, the bike lane was to my right. I made a right turn onto Green Street on a light that was just turning yellow as I turned. Cyclists in the bike path going straight gunned it to make the yellow. My passenger alerted me to the situation, I hit the brakes but he still went onto my hood. Had my passenger not yelled, the guy might have been dead.
As we walked around happy to all be alive and getting a report with the police, the cop said he would review the situation and decide if either of us needed to be ticketed. The cyclist was a bit confused
about how he could be ticketed - the cop just said "A cyclist is responsible to follow the rules of the road too, so either of you could be ticketed, I will review it". The cyclist was talked into getting into an ambulance by paramedics who had shown up on scene. A witness came up to me and said that if there was an issue he would testify to the cyclist accellerating into the yellow.
I wandered over to the crash site. Right before the bike path enters Green Street there was a YIELD painted on the bike lane. I had seen these before despite not generally cycling very much on campus - I had a bike my first year but rarely used it since the campus was so walkable. I got a car my senior year but didn't use it too much. The YIELD sign preceeds the actual traffic light - so with a red light you'd still need to stop and wait for a green light. I think it was designed specifically to prevent right hooks. Other places the campus used YIELDs on the bike path was where the bike path crossed pedestrian accesses (mostly crosswalk entrances from the sidewalk that was to the right of the bike path described above).
The cyclist's father called me to make a claim on my insurance. I asked if the guy was ok, he muttered about it a bit but I think basically the father was trying to recoup the ambulance bill. My Insurance company came out and looked at the crash scene and denied the claim.
Regardless of the YIELD sign, probably his fault for passing on the right. That and the fact the claim was denied didn't make me feel any better about hitting someone. That certainly would not happen today as my "cyclist" radar is very highly attuned on those rare occasions I am driving a car.
Back when I was in grade seven, my parents were dropping me off for a youth event in front of a suburban school. As I opened my door, my mom shouted "LOOK OUT!" and a little girl, maybe 8 or 9, slammed into my door on her bike. Our car was a Dodge Omni hatchback, so to hit the door she would have had to be riding within a foot of the parked cars. My mom accompanied her home to make sure she was alright. Took me awhile to get over that one. As a driver, I had one close call a long time ago (before I was a cyclist) when I failed to see a cyclist coming to an intersection that I was stopped at (he didn't have a stop sign). I only noticed him when he flashed by in my rear view mirror and yelled, "A------!".
Ya know, this thread is probably more informative than all the others where we talk about getting hit ourselves...
Yes. It was around 1am on a quiet residental street. I just dropped a friend off and pulled a u turn in an intersection. I looked back first of course, but since the biker had no head lamp I did not see him. He hit my left front fender and few over the hood and landed on his collar bone on a metal curb drain. Ouch.
The biker refused my help, took blame and walked himself home.
No, not even close.
I almost hit a ped once when he ran across the street.
I saved a cyclist from being hit as well. I had just passed the cyclist, then got caught in traffic. I knew that the cyclist was picking up speed near the curb. The car infront of me stopped to allow someone to make a left in front of his car. I beeped like crazy, just in time for the cyclist and car to both slam on thier brakes and avoid a collision.
I saved a cyclist from being hit as well. I had just passed the cyclist, then got caught in traffic. I knew that the cyclist was picking up speed near the curb. The car infront of me stopped to allow someone to make a left in front of his car. I beeped like crazy, just in time for the cyclist and car to both slam on thier brakes and avoid a collision.
Good job! Extra alertness points for you. I'm betting you weren't on a cell phone.
I rammed another cyclist.... while I am riding. She fell on her left hip and cursed at me.
No.
My Mom is 72 and I've noticed her driving is ... off. She needs total 100% attention, I guess. I met her for supper at her favorite McDonald's (oh yum) and as she's driving out of the parking lot onto a busy road - I noticed - as I was getting my helmet on - that she was fiddling around with something in the car - and a jogger was coming up the sidewalk and Mom started out (slowly thank goodness) and she went into the path of the jogger - who basically rolled lightly across the hood of Mom's car. OH MY FREAKING DOG! - he was fine - he looked back at her and didn't say anything - and I ZOOMED UP TO HER and said "WTF MOM!!!" - her response.
"he was supposed to have stopped".
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO MOM!!! I shook her up with my explanation, don't think she'll ever go there again as it really is a busy street/intersection to try and get out of but Good freakin grief!!!!
Lol! My mum shoots red lights (because she doesn't notice them), turns the wrong way into one way streets (because she doesn't notice the bloody great "NO ENTRY" sign), goes all the way round roundabouts in the outside lane, goes straight ahead in left/right hand filters, turns left/right at "no left/right turn" signs (again, she has no idea that she can't turn there), and drives at 40 mph in the middle lane of the motorway - so that she gets undertaken by huge lorries which beep at her (She then comes out with some comment like "Oh, what a rude man! Oh the youth of today! No respect!"). She has written off no less than four separate cars - one of them she was reversing into her garage and she managed to twist the chassis and take a huge chunk out of the garage wall. Whenever I visit her and we need to go anywhere in her car, I drive it for her because she scares the crap out of me!
All this and she STILL backseat drives!!! "Oooo! Look out for that man in that blue car!", "Be careful! There's a roundabout coming up!", "Oh my goodness me! You're going FAR too fast!" - then I remind her that I have never had a single insurance claim in my life and I have only ever had one accident, which wasn't my fault! :mad:
No but I've wanted to give one or two the back of my hand. Does that count?
Had an encounter with a wrong way cyclist this winter. Ice and snow on the road made the traffic lane narrow. I was waiting at a light to make a right turn into a one way street. Poor sight line at this intersection and no sidewalk to be concerned about. Started turn and cyclist came out of one way (the wrong way) and because the road was artifically narrower, cyclist was further out in the lane than would have been. I hit the cyclist with my right mirror. Cyclist stayed up, mirror seperated from vehicle. No injury but when I asked to call for police or medical assistance, cyclist replied with "yo gots any money?" Reply was no and off she went. Since this happened directly accross the street from police station, I walked accross to report only to be told that I had left the scene (go figure). Explained to officer that car didn't move yet and got the typical civil servant shrug. Returned to car and went to work. Didn't stop shaking for an hour.
Funny thing is I see this person all the time just not at this intersection. She is always riding the wrong way on this street going where ever she needs to go. Generally have to pull to side or stop to let her by.
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