Originally Posted by Expatriate
Was the cyclist familiar with the area?
Whether or not the cyclist was familiar with the area has nothing to do with who was at fault. I don't think the police would ask the driver of a car involved in an accident if they were familiar with the area.
Facts reported in article:
The bus driver was heading southbound. The bicyclist was heading northbound. The bus driver was making a left hand turn across the northbound lane.
Conclusion:
Therefore, the bicyclist had the right of way. The bus driver should have yielded to the bicyclist as he should have yielded to any vehicle traveling northbound.
Fact reported in article:
The bicyclist hit the door near the front of the bus
Conclusion:
This indicates that the bus pulled in front of the bicyclist at the last second. Had the bicyclist hit the rear of the bus we might conclude that the bicyclist should have seen the idiot driver crossing his path but he hit the front of the bus.
Originally Posted by Expatriate
Too many of you are too quick to judge, and then you complain when no charges are filed. Rather than let my emotions take over, I'll ask the hard questions.
Please read your next statement carefully. You make a very strong assumption.
Originally Posted by Expatriate
I'm sure the driver checked to make sure no cars were coming, and made his turn.
How on earth can you be "sure" what the driver did or saw?
And I notice that your statement says he made sure no cars were coming. You didn't mention bicycles or motorcycles which are traffic too. Obviously the driver did not make sure no traffic was coming. He pulled into the bicyclists path and the bicyclist hit the front of the bus. Any accident reconstruction expert would easily be able to conclude that the bus driver was at fault.
Originally Posted by Expatriate
5 PM, how visible was this cyclist.
The cyclist would have been plenty visible at that time. Not an issue. This is certainly not a hard question?
Originally Posted by Expatriate
He either did not notice the cyclist, or misjudged his speed.
You say the bus driver either (you used the words either so you yourself are making a judgement that what follows are the only two possibilities) 1) did not notice the cyclist or 2) misjugded his speed?
If 1) "did not notice that cyclist", that is certainly the bus driver's fault. If he didn't see the bicyclist he was not looking carefully enough before crossing the lane to make the turn.
If 2) "misjudged his speed", that is also the bus driver's fault. The bicyclist may having been riding hard, but I doubt (although cannot be certain based on the info) that he was going above the speed limit.
Originally Posted by Expatriate
While my sympathy goes out to the family of Mr. Weaver, I'm not so quick to put all the blame on either party.
It doesn't sound like it. Based on information available, the bus driver is clearly at fault.