Originally Posted by
SquidPuppet
I think the cyclist was probably completely surprised. The Cop was in a "Right Turn ONLY" lane. In California, once you enter a "commitment lane" You are not allowed to leave it, period. You can't signal to leave, you can't back up to leave, you can't go straight, you MUST proceed with the action that the lane dictates.
I think so too. No doubt the car made a move he shouldn't have. But that's the essence of defensive driving/riding: anticipate actions that people shouldn't do and make sure you can react to them (if at all possible, there are clearly limits to what you can prevent).
In this case, the combination of speeding up for a light turning orange (and riding at 25mph, according the cyclist himself), probably focused on the light and accelerating (head down?), past stationary cars meant he was not in a position to react.
So no, the car should not have pulled out of that lane. But it did. Stuff like that happens. Just like people opening their door (to throw something out, or to get something from the trunk of their car, etc.) Or people (or dogs, even trickier because their small) walking between the cars.
Again, yes, it's the cars fault. The cyclist didn't really do anything wrong. But, right though he may be, he's the one that's injured now. As we say in the Netherlands: "you'll have right of way, all the way to the hospital"