Originally Posted by
Bushman
FINALLY someone said it. For those who dont know, or are ignorant, a Ford Econoline van creates a 6' x 6'x 12' rectangle of blind spot, that one cannot see around UNLESS they pull their vehicle out further. What happens when you pull out in a vehicle? the 5 or 6' of engine bay, front bumper etc has to nose out first BEFORE the drivers side window clears the blind spot. It is ONLY when the drivers side window is fully out of the blind spot that the Driver can see finally.......if you look at where the cyclists hit the SUV it is in the FRONT LEFT QUARTER PANEL - in FRONT of the driver.....are you seeing what i'm getting at here? the driver would have had a VERY difficult time of seeing THRU a solid metal object (Ford van)
This. It also appeared to be parked very close to the car in front of it, leaving little gap for a last minute warning to stop.
While the driver clearly violated the right of way, I think it's a bit unfair to go labeling him or her as a "clueless idiot", etc. Unless one would say the same thing about a cyclist pulling out blindly in front of a car at that same intersection, it shouldn't be said of the driver, because of the conditions present. Accidents happen and they're not always "clueless" behavior on one party's behalf. Hopefully these guys will recover quickly though. Multiple bike collisions always look incredibly brutal.