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-   -   Cyclist struck by hit and run driver in Boston (https://www.bikeforums.net/advocacy-safety/1152034-cyclist-struck-hit-run-driver-boston.html)

rickrob 08-08-18 06:54 AM

Cyclist struck by hit and run driver in Boston
 
I saw this video on the news last night. I'm really glad the cyclist is OK, it sure could have been worse. I hope they find the driver and press charges.

https://whdh.com/news/state-police-s...ver-in-boston/

mr_bill 08-08-18 08:11 AM

Red 2002/2003 Subaru Impreza Wagon with pre-existing damage to passenger side front bumper, probable passenger side rear quarter damage, and steel wheels.

-mr. bill

rumrunn6 08-08-18 08:39 AM

man that looks like a rough rotary to navigate on a bike

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...dd67168d0b.jpg


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...af2eb2560a.jpg

waaaay worse than the Concord rotary on Route 2 that I sometimes ride thru

Chris0516 08-08-18 04:45 PM


Originally Posted by mtb_addict (Post 20494928)
Dangerous intersection. Need traffic lights.

It is a round-a-bout. But I am splitting hairs.

Some people love them. But I hate them, for exactly what happened in the video. There is one near my house, and I hate going through. People drive through/enter it, too fast. I totally agree with the need for traffic lights.

TheLibrarian 08-08-18 05:00 PM

I thought the whole point of roundabouts is to replace traffic lights. Boston is one of the old citites where roads developed naturally from horse trails being small winding and having messed up intersections.

mr_bill 08-08-18 05:57 PM

That’s actually a rotary. You see the BIG sign that says “ROTARY?”

Anyhow, gen two subie-dude (gender neutral dude, but...) could have crashed into a Peterbilt in the same circumstances, just the “and run” part would have been unlikely.

Thousands of people in cars and on bikes and on foot don’t crash there every day, but let’s blame the rotary.

(Could be worse. Most internut commentators blame her for not using a straight signal.)

-mr. bill

Colnago Mixte 08-08-18 06:07 PM

Playing devil's advocate, you could say she failed to react, a bit like the woman who got her car crushed by the tanker truck. You can't just sit back and expect vehicles to always do the right thing 100% of the time, sometimes you need to correct other people's mistakes for them, but in any event you need to react to dangerous situations like that, no one is gonna do it for you.

mr_bill 08-08-18 06:19 PM


Originally Posted by Colnago Mixte (Post 20495976)
Playing devil's advocate, you could say she failed to react, a bit like the woman who got her car crushed by the tanker truck.

You mean BIKE crushed by the double-tanker truck. “Devil’s advocate,” hindsight.

I do my best to protect myself from M*******s, even in *gasp* rotaries, but at the end of the day, someone can still be taken out by a M******* in a gen two subie.

(She did NOTHING wrong.)

-mr. bill

Colnago Mixte 08-08-18 06:24 PM

Yeah, BIKE not car.

I'm arguing, I mean the devil only is arguing in favor of some basic defensive skills. Right of way is irrelevant in life or death situations, sort that crap out later. Save it for your lawsuit against the broke drunk deadbeat driver who hit you.

mr_bill 08-08-18 06:34 PM


Originally Posted by Colnago Mixte (Post 20496004)
Yeah, BIKE not car.

I'm arguing, I mean the devil only is arguing in favor of some basic defensive skills. Right of way is irrelevant in life or death situations, sort that crap out later. Save it for your lawsuit against the broke drunk deadbeat driver who hit you.

Welcome to spin class. (Not that there is anything wrong with spin class.)

-mr. bill

MikeyMK 08-09-18 02:06 PM

Here, that sign wouldn't be yellow. Ours are blue. And they don't have just a walking man on, there's a walking man and a bicycle. The cyclist wouldn't have been on the road in the first place, he'd have been on that path. Our motorists drive like nutters, the roads here are no place for cyclists.

Colnago Mixte 08-09-18 04:19 PM

And additionally, everyone would be on the wrong other side of the road. That is if they were on a road at all. Which they wouldn't be.

GamblerGORD53 08-09-18 11:35 PM


Originally Posted by mr_bill (Post 20495995)


You mean BIKE crushed by the double-tanker truck. “Devil’s advocate,” hindsight.

I do my best to protect myself from M*******s, even in *gasp* rotaries, but at the end of the day, someone can still be taken out by a M******* in a gen two subie.

(She did NOTHING wrong.)

-mr. bill

Looks like she did nothing RIGHT. FOOL speed ahead, right into the door. They were both going fool speed ahead.
Circles are about merging, EH?
Yup, just as clueless as the crushed bike former rider.

Jim from Boston 08-10-18 05:09 AM

Cyclist struck by hit and run driver in Boston

Originally Posted by TheLibrarian (Post 20495869)
I thought the whole point of roundabouts is to replace traffic lights. Boston is one of the old citites where roads developed naturally from horse trails being small winding and having messed up intersections.

Originally Posted by mtb_addict (Post 20495932)
Roundabouts are great for vehicular traffic flying thru...but risky for bicyclists and pedestrians

Originally Posted by mr_bill (Post 20495961)
That’s actually a rotary. You see the BIG sign that says “ROTARY?”

Anyhow, gen two subie-dude (gender neutral dude, but...) could have crashed into a Peterbilt in the same circumstances, just the “and run” part would have been unlikely.

Thousands of people in cars and on bikes and on foot don’t crash there every day, but let’s blame the rotary.

(Could be worse. Most internut commentators blame her for not using a straight signal.)

Originally Posted by Colnago Mixte (Post 20495976)
Playing devil's advocate, you could say she failed to react, a bit like the woman who got her car crushed by the tanker truck.

You can't just sit back and expect vehicles to always do the right thing 100% of the time, sometimes you need to correct other people's mistakes for them, but in any event you need to react to dangerous situations like that, no one is gonna do it for you.




I frequently encounter “traffic circles” here in Metro Boston, and I am actually acquainted with the cyclist in that video; she’s doing OK.

My strategy is to remain on the outer circumference of the rotary from my entrance to my exit. In particular (but not just for rotaries),

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 15468661)
I use both left and right rearview mirrors, in my case Take-a-Look eyeglass mounted ones. I got the idea from a cycling companion who used only a right hand mirror..

The additional right hand mirror affords a pretty good rearward view, but is particularly useful [to include]:
  1. Riding on the left-hand side of a one-way street
  2. Riding in the middle or left lanes of a two-way thoroughfare
  3. In a rotary
  4. On a curved road to the right
  5. When passing entrance/exit ramps from a freeway [or on a rotary], with the right hand mirror, I can view the ramps to my right, and stay wide of them, while watching upcoming traffic on my left, all while almost continuously looking straight ahead


trailangel 08-10-18 10:19 AM

Looks like a 50-50 responsibility there, and a bad intersection.
But shame on that Subaru driver for not stopping......Share The Love....not

NewATBikeComute 08-10-18 11:36 AM

Not only did the Subaru come from behind the cyclist, and essentially right-hook her, while the cyclist stayed in her lane, then the driver had to swing rapidly to the right to avoid the stopped car in the left lane.


Clearly going too fast for the circumstances, and nearly a more serious accident. Unable to conclude whether the driver was distracted, stupid, intending to harm, under the influence, because there aren't enough facts (for me) to make conclusions, but sure glad the cyclist was not injured more seriously.


That is a tough area; have driven through there, and don't like it during/near rush hour in a car. I would not feel comfortable going through on a bike; this is NOT a criticism of those who are comfortable but an expression of my skill/comfort level.

rickrob 08-10-18 12:20 PM


Originally Posted by NewATBikeComute (Post 20499107)
Not only did the Subaru come from behind the cyclist, and essentially right-hook her, while the cyclist stayed in her lane, then the driver had to swing rapidly to the right to avoid the stopped car in the left lane.


That's what I thought too-- Seemed to me there was plenty of time to see the cyclist in the rotary. The driver then swerves around the stopped car and hits the brakes just behind the second cyclist that had exited the rotary.

Colnago Mixte 08-10-18 12:41 PM

Driver was probably just trying to avoid the bike, at least in their own mind. That's probably what they will say if they're ever caught. I'm not excusing them at all, they created a very bad situation for themselves AND the bike, and should be taken off the road ASAP.

mr_bill 08-10-18 03:35 PM

There are simply TWO rules in a multi-lane rotary.

Yield to traffic already in the rotary.
Yield to traffic when changing lanes.

That’s it. This works no matter if you are going around counter-clockwise or clockwise. (Even when people no longer have a clue what clockwise means.)


To the people who never DRIVE in a multilane rotary, let alone ride in a multilane rotary...

...feel free to share your “expert” opinion with this person about what she did “wrong!”

-mr. bill





northernlights 08-11-18 09:27 PM

For the life of me I don't see how the driver was at fault. The cyclist appears to come out of nowhere and swerves/rams right into the drivers blindspot, in an almost deliberate, suicidal manner. Very strange.

Colnago Mixte 08-12-18 04:44 AM

Normally when you slam into the side of someone else's car, you are considered "at fault". I don't see how being on a bike should give automatically a person a pass. If anything, a bike steers and stops much quicker, so slamming into the side of a car becomes even more inexcusable.

* slams into side of a car later on today *

https://www.focusur.fr/wp-content/up...impson-Doh.png

Brocephus 08-12-18 05:00 AM

It's stories like this that make me thankful for the lightly trafficked rural roads I ride on (with some stretches being very,very lightly trafficked!).
On a related note, I used to know a Canadian guy back when I lived/worked/raced down in Cozumel,Mexico, that traveled around the world, riding and even racing, well into his 50's (and maybe 60's). Well just recently, while surfing through Facebook, I found out that he had been hit by a driver and killed, a year earlier. :(
Also, while shopping in Harbor Freight a couple weeks ago, I stumbled across a local bike mechanic I hadn't seen in ages. He'd been hit by a driver years ago, spent some time in the hospital, and when he got his insurance settlement, used the money to buy a partnership, and job, at what's probably the best bike shop in the area.

Colnago Mixte 08-12-18 05:25 AM

Rural roads can be dangerous too, people go faster and are not expecting to see anyone else, especially someone on a bike. Don't get lulled into a false sense of security.

I like urban riding because I like racing cars, sprinting for lights, avoiding obstacles, pounding on the side of cars, trucks and buses that almost hit me, you feel like you've been in battle after a day of that, nothing like it, provided you survive to ride another day.

Aaapops 08-14-18 10:29 AM

Just want to add a few quotes from MA driver manual:
Rotary Traffic Rules:
... Use your turn signals in the same way as any other intersection. Travel through the rotary and, when you are ready to exit, use your right turn signal.
... For a quarter-turn, or to continue straight ahead, enter the rotary from the right lane. Stay in that lane, and exit onto the right lane.
... In a multiple-lane rotary, there may be traffic on both sides of your vehicle. Do not attempt to move out of your lane until it is safe to do so. If you miss your exit, don’t get upset. Check the traffic around you. If it is safe to do so, go around again and position your vehicle to properly and safely exit the rotary

As a motorist in the presence of bicycles:
• Do Not Cut-Off After Passing: When passing a bicycle traveling in the same direction that is on your right, you must not return to the right until you have safely passed the overtaken bicycle. (Chap. 89, Sec. 2)
• Do Not Make an Abrupt Turn After Passing: When passing a bicycle near an intersection or driveway where you want to turn right, you cannot turn unless you are at a safe distance from the bicycle
• Watch for Bicycles on Your Right: Bicycles can legally ride to the right of motor vehicle traffic. The law says it is not a defense for a motorist causing a crash with a bicycle that the bicycle was to the right of other traffic. (Chap. 85, Sec 11B)

rumrunn6 08-14-18 11:15 AM

zactly, jump to 1:07



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