genec

https://www.10news.com/news/23890924/detail.html

TORREY PINES, Calif. -- A 22-year-old woman walking her dog in Torrey Pines was struck from behind by a bicyclist and seriously injured today, police said.

The woman was walking east in the 2000 block of Carmel Valley Road about 1:10 a.m. when the bicyclist knocked her to the ground, San Diego police Officer Dino Delimitros said.

The woman was believed to have suffered a fractured skull, resulting in swelling of the brain, he said.

The bicycle rider fled, Delimitros said.

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1:10 AM??? Several thoughts come to mind... was the cyclist using lights? Was the woman wearing reflective clothing?

Walking the dog at 1 AM?

Who was drinking?

Mr Danw

Why do you expect a pedestrian to wear reflective clothing?
Would it have kept the cyclist from leaving the scene?
Drinking maybe, stupid, yes.

gcottay

If I were the rider I would have had an inadequate headlight and could well have been lulled into inattention by the late hour and lack of traffic. I would, however, have stopped and rendered aid.

If I were the walker I could have wandered into the path of the cyclist, spacing out in the late-night quiet.

HoustonB

It doesn't explicitly state that she was walking in the road / or if she was struck on the sidewalk. Google Street View shows a good sidewalk on one side of the road and reasonable bike lanes on both sides. Street lights look few and far apart.

Without knowing where she was actually struck and if it was after stepping into the bike lane from between parked cars - it is impossible to know who might have been at fault.

On the plus side, if she had been hit by car (on that road) my guess is she would either now be a vegetable or dead. Hope she makes a full recovery and the cyclist is a vaginal-irrigation-bag for not stopping to help.

genec

It is a prudent thing to do at that hour in the dark.

No, it would not have kept a cyclist from leaving the scene, but wearing light colored or reflective clothing may have prevented the collision... Ninja pedestrians can be a hazard to themselves.

BTW I am not blaming the victim... merely suggesting a night time safety tip long acknowledged by safety nannies.
https://walking.about.com/od/weather/...visibility.htm
https://www.ehow.com/how_2314326_stay...ing-night.html
https://www.associatedcontent.com/art..._safe_way.html
https://www.bikewalktwincities.org/safety/walking-night

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The cyclist, approaching from the rear, AND leaving the scene, is clearly at fault!

crhilton

People moving so fast they can't see pedestrians with dark clothing should have sufficient lighting. It's a good idea to wear bright and reflective clothing, but I would never blame someone (even partially) for getting hit without it.

I'm guessing the guy was riding on the sidewalk on his way home figuring:
1. He's not driving a car drunk, or so tired he might as well be.
2. He's safer on the sidewalk cause he's not quite all there.

But that's just guessing based on my own prejudices. He's a real scumbag for not stopping and rendering aid.

Seattle Forrest

"The cyclist was not wearing a helmet at the time he was hit by a truck..."

The pedestrian can wear clothing as dark as Dick Cheney's soul; a cyclist at 1 am should have enough light to see anything a foot away. And we know the cyclist got close enough to see the pedestrian, because he hit her. But the real ahole move was to flee.

longbeachgary

Wow - you guys don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. Just make stuff up, it's cool.

Digital_Cowboy

You ask some good questions. As for walking the dog at 0100 just like us when they have to go, they have to go.

crhilton

If you believe we're arguing that he didn't have lights you're wrong. I'm arguing that, whether he had lights or not, he should have sufficient ones to see a pedestrian in dark clothing as he approaches them.

Not sure what "making stuff up" you're referring to. So far I just see tangential arguments forming around this.

Digital_Cowboy

I carry some pretty bright lights on my bike and there have been times when I've been riding at night when I've had a hard time seeing pedestrians/joggers on dimly lit streets. My brightest lights is a Marwi 12w Quartz halogen system. It consists of two independently switchable lights off of one battery. With it I am capable of lighting street signs up that are several blocks ahead of me. Even my "small" 3-LED headlight is capable of lighting up street signs about 2 blks in front of me.

And as I say even with all of that light that I am generating it can be difficult on a dimly lit road to see someone who is wearing dark colored clothing.

noisebeam

If a cyclist is driving in a location where pedestrians are typically expected they should have a good headlight when dark.

If a pedestrian is walking in a location where vehicles are typically expected they should wear reflective gear and/or light when dark.

Digital_Cowboy

Agreed, I've seen people out jogging (lots of time in the bike lane) dressed in dark clothes, no reflective clothing, and no lights. And as I've said even with the bright lights that I have mounted to my bike they can be hard to see from more than a block or two away.

ghettocruiser

Opinion: A cyclist should be able to see and avoid a pedestrian dressed in black lying across the road/MUP on the most dimly lit part of the ride.

I'm serious. Either less speed or more light. (I prefer the latter).

That's not to say I've never hit a newly-fallen log lying on the trail on a dark rainy November evening. Just that it was 100% my fault. And to my credit, I stopped with ten inches to spare that January night after the City of Toronto removed the river bridge on the MUP and forgot to add safety fencing. That would have been quite a swim.

Now, a person jumping out from a sidewalk or some other erratic pedestrian motion may be a different story.

Digital_Cowboy

Hmm, let's see I have a:

Marwi Pro-Elite 12w Quartz Halogen twin beam light capable of lighting the road up for at least 3blks
A Serfas 3-LED headlight capable of lighting the road up for at least 2blks
2 Serfas Guppy headlights in blink mode

How much more light do I need? And even with all of that a pedestrian dressed in black/dark colors more than a couple of blocks away can be hard to see, especially if the road is dimly lit.

I also have the Marwi Elite light mounted to my helmet, but I need to rebuild the battery pack for it.

If a person is going to be walking on a dimly lit street in the middle of the night then common sense says that they should be dressed so that they can be seen.

Seattle Forrest

They jog in the bike lanes to annoy us. My local MUP is divided for a mile or two, into a bike path and a pedestrian path. Some peds will stop at the fork, think it over for a moment, then continue on down the bike path.

Still, the question isn't whether you can see the pedestrian from a block or two away ... it's whether you've got enough light to see them before a collision. And I still say that if you can't see someone in a black hoodie five feet in front of you, you need to walk your bike home, and go to the store tomorrow for more lighting. You can get startled as you swerve around them - you just can't actually hit 'em.

sanitycheck

I don't see a problem here; you don't need to see someone more than a couple of blocks away.

If, on the other hand, you ever find that you're having enough trouble seeing ninja pedestrians that you might hit one...then whatever lights you're running, slow the hell down; you're outdriving your sight line.

And yeah, it's wise to wear reflective clothing at night, but it's not the pedestrian's obligation to do that. People were walking long before there were bikes and cars, and the fact that we've got faster vehicles now doesn't mean they have to stop walking at night, or wear a special costume for it. If a cyclist doesn't see a ped who is otherwise walking responsibly, then zero blame goes to the pedestrian; the cyclist is the one who ****ed up.

And Gene, I normally really respect what you write...but wondering why she was on the road at 1 am is way out of line. She was walking at 1 am because that's what time it was; she doesn't owe anyone an excuse.

(Doesn't it bother you when someone asks that same question about a cyclist: "what were they doing on the road at that hour?" Had a cop pull me over once late at night, solely to ask why I was there, where I was coming from, and where I was going...while cars streamed by without provoking any questions from him. He didn't understand why I asked for his name and badge number.)

CyciumX

I used two magicshines. People try hard to not see me.

B. Carfree

+ 1, with the emphasis of ped walking responsibly. (Personally, I always assume they are going to dart out in front of me; it often happens.)

Digital_Cowboy

SF,

I've seen that too on the Pinellas Trial. Walkers, joggers, and roller bladers in the bike lane. And as with your MUP there are sections that are separated with the bike side going to the left and the ped side continuing to the right. I've also have seen cyclists riding two abreast and when they approach another cyclist headed in the opposite direction stay two abreast forcing them into the ped side of the MUP. One would think that common sense and decency would dictate that when encountering another cyclist headed in the opposite direction that the fall into a single file line so as not to force the other cyclist into the ped side.

I agree with ya that if they're that close that unless one has some sort of serious vision problem that one should be able to see someone who is 5' in front of them. What about a nice friendly little Gibbs slap to the back of their head as you pass? ;-)

Digital_Cowboy

Sanity Check,

While I agree with most of what you say, if a pedestrian is going to leave the relative safety of the sidewalk to walk or jog or what have you in either the bike lane or on the right side travel lane than they need to take some responsibility for their safety and not expect that they can dress as a ninja and have everyone else who is using the road to keep an eye out for them. That if you ask me is just good common sense.

What did his supervisor say when you reported him?

ghettocruiser

It sounds like you have more than enough. I can't see pedestrians two blocks away. I can certainly see them a hundred feet out, which is more than enough at bike commuting speeds.

Correct. And my common sense says the overtaking motorists should have their headlights on, but I'm not going to rely on reflective tape rather than lights.

genec

Update on this...

https://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...ractured-skul/
Walking a dog at 9:00 PM sounds far more plausible. Now as far as the cyclist... that is another issue. Hit and run is ALWAYS a bad thing and terribly irresponsible. I hate to wish harm on anyone else... but perhaps this miscreant deserves a taste of their own medicine.

SCROUDS

I'm all for everyone taking personal responsibility, but we have absolutely no details. Lights on a bicycle exist to see AND be seen. If a ped has to cross a road, how likely are they to see or hear a ninja cyclist either in a bike lane or in the travel lane? Was the ped just not paying attention? Was the cyclist just not paying attention. Was the cyclist on the road? Was the ped on the road? It goes on and on.

Sure it would be nice for the ped to wear bright clothes, or even better, reflectives. But there are many times I'm walking out after midnight, and I don't prep for that. Just like if i'm on the bike, I don't really prep either, I just turn on my lights and go. Thankfully the city has at least 1 light per block on every street, and I will call them if one is out. If I were in darker spots, I'd be upgrading my headlights.

dogbitteneear

Here is a question not yet asked: Did that rider have a ipod or something playing loudly? If so he/she were not using the full
sense----sight and sound.

Bob