Blaster

The other day I got hit by a car while crossing the road. I crossed in a cross walk. I tried to pedal across the road. That is a scary thing to get hit by a car. should I have walked my bike instead of riding?

Crank

Blaster, it may be smart to look both ways, then walk your bike accross... were you wearing a helmet? did it help? would it have helped if you were?

P.S. Are you OK?!

Blaster

Crank,
Yes I'm ok!
Yes I was wearing a helmet!
The traffic was clear left to right. The car that hit me pulled out of a parking lot onto the road. He was directly ahead of me and to the left a little. Thankfully he was just taking off and was not up to speed, so I'm ok. After he hit me, he wasn't going to stop untill I yelled at him.
Even though his car is bigger than my bike, who had the right of way?

LittleBigMan

That sucks. Really sorry!

That's one more reason that we cyclists need to be treated completely as vehicles, encouraged to flow with traffic. It's safer than becoming a pedestrian, and much safer than becoming neither.

I hope you will be o.k. Ride defensively, brother! Check out Effective Cycling principles. They will give you added ammunition for dealing with the rest of traffic.

orguasch

I am sorry to hear that, but if your'e riding on a crosswalk you should have been walking with you bike, anywayz, its now water under the bridge, the most important thing is you're okay, if not, you know the work, right?, sue the driver!!!!!

LittleBigMan

Yeah, you know, come to think of it, we cyclists and pedestrians get blamed too much for motorist foolishness. "I didn't see them." Why weren't you looking? "I couldn't stop in time." Why didn't you slow down?

I am sorry! I reread my post and saw I was overlooking a major problem: motorists who don't give a second thought to how deadly their vehicles are when they do not use them responsibly!

(But still, ride defensively, old man!)

Orguasch, you're right, there's a way to do things (to avoid stupid drivers).

mike

Oscar's right. If you were in the cross-walk, you should have been walking. Not because it is the law or because you may irritate pedestrians, but for safety.

Bicycling on sidewalks and in pedestrian crossings is dangerous because motor vehicle drivers are not expecting you to be there. They do not look down sidewalks (for example) when they turn or proceed across intersections. They look down the street.

I didn't believe this years ago when the pros told me, but through experience I can tell you that it is safer for you as a bicyclist to act as a motor vehicle than it is to act as a pedestrian. If you mix the two, you are bound to get clobbered.

As far as litigation for accidents with motor vehicles is concerned: Well, you can't sue legs back onto your body. No money gets you back to where you were before an accident. Ya, some motorists are idiots. Some are drunks. You just have to look out for yourself and don't think about who is right an who is wrong.