jhodge

Coming in to work this morning, riding in the bike lane down East Capital street towards the Capitol, a light turned red just as I was approaching the intersection. I stopped, and some twit runs right in to me from behind. He did ask if I was OK, but then proceeded to ***** at me for "stopping right in front of him", while I'm trying to see if the cut on my leg is superficial or not (it is).

Had this been a car, I would have called the police, but I was reluctant to do that to another rider. What would you have done?

umd

That's why I don't like ninja drafters

neilfein

If I was hurt more than superficially, I would have called the police.

JimJimex

+1. My only accident in 4000miles was caused by a ninja.

Wanderer

He chewed you out**********? WTF**********

You should have given it right back ---- idiots are not found only in cages......

nelson249

I was hit by a cyclist last year. I was stopped at a red signal and when the light turned green I proceeded through and was struck broadside by another cyclist at the other side of the intersection as he ran the red light. Both wheels on my new Surly were destroyed and a nice motorist gave me a ride home. I got the motorist to sign a witness statement and got the contact info from the offending cyclist. I called the police (the contact info was incorrect and could not locate the offender) to get a report number to give to my insurance company to get my wheels rebuilt (it was a named item on my policy). I should have called the police to attend the scene and next time I will.

tadawdy

it really irks me that, at least when there is other traffic on the road, I make an effort to be very conscientious of stop signals and lights, and other cyclists will cut me off when it is my ROW. I usually say something relatively unfriendly to them.

closetbiker

maybe I would have told him I was stopping for the red light and ask him why was he trying to run it, didn't he see me right in front of him and if he did, how he could manage to hit me with all the space available around me.

ModoVincere

+1
I would have gone out of my way to make it clear that we, as cyclists, are subject to the same laws as cars, and if we wish to be treated respectably by drivers, we need to respect the laws of the road.

cerewa

If he wants to run a red light, fine, but only if he can see well enough to find a clear path into the intersection AND through the intersection!

Blindrage

Here in Denver we have bike on bike crime all the time. The Lance Wannabees all try to use the MUPs for their training and they are buzzing at 25+ around blind corners. We have one killed every few years when they bump heads while doing it.

In their very small defense though, the roads around here suck for cycling, and the drivers tend to see the roadies as targets as much as users of the road. So the roadies are just trying to find places to ride where they have a better chance of making it home.

To make matters even worse the Denver policy makers have just decided to spend a large sum of the stimulus money on biking lanes in the downtown area to make things better, but the drivers see this as a major waste of money since it does not appear to create long term jobs. IMO we are headed quickly towards a driver/rider road war here.

RogerB

The following vehicle has responsibility to avoid the collision, no?

CommuterRun

Probably would have cussed him out and berated him for his lack of bike handling skills. While controlling the urge to punch him in the nose, as he deserved.

unterhausen

I would have a hard time keeping myself from informing him he was on track to become an organ donor. Hard to believe he was going to run the red light safely if he runs into a cyclist in front of him.

canyoneagle

Yep, I definitely would've given him a piece of my mind, ESPECIALLY because of the fact that he seemed to think he was in the right (by yelling at you). What nerve.

bikegeek57

Always, Yes!!!

though I will say on a very quiet road on my 5:30 am commute I nearly ran into someone head-on (ninja biker) around a long sweeping corner that has plenty of visibility. I got distracted by a bird flying low at wheel height directly in front of me. I'll admit was going fast as this was the first biker I'd seen in a year of riding this road so was not expecting them. Was a close call and very disconcerting to say the least.

Have since adjusted my speed around that corner.

Approaching vehicles also have the responsibility to avoid collision as well.

ryanwood

There isn't much you can do with numbnuts like these, I have seen some pretty stupid manuevers on my commute, but none have involved me. Sounds to me like this guy was high as a kite. Around here, we get the wannabe 20 year old hippies who smoke themselves retarted then hop on their bikes and head out.

Ka_Jun

He blamed you for getting hit? Nice. Whatta d****e.

igknighted

Did you signal your stop? While yes, it is the responsibility of the trailing rider to avoid the collision, if you failed to use the hand signal for stopping, you have part of the blame as well. Just like a car driving with no brakes lights.

Mr. Underbridge

Horsecrap. The *stoplight* serves quite amply as the signal. If you need someone to signal to you that they plan to actually stop at a red light, you probably shouldn't be on the road.

jhodge

No, I did not hand-signal my stop. I'll admit that I haven't generally thought that stops at red lights call for hand signals, since the traffic signal is clearly visible. I can't recall ever seeing a bicycle rider hand-signal stop at a light, only when stopping where there is no obvious reason to do so.

igknighted

(a) As I said, it doesn't absolve the trailing rider of responsibility

(b) If I'm riding on someone's wheel, I am probably not focused on the light and am reliant on signals from the lead rider (assuming the lead rider knows I am there, which the OP never made clear)

(c) Regardless of riders behind, I always signal for any auto traffic as well. You can never signal your intentions too much, and in fact the more you signal, the more respect you will get from traffic.

Did I ever say that the OP was to blame? No. Nor did I imply it. But you can never take your own safety for granted. You are better off being overly safe and alive, then technically in the right and dead, injured, or having a broken bike. And given that, the OP could have possibly avoided this situation by signaling a stop.

maddyfish

You should have called the police, filed a report, and asked that he be ticketed.

Luckily, when a rider ran a stop sign and hit me, he was the only one seriously injured. Dont mess around with these stop sign/light running idiots.

canyoneagle

I generally agree with the benefits of extensive signalling, and, with the notable exception of riding in a paceline, have never signalled for a stopsign or stoplight. I do signal for turns (unless there is no traffic, and yes, I use a mirror). Stop signs and lights are obvious, and IMO do not necessitate my affirmation to anyone else.
In this case, I don't feel that the ninja draft counts as a valid reason to signal. The OP wasn't even aware of his presence.

Pragmatik

That almost happened to me this morning, but the guy swerved around me at the last second. I'm not going to trash people who run red lights or pretend that I never do it. But at a busy intersection like this morning, I'd at least LOOK first. Geez.