How is that not the riders fault though? There was a gap left by the driver to let people in and out of that parking lot. Why didnt he slow down and show some caution???


Im glad the OP is alive, things could have been mch worse.

Not the riders fault at all IMO. The driver should of checked to be sure it was clear before proceeding. There is a bike lane present.

I don't know about that. In my city bike lanes arent common. So people wouldnt check for a lane there while turning.

It doesn't matter. When executing a left turn across traffic, it is incumbent on the vehicle making the turn to ensure that ALL TRAFFIC LANES are clear before making the turn, because the people in their traffic lanes (including the bike lane) have the RIGHT OF WAY. You violate someone else's right of way, you're at fault. Period.

And just because a driver is ignorant of the presence of a bike lane does NOT excuse them of liability.

Put into a slightly different context, if, instead of a bike lane, that was an additional motor traffic lane, and all the other lanes had stopped due to traffic, but that lane was clear, the person in that last traffic lane wouldn't be at fault for a collision, the driver left turning across their lane would be. Same principle applies here.

I don't mean to sound dismissive, but these things do happen. My two primary rules about cycling in traffic are 1. Predict others, and 2. Be Predictable.

Drivers won't see you. Or they'll misjudge your speed or distance. They'll be inconsiderate.

I don't necessarily agree with cycling as if you're invisible. We should TRY to be as visible as possible, which means taking an entire lane on occasion where it helps drivers see us. But of course, you can't assume they see you when in cycle.stig's situation. The most common type of car/bike collisions where the car driver is at fault are the left and the right hooks. cycle.stig's situation is a bit different but similar.

I try to let these things roll off my back. I don't always succeed. The sooner I forget it, the better off I am. Sometimes someone does something like this and I can forget about it in a minute. Those are the lucky times.

Confronting the drivers rarely helps things. I'd say in this case, it wasn't a bad thing and the driver might be more conscious. But we'll probably never know.

Right of way. That's true.

I still feel as if he blew by that opening without being defensive.

Totally agree. The collision was car driver's fault. But a cyclist should predict and expect such scenarios. So it was his fault really. You can't expect to be seen by approaching traffic when riding next to other cars. Slow down, make sure, or use cars to your left as a shield. Or ride faster in front of cars in your lane if you can. Whatever makes it possible for car drivers to see you.

In that video, car driver couldn't see the cyclist until it was too late.


Default speed of every cyclist from an average motorist's perspective is "slow enough for me to do what I wanted to". That formula works 99% of the time. I get amazed when people actually stop to let me pass/through. Even then, it is often because another car is coming behind me.

I have to say you are pretty lucky. I have been commuting in Northern Virginia since March this year and I have almost lost count of the "near misses". The closest being two weeks ago, approaching a stop light in the bike lane. There were about 6 cars in line, none had turn signals on to make the right. As I got to the bumper of a full size window van, 2nd in line the light turned green. That meant that I was at the corner, running about 12 mph when the van turned right into me. I braked and swerved right along the adjacent curb to avoid the collision. My shoulder was inches away from the side of the van as I came to a stop on the other road. The driver never saw me. He had turned his signal on just as the light turned green and I had already passed him.

Stay safe.

I made no comment on the survival value of assuming one's right of way.

Motorist's brains compartmentalize the world into two broad categories: Moving objects: Cars, trucks, farm equipment, emergency vehicles, and Non-moving objects: Mailboxes, trash cans, road kill, fire hydrants, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Not being seen is part of the program unfortunately. Not much you could have done better - been in your cleats many times. Just stay upright when possible. Nicely done and glad you didn't get scuffed up as well.

Yes indeed. For every wreck at an intersection with a stop light, someone proceeded through a green light assuming they were safe to do so. Right of way has nothing to do with safety.

That being said, I don't see how the OP did anything wrong here. It is prudent to be wary but impossible to "yield" at every auto encounter as most commuters have dozens every ride. The OP was paying attention when the woman ran a stop sign "hit-man style". All he could do was emergency evasion action, which he did successfully because he was paying close attention to the situation.

If a motorist does not over look a cyclist completely, they can totally misjudge a cyclist's speed, or the amount of space they may have in their trying to share a lane. In the OP's situation, using a strobe headlight was helpful, but if the OP's headlight is too focused, as to increase it's forward lighting capabilities, it may not have had the lumen capability to be seen by motorists pulling out from the far side of the intersection, so excessive light spillage can be a good thing at certain times.

Could be... But I think that what I take out of this and my situation is that no matter what preparations we make, we simply cannot avoid every dangerous encounter. Some have suggested that maybe I should have taken the lane. Maybe then this driver would have noticed me and waited, but maybe I would still have been missed and t-boned without room to move. We all know best practices for road safety, but the bottom line is at some point it's out of our hands, and we just have to be ready for the inevitable. There are road users who for whatever reason may hit you even with a fully lit Christmas tree on your back. Not to downplay preparation, lane placement, etc. But this is where simply paying attention and being ready for anything is all you can do. Luckily I was paying attention in my case.

As in any of my bicycle commutes, situational awareness is always paramount, on par in making oneself as visible as one possibly can, using both and not solely relying on either one.

Yeah in that video the bike rider just sailed through that obvious intersection--I'd be hit everyday if I rode like that. I ride as if everyone cannot see me AND is pretty much out to kill me. For example as I approach a fully stopped car entering the road, even if I think I make eye contact I still automatically slow down and loop around the back of the car. I figure there is a slim chance they can backup fast enough to kill me. That's the way I drive

I know it pisses some driver's off...I can see them stopped and waiting for me to pass only to experience me slowing down and going behind them. Heck, I wish they would just go like I wasn't there at all--it annoys me when car drivers wait for me to pass in front of them. I will not.

What gets on my nerves is drivers that stop, motion for you to pass...then honk there horn and floor it before you get all the way across. Nearly got spun around like that because a driver suddenly decided they were too nice for letting me across. I know better than to trust them now. I either wait to across with same-way traffic (car shield) or wait for the cars to come to a dead stop and cross with foot traffic. If I don't have either one then it gets a little scary and I have to be beyond high alert, almost to the point of growing eyes on the sides and back of my head. There are some drivers out there...that really don't like bicyclists. It's almost like that whole dog bites mailman thing.

I discussed this video in another thread, the cyclist in the video has since changed his riding procedures in being more aware of this type of incident.

It's very frustrating that the burden of defensive driving is more on cyclists than motorists. With all the motor vehicle safety features that have been added over the years, roads being designed to accommodate motorists, only goes to show why US motorists have become so complacent in their driving habits.