Almost got hit today :(
 

So I almost got hit today by a car on my bike commute into work. It was at a right turn and red light. She had the red and I had the green, I went through the intersection and she decided to go as well. She hit her brakes, I swerve to the left. I point up and say, "HEY! RED LIGHT!" She shakes her head in sorrow. She pulls up next to me, rolls down her window and says, "I'm so sorry." I return with, "It's ok, next time slow down and its not a race. No one wants to go to work anyway." She says, "You're right and its not ok, again I'm sorry."

Something tells me this isn't the first time its happened to her.

I'm nervous now for the ride home. I do everything I can to be seen. Flashing lights on front and back. Bright orange, yellow, or white shirt. I follow ALL and EVERY vehicle and traffic law. Even the one where I need to wait a full light cycle before going through a red light because my bike doesn't have enough metal/not heavy enough to trip the sensor. I'm not sure what else I can do other than question every single car I see, but then cycling isn't fun. Sigh.

This is/was my 2nd almost collision in one week. The other when I was waiting to turn left at a red in the left turn lane at a light, and a car turning left in front of me came right at me. He swerved and went even more left into oncoming traffic (the right turn lane) and sped away.

I'm not one for giving up - but this isn't going well. I have a wife and two young kids.

If you're interested, here are the street views:

Today's incident. The white/silver car turning right going up the hill is where I almost got clobbered:
http://goo.gl/maps/yiVvx

Last week's incident. I'm wear the silver van is, not even that close to the cross walk. My front wheel is probably where the rear of the van is located.
http://goo.gl/maps/LPAae

I am confused. So you have a green light and are going straight? She has a red light so I am assuming she is trying to make a right turn on red?

Correct. She is going to make a right on red.

And you are making a left turn? Now I am understanding.

Going straight, in the right lane as I'm approaching a hill.

http://goo.gl/maps/t1Ia9

Going south on Latona and she was going east on Weiland, turning right on Latona.

It does look like you have a decision to make. I'm just saying, if it was me, given all you've said... I'd be on the bus from now on...

H

The rules are just rules. Just keep an eye out for those who are likely to break them. Play defensive.

Just buy an air horn and blow it when you cross an intersection :D

On a more serious note, if the car is trying to turn on a red, that must mean no cars in your lane so move to the center of the lane instead of close to the shoulder when crossing intersections to give yourself more reaction room/time if a car turns without looking

Yesterday, my I was in my friends Cadillac Escalade ESV (the extra big one). He was making a left at a double turn lane. The small Pontiac in the inside turn lane almost drifted into his gigantic boat of an SUV and would have side swiped us if my buddy hadn't made an extra wide turn. There is no way he couldn't have seen the Caddy; it must have looked like a giant black and chrome wall from his perspective. I ride down a long curvy road that goes a good mile or so without any stop signs; 35mph speed limit. On a few occasions I've seen cars flying down that sucker at ~80mph, basically treating it like some sort of race track to test their car's performance. That's just how people are. To some extent I can't blame them; I guess if you're going to pay $40, $50, $60k or more for a high performance car, then you're going to want to see how it performs.

Moral of the story: (some) people just don't pay attention or give a flying a **** when they're driving and there is no way in the world to avoid all these people if/when we dare venture out on the roads. FYI, your chances of dying in a traffic fatality in your lifetime are ~1 in 75 (I've seen the calculation spit out ~50 - 100 and I guess that number must shoot up significantly for cyclist who dare venture onto the roads. Yeah, it's scary out there. :twitchy:

Turning cars, especially at intersections, are the conflict points most likely to arise. Ride defensively and assume drivers will make mistakes; be happily surprised when they don't. Be visible with bright colors and lights (as you are). The overwhelming majority of drivers are just trying to get from A to B. Give them your best visibility and ride defensively. Control everything you can control. Ride safe!

Be aware, don't assume that drivers will see you or always follow the rules, and have an escape plan.

That's a great response from the driver. She seems genuinely apologetic.

I think you'd be helped by riding more in the center of the lane when going through intersections (when there are no cars behind you, of course). I've found that it really helps drivers see me, since they're not expecting to see a fast-moving vehicle in the shoulder, and usually just make a quick glance before pulling out.


I'm not sure what was going on in the second incident you describe. Maybe someone who thought he was in a straight lane?

Be safe out there. You're doing all the right things.

Your doing all the right things riding just like you were a motorcycle and obeying all traffic laws. I assume Rochester is a fairly high traffic city and that makes things worse for you. Just keep doing all the right things and try to read what the drivers are intending to do at all the lights and intersections. Those cities are just hard to cycle in and I can't think of anything else you can do to help that. Best of luck to you and stay safe.

That's a good idea. The lane I ride in starts at the bottom of the hill and maybe 2-3 cars pass me in the lane next to me going up at that time in the morning. I can afford to move to the middle at least through the intersection.

The second incident - the driver was just snoozing and made a fast correction to avoid hitting me. Maybe he thought he was turning onto a 2 lane street.. Good thing though with all of this is that the ride home yesterday and the ride in this morning went great (minus the traffic lights green light bulb being burned out).

If an intersection is dangerous, I stand up and try to look bigger. I get out in the lane where any one should be able to see me. I stare at the driver and if i don't think they see me, I either wave hello madly or point at where I'm going and yell WHOA.

This works pretty well for me. If still no good, I map out another route if at all possible. What's another five miles?

I want to try one of these whistles, like I'm some kind of lost lifeguard- http://www.fox40world.com/index.cfm?...atalog&id=4130

I have a small Marine Horn on the inside of my Right Drop Bar. Quick and Easy to activate.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=329755

I have only been commuting full time for about 6 months, but I do it in one of the most heavily congested traffic areas in the country full of bad drivers. I've had a few close calls like that and almost on a daily basis I get buzzed way too close for comfort by a few different cars/trucks. All I can say is stay hyper alert. I anticipate people doing stupid stuff and that has already kept me out of a few close calls or worse. When I'm coming to an intersection and going straight with the right of way I go slow enough to stop on a dime and I can tell which people are going to try to pull a left turn in front of my path. I did ride a motorcycle for a while and the best thing I did was take a rider safety class. And most if not all of what I learned applies to riding a bike in traffic. Always be scanning 3-4 cars in front of you at least. If you become complacent or are only watching the cars right next to you that is when you'll get in trouble. I say keep riding, be confident and own the road and stay safe. (easier said then done sometimes)

Always be on the defensive - even in a car. A lot of folks out there are oblivious - they don't even see other vehicles, trees, brick walls, etc, let alone cyclists and pedestrians. I've been amazed in my couple of months of bike-commuting how many people are texting or fiddling with their phones in their laps while driving.

You should take comfort/pride in the fact that you were doing your part by being observant and saw the impending danger. :thumb:

I agree. It sounds like she was truly sorry (and she should be).

I've been in the same sort of situation. It's hard not freak out in that instant with all the adrenaline and everything.

You did well.