So long story short… my friend got into cycling last year and into her first car/bike altercation yesterday on her morning ride. The classic she’s in the bike lane and an SUV comes up behind her and turns right causing her to run into the side. She’s pretty much ok with a brace on her knee and a couple areas of mild road rash.

After a short stink in the ER she came into work and while telling me the story she starts getting teary eyed and upset. I ask her what’s wrong, expecting that she was still a little shook up, but instead she’s sad because the driver of the brand new SUV got his license less than hours before and it was his first day driving to school. Talk about a cyclist with a big heart!

After all of this I was feeling a little ashamed since I have bit of a temper and tend to let people in cars know how I feel verbally and visually but after talking to my friend I’m going to try to be a little better.

I'm thinking of a number....the license plate number...of this SUV... and the guy driving it, so I can stay far, far away... Yep, that's what I'm thinking

Her empathy is commendable, but her pity is wasted on this guy.

hopefully he doesn't still have it. the drivers license that is...

Pity for someone who drives to school? Misplaced.

Glad your friend survived.

Able to drive to school at 16? Parents bought him a brand new SUV as a birthday present? Makes me ill and I live in an area like that. Even makes my 16 yr old daughter ill. She had me get her a used Neon.

I hope it scared the hell out of him!
I don't think we should feel sorry for the guy.
He got off easy for what might be a valuable lesson.
No one was hurt badly, and he will drive again, and hopefully, be more aware of cyclists.

Why didn't he yield to her? Poor driver education? Text messaging?

I'm glad she's ok.

Az

in a hurry, 16 years old, stupid, talking on the phone, talking with others in the new toy mommy and daddy bought him, stupid (I know but it deserves to be listed twice)?

With the popularity of SUV's, I'm starting to worry about parents giving their old SUV's to their 16 y/o's to drive around in. It's a scary thought.

I hope you meant "stint" but "stink" works well, too, if a bit funnier.

+1 for the misplaced pity, although I don't particularly like the class-warfare bits some are posting. Some of us were raised as rich kids, you know, and we turned out all right despite the bourgeois up-bringing we received.

Stupid is stupid, no matter HOW much money you've got. (Although I guess you could say that money enables stupid to be MORE stupid, no?)

Does this this happen to anyone else very often? I feel I need to bang on someones window once a month so they don't turn "right" over me. Turning right as a driver is pretty much a free pass, hence right on red etc., I just don't think people driving are conscious that there can be people there. And just the fact that idiots procreate faster than intelligent people.

Oh and I forgot got to add that the 16 yr old kept driving, he heard something and thought it was the curb! A good samaritan ran him down.

I drive a baby slayer, and I drive like I used to from time to time, but I always yield to cyclists and give then plenty of room as well as a wave, they probably understand when they see the Cannondale and Sidi decals in my rear window.

The 'typical' driver of a big SUV will never get any pity from me, and I hate them and their constant complaining about gas prices, cyclists and such.

My nemesi these days are minivans or the duali trucks with trailor towing mirrors, but that's another story.