so yeah -

no turn signal. i decided to pass on the right. she decided to take a right turn. i was really close to her car, so her door hit my front wheel before i had a chance to turn with her.

i got knocked over. first thing i did was check my bike - i managed to slow down reasonably well before we collided - and there was no visible damage. it was clear from the reaction of other drivers that she had made a bonehead move. since i had to be in work in 5 minutes, and she seemed genuinely concerned and sorry i decided to let it slide.

i have a little scuff on my right elbow and knee, but other than that i'm no worse for wear. i'm not sure i did the right thing by not getting her info. one of the drivers who stopped was a cyclist - he said that he got 2g from a similar accident a month ago. since i'm fine and my bike's fine, i wouldn't feel right about trying to claim damage.

i also am at a loss for how i could have avoided it. as soon as she decided to turn we made contact.

ugh.

Man...never pass on the right.

glad you're ok man

dude, you're a ****in' saint! glad you're ok!

Sers, I'm pretty sure "I got hit by a car" is a passable late-for-work excuse. Glad you (and your bike) weren't hurt, but I'd have gotten her info.

props for being level headed enough to handle the situation calmly. a lot of people would start yelling and threatening to sue. glad you're alright though. take it easy on the way home, okay.

Yeah, I'd say its at least half your fault. Never allowed to pass on the right, especially if you're riding in the shoulder.

Glad to hear that there was minor damage and the bike is ok. That woman is probably thanking her lucky stars that you were nice and let it go.

rvabiker

From VDOT

Edit: Not saying I disagree with you about the danger, just the legality.

Bike lanes in philly are all on the right. Do bike lanes negate the no-passing-on-the-right rule?

Edit: Nevermind.

yeah it's a major road. two lanes on each side. she turned onto a tiny sidestreet - normally i'm just riding alongside traffic, but i weave through it at stops.

i'd say it was %10 my fault. she failed to signal and hit me. i'm cautious, not psychic - there's only so much i can go on to figure out whether someone's going to turn in front of me.

i could tell that she knew that she had done something wrong. i wasn't exactly calm, but that made the difference.

let's say there's a 2-way 2-lane road. when traffic is backed up because of a red light up ahead, do you change over so you ride on the double-yellow line? so, you start passing cars on the left. then, let's say traffic starts moving and cars start to pass you. then you should somehow get back to the right-hand shoulder?

If there is a stop sign or light coming up (with a right turn), I hop to the center or left of the lane and then get back over after the stop. I'll also do this if I see a car ahead of me turning right.

I do whatever it takes not to be on the right of cars near turns. I've had way too many oblivious people almost sideswipe me.

vdot?
edit: nevermind i thought it was directed at OP

obviously, i go on the left of right-hand turn lanes. and of course if a car ahead of you is turning right.

but for those who say "never pass on the right", i don't see how that's possible in any kind of ride or daily commute.

psssss please.....

pass however you deem necessary...just be careful

Well...I stand corrected on the legality...that's actually good to know. I still stand by the reasoning that its a bad idea to pass on the right...I do it myself but that doesn't make it a good idea.

It's inevitable in the stop and go traffic in the city. One minute the cars are passing you on your left, then they all hit a stop sign and you go by them all. Then they all catch up and pass again, then they hit a red light and you go past them. It's back and forth. Eventually one of these people quick turns into a side street or driveway and cuts you off.

it is inevitable to pass on the right. on a busy city street that's solid cars, if you go to the left at every turn, it'll be hell to get back over. in most cases. so if cars aren't signalling, i pass on the right and watch really closely. same thing almost happened to me...if i wasn't watching closely, it would have. skid and turn to the rescue. and screaming "use your ****ing signal!!!"

thing is, i don't think it would have happened after dark. my cateye hl-500ii headlight is like the beacon of gondor. along with my tailight and my bag light i think i stick out at night.

sers are you ever gonna come out and ride with us?

i work 3-11 m-f , so i can't make the tuesday night rides. that's why i'm psyched about tomorrow.

this is what i look like:



the slayer patches on my collar are a dead giveaway. i can give you my number if you want to meet up there.

You could still do better! I actually just took pictures of the most recent revision of my headlight rig tonight:

https://www.basementfreaks.com/galler...d57935f4c10ca3

Next up will be the red cold-cathode tubes on the seat stays I think...

that's what i do. usually once the light turns green and traffic starts moving there are gaps between cars because drivers are text messaging their girlfriends, applying lipstick, reading, or otherwise not paying attention enough to stay up on the next bumper, so there's lots of room for changing over to the right lane. keeps the ride nice and fluid.

but sers- i've been milliseconds from a situation like yours. not much you can do but maneuver like crazy.

avoid passing on the right.