Who is at fault? Bicyclist or Trucker?

[Sharky]

Where I live it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk in business areas. Children riding on sidewalks in residential neighborhoods is all right. Riding on the wrong side of the street is always illegal. So here, a cop on the scene would have sighted the cyclist. Glad he didn't get squashed. That could have been a fatal lesson in traffic law.

I actually had a conflict with a cyclist riding on the wrong side of the coast highway. I'm trying to back out from a legal parking spot into traffic that is hitting 80. Cyclist on wrong side of road going probably 20. I laid on my horn, he circled back to pick a fight. CHP, who had witnessed the whole thing, got involved. He wrote the cyclist a ticket. Told him that if I had hit him, he would have been financially responsible for any damage to my car.

Riding on the wrong side of the road is always illegal. Riding on the sidewalk varies by location and age. IMO, if you are riding on the wrong side of the road on a sidewalk you need to treat every curb cut like a stop sign. I do it to avoid one intersection by my shop that is a death trap if you ride with traffic in one direction. It's just the way it's set up. I'm breaking the law, but it's the safest way through for everybody. You do it, you have to assume the risk and assume that you are invisible.

 

[Al Soldano]

Oh, BTW, my dad was hit by an F250 in a similar manner - I had warned him not to ride his bike on the sidewalk.

I'm glad your dad was hit by an F250 while cycling on the sidewalk.

 

[One-Off]

You don’t understand how big the blind spots are on those trucks, I do from experience.

So, aren't truck drivers instructed to be hyper aware of blind spots? Also the biker did not pop out from behind bushes or some other obstruction. It was a clear, open space. The trucker didn't look and notice the biker further up the road? Also, if it's legal to ride on the sidewalk I doubt they specify which direction you can ride. If it's legal to ride on the sidewalk I still think it's the trucker's fault. In any case, the biker was guilty of stupidity.

Back up cameras are now standard and blind spot warning systems common on cars these days. Shouldn't they have cameras for truck blind spots by now?

Night time is a whole other ball game. I always tell my daughter, "Never assume anyone sees you when you are walking at night." I also tell her never assume someone is going to stop at redlight let alone a stop sign. I also keep a sharp eye when passing through crosswalks at night. Just last night, before reading this, I was coming to a greenlight and about to make a right turn and at the last minute saw a lady on an ebike coming (fast) across in the crosswalk. If I was even a little distracted that could have ended badly.

Be careful out there folks.

 

[TeamScam]

I do it to avoid one intersection by my shop that is a death trap if you ride with traffic in one direction. It's just the way it's set up. I'm breaking the law, but it's the safest way through for everybody. You do it, you have to assume the risk and assume that you are invisible.

I do this at certain places. Offensive Driving or more like cycling by pedestrian rules. I don't trust drivers to be looking out for the random guy on a bike.

But to hell with the self righteous $8000 road bike and uniform set. Street people can be forgiven if they're not to belligerent or indignant about stuff. If a bike is on a heavy fast artery, they need to check their confidence and keep their head on a swivel or find another route imo.

 

[Chocki]

I always assume the other vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist etc who‘s actions I’m contemplating/trying to discern is going to do something not only erratic, but also erroneous, and egregious

 

[manbearpig]

So, aren't truck drivers instructed to be hyper aware of blind spots? Also the biker did not pop out from behind bushes or some other obstruction. It was a clear, open space. The trucker didn't look and notice the biker further up the road? Also, if it's legal to ride on the sidewalk I doubt they specify which direction you can ride. If it's legal to ride on the sidewalk I still think it's the trucker's fault. In any case, the biker was guilty of stupidity.

Back up cameras are now standard and blind spot warning systems common on cars these days. Shouldn't they have cameras for truck blind spots by now?

Night time is a whole other ball game. I always tell my daughter, "Never assume anyone sees you when you are walking at night." I also tell her never assume someone is going to stop at redlight let alone a stop sign. I also keep a sharp eye when passing through crosswalks at night. Just last night, before reading this, I was coming to a greenlight and about to make a right turn and at the last minute saw a lady on an ebike coming (fast) across in the crosswalk. If I was even a little distracted that could have ended badly.

Be careful out there folks.

Yeah good companies like the one I work for are very training centric around driving. But you only have control over yourself, not a biker/pedestrian that assumes they have right of way.

he was likely hyper vigilant but there are multiple factors at play in that scenario and no driver has the capability to focus on all those factors at the same time.

 

[doc_flavonoid]

bike guy at fault.

had it been a pedestrian, trucker at fault.

go figure

 

[plasticbertrand]

The

Agree somewhat however, the cyclist was on wrong side of road so technically in the wrong.

If it was a pedestrian, he would get run over too.

When a car hits a pedestrian on a sidewalk, it's generally not pedestrian's fault.

 

[plasticbertrand]

You don’t understand how big the blind spots are on those trucks, I do from experience.

Always make eye contact when crossing.

Oh I know, I'm just saying that the fact that blind spot is huge should make them 10x as cautious when crossing sidewalks.

 

[manbearpig]

Oh I know, I'm just saying that the fact that blind spot is huge should make them 10x as cautious when crossing sidewalks.

As it should make bikers as well.

but clearly not in this case, or often at all.

 

[000]

for certain when driving u have to expect bikes to do the wrong thing
and when biking u have to expect cars to do the wrong thing
always expect the worst

 

[Bullnutts]

In general, law enforcement has the following opinion:

Bicycles are to be operated like any vehicle, which means they are to observe the rules of the road. No running red lights, stop signs, riding across crosswalks, going against the flow of traffic, etc.

The truck driver is not without fault as it appears they are coming from a private driveway/access point, thus it is there responsibility to ensure that the way is clear in both directions prior to proceeding onto the public roadway.

For this reason, I would list the truck driver as Unit 1, making them responsible.

 

[bonzer5fin]

you suck bullnutts. no comma for a reason. bike idiot is, well, an idiot. seeing his melon pop would have been glorious. merry xmas, southers.

 

[GromsDad]

If it was a pedestrian, he would get run over too.

When a car hits a pedestrian on a sidewalk, it's generally not pedestrian's fault.

Pedestrians generally aren't as dumb as bicyclists. Also, the fancier the bicycle and bicyclist's clothes the dumber the rider.

 

[Lance Mannion]

Pedestrians generally aren't as dumb as bicyclists.

I think that's trending in the wrong direction. Civilization has caused a lot of people to lose their basic self preservation skills.

 

[Chocki]

I think that's trending in the wrong direction. Civilization has caused a lot of people to lose their basic self preservation skills.

Distracted drivers and pedestrians for sure bro but also people just seem kinda disconnected from reality and the fact that actions have consequences