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Old July 30th 20, 11:21 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
JBeattie
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Posts: 5,870
Default Boston Cycling - You make the call

On Thursday, July 30, 2020 at 1:38:44 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2020-07-29 16:48, wrote:
On Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at 1:54:13 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2020-07-29 11:58, AMuzi wrote:
https://nypost.com/video/can-i-get-a...ly-close-call/




unclear to me.


Looks like technically the woman is at fault because she could not
have had a left green arrow, just a general green and then one must
wait out oncoming traffic. What she did could amount to a
hit-and-run.

The cyclist was, however, riding recklessly. Blowing past stopped
traffic on the right at such high speed is not smart, whether in a
lane or in a bike lane. Regardless of vehicle used. I never do
that.

Here in California I have seen motorcyclists do that while
lane-splitting, blasting down a lane divide. I guess most of them
don't really need social security, they won't live that long.

-- Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/


I was riding along in the bike lane pretty fast - about 20 mph to get
through a light before it changed and the asshole in the left turn
lane turned RIGHT and I came within inches of buying it. In another
case there is an exit from what is essentially a freeway - the San
Mateo bridge that stops at a light in Hayward. My light changed and
no one was moving. I was just about to take off and some horses ass
coming off of the bridge blew right through that red light at 60 mph
or so at least 5 seconds after the light had changed red for him.
From now on I'm VERY careful there and do not move until the traffic
in my direction moves. I guess those drivers weren't texting after
all.


I saw several of those during one ride of a mere 47 miles. Since quite a
while I do not trust green lights.


It's the blessing/curse of bike lanes. They are lanes after all, and legally speaking, the turning car in the video violated the right of way of the bicyclist who was through traffic IN A LANE (damn it, a green lane to boot!). The problem is that the bicyclist was hidden behind the stopped cars, which is exactly the problem with sheltered bike lanes. They create the same sort of chute arrangement, and when you come to an intersection, you better be paying attention and not flying along.

If there were no bike lane, passing on the roadway on the right is illegal in most states (not Oregon anymore). Before the new law, I tried a similar collision case and lost. Waaah. More than 50% fault allocated to my client, who was not in a bike lane and just whipping along the right side of a bunch of stopped cars when a car entered the roadway from the right into a hole made by stopped traffic. Whap.

I don't usually do plaintiffs' PI and took the case as a favor. My experts were a king PDX traffic cop (who was gung-ho about bikes passing on the right because it moved traffic) and, of all people, Mia Birk, queen of infrastructure and Franks arch enema. https://www.amazon.com/Joyride-Pedal.../dp/0615384110 She called me while writing that book. I think I'm in it somewhere, but I'm too cheap to buy it. Shortly after losing my case, they put a bike lane in where the accident occurred, but I didn't get a do-over.

-- Jay Beattie.
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