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"The accident took place at 7:40 a.m. in the 1900 block of R Street NW, just north of Dupont Circle. Police said Swanson was riding in or next to a designated bike lane. She and the truck driver were traveling west on R Street when the truck driver turned right onto 20th Street, hitting her, police said."
Turning RIGHT? Oh who woulda guessed??! People people people.....bicyclists have the right of way (yes, thats what I said, the RIGHT OF WAY. In case you are unsure what that means, it means, you let them go first MMk?) before you and your big honkin car can turn right. So look to your right before you turn and make sure there is not a biker there! Happened to me again last night!!
Right of way or not, you must always ALWAYS ride or drive defensively. I would never bike next to a truck, probably in their blind spot, at an intersection where they could turn. Just as I never drive in someone's blindspot on the freeway (I hate people who sit there in another lane in my blind spot--those drivers have absolutely no sense of how to drive). Always think of, and for, the other driver.
Right of way or not, you must always ALWAYS ride or drive defensively. I would never bike next to a truck, probably in their blind spot, at an intersection where they could turn. Just as I never drive in someone's blindspot on the freeway (I hate people who sit there in another lane in my blind spot--those drivers have absolutely no sense of how to drive). Always think of, and for, the other driver.
Seriously?
Think. You are on a bicycle probably riding in the range of 10 mph most of the time ... cars and trucks travel at what speeds? Can they pull up on you from any direction or lane?
And they do. And then they change lanes and make turns. It happens every day.
Right of way or not, you must always ALWAYS ride or drive defensively. I would never bike next to a truck, probably in their blind spot, at an intersection where they could turn. Just as I never drive in someone's blindspot on the freeway (I hate people who sit there in another lane in my blind spot--those drivers have absolutely no sense of how to drive). Always think of, and for, the other driver.
If I could un-rep you for this, I would. I am disgusted that you would insinuate that my friend's death was her own fault for not "riding defensively." She was in a marked bike lane for God's sake!
If you are riding in a congested area (such as DC for example), you don't really have a choice WHO you ride next to. Bike lanes are driving lanes. They are not sidewalks. Anyone driving next to a bike lane should treat it as any other driving lane - check your mirrors, etc. The problem with our society is that we're not "bike friendly."
Our beautiful bike is sitting chained to our lanai after near death experiences on Maui roadways. It is a joke. Not only do the vehicle drivers seem to think that directional signals are for decorative use only, bicyclist simply zoom in and out of traffic at will. Never seen anything like it. This island is not bike friendly at all. I truly believe the only drivers that are considerate to bicyclists are those that have had close calls. We seem to tend to veer way out of their way to give them ample room for their survival.
Koale
What is "bicycle-friendly"? Portland, Oregon is widely considered the most bicycle-friendly city in North America, yet I see those ghost bikes all over marking a spot where someone died on a bike. Maybe Portland is bicycle-friendly and maybe Hawai'i is not. But the fact remains that it is very dangerous to ride a bike next to cars, trucks, semi's etc... So, if you choose to do this, PLEASE be as careful as you can and know that unfortunately, a lot of people will NOT see you there.
I've had cars and trucks overtake me (on a bike) just to turn right in front of me. The reason they turn in front of me is that I noticed them and the upcoming intersection and slowed down. I also had a helmet-mounted mirror so was almost always aware of traffic behind me. I'd often hug the curb, veer right a little, or pull into the dirt/gravel shoulder (on country roads) if I saw a car coming and not giving me room. Yes, a car could speed up from behind me anywhere and hit me (as was nullgeo's case), that comes down to fate--but cyclists can and should minimize the chance for fate to hit them.
Becca8377, your outrage is misplaced. Yes, by saying you should always be aware of traffic around you, I am in a way insinuating that your friend didn't, but only in the general sense that many cyclists aren't. And I would never say so directly, because I don't know what kind of cyclist she was, and I do know accidents happen to the best and most aware bikers/drivers. Obviously, the accident wasn't her fault, and believe me, I am upset about a car-centered society that doesn't respect cyclists.
But I was mostly replying to IslandDreamin who was harping about the "RIGHT OF WAY," which, like your "marked bike lane for God's sake!" does not prevent cars from hitting bicycles. I wanted to point this out to riders who are still alive, in case they thought it protected them in some way.
Oahu has a way higher pop than it can really support
The bus system on Oahu appears to be pretty good on paper, so wondered if any here know how the overall bus manages to manage schedules in the traffic ? Also, the bike scenario, many locations "anywhere", can be a near death experience. Is it possible that our "society" is self entitled with possessive selfishness if driving in a car? Do bike riders illustrate too much exercise willingness, and stay too slim, for our national goal of being walrus sized fast food addicts? Bikes lack enough "look what I drive " superficiality? Seeing someone actually walk, is almost worthy of a photo. I am not referring to a beach area either. Before ever living on Oahu, I may need to increase my life insurance as a bike rider, runner, and avid walking person. Yeah, I do all those just to show off. And , stay alive and healthy......so far. Maybe Oahu population over 900,000 may have an immigrant quota in the future, with people sneaking over the borders in paddle boats?? LOL.
The bus system on Oahu appears to be pretty good on paper, so wondered if any here know how the overall bus manages to manage schedules in the traffic ? Also, the bike scenario, many locations "anywhere", can be a near death experience. Is it possible that our "society" is self entitled with possessive selfishness if driving in a car? Do bike riders illustrate too much exercise willingness, and stay too slim, for our national goal of being walrus sized fast food addicts? Bikes lack enough "look what I drive " superficiality? Seeing someone actually walk, is almost worthy of a photo. I am not referring to a beach area either. Before ever living on Oahu, I may need to increase my life insurance as a bike rider, runner, and avid walking person. Yeah, I do all those just to show off. And , stay alive and healthy......so far. Maybe Oahu population over 900,000 may have an immigrant quota in the future, with people sneaking over the borders in paddle boats?? LOL.
The Bus has GPS tracking on each vehicle which then gives real-time updates to the central station and website. It is less about a set schedule and more about knowing when the busses are arriving/departing depending on traffic. It works well on browser smartphones to get updates.
You all know (unless you are very new to the forum) that I'm an old geezer and my memory may be fading but I seem to remember that when I was riding bikes in the 1950s I was taught to ride in the berm facing the traffic so I could see what the drivers were going to do - and cars could not approach me from behind. People in parked cars could see you coming and usually not open their doors until you were past them.
Yes, I was riding the old one speed bikes as we had not had what we called "English Racing Bikes" yet. Seems to me that when that style bike arrived here, the rules changed. Everyone that had them wanted to ride in the street/road at high speeds you could not get riding in the berm, so you were told to ride with the traffic.
Same thing with walking. I was taught to walk facing traffic, if walking at night wear light clothing so you could be seen and always stop and look both ways before crossing the street/road since cars cannot stop instantly. Now it is the law that a car must stop if a pedestrian steps into the street/road (even when not in a crosswalk) to the point there are big yellow signs in the middle of the street stating that it is the law to stop for pedestrians. I've seen, and almost hit, people who don't even slow down when crossing at a crosswalk (without a traffic light) and don't even look to see if there is any traffic. I've also almost hit people walking with traffic wearing black pants, black hoodies/shirts/jackets and black shoes.
A lot of this seems to be common sense - I'm not as big and hard as a car/truck/motorcycle/bicycle and I try to walk (and if I'm lucky enough to ride a bike) ride so I can see what is happening and to make sure I can be seen when walking.
Like I said, I learned in the late 1940-1950s time period and roads were narrower, usually with wider berms, speed limits were lower (highway speed 50mph), no freeways, no bike lanes, no high-speed bikes.
Most of those rules (and maybe laws - I don't know, I was a kid) seem to be common sense stuff. Then again common sense seems to have gone out the window these days.
Mickey
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Try Maui for a good laugh...
Maybe Oahu population over 900,000 may have an immigrant quota in the future, with people sneaking over the borders in paddle boats?? LOL.
Old geezer thoughts
