4 ms·

I ride my bike both ways to work and have seen this happen a couple of times in front of me, though I haven't experienced it personally. This may be controvers

I ride my bike both ways to work and have seen this happen a couple of times in front of me, though I haven't experienced it personally. This may be controversial, but I think bikers should be more cautious when approaching intersections where a right turn is possible from an automobile traveling at about the same speed immediately off their left shoulder. Yes, I understand that cars are supposed to signal, and when they don't they are creating a dangerous situation. And they are supposed to merge into the bike lane before turning in order to block off cyclists from getting themselves into this exact situation. But they don't. So cyclists should learn to look out for the signs of a possible right turn (drifting rightwards upon intersection approach is a pretty clear indicator) and be safe. Don't approach an intersection at speed in the blind spot of an automobile that might turn right. Just slow down a little.

tyrust 10y ago
Agreed. This falls under the general rule of always assuming a car could perform any action (even if it's wrong or illegal) and making sure that you aren't in the way of it doing so. Err on the side of your own safety, even if you have to slow down to do it.
user5994461 10y ago
> This may be controversial, but I think bikers should be more cautious when approaching intersections where a right turn is possible from an automobile traveling at about the same speed immediately off their left shoulder. Depending on the exact position, that's a dead angle. The driver will NEVER see the bicycle. The bicycle MUST stop if he knows the car is turning or he's going to guaranteed collision. Just sayin'
MereInterest 10y ago
I think that bikers should be more cautious, but I would be really careful about applying the blame on bikers. The difference between "taking actions leading to an accident" and "being responsible for an accident". Both the driver and the biker in this case have led to the accident, but only the driver is morally responsible.
jakobegger 10y ago
Absolutely. It doesn't matter whose fault it is when you are dead. A couple of years back I wanted to walk over a crosswalk. The pedestrian traffic light was green. I looked left and right, saw a car approaching quickly, and stopped. The car ran the red light, drove over the crosswalk, and hit two crossing cars before crashing into a building on the other side of the road. The driver must have missed the red light. Never assume that other people see you, never assume other drivers are as alert as you are, always be defensive, yield when you are unsure if the situation is safe, especially when you are vulnerable (pedestrian or biker vs. car).
trgn 10y ago
Yup, cyclists should be careful. But drivers can do a lot of harm, so they should be extra careful. Too few drivers want to bear the responsibility that should correspond to piloting 2 tons of steel at high speed. "I had the right of way", "dog should have been on a leash", "couldn't see the walker in his dark jacket at night", "biker should have slowed down when approaching intersection" etc.. etc.. That may all be true, and blame can be distributed in all those cases, but it's the driver still that causes all the tragedy in these crashes. The public road is not an equal playing field. A driver following the laws 100% correctly may still be a menace on the road. That's something that few drivers are willing to accept.
jayajay 10y ago
I almost got killed at an intersection because of a careless driver who decided to turn right into me, as I sped through the intersection. Thankfully, I was able to slam the breaks in time. Unfortunately, my friend's bike's back breaks didn't work, so I ended up getting thrown off of the bike and head-smacking the black road pavement without a helmet (i.e. I'm retarded). Ended up with a concussion and an abrasion to my skull. I got lucky that the driver didn't run over my head. The driver also hit-and-ran me, which is expected in a shit hole like New Haven. Basically, don't speed through intersections on a bike, try to wear a helmet even if they are uncomfortable.

tyrust 10y ago

Agreed. This falls under the general rule of always assuming a car could perform any action (even if it's wrong or illegal) and making sure that you aren't in the way of it doing so. Err on the side of your own safety, even if you have to slow down to do it.

user5994461 10y ago

> This may be controversial, but I think bikers should be more cautious when approaching intersections where a right turn is possible from an automobile traveling at about the same speed immediately off their left shoulder. Depending on the exact position, that's a dead angle. The driver will NEVER see the bicycle. The bicycle MUST stop if he knows the car is turning or he's going to guaranteed collision. Just sayin'

MereInterest 10y ago

I think that bikers should be more cautious, but I would be really careful about applying the blame on bikers. The difference between "taking actions leading to an accident" and "being responsible for an accident". Both the driver and the biker in this case have led to the accident, but only the driver is morally responsible.

jakobegger 10y ago

Absolutely. It doesn't matter whose fault it is when you are dead. A couple of years back I wanted to walk over a crosswalk. The pedestrian traffic light was green. I looked left and right, saw a car approaching quickly, and stopped. The car ran the red light, drove over the crosswalk, and hit two crossing cars before crashing into a building on the other side of the road. The driver must have missed the red light. Never assume that other people see you, never assume other drivers are as alert as you are, always be defensive, yield when you are unsure if the situation is safe, especially when you are vulnerable (pedestrian or biker vs. car).

trgn 10y ago

Yup, cyclists should be careful. But drivers can do a lot of harm, so they should be extra careful. Too few drivers want to bear the responsibility that should correspond to piloting 2 tons of steel at high speed. "I had the right of way", "dog should have been on a leash", "couldn't see the walker in his dark jacket at night", "biker should have slowed down when approaching intersection" etc.. etc.. That may all be true, and blame can be distributed in all those cases, but it's the driver still that causes all the tragedy in these crashes. The public road is not an equal playing field. A driver following the laws 100% correctly may still be a menace on the road. That's something that few drivers are willing to accept.

jayajay 10y ago

I almost got killed at an intersection because of a careless driver who decided to turn right into me, as I sped through the intersection. Thankfully, I was able to slam the breaks in time. Unfortunately, my friend's bike's back breaks didn't work, so I ended up getting thrown off of the bike and head-smacking the black road pavement without a helmet (i.e. I'm retarded). Ended up with a concussion and an abrasion to my skull. I got lucky that the driver didn't run over my head. The driver also hit-and-ran me, which is expected in a shit hole like New Haven. Basically, don't speed through intersections on a bike, try to wear a helmet even if they are uncomfortable.