There was yet another bicycle accident on Gilford St. This time it involved a car; pretty scary. A guy and girl were riding a tandem bike downhill. Seems that they ran a stop sign on Gilford St and were either clipped or very narrowly missed by a car driving along Robson St. Sad to say it but:
- I do have 100% sympathy for the cyclists - they were very close to being seriously hurt or killed.
- I don't believe it was the drivers fault.
What was interesting was the nearby calls from from neighours of "You're driving a lethal weapon!", "Cyclists always have right of way" and "People live around here". There seemed to be this odd consensus that the driver was immediately at fault, and that the cyclists were doing nothing wrong.
I've been a cyclist for a few years now and choose to ride in traffic. Any cyclist should know you are a vehicle and are subject to the same rules. You indicate, you stop at stop signs, you obey the rules as best you can within the limits of your vehicle. You even obey the speed limit. Act like a vehicle and you might gain respect from the cars around you. Act like a vehicle that is invisible and you'll be the safest you can be.
There is a general concept that drivers are at fault when they hit pedestrians. This I agree with, and it can be extended to slow moving or stationary cyclists. But a driver cannot be expected to look out for cyclists zipping through a stop-sign; they're just too damned fast.
Just had to get that off my chest. As I said, I have 100% sympathy for the cyclists, but if they're on the road they have to act like vehicles.
2 comments:
Disagree with the being invisible vehicle bit. From a car drivers pov a cyclist appears as not only a small object but also not very visible due to their open structure.
I like the sign you sometimes see on trucks. 'If you can't see me in my mirror then I can't see you'.
Finally, everyone needs to drive defensively. Particularly those with that are most likely to come off second best in any collision.
I just learnt that a friend of mine has been rammed up the rear end (her car!) *again*. 3rd time for her car. Her back hasn't recovered. This happened around 10 months ago. Some people can't even see other cars on the road - makes you wonder if they can see cyclists.
On a similar note: Try doing a motorcycle course and you get a greater appreciation of cars and traffic (especially as to how bad some people really are behind a wheel).
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