Lately there have been so many news reports about car-to-bicycle accidents in the Salt Lake area. And then on top of that, some of them include hit-and-runs--three or four that I can think of right now--but even one is too many. At least some people take responsibility for their actions and stop. Well, I don't live right in Salt Lake (I live and work in Sandy, a suburb), but let's chalk up yet another stupid driver.
Usually I ride a scooter to work. It's a big ride that can easily keep up with traffic. But right now my back tire is out of commission, and while I'm working on getting that taken care of, I've been bicycling to work. Generally the road I take to work (9400 S on the west side of I-15) is rather calm. It has a middle turn lane, so it does make it easy for people to pass cyclists if they need to. In fact, this morning there were four cars that passed me in a row, and they all went almost all the way into the middle lane as they passed. Talk about courtesy... so thank you if you're the type that will kindly share the road. The fifth car that passed me wasn't so nice. A woman by the name of Katherine Strode barely sideswiped me, causing my left handle and my left pinky finger to knock off the right rear-view mirror of her green Chrysler sedan. I wasn't hurt and didn't even get knocked over, but what made me mad is that I saw her tap her brakes after that but then decide to keep going.
After I was waving my arms for a bit while pedaling as quickly as I could so I wouldn't lose her, she finally came to her senses and decided to stop. She would have had to stop anyway because there was a line at the stop sign coming up. Anyway, I caught up to her and gave her a piece of my mind and told her how many people have been just like her this year with all the bicycle accidents... and that she needs to pay attention to what she's doing and give cyclists some room. I told her it could have been much worse and that she's lucky I wasn't thrown off of my bike. Her responses throughout my rant were all along the lines of, "I know," and "I'm so sorry!" Of course since I wasn't hurt, I really didn't care what she had to say; I just wanted her to hear my frustration towards her. Obviously she didn't actually know like she said she did or else she would have been paying attention and being a good driver.
I did mention that my finger did get hit as part of this little mishap. I could move it perfectly, but I told the girl that I wanted her information so if it starts bothering me, I'd get in contact with her. I doubt that will happen, but at least it'll scare her a bit for a few days. I also ended up getting her license plate number just for fun... never know, right? One interesting thing with this whole situation is that she lost her right mirror. I told her, "You no longer have a mirror on the right side, but that's your problem." One would think, "Well, that's what she gets for doing what she did," and that I "won" in this particular car/bike battle. But unfortunately with no mirror, this lady can't pay as much attention as she could before... and who knows if she's going to replace it? Great... now she'll have yet another blind spot.
Well... my bike wasn't even scratched, and I wasn't hurt (my finger knows something happened to it this morning, but it's not bad at all), so the only real purpose of this blog entry is to tell people to WATCH OUT. Pay attention to the road and people on the road. You have a responsibility while driving, and if you can't handle something big like a car, ride a bike instead (ironic, I know)! Give cyclists three feet when passing, and although I was wearing a bright shirt this morning, some don't do that, and it's still your responsibility to watch for anything on and off the road. We shouldn't HAVE to feel unsafe while getting a little bit of exercise just because you care more about your phone and your music than others' safety while you drive. Thank you.
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3 comments:
I hope this make the news
Not to belittle your own experience but as you said, cyclists should be sharing the road. I drive to work and see a fair number of cyclists on my way (along1300 E) to work and home.
It's frustrating to hit a single lane with no middle lane and be stuck behind a cyclist who refuses to move into the shoulder so we can pass him (at least safely). It's also frustrating to see them run red lights and stop signs.
I'm sure there are plenty of bad drivers who don't pay attention but there are probably a large percentage of cyclists who aren't doing their part either. While there is no excuse for a hit and run it is unfair to assume that all accidents are caused by the car driver. We all just need to be more aware and careful.
Right on Paul!
What people like Ryan don't understand is that every time a car passes a cyclist, you are 3 ft. from almost certain death. After riding on the road for a while, some cyclists realize that sometimes it's safer to take the whole lane for a few seconds. Doing this makes it impossible for cars to try and squeeze by, often times violating the 3 ft. law.
I also have been hit. Except it was a Semi. I came inches from being completely run over by his trailer. He didn't even notice, and drove off.
Cyclists are fathers, mothers, sons daughters friends and great people. Treat them with respect and remember that they don't have a 2000lbs+ steel safety box. A 30 second annoyance is better then a dead person.
My two cents.
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