This was a cyclist riding on the sidewalk? If it was legal for the cyclist to ride on the sidewalk (it usually is) then the cyclist would have had the right of way.
How about coming out blind from behind the building right beside the exit, approaching from the right side ( thus on the left sidewalk)? I’m a biker, and I don’t think riding on the left sidewalk is ever okay.
I’m a cyclist too (haven’t driven a car in a couple of years) and generally advise against riding on the sidewalks. It’s dangerous. But, sometimes sidewalks are also bike paths. Sometimes sidewalks are also wrong-way bike paths; I was on one just yesterday, in Palo Alto, though I happened to be riding in the right-way direction.
However, we’re talking about a matter of law. Drivers are required to yield to pedestrians on sidewalks. In many jurisdictions, drivers are also required to yield to cyclists. It should not be assumed that drivers crossing a sidewalk have right of way over cyclists riding on the sidewalk, particularly if the driver had a stop sign and the cyclist did not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_law_in_the_United_States#Sidewalks_and_crosswalks
Yes, some local areas mark sidewalks as bicycle paths even though they have frequent driveways and intersections that make them dangerous because road users are not expecting a bicycle to be coming on the sidewalk.
I agree that wrong way bike paths are dangerous because drivers fail to yield when they are legally required to yield. That’s an argument for cyclists to avoid sidewalk bike paths. However, it is not a defense for drivers who hit cyclists because the drivers failed to yield when legally required to do so.
Look, I advise people to be careful in areas with a lot of pickpockets. But when a pickpocket is apprehended picking someone’s pocket, they don’t get to excuse themselves by saying that they were picking pockets in an area with lots of other people stealing.
I nearly hit a bicyclist on a sidewalk once. I was coming out of a parking garage and couldn’t see well to my right because of the wall of the building. She was on the sidewalk, and on the wrong sidewalk for the direction she was traveling (from my right). I could see the pedestrians fine as I was pulling out, but the bicycle was moving too fast to see until she was upon me.
I’m not sure what the law would say about that but I know that she was the one being unsafe.
If YOU do not yield right of way when you are required to, then YOU are at fault and YOU are the one making it unsafe. If YOU are not as careful when it might be a cyclist hitting you as when it might be a car hitting you, then YOU are the one making it unsafe.
No car would come at me from the right, whether it was on a sidewalk or on the street. I was turning right. The car would have to be driving on the wrong side of the road, so that car would be the unsafe one.
I’ve looked up the law for that state that happened in and it says bicycles must “ride as close to the right side of the road as practicable and safe,” so that would seem to mean that riding on the left sidewalk is off limits.
I ride a lot and I am appalled at how cyclists break traffic laws - running stop signs, red lights, riding on the wrong side of the road, etc. All it does is PO the car drivers. That being said, it is the cyclist who always loses in a collision. In our town, cars are required to give 5 ft. of distance when passing. Cars rarely look for cyclists when making a right turn. People are constantly looking at their phones and infotainment systems. The side of the road, from a cyclists perspective, is filled with trash, potholes, garbage cans, ice & snow in the winter etc., so don’t assume that when a cyclist veers to the center of the road that they are not doing so for a good reason. In bad weather cyclists cannot turn or brake as fast as cars either.
Cyclists should use lights day and night and wear bright, reflective clothing. Most of the regular riders do, and they are easily visible 3-400 ft. away. It’s the kids and students who dress in dark clothes.
Regardless of what the law says, you do not want to maim or kill a cyclist because you were distracted or impatient.
Exact same thing for me, @greenwitch . Coming from behind a building on the wrong sidewalk, it was literally impossible to see this bicyclist before she shot out in front of me, in the left side of the road (on sidewalk). I’m glad she was okay. Like I said, I paid for her bike repair because it would have been my word against hers, and it was just simpler. But I KNOW it was impossible for me to have seen her in time. Not sure what I was supposed to do about that.
One thing that drove me crazy when I lived in that other state were safety things they put in for pedestrians. They were little concrete islands just off the curb to help drivers see pedestrians crossing in a crosswalk (and they were probably put there to encourage pedestrians into that crosswalk). Bikers riding on the right shoulder would usually swerve several feet around them since it was easier than trying to aim for the tiny channel between the island and the curb. Horribly dangerous for bikers!
So what? If you were required to yield to legal traffic on the sidewalk, and you didn’t, then you were the one making it unsafe for legal cyclists riding on the sidewalk.
There are many places where it is unsafe for me to ride my bike because drivers don’t obey the rules. I know how to make myself safer in those conditions, but I wish drivers would be more competent.
Not one in ten drivers knows how to make a right turn across a bike line. For crying out loud, merge first. Almost all drivers get this wrong. Why on earth do you guys think it is either legal or a good idea to make a right turn across straight-through cycling traffic? Merge first. You don’t make a right turn from the left lane, do you? Happily, jurisdictions are getting better about lane striping to show drivers what to do.
Way too many drivers pass too close. For goodness sakes, wait for it to be safe; I don’t give a hoot how much of a hurry you are in. In many states, including California, you are required to give me a three foot clearance. That’s three feet of air between my elbow and your mirror, not three feet between your car door and my nose, OK? Really, it’s better if you just change lanes to pass.
And stop honking at me when I take the lane by riding smack on top of the sharrows indicating it is legal for me to take the lane. You bought your car; you didn’t buy the road.
Get the plank out of your own eye.
Well in New England, the joke is about drivers “turiing right from the left lane,” because it happens often enough.
But this talk is also about a cyclist taking some responsibility for his safety, too. Not assuming he can plow through an intersection, either. And after all, the risk can be greater to him than the driver.
I know this is important to you, Fang.
I was stopped at street corner in my car. I saw the bicyclist coming towards me. I chose not to move and try to avoid him because I had no idea what he would do. He ran into me and pulled my mirror. I put window down he said I’m sorry I asked are you ok. He got up and road off. Town is known to have tweakers on bikes.
I immediately drove to police station and made a report. I was afraid he might later find me and lie.
I made insurance report because of the significant damage to side of car and mirror. Because I could not name bicyclist; insurance said I could not claim uninsured motorist. $500. Deductible, mirror later acted up.
The guy was scary-and was driving with one hand- the other holding a brown bag.
Skimming, my auto policy, it only provides liability coverage to a named insured when using an automobile. So if the bicyclist was at fault, I think it would be on the homeowner’s or renter’s policy for damage to the automobile. If the automobile was at fault and damages exceeded the motorist’s liability limits, then un/underinsured motorist coverage might come into play, assuming the cyclist had that coverage. If the cyclist was at fault, then I think their health insurance would be on the hook for their injuries.
In NYS bikes (and skateboards) are supposed to be on the street as far to the right as possible. If there is a bike lane they must use it. It is apparently also okay for them to be on sidewalks, but at least some municipalities have laws against it. I really hate bikes on sidewalks.
There are drivers turning right from the left lane, or most recently two (!) drivers making u-turns in front of me from the right lane while we were all stopped at a red light.
As a bicyclist, once your car insurance is involved then doctors may not want you as a patient since payments will be delayed. We were fortunate that we could be cash pay and get reimbursed later.
I don’t know why I’m arguing this again, but if a bike literally appears in front of you as you start forward, out of sight before that because it came from the wrong side and hidden by a building till the moment it burst out at full speed in front of you, then yielding is impossible. Unless you have x-ray vision. Maybe you do, @Cardinalfang, but I don’t. Really would have come in handy, but as a bicyclist myself, I don’t stake my life on other people having it.
In New York, as in other states, there is no requirement for a cyclist to ride as far to the right as possible. It would be possible for me to ride six inches from parked cars, but I do not do that, as it is dangerous. The New York State Department of Transportation helpfully explains how to ride:
“You should bicycle as far to the right as is practicable. If there is a safe shoulder, use it instead of the traffic lane. Smart cyclists plot a line straight down the roadway three to four feet from the curb or parked car. This allows them space to avoid road hazards and to be more visible to motorists and pedestrians.”
So no, I’m not required to cower in the gutter, even thought that would certainly be possible. I ride in the shoulder when there is a usable shoulder, and in the bike lane when it is a usable bike lane without parked cars in it. I ride a little more than a door width away from parked cars, because even though drivers are required to look for cyclists before they open their road-side door, they generally don’t, and I don’t want to be doored.
Riding on sidewalks is almost always a terrible idea. I don’t do it, except occasionally very carefully for half a block when there is no safer alternative.