[Lincolnparkdc] Bike lane or sidewalk/crosswalk makes a difference in our assessment here

Fri Sep 10 17:25:36 EDT 2021

I agree it is legal to bicycle on a sidewalk in a non commercial area. 

However, I think the statement by one witness that he was in the crosswalk has to be considered against other facts.  

We don’t know how far from the intersection the witness was when the accident occurred and therefore how good a view she had. 

The bike riders statement that he was at fault.

The fact the front tire of bicycle hit the REAR (presumably right) tire of the car. This suggests to me the bike hit the car rather than vice-versa.

The fact the bicyclist did not receive any significant injuries. Less likely if the car had hit him.

I agree the car would have continued after the collision. However one also has to consider the bicycle was on the ground north of the crosswalk. 

Please also remember the bicyclist may have reasons he does feel safe identifying himself to the police. 

Please note I’m NOT saying the bicyclist wasn’t in the crosswalk, but there is also several facts to suggest he might not have been. 

The fact the accident was heard at a distance suggests the bicyclists hit the car at some speed. Does the bicyclist not also have an obligation to operate at a safe speed, particularly if was also operating on a sidewalk where pedestrians (including young children) also a legal right to be present. 

John

John F Hirschmann 
hirschj154 at gmail.com
Sent from my iPad

> On Sep 10, 2021, at 16:01, regina arlotto <citymom92 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> It is legal to ride on the sidewalk in DC (so long as you are outside of the central business district) and I do it occasionally to get off a dangerous roadway. So the cyclist was doing nothing wrong to use the sidewalk and then crosswalk, especially as he must have been trying to NOT ride on East Capitol against the direction of the traffic. The eye witness who was passed by the reckless driver witnessed his behavior before, during and after the crash. If anyone can make contact with the cyclist I hope you can tell him to file a police report so DDOT can have this crash logged into our system. 
> 
> Gina Arlotto 
> 
> On Fri, Sep 10, 2021 at 1:39 PM Brett Reynolds <brettreynolds at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Exactly right, Jessica. Not only do cars not generally end up stopped at the precise point of collision, Newtonian physics will tell you that a bike and rider weighing a combined total of 200 pounds are even less likely to stay in the place where they are hit by a 3,000 pound vehicle. (A still photo of my own worst bike accident would show a bike in a ditch, from which you could not safely deduce that that's where I had been riding.)
>> 
>> I am not sure what the goal of such litigation and speculation is in this forum, but it certainly risks distracting our energies and any chance of productive discussion away from focusing on making our streets and sidewalks safer for all of our neighbors.
>> 
>> Brett
>> 
>> 
>> On Fri, Sep 10, 2021 at 1:25 PM Jessica Gardner <jgardner at washingtonanalysis.com> wrote:
>>> Cars generally do not stop in the exact spot where the collision occurred.  Also, when the car hit the bike, it would make sense that it was propelled forward  somewhat. Margaret posted a still photo so it is hard to tell from that exactly what happened, but the photo seems to back up what the eye witnesses reported:  “Taking my daughter to school this morning on my bike I witnessed a reckless driver crash his Prius into a man on a bike at Kentucky Ave and East Capitol SE, the same street where advisory bike lanes were just finished I was riding north on Kentucky toward Lincoln Park when a Prius driver came flying past me. He then approached the right-only intersection at the park, barely slowing down at the stop sign. The cyclist was going west using the crosswalk when the he got clipped by the turning car. Everyone seemed to be ok, thank God it was just a sedan and not an SUV. I immediately started screaming obscenities at the driver even though I was just a witness. The cyclist blamed himself for using that route even though it was not the slightest bit his fault. I was so spooked because it could have been us, with my babies on board. The driver was clearly racing to get his kid to school and trying to bypass the light at 13th and Mass.”
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> I am a very cautious driver and I have to admit that when I am trying to make that right turn, I *always* have to remind myself to look right for anyone in crosswalk.  Drivers are very focused on the oncoming traffic to the left.  I’d be very interested in anything we could do to make these crosswalks safer.  This is the exact spot where my son was hit while walking across the street (IN the crosswalk) a few years back though he was crossing East Capitol not Kentucky.     
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> From: lincolnparkdc <lincolnparkdc-bounces at lincolnparkdc.info> On Behalf Of John Hirschmann
>>> Sent: Friday, September 10, 2021 12:56 PM
>>> To: lincolnparkdc at lincolnparkdc.info
>>> Cc: Will Handsfield <William.Handsfield2 at dc.gov>; Corey Holman <6b06 at anc.dc.gov>; Charles Allen <callen at dccouncil.us>
>>> Subject: Re: [Lincolnparkdc] Bike lane or sidewalk/crosswalk makes a difference in our assessment here
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> (Tim
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> I suggest you study the picture Margaret posted      It appears the accident occurred in the street, north of the crosswalk and NOT in the crosswalk. 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> It also appears the bicyclists struck the car, not vice-versa.  The front of the bike struck the rear of the car. 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> As a driver going north on Kentucky, you expect (except for pedestrians) that traffic is approaching from your left and that is where your primary focus is to make sure you safely enter the intersection. 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> John
>>> 
>>> John F Hirschmann 
>>> 
>>> hirschj154 at gmail.com
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Sep 10, 2021, at 12:31, Tim Dube <timothydube at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> All this hand wringing about the cyclist seems unfair. According to the first-hand account, the bike was using the *sidewalk and entering the crosswalk.* If that's true, then that's not "wrong way down a one-way street" or "wrong way in the bike lane." At that point the cyclist is in a legally protected zone. Cars have to stop for bikes in crosswalks even if it's right next to a bike lane. Kids use sidewalks and crosswalks because it's safer. Just because it's an adult (I presume) doesn't mean cars get to crunch you.  
>>> 
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