Advice for bikers

This is not so bad

Please let joggers, runners and bikers know they need to wear something bright. Dressing fashionable in gray or black may look cool but at dawn, dusk or running when it's dark, it's going to be deadly.

Which led to some legal advice

The law is not that straightforward. Virginia and D.C. both follow the tort rule of "contributory negligence," that is, if the plaintiff who sues someone he claims was negligent was himself negligent, he loses. In this scenario, suppose the cyclist is riding at night with no headlight and no reflective vest on the wrong side of the road and gets hit by a car. He loses because he was negligent in all sorts of ways.

This is bad advice

Also, let roadies know to get out my way going up a hill on the back roads of Fairfax, Fauqier and Loudon [sic] County. You can't get anywhere near to speed limit and you are blocking traffic.

And this leaves me speechless

Instead of "Share the Road," how about a new slogan "Share the Sidewalk"? My car has just as much of a right to the sidewalk as do pedestrians and bicyclists.

Comments

[Contrarian]

I was very encouraged by Eric Weiss' response to the Clifton poster: "You are wrong." From earlier chats I remember that Weiss is a sometime cyclist.

[Chris]

The other day, I was walking across the street in a crosswalk near my house. It was dusk. I was wearing a clean, bright, white shirt. I was crossing deliberately, not darting out suddenly. A car that was there sped up and then stopped at the last minute. We had words, and the driver claimed "I couldn't see you!" I wonder how often that excuse is used in ridiculous situations like that? I think of that with the comments about wearing black and grey - it's true to say that it's smart to wear reflective material (there is, actually, a reflective form of grey, but that's a whole other story), but I've driven in cars at dusk on some ocassions, and you know what? If you have your headlights on, and your eyes are open, you ought to be able to see someone in front of you. And ... if you're going the posted speed limit on most DC streets (25 MPH), you should be able to stop in time.

[Contrarian]

"I didn't see you" is not an excuse, it's an admission of guilt.

[Chris]

Yeah, no kidding! There was a small accident at Hains Point noon ride yesterday - the rider and (more importantly :) ) the very expensive bike, seemed OK - but the driver the vehicle (who had stopped and was giving her contact information in case there was damage, which I guess is cool) started out saying "I know I should have been more careful, but .... " I'm thinking, you know, just stop there - "I know I should been more careful." Full stop!

[Nancy]

When will motorists undertstand that the speed limit is an UPPER limit, not a lower one?