Cyclist Hit by Car in Arlington

[ERandall]

Wishing you a speedy recovery!

[DismalScientist]

I’m sorry this happened to you and hope you are OK.

From the way you described the accident, I am not surprised that the driver did not see you. At that time of the morning, the driver, wanting to turn right onto the onramp and looking to the left for traffic, is likely staring into the rising sun. No matter how brightly dressed and no matter your lighting, the driver can miss seeing you, particularly if you are close to the curb. (I am not minimizing the driver’s guilt here.)

Riding defensively and anticipating boneheaded behavior by drivers and other traffic is the key. Watch for signs that drivers may not realize where you are. Look to see whether drivers on sidestreets are looking at you. Look to see how front wheels are positioned to see whether a car might pull out in front of you. Don’t assume that drivers will signal turns. Always look for places to take evasive actions if drivers do something boneheaded.

Coming eastbound off the trail is also dangerous at this intersection. Right turning drivers will look left and not check the trail for cyclists and pedestrians who have a “green” crosswalk in front of the driver. If the driver is looking left, I will stop and wait for the driver to look at me before I cross Wakefield.

[jrenaut]

Really sorry this happened. I hope your recovery is quick and easy.

I agree with the Kelley’s comment on the blog post – right on red should be illegal anywhere there might be pedestrians and cyclists.

[PotomacCyclist]

Heal up soon.

As for drivers turning right on red, I’ve seen many of them blow through those turns at high speed in VA/DC/MD. They don’t even bother to look for pedestrians in the crosswalk, let alone cyclists or other cars. It really can be crazy out there at some intersections.

[Subby]

I may or may not have shone my headlamp into the face of drivers that I don’t think are looking for me as they wait to turn on to the road which I am travelling. Occasionally.

[jabberwocky]

Unfortunately, motorists frequently make right turns on red without stopping (sometimes without even slowing down). Its something to watch carefully for, especially in crosswalks (where many motorists make no attempt to look). I’ve personally had many close calls over the years. Its especailly dangerous when the road people are making a right turn from has multiple lanes. Any cars in the middle lane will block both your view of the far lane and people in the far lanes view of you.

I ran into the side of a ladies car several years ago while crossing with the walk signal as she sped through a right turn on red. She was also on a phone, and the light had a “no turn on red” sign. :rolleyes:

The good news is that you are relatively uninjured, and you have a police report listing the motorist at fault. Getting hit by a car sucks, but if you are gonna get hit, those two things are about the best outcome you can get.

[care free family]

DismalScientist,
I understand what you are talking about with the morning sun in that spot. But actually at the time I was hit, the sun had not fully risen yet. So the driver doesn’t get that excuse this time around.

I agree with and practice defensive riding as you describe.

The driver was nowhere near the intersection when I went to look for potentially hazardous drivers. My best guess is that she came to the intersection with enough speed that she was not in my line of sight or where I expected a vehicle stopped at the red light to be until it was too late.

So unfortunately, there are times when all of our best methods as cyclists fail in the face of an inattentive driver.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to write your reply.

CFF

@DismalScientist 67680 wrote:

I’m sorry this happened to you and hope you are OK.

From the way you described the accident, I am not surprised that the driver did not see you. At that time of the morning, the driver, wanting to turn right onto the onramp and looking to the left for traffic, is likely staring into the rising sun. No matter how brightly dressed and no matter your lighting, the driver can miss seeing you, particularly if you are close to the curb. (I am not minimizing the driver’s guilt here.)

Riding defensively and anticipating boneheaded behavior by drivers and other traffic is the key. Watch for signs that drivers may not realize where you are. Look to see whether drivers on sidestreets are looking at you. Look to see how front wheels are positioned to see whether a car might pull out in front of you. Don’t assume that drivers will signal turns. Always look for places to take evasive actions if drivers do something boneheaded.

Coming eastbound off the trail is also dangerous at this intersection. Right turning drivers will look left and not check the trail for cyclists and pedestrians who have a “green” crosswalk in front of the driver. If the driver is looking left, I will stop and wait for the driver to look at me before I cross Wakefield.

[dasgeh]

This sucks, but I’m so glad you’re ok. WABA has a handy guide to help in these situations: http://www.waba.org/resources/crash_faq.php . Please report it to them, as well, as they’ll keep track for advocacy.

[jabberwocky]

Additional comment: I’m not familiar with the intersection your accident happened at, but I’ve found that at intersections, its almost always better to be out in the lane with the other vehicles. At least that way you’re in a place where motorists are looking for and expecting traffic. Crosswalks adjacent to busy intersections are, IME, one of the most dangerous places on the planet to be on two wheels. Too much traffic from too many directions, and nobody is obeying the law and nobody is paying any attention to the crosswalks.

[DismalScientist]

Even if the driver was staring into the sun, that is not an excuse. Since he/she wasn’t, it’s even less of one.:rolleyes: (My impression of the rising sun may have been colored by my retina searing ride to get coffee on Washington Blvd. this morning.)

You mentioned that you were wearing bright clothing, had reflectors/tape on your bike, and had lights on. Of the three, only the lights would have helped in this situation. Bright clothing and reflectors only work when light is shining on them, which it wouldn’t be for a driver looking left. How bright are your lights? Do you have one on your helmet? Do they have a strobe mode? You may want to check out this thread: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?5963-Lighting-suggestions-for-Hains-Point-Rock-Creek-park

[consularrider]

One of the problems with the Wakefield/westbound Fairfax Dr intersection is that the bike lane ends about 20 feet before the intersection where there is a bumpout by the two Marymount University building driveways. When I ride the stretch on Fairfax from Glebe to Wakefield, I tend to take the lane rather than the bike lane to avoid the squeeze play when the bike lane abruptly ends. My impression is that there is less westbound traffic there in the morning when I’m heading east coming from the Bluemont Trail. Also at that point on Fairfax drivers are headed to I-66 and are probably getting in the freeway mode of thinking and bikes have to enter the sidewalk as the connection over to the Custis Trail. I also think (but have no evidence to support my theory) that most of the year the tall buildings in the area would block the rising sun there so glare should be minimal.

[jrenaut]

Also, your bike is probably totaled. I think most manufacturers will not stand behind a bike that’s been in an accident – it’s impossible to know whether the structural integrity of the frame has been compromised. I know this is true for Giant, because that’s what the Giant rep told the guy at my LBS when I went in to ask.

[DismalScientist]

@jabberwocky 67690 wrote:

Additional comment: I’m not familiar with the intersection your accident happened at, but I’ve found that at intersections, its almost always better to be out in the lane with the other vehicles.

Unfortunately, at this intersection, westbound cyclists are traveling from the bike lane on the street to the trail/sidewalk on the other side of Wakefield. And the pavement sucks before and during the current reconstruction of the intersection.

[care free family]

Jabberwocky-

I agree that crosswalks are dangerous places for riding on bikes. If I use them while on my bike, I dismount and walk my bike. I think that you lose your visibility and there is risk of a collision with a pedestrian.

In this case particular, I was on the roadway when I was hit. ( If I hadn’t been hit, I would have briefly passed through the crosswalk to use sidewalk to get to the trail…if that makes any sense

Thanks for your comments!

[DismalScientist]

@jrenaut 67693 wrote:

Also, your bike is probably totaled. I think most manufacturers will not stand behind a bike that’s been in an accident – it’s impossible to know whether the structural integrity of the frame has been compromised. I know this is true for Giant, because that’s what the Giant rep told the guy at my LBS when I went in to ask.

If the bike in the picture is the bike in question, that bike has a steel frame. It’s going to be a lot tougher (and more malleable) then the flimsy aluminum things that jrenaut would buy.:rolleyes:

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