Missed connection

[scoot]

@GovernorSilver 159945 wrote:

Yeah, that was a serious question – asked out of simple curiosity, not intended to troll.

FWIW, I never suspected you of trolling. I just thought you might have been making a joke so that you could post that pic.

[GovernorSilver]

Oh yeah, the jousting pic was a joke, in response to the post advising us to just be happy that the crazy/high salmon was on a bike and not in a car. 😎

[ginacico]

I saw a scary close call crossing Constitution Ave this morning at 15th. Lots of cyclists, peds, and shoalers waited until we got the crosswalk light then proceeded to maneuver across from both sides of the road. Suddenly a car came out of nowhere, the driver had gunned it and blown the red light heading westbound on Constitution. Screeching, smoking tires and shouts from the people crossing southbound, whose lives were narrowly spared as the car somehow stopped in time.

The guy drove off, of course. In hindsight, there were enough people there, we should’ve surrounded him until we got pics and a license plate number and filed a report. It’s not enough to assume they learned their lesson.

Hate this intersection!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14776[/ATTACH]

[bobco85]

This happened yesterday, and I got it on video.

As I was biking on Pegram St in Alexandria, I approached the intersection with Taney Ave which is a 4-way stop. I slowed to a crawl, then started into the intersection when a driver on Taney Ave blows through the stop sign. She would have hit me if I hadn’t slowed in anticipation. But then something interesting happened…

Suddenly, I hear a WOOP! WOOOOP! behind me. An Alexandria police SUV had been right behind me, saw the whole thing, and immediately turned on their lights/siren to pull the driver over! Swift justice!

[video=youtube_share;HeSCLRmn8yw]https://youtu.be/HeSCLRmn8yw[/video]

[Judd]

@bobco85 160176 wrote:

This happened yesterday, and I got it on video.

As I was biking on Pegram St in Alexandria, I approached the intersection with Taney Ave which is a 4-way stop. I slowed to a crawl, then started into the intersection when a driver on Taney Ave blows through the stop sign. She would have hit me if I hadn’t slowed in anticipation. But then something interesting happened…

Suddenly, I hear a WOOP! WOOOOP! behind me. An Alexandria police SUV had been right behind me, saw the whole thing, and immediately turned on their lights/siren to pull the driver over! Swift justice!

[video=youtube_share;HeSCLRmn8yw]https://youtu.be/HeSCLRmn8yw[/video]

Transcript:
::Bike gear noises::
::Siren sounds::
Bobco: “Oh, wow!”

[Drewdane]

Ninja drafter sucking my wheel for half a mile or so before passing without calling, much less offering to pull for a while (which I would have declined, but still).

Classy.

[baiskeli]

I saw a jogger crossing the GW Parkway at the crossing of death from the Mt. V trail toward Memorial Bridge. One lane of cars had stopped for him and he was in front of it ready to cross the other lane. A car comes speeding through that lane and nearly hits him.

Thing is, I don’t know if he had pressed the button for the warning light or not. If not, it was a bad mistake for that reason. Cars in the far lane may not see you because you’re hidden by cares in the other lane, so they’ll gun it through the other one because it’s still moving or open. So always look before you cross that second lane and always press the button before you cross.

[EasyRider]

I just immediately slow down to a crawl when I notice a drafter. Saves me from saying something to them I’ll regret, and from being rear-ended by them if I have to suddenly stop.

[dkel]

@EasyRider 160257 wrote:

I just immediately slow down to a crawl when I notice a drafter. Saves me from saying something to them I’ll regret, and from being rear-ended by them if I have to suddenly stop.

You’re doing it wrong: you’re supposed to drop them.

[bentbike33]

@EasyRider 160257 wrote:

I just immediately slow down to a crawl when I notice a drafter. Saves me from saying something to them I’ll regret, and from being rear-ended by them if I have to suddenly stop.

Hope you’re not doing this to riders who are being PALs and waiting to pass you until sightlines improve and/or oncoming trail traffic is clear.

[Birru]

@bentbike33 160265 wrote:

Hope you’re not doing this to riders who are being PALs and waiting to pass you until sightlines improve and/or oncoming trail traffic is clear.

This is me a lot of times. I really want to make sure I have enough time to safely complete a pass, especially if there’s more than one cyclist ahead of me. Other times, I may find that folks ahead of me aren’t really going appreciably slower, so I may drop back a few lengths and match pace, while not being right on their wheels.

[CaseyKane50]

@bobco85 160176 wrote:

This happened yesterday, and I got it on video.

As I was biking on Pegram St in Alexandria, I approached the intersection with Taney Ave which is a 4-way stop. I slowed to a crawl, then started into the intersection when a driver on Taney Ave blows through the stop sign. She would have hit me if I hadn’t slowed in anticipation. But then something interesting happened…

Suddenly, I hear a WOOP! WOOOOP! behind me. An Alexandria police SUV had been right behind me, saw the whole thing, and immediately turned on their lights/siren to pull the driver over! Swift justice!

[video=youtube_share;HeSCLRmn8yw]https://youtu.be/HeSCLRmn8yw[/video]

Motor vehicles blow this stop regularly. This is a favored location for police vehicles o wait for the stop sign runners. They don’t have to wait too long.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@bentbike33 160265 wrote:

Hope you’re not doing this to riders who are being PALs and waiting to pass you until sightlines improve and/or oncoming trail traffic is clear.

This is an important consideration. I often come up on slower riders who get impatient that I’m not passing them…they gesture at me to pass or whatever, but they don’t seem to realize that there’s a line of riders in the oncoming lane, or a blind curve, or some other very good reason I’ve chosen to wait to pass. Sorry dude, but I will pass when *I* assess it is safe to do so. If I come up on a slower rider and ultimately decide not to pass, I back off. That said, a half-mile (as described by Drewdane) seems way too long to fit this scenario, but I’d also say that it can take a while for a rider looking to pass to get a good window, so just keep that in mind when someone is on your tail.

[EasyRider]

@bentbike33 160265 wrote:

Hope you’re not doing this to riders who are being PALs and waiting to pass you until sightlines improve and/or oncoming trail traffic is clear.

You don’t need to sit on someone’s wheel to do those things. In fact, one can’t see if the coast is clear or if there is oncoming traffic if one is doing that. The rider in front is blocking the field of view.

[semperiden]

@Birru 160266 wrote:

This is me a lot of times. I really want to make sure I have enough time to safely complete a pass, especially if there’s more than one cyclist ahead of me. Other times, I may find that folks ahead of me aren’t really going appreciably slower, so I may drop back a few lengths and match pace, while not being right on their wheels.

Same here. If I see someone that is going more or less the same speed and I don’t have a straight long path ahead, I wait until the way is clear before passing. I also don’t get too close to the other cyclist.

I did that this morning between the 4MR detour and MVT, so could have been me? I have issues with pollen allergies, so I become a bit soft spoken at times during my ride and have heard complaints about not calling my passes (even though I do call them), so I have finally decided to invest on a bell for my “good bike.” Hopefully I can have it for BTWD tomorrow, I have a feeling I will need it.

[Author]

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