San Francisco cyclist guilty of manslaughter in legal first

[lordofthemark]

@Rogburt 58866 wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2013/jul/24/san-francisco-cyclist-manslaughter

If the light was turning yellow and the crosswalk was full, does that mean all the peds were jaywalking? Or did the court determine that the light was not yellow?

[Rogburt]

Unsure of all the details, lots of points to think about on this one… I for one am not innocent of cheating a light.

[ShawnoftheDread]

San Franciscans are almost as bad as Washingtonians about standing off the curb and starting to cross before the light changes.

[Tim Kelley]

This was the Strava guy we heard about last year:

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nevius/article/Strava-s-KOM-awards-blamed-for-reckless-bicycling-3657025.php

(Not that we want to get that debate started again)

[Nubbs]

I’m ok with this, I hope it makes some cyclist think before they do stupid stuff. I know I have run the occasional light and this will make me think twice about my actions moving forward.

[consularrider]

It doesn’t appear the court determined anything about whether the light had changed. The cyclist pled guilty as part of a plea bargin.

[83b]

His postings to a forum (much like this one!) were just so damning wrt his state of mind, I think I’d have pled out too.

“I was already way too committed to stop … I couldn’t see a line through the crowd and I couldn’t stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find,”

Just wow…

[PotomacCyclist]

@83(b) 58894 wrote:

His postings to a forum (much like this one!) were just so damning wrt his state of mind, I think I’d have pled out too.

“I was already way too committed to stop … I couldn’t see a line through the crowd and I couldn’t stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find,”

Just wow…

Except that I don’t think anyone here has ever posted about speeding down a steep hill and trying to find a line through crowded sidewalks.

I agree that this guy needed to be prosecuted for something. He was completely reckless. What he did is not the same thing as rolling through a STOP sign on a completely empty street.

[Terpfan]

From the story Tim posted, “Flint, who said he once clocked 49.3 mph.” Um, I routinely clock between 38-49 mph going down the hill at Westgrove. The irony being that for me, it’s by far safer than alternative routes with similar steep hills. I do also run the stop sign at the bottom because it’s nearly impossible to stop, although I slow down significantly and have stopped once when I saw an oncoming car by braking hard and turning back up the hill (it’s very easy to lose speed going from a 9-10% decline to a 9-10% incline).

The guy is reckless as can be and deserves the punishment (and arguably more). But it did make me think about the timing of traffic lights. It’s annoying how they’re always set for vehicles that can start and stop much faster than a bike and how pedestrians routinely do not wait for the crosswalk. This guy has 0 excuse, but I have had people literally jump in front of me before as I’m on the finishing side of the street and it turns yellow.

[DaveK]

It seems he got a similar punishment as the driver of a motor vehicle with no prior similar incidents. So regardless of what I think about the sentence itself, I’m glad it’s at least relatively consistent.

[consularrider]

@Terpfan 58936 wrote:

From the story Tim posted, “Flint, who said he once clocked 49.3 mph.” Um, I routinely clock between 38-49 mph going down the hill at Westgrov …

I have trouble going much faster than 30 mph on any downhill, much too risk averse.

[KLizotte]

@Terpfan 58936 wrote:

From the story Tim posted, “Flint, who said he once clocked 49.3 mph.” Um, I routinely clock between 38-49 mph going down the hill at Westgrove. The irony being that for me, it’s by far safer than alternative routes with similar steep hills. I do also run the stop sign at the bottom because it’s nearly impossible to stop, although I slow down significantly and have stopped once when I saw an oncoming car by braking hard and turning back up the hill…

This is an accident waiting to happen.

[mstone]

@KLizotte 58965 wrote:

This is an accident waiting to happen.

Yeah, hard to find an inescapable reason to go 50mph on a bike down a road with a stop at the bottom. This is not the same thing as failing to go from 10 to 0 at a pointless w&od stop sign after seeing that the way is clear.

[NicDiesel]

I really hope this clown gets taken to the cleaners during the civil trial.

[Terpfan]

The other real choice is Belle View, which I sometimes take, but it’s the same incline, much higher vehicle volume, the road condition is worse and people always try to pass me around the turn. After one close call on it, I decided Westgrove was a better choice. However, I have suggested the county move the stop signs to the other direction as it makes far more sense or make it a three way stop sign.

[Author]

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