[care free family]

I am elated to see that the No Turn on Red signs have been installed at the intersection of N. Wakefield St. & Fairfax Dr.

A little blog post about the sign.
http://wp.me/p3v8dA-4R

[care free family]

Did the “No Turn On Red” sign that was proposed for this intersection get approved? If so, has it been installed?

I just saw that the signs have been installed! Yippee!

[care free family]

I have a post up on my blog with a little update. For those who inquired, my Jamis needed a few repairs but is rideable. Hopefully, it won’t be too much longer before I am able to ride it again.

http://carfreefam.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/after-the-crash/

[care free family]

@Arlingtonrider 67739 wrote:

I’m so very, very sorry this happened to you! You did everything right, and you deserve tons of kudos for your quest to live car-free, your efforts to do everything right and for writing your blog to share ideas with others. I truly hope you’ll be ok and feeling much better soon!

I wanted to add that local (bike accident) attorney Bruce Deming just published a great book called “Surviving the Crash: Your Legal Rights in a Bicycle Accident,” that is excellent and just now became available through Amazon (on Kindle or paperback). It’s an easy read, but very informative and well-written, and it could be incredibly helpful to you right now. I got a copy last week and am very happy to have it. Welcome to the forum.

Thank you very much for the information about the book. Already feeling like I need more information on how to manage things with the insurance company. I will definitely check it out.

[care free family]

@baiskeli 67721 wrote:

Sorry this happened to you and I’m glad you’re okay!

I’m confused – on your blog your wrote “It was after daybreak, it was light out.” and that it was 7:25 am.

And it sounds like you would have been heading west, and so was the car, so the driver should have clearly seen you and the sun would have been behind both of you anyway.

This time of day is probably even more dangerous than total darkness if you don’t have a light or reflector. At night there’s contrast and headlights to bounce off of your, and in the day there is daylight, but the only thing that will get you noticed in twilight is a bright blinky light. It’s a good reminder to use those even when the sun is up or not quite set yet.

Hi, so on the day in question, October 24, 2013 sunrise was at 7:27 a.m. So, I was using the phrasing “daybreak” and “it was light out” to indicate that it was much brighter than dawn light since the sun was about to rise.

[care free family]

Yes, I was using a more standard bike light at the time of the accident. I have a Sigma Illux light on the front. It is fairly bright but I am looking to upgrade to something better that also has a mode that won’t blind other riders on the trails.

This is the one I currently have and was using that morning:
http://www.sigmasport.com/us/produkte/beleuchtung/safety_lights/illux/?punkt=features

@americancyclo 67701 wrote:

I’m curious as to what kind of lighting you have on your bike. In your previous post, you mentioned loving the little blinkies that BikeArlington gives out, which are cute, but not sufficient to ‘be seen’ in traffic or noticed by cars. Do you have a light that is brighter that you can use in the future? Something that might approach the level of brightness of a car headlight, to help you get noticed by drivers that aren’t looking for cyclists.

[care free family]

@DismalScientist 67694 wrote:

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.

Agreed. It is a challenging intersection on so many points!

[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!

[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.

[care free family]

Thank you both for the link to the thread that discussed lights.

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