[lawgrad12]

@SolarBikeCar 190892 wrote:

I got mixed up in a fast & furious road race down Dranesville Road from Herndon towards Route 7. Two tricked out cars did a high speed (like 90 mph) weave between cars in the left lane and me in the right. I always take the center of the right lane rather than the gutter path and I was not amused hearing the whine of a high speed downshift behind and then next to me.

Four lights later I caught up with one of the cars and did some impolite yelling to the apparent amusement of the moms in their minivans with rolled down windows. I don’t know how they explained it to their kids.

For those who have had similar situations, do you just thank your guardian angel and move on with life and adjust your riding style in the hope of avoiding that situation again. Or, do you try to get law enforcement help? I do have a good video of the incident and most of the license plate number.

Call the cops and provide them the video. Illegal racing is a big deal in Virginia. Per Va Code Ann. 46.2-865, illegal racing is reckless driving (a misdemeanor in Virginia) and requires a license suspension for at least 6 months (not to exceed 2 years). In addition, Virginia allows for the seizure of vehicles involved in illegal racing. See Va Code Ann. 46.2-867.

[lawgrad12]

@mello yello 190561 wrote:

I’ve been back out riding more over the last few months, with a new job in Tyson’s, I’m doing the first/last 3 miles from home to Potomac Ave Metro regularly, with some longer days to either Rosslyn or East Falls Church.

Yesterday on my way home, after crossing the Souza bride, I was in the lanes on Pennsylvania Ave SE, heading eastbound taking a lane, and a car intentionally got very close, after honking at me. Close enough that their passenger mirror brushed my elbow. I called 911 and reported the incident, told them that a grey Toyota Corolla with DC tags FN 2626 was driving aggressively and endangering me. They weren’t going to look for the vehicle, and asked me to stay until they dispatched someone. I called it in from in front of a police station, but they didn’t dispatch from there. I eventually gave up and continued home.

As described, this is a pretty clear case of assault. I’d recommend reporting it, and contacting the lieutenant for the appropriate district.

[lawgrad12]

@bearcat22 179016 wrote:

I’ve seen a fair amount of hate between bike riders and car drivers over sharing the road.

I’ve been in DC only 13 years, and I think I’ve only seen a car run a red light once.

But, it appears as if bicycle riders think that they are entitled to run red lights and stop signs.

Is there some law I’m unaware of here?

If I recall correctly, you misplaced your bike in your apartment building’s bike room, called the police, and then found said bike in the bike room. My guess is that you’re not very observant.

As a daily DC cyclist, I observe cars running red lights and stop signs on a daily basis. In fact, I observe cars actually coming to a stop (not a yield) at stop signs less than 50% of the time.

[lawgrad12]

Is this a joke? The officer said that he’s not empowered to do building code enforcement, which is fairly typical, and offered to put you in touch with the city’s code enforcers. You determined your bike was not in fact stolen. What, exactly, did you expect the police to do?

[lawgrad12]

@mstone 178551 wrote:

I question the idea that hit & run only applies on roadways. (So, if a car runs off the road and then hits someone, it can’t be hit and run? I think the statute very specifically doesn’t say that.) I question the idea that it only applies to automobiles. (I don’t see that in the statute, either. There’s some language about license & registration that doesn’t apply to bikes, but I assume that you can be charged with hit & run even if you’re an unlicensed driver of an unregistered car.) It may very well be that the fact that the dual treatment of bikes under the code makes hit & run not apply in this case, that was even my initial thought, but not necessarily for the reasons stated above. (Or it might–precedents hold more weight than guesses.) My curiosity is mostly because police departments have a terrible record for knowing how to apply the law to bikes (to be fair, the officers tend to get zero bike-related training) and I wonder if, regardless of the merits of this case, there are other cases where hit & run would be appropriate but they won’t even consider it.

The issue under Virginia law, is not that a hit and run can only occur on a highway, but that bicycles are only vehicles when operated on a highway. See Va. Code Ann. 46.2-100 (defining “vehicle” to exclude devices “moved by human power,” but explaining that for purposes of Chapter 8, which includes the prohibition on hit and runs, a bicycle, among other things, is a vehicle “while operated on the highway”). Section 46.2-100 further defines “highway” as “the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth, including the streets and alleys.” See id. Since the multi-use pathways aren’t open to the use of the public for vehicular travel, it’s unlikely they’d be considered highways… As an aside, the actual charging decisions will be made by the Commonwealth’s Attorney, not the Sheriff’s Office.

[lawgrad12]

@rcannon100 165247 wrote:

And it happened again.

“Why are you asking?”

“Because you are sitting beside you bike.”

“What about sitting next to my bike makes you think I need help.?”

“Look I am just trying to be polite. “

Nooooope.

You’re being incredibly rude. We should be thankful that people are showing a small touch of altruism and making sure a stranger is ok. I know a rider’s whose life was saved by a bystander when he started feeling weak, sat next to his bike, and had an MI that progressed into cardiac arrest. But for the bystander kind enough to check on him and initiate CPR, he’d be dead. So, show a little bit of gratitude and stop being a jerk.

(I don’t have many posts here, but I’ve been reading this forum for years)

[lawgrad12]

@anomad 156146 wrote:

Sunday I was taking Ms. anomad for tacos and went into the tunnel under the rail road tracks along the Telegraph Road bridge. About halfway through I hit some wet rock or something and my front wheel went one way while I continued on according to the laws of physics. No serious injuries, but I couldn’t ride very far once my leg started swelling up. I’m feeling a lot better today, but it will probably be next week before I am back on the bike. Haven’t been down that hard since 1999, so my number was definitely up. Bike doesn’t appear damaged at all. The best part was I came to rest in a puddle of tunnel filth, I probably glow in the dark after take a dunk in that.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8041205,-77.0741135,3a,75y,349.15h,81.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHP4k1mxv31IT4JTU7vkGsA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e3

So my question is about really light bikes. This was basically my maiden voyage on my new chinese carbon 29er. The front wheel went away like it stopped dead in its tracks. Is that an issue with really lightweight bikes that they want to change direction way too easily? Its lighter than any mountain bike I have had by a long shot. I own and have owned a bunch of under 20 pound road and cross bikes, but never experienced anything like this. No suspension on this, carbon rigid fork. I’ve been riding bikes and motorcycles for 30 years if that means anything.

What say you? Being a newb to lightweight mountain bike catch me off guard or just bad luck? Obviously I am going to be paranoid as hell when I get back on this thing, since clearly it tried to kill me.

It’s not a matter of bike weight, it’s a matter of bike geometry. Basically, as the headtube angle gets steeper, you’re steering will feel ‘twitchier’. This effect can be off-set or magnified based on fork rake. I imagine that most bikes you’ve ridden in the past have had shallower head tube angles.

[lawgrad12]

@bunderwunder 153150 wrote:

Thank you, I’d appreciate them hearing! The driver was actually a fed special agent about to report on duty. I know I should have, but didn’t call police right then. It was chaos down there and a protest group was approaching. I took photos, and gathered info from him with an agreement to circle back next week. I’m also a fed with multiple resources to follow up with him if need be.

If he was in a Government vehicle or being paid, this should have been reported to authorities. Certainly this needs to be reported to his Agency’s OIG…

[Author]

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