[MCL1981]

@CCrew 9663 wrote:

With a Ped AT the crosswalk the vehicles have no duty to stop. Pedestrian IN the crosswalk they do.[/quote]
I think you’re drawing a line where there isn’t one. Someone standing at the curb waiting is in the crosswalk. People are are not required to step out in front of cars to get them to yield.

@CCrew 9663 wrote:

By both of your definitions I can ignore walk signals and stop signs and be in the right if I’m merely in the proximity of a crosswalk and vehicles simply have to wait for me to make a decision..[/quote]
Walk / Don’t walk signals are a totally unrelated matter in a different section of the law.

@CCrew 9663 wrote:

And I’m sure that’s what happened here. Vehicles were stopped for another person, and Will assumed they were stopped for him and proceeded into the intersection.

That is not what happened here at all. He has detailed what happened twice and that isn’t even close. They both entered at the same time and passed eachother in the middle. This is so cut and dry, I don’t understand why you’re trying so hard to make it his fault when the law in both spirit and text is so clear.

[MCL1981]

Ditto. Vehicle traffic is required to yield to the crosswalk. The stop sign for peds/bikes is irrelevant to the vehicle traffic. If crosswalk peds/bikes are at the crosswalk, the traffic is required to yield to them. They are not required to yield only to one at a time. If there is a line of 20 peds and bikes with no gap for a vehicle to pass through safely, then yes, vehicle traffic will be waiting. 20ft is more than enough of a ped gap for a car to pass through. Your understanding and interpretation of crosswalks is quite flawed.

And regardless, Will DID stop. And he did proceed once vehicle traffic yielded. And the vehicle traffic started again while he was still in the crosswalk. It is 110% not his fault no matter how you try to misinterpret the law.

[MCL1981]

@CCrew 9652 wrote:

Cars had no traffic control device at that intersection. Trail has a stop sign. Entering the intersection because he was expecting that all the cars would STAY stopped was an oversight and from a culpability standpoint means that he DID enter the intersection in disregard of approaching traffic.

Incorrect. It was a crosswalk. Additional signs or traffic control devices are not required. See the above quoted laws. Traffic is required to yield to the crosswalk, period. And traffic did indeed actually do it. The ped/cycle traffic also did indeed obey their own stop sign and proceeded once vehicle traffic had indeed yielded. The accident happened when the driver didn’t see him still in the crosswalk and began to proceed through from their previous stop. Everyone did everything right. The driver just didn’t see him among the other people and though it was clear to proceed. 100% the drivers fault.

[MCL1981]

He followed the law to the letter. As stated, he has the rights of a pedestrian in that cross walk. And he did stop and wait for it to be clear before proceeding. The driver of the car started moving again while he was already in the crosswalk. A cut and dry accident that she clearly felt terrible about, but none the less, her fault 100% for not looking before she leaped.

In my other reply about lights and intersections, I said this and I’ll say it again here…

In my previous life before moving here when I was a firefighter/EMT, I was the O&M guy for the warning lights and sirens on the trucks so I know a thing or two about this concept. Front and rear facing warning lights won’t do jack at an intersection. You need lights that face sideways to accomplish anything. So either the light is on your helmet and you look left and right to make it happen, or you install side facing lights on the front of the bike. I’ll be doing the latter using actual fire truck type warning lights just for giggles, it is going to be ridiculous. And regardless of what you do, you still need to slow being prepared and able to stop at the intersection to positively acknowledge that there is no cross traffic or that traffic sees you and has granted you the right of way. If you blow through an intersection (cross walk or not) without slowing/stopping to confirm it is clear and someone runs your ass over, I have no sympathy for you.

In this case, he did everything right. Slowed, stopped, waited, traffic was confirmed stopped. Other people also did the same. Began crossing. Car abruptly moved forward from a stop while in the middle of crossing because she wasn’t paying attention. Other than attaching side facing warning lights, some things will always be unavoidable hazards.

[MCL1981]

IMO, there are two levels of two levels of lighting for all directions.

Trails: Low intensity be-seen mode. This is just a matter of standing out to those who are in a trance not paying attention. I have some small cheap LED’s on the front and back that I turn on at all times. They are no obnoxious to those paying attention and they’re just enough to make the zoned-out joggers see me coming. This applies day or night. I don’t think fusion reactor powered high intensity flashing is required on the trails day or night at all ever. You’re wasting battery power and retinal life for nothing. Trust me, we can each other with our cheap $20 LED at night on the trail just fine and it is not necessary to blind people in the process.

Roads: High intensity be-seen mode. My brightest front and rear flashing LED’s are on at all times. I turn them off when entering a trail for the obviously stated reasons of being annoying. We’re not trying to make sure we see each other like on the trail. We’re trying to make sure the morons in cars see us. They’re bigger, faster, and have a lot more going on. Raise the control rods baby.

Night: High intensity see-where-you’re-going mode in addition to the applicable road/trail flashers listed above. I need to see where I’m going whether I’m on the road or the trail so the headlight shouldn’t be any different either way. Its important to be courteous to other trail users. Just like you dim your glaring high beams in a car, you need to dim or lower your headlight if it is glaring and blinding other people on the trail. Either aim lower permanently or be able to move or dim it. There is NO viable excuse for blinding other trail users so you can see a 1/2 mile behind them. Bright is great. Control rods up. Light that bitch up. But be in control of it and don’t be a jerk with it.

WillStewart makes a good point about intersections. In my previous life before moving here when I was a firefighter/EMT, I was the O&M guy for the warning lights and sirens on the trucks so I know a thing or two about this concept. Front facing warning lights won’t do jack at an intersection. You need lights that face sideways. So either the light is on your helmet and you look left and right to make it happen, or you install side facing lights on the front of the bike. I’ll be doing the latter just for giggles, it is going to be ridiculous. And regardless of what you do, you still need to slow being prepared and able to stop at the intersection to positively acknowledge that there is no cross traffic or that traffic sees you and has granted you the right of way. If you blow through an intersection (cross walk or not) without slowing/stopping to confirm it is clear and someone runs your ass over, I have no sympathy for you.

In this case, he did everything right. Slowed, stopped, waited, traffic was confirmed stopped. Other people also did the same. Began crossing. Car abruptly moved forward from a stop while in the middle of crossing because she wasn’t paying attention. Other than attaching side facing warning lights, some things will always be unavoidable hazards.

[MCL1981]

@Dirt 9371 wrote:

Been riding with mine on constant since this thread started too.

What exactly do you carry around with that? I picture a rotary spreader on the bottom for spreading sand/salt in the winter.

[MCL1981]

When I ride in the cold, I wear my reversible class 2 jacket from when I was in the FD before moving down here. I would regularly wear this while standing in the road acting as a target for oncoming traffic. If they don’t see me in this, they won’t see me in anything.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]427[/ATTACH]

[MCL1981]

NOT READY READING BRAKE A. Abort / Retry / Fail

Though in all seriousness, combined with wheel slip and spin sensors, it could provide real anti-lock brakes too.

[MCL1981]

When I need to take my sunglasses off, I hang on the brake/shift cables.

[MCL1981]

When I’m on the CCT or Rock Creek, I always use some “old school” dimmer LED flashers on the front and back. I do this so I stand out to those not paying much attention. I save the quantum flux devices for the road because I don’t want to annoy people on the train.

[MCL1981]

Oh my. I’ve had to lock ’em up for deer before in Rock Creek Park (on my bike and in my truck). I guess I shouldn’t complain.

[MCL1981]

@CCrew 8818 wrote:

3am train historically is a mail train and allows checked baggage.

There is no baggage car. Its a normal Northeast Regional train. It just happens to be pretty empty since most normal people are asleep. Not mail and no bikes or other unreasonable luggage is allowed. Its quite unlikely that you’ll get your bike passed the gate agent, the police officer, and the conductors.

[MCL1981]

I take Amtrak from WDC to CT (passed NYC) frequently. I have never seen anyone even try to take a bike. And can’t think of a single place on any of the cars where you could reasonably stow a bike. Anywhere it would fit would be cumbersome and blockade everyone else. I don’t believe it is practical. Maybe the 3am train since it is empty. But any normal daytime (including weekends) train, forget it.

[MCL1981]

Actually, the VA law specifically states BOTH EARS. And that law only applies while riding on PUBLIC ROADS.

[MCL1981]

I splice them into my earphones too. They may be 1/2″ thick and very heavy. But the quality is amazing.

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