A misinformed driver almost right hooked me
by Matt Johnson, Greater Greater Washington
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Her response stunned me, and probably goes a long way to describing the plight of cyclists in this country. She said to the guard and me:
"I had my signal on. You were supposed to stop for me."
In the first place, this is completely inaccurate. When driving on a street with bike lanes, the bike lane is considered a regular lane. You always have to yield to cyclists in the bike lane if you need to turn across it.
And the appropriate maneuver is to first merge into the bike lane before turning right. In this case, she should have merged behind me, since she did not have room to pass first.
In the second place, because she initiated the turn before she passed me, I really had no way of knowing that her signal was on anyway. Yes, cars have signals on the front, too. But as the front of her car passed me, I was focused on watching the car in front of her, because I did want to be right hooked by that driver either.
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<a href="http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/18422/a-misinformed-driver-almost-right-hooked-me/">http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/18422/a-misinformed-driver-almost-right-hooked-me/</a>;
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[B' Spokes: I'll add I would love to see someone try "I had my signal on. You have to stop for me." when merging onto the highway with a police car in their way forcing the police to slam on their brakes. I think the real point here is too many drivers feel that cyclists and pedestrians always have to yield to them and never the other way around... and that seriously needs to be addressed. Next, the proper turning method for motorists when a bike lane is present needs to be officially endorsed. I think the legal and safety arguments for this method are a lot stronger than those against but it seems those against don't want motorist driving in bike lanes but have no problem with motorist parking in bike lanes. (OK I put two separate discussions back to back here but it seems those with power at MDOT are more concerned about motorists convenience then they are about the safety of cyclists.)]