This story of a cyclist hit by a semi-trailer while waiting on the sidewalk is further proof that being visible to car and truck drivers is the most important aspect of safe cycling!
First published in the Coloradoan, Nov. 5, 2011
By Trevor Hughes
A semi-trailer driver who clipped a Fort Collins bicyclist on the sidewalk as he turned a corner and then kept going knocked off a fire hydrant a few blocks away as a driver chased him down.
The cyclist, 28, was waiting to cross at the intersection of LaPorte Avenue and Shields Street shortly before 5 p.m. Friday when the truck driver turned south from LaPorte onto Shields.
"His wheels ended up hitting the bicyclist who was on the sidewalk," police Sgt. Jackie Pearson said. "He didn't realize he had hit her."
Pearson said the truck driver, 24, continued south for several blocks until another driver chased him down. Startled at being pursued, the driver turned onto Oak Street.
"He ended up clipping the fire hydrant because he was being chased down by someone who was not a cop," Pearson said.
Pearson said the cyclist was not seriously injured, although her feet were hurt because her she had been clipped into the pedals when the truck hit her and her bike.
The truck driver, who was pulling a lowboy loaded with a hydraulic lift, was cited by officers.
2 comments:
I really don't think the takeaway from this story should be that cyclists/pedestrians should always take care to be hyper visible. I doubt that the truck driver would have seen the cyclist even if she had been lit up like a Christmas tree. The *curb* that he had to run over to get to her didn't even stop him.
Although, I agree that the truck driver appears to be incompetent, I think that being visible meant to be in the road. If the cyclist were to have been in the road and taken the lane (this is a very tight intersection), she would have been extremely visible on the roadway and odds are the driver would have had to have waited until she crossed the road before he even entered the intersection.
Post a Comment