John Forester: Cyclists are not victims
John Forester, the father of bicycle planning, has it right. He doesn't agree that bicyclists are victims, as the anti-motoring bicycle coalitions argue. Instead, John emphasizes that cyclists should learn their appropriate and safe place on the road and become skilled in operating their bikes in a safe manner (http://johnforester.com/).
Robert Pratt
CA Bicycle Advocates
Labels: Anti-Car, Cycling, Cycling and Safety
posted by Rob Anderson @ 11:57 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Absolutely, but they still have out-of-town granny's and mid-market thugs to deal with, who don't always know that bikes are entitled to some of that road space.
So deal with it or take the bus.
Also have some cops that are plenty biased. That's not going to make me take a bus.
Last year I was hit by a tow truck driver's door as I went around him (he was parked in the Polk Street bike lane in order to tow a car parked in a handicapped spot without a placard).
I moved into the right car lane to pass him, and right then he opened his door and hit me, giving me a fractured elbow and flying me into traffic.
When I called the SFPD for an officer to come and take a police report I was told that because it was "just a bike accident" they weren't going to send anyone. Then I found a cop on the street near the 450 Golden Gate Ave federal building. He was Federal Protective Services, part of DHS. I asked him to take a report. He asked me, "Why, does he want to file charges?" I said no, but I might because my arm might be broken. He then told me "You was in the wrong!" Just like that. He had not even seen the accident or the site or heard a description of what had happened. He just knew that I was on my bike and got hit by an opening door, so I was automatically at fault.
As I argued with him and explained what happened, he finally ended up arguing that I should have waited in the bike lane for however long it took for the driver to attach the car to his truck and leave. Say, sit in the bike lane for 20 minutes? I don't think so.
By the way, CVC 21202 holds the driver at fault for opening his door into traffic without looking. And it scares me that these guys are the front lines of the agency that can send people to Guantanamo Bay.
getting doored is automatically the fault of the motorist.
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