Cars...why do so many have idiots in them?

rghbsn - 2009-07-02 8:46 AM So I just got back yesterday from NYC and upstate... had a nice week of vacation, didn't get to ride so I was really looking forward to getting back on the bike. The day before I left I got a new set of tri-shorts in the mail along with a new jersey.
  I get home from the airport, do some stuff around the house, head to bed and set the alarm for 0400 so I can get up and go for a ride. I love it, quiet, no traffic, it's my favorite time to ride. It's just a quick little loop through some main throughfares in some local neighborhoods...15 miles.
  I have on my new gear, because, well, it's new... and I want to wear it, lol. I am almost home, making better time than I expected with my week away, and I am in aero at about 22 mph. Now, the area I am in is a 35 mph two lane through a large development. There are some gentle turns and not-really-hills. I was in the right lane, about 3 feet off the curb going around a turn to the left that then "S's" back to the right. I see headlights, but they seem to be where they are supposed to be and on I ride... then I notice two things at the same time: 1) the headlights aren't moving forward, and 2) they are facing me in MY lane.  I try to just whip around her, but the speed/turn radius/friction ratios didn't work out and I ended up hitting the ground pretty hard and pretty fast...I never even made a reach for my brakes.
  Then, the lady never gets out of her car, and says through an open passenger side window, "didn't you see my lights?" I said, "yeah, I saw them...I didn't expect them to be on my side of the road." That's  when she tells me that she's there every morning (I've never seen her before) delivering the newspapers... There was no mailbox/paper box where she was stopped, and the next thing she did was turn around a corner to the left (she was right at the intersection).
  I know that mail drivers will sit on the opposite side of the car to deliver, so they stay on the correct side of the road, I have no idea why she thinks it was okay to be over there.
  My new shorts did okay, I had to throw out the jersey. My gloves (almost didn't wear them today) will need to be replaced and I should have an interesting night at work tonight. I guess vacation is now officially over.

rghbsn - 2009-07-02 7:46 AM

..and the next thing she did was turn around a corner to the left (she was right at the intersection).

breckview - 2009-07-02 10:13 AM


Yeah, that's known as "hit-and-run" and it's a crime. And, she's an idiot because she's very easy to find.

popsracer - 2009-07-02 10:37 AM



Is it a "hit and run" if the car is stopped? The driver is clearly uncaring at best for not checking if you were OK and there is no excuse for that.

But if the car was stopped at the time of the incident, you have an obligation to maintain enough control to avoid it. If you were driving a car around the corner and hit the parked car whose fault would it be?

I am not trying to be insensitive to your accident just giving my opinion on calling this a crime.

popsracer - 2009-07-02 9:37 AM



Is it a "hit and run" if the car is stopped? The driver is clearly uncaring at best for not checking if you were OK and there is no excuse for that.

But if the car was stopped at the time of the incident, you have an obligation to maintain enough control to avoid it. If you were driving a car around the corner and hit the parked car whose fault would it be?

I am not trying to be insensitive to your accident just giving my opinion on calling this a crime.

breckview - 2009-07-02 12:25 PM I'm not a lawyer but if someone is sitting in the driver's seat of a running car that's involved in an accident where someone is injured, I don't think it's legal to speed off. "Fault" is up to lawyers  jury/judge to decide, not those involved in an injury accident.