These guys were lucky they weren’t killed. Accident happens around 2:30, then repeats in slow motion. From the rider’s info on YouTube:
…I went to the police department and I reported the crime. I also gave the video to the police officer. It was possible to identify the number of the car on the video. The police have located the car and the owner. Now I’m waiting for the return of the police on the case.
oh man, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ridden that very stretch of road and worried for my life. Everyone is getting ready to hit the freeway right there, and the bike route crosses that lane of traffic- just like ducks crossing the freeway. Believe it or not, that road is safer than it used to be, that white line wasn’t there not that long ago- total free for all.
Barbrady has a valid point. Obviously the drivervwho hit these guys committed a crime and should be punished. However it is jackarses exactly like these two who break basic laws regarding the road, but then turn around and expect auto drivers to follow every rule. And for the record they did not just coast or roll through hat stop sign, they blew through that stop at speed, a pure jackarse move. You cant expect drivers to be courteous or respect roadies when they see roadies totally breaking laws themselves. That is reality.
That was terrible. I hope the riders are ok and I hope the driver is dealt with sufficiently in the legal system. But I have to agree with the observations about the rolling through the stop signs. It doesn’t mitigate what happened. But I think that kind of stuff just adds to the animosity drivers feel towards cyclists.
@gyro2: Most drivers, if not all, break the law in one way or the other every time they drive: speeding, tailgating, rolling through stop signs, failing to signal turns in time (100-200 feet before a turn, depending on the area) or at all, etc. What those car drivers fail to grasp is that 5000 pounds or more of vehicle have plenty of momentum and can kill or ruin someone’s life in an instant. Those 5000 pounds won’t stop on a dime and are far, *far* more dangerous than any cyclist will ever be.
I feel safer speeding near uncontrollably at my own hands downhill MTB riding on single track and jumping huge gaps than when I ride on the road for short periods due to the other risks. You will not catch me on a road bike! The risk of death or severe injury is way to high especially when its not entirely in your hands like in this example. Like notanMTBrider says 5000lbs of moving metal vs. a person on a bike = no thank you. Protective gear definitively helps with those close calls like this video. Glad to see these guys walked away and the hit and run driver arrested! Be safe out there everyone.
I hope those guys didn’t get any longer lasting injuries.
I don’t think Gyro2 was saying these guys deserve to get hit. The driver should get punished for hitting the cyclists who were clearly out of the way. I think he was just pointing out that sharing the road is a two way street and that while the driver is completely wrong and should get whats coming to him from the police, cyclist need to stop at stop signs and make sure they are aware of traffic as well because people aren’t always looking.
Drive/Ride defensively.
@JimW
Young mans, you can’t just go around declaring shenanigans on innocent people; that’s how wars get started!
@G
Oh, you’re doing it all wrong my little friend. You do it like this. *whacks the bookmobile driver in the head* You gotta get them in the head; they go down quicker.
@Gyro2: gets it.
Gotta agree with Barbrady and Gyro.. These guys obviously did not deserve this, but I live in a city where traffic laws are so blatantly disregarded by cyclists, and the drivers here hate cyclist for it. I am a cyclist, but I am not so naive to think my improper actions wont have an effect on the attitude of the cagers.
I follow the traffic laws as a rider, and I am in the extreme minority here. I too have become reluctant to ride on the roads anymore due to the dangers. I ride my MTB probably 10 times to every one on my roadie anymore.
sheeesh. obviously the guy in FULL RED wasn’t dressed for proper visibility…..
I am surprised there are no guestimates on WTF the driver was doing but it looks to me like a clear case of “staring at something other than the road ahead” cell phone/txt, maybe eating, maybe dropped something on the floor, but clearly was doing it for a while because you would have seen the red dude well ahead of being near enough to veer off the road.
too bad the timing wasn’t such that we could be watching a video titled “near hit, cyclists watch as driver runs off into woods over curb”
One must wonder just how bright is the cyclist who didn’t edit out the first 01:17 of the tape showing the
double stop sign violations at 0:02 and 01:17! Both guys could well get moving violation tickets if the police cared to press the issue. They’re certainly not good examples to other riders.
