Rear Facing Camera Catches Driver (Deliberately?) Hit Cyclist

This is a bit hard to watch. Likely the driver won't even get a ticket.

http://urbanvelo.org/rear-facing-camera-catches-driver-deliberately...

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Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on July 19, 2014 at 10:04am

YOW ! Terrible. Left him for dead ! Smartphone lane drift. Looks like JFK express lanes.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Z on July 19, 2014 at 5:02pm

Damn! Hard to watch...

That's why I'm always checking my mirror for crazy drivers from behind. Was that some kind of expressway? Those cars are flying!

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Permalink Reply by Irvin Steinert on July 20, 2014 at 3:36am

interesting, thanks for posting

clp said:

Having ridden across the country I can tell you that in many places in western US, there are no alternatives to the interstates. And cyclists are permitted to ride on the shoulders of interstates for hundreds of miles. When doing so, you always have to be aware of traffic coming up from behind. Because large rigs pulling double-trailers can swing back and forth in the cross-winds like big snakes. And you have to be ready at all times to bail out off-pavement or into the ditch...and probably go over the handlebars.

Truckers think they own those highways. And they see few cyclists out there, so they aren't accustomed to not being able to edge over onto the shoulder whenever they need to do so.

Going across to the Pacific, I was forced to ride long stretches of I-40, I-10, I-8 and I-5. Picked up a lot of flats from the glass and debris on those shoulders. And had one close call in the Arizona mountains. But you can make good time on those graded, well-paved highways that cut through and level all the little hills and valleys.

IMO one simple rear-view mirror instead of those video cameras would have allowed that cyclist enough time to move over, out of the way of that truck.

Tom Z said: ....Was that some kind of Expressway? Those cars are flying!

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Permalink Reply by XndeX on July 20, 2014 at 8:05am

Only good thing about this is he has a good image of the license plate!

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Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on July 21, 2014 at 5:46am

Wow, just glad the cyclist is the one who was able to post the video and not his family. Makes me want to get a camera even more.

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Permalink Reply by Walter Dworak on July 21, 2014 at 5:54am

Wooooooowwww, "I didn't see him (on an empty stretch of highway, in broad ass day light, and while i was pulling right and thus should have been looking literally in that direction)"

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Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on July 21, 2014 at 8:41am

Probably should outlaw mirrors while we are at it too.

h' 1.0 said:

I think people are most upset because of the bigger issue of mirrors not being held accountable for their actions.

Davis Moore said:

Bullard Police Chief Gary Don Lewis, “We don’t know how close to the line the cyclist was traveling, but I must make it clear that the bike was not struck, it was the vehicle’s mirror that struck the cyclist. He (Vercher) was very upset that he hit the cyclist he says he never saw.”

Gawd people, the bike wasn't struck, the rider was just hit by a mirror. The chief of police says so, so that's what happened, okay? What's all the ruckus about?

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Permalink Reply by David Barish on July 22, 2014 at 4:23am

Having seen the video we do know how close the cyclist was to the white line. That is no longer an issue and the only remaining one is whether the driver of the truck is evil, intentionally running him over or whether he is incompetent, veering over the line. Either way, he is responsible. That, of course, does nothing for the poor guy lying on the side of the road. I would be interested to hear what the chief has to say now.

Davis Moore said:

Bullard Police Chief Gary Don Lewis, “We don’t know how close to the line the cyclist was traveling, but I must make it clear that the bike was not struck, it was the vehicle’s mirror that struck the cyclist. He (Vercher) was very upset that he hit the cyclist he says he never saw.”

Gawd people, the bike wasn't struck, the rider was just hit by a mirror. The chief of police says so, so that's what happened, okay? What's all the ruckus about?

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Permalink Reply by Steve Weeks on July 24, 2014 at 9:41am

Weapons-grade Denial is in evidence here. The driver was out of the lane, and if he *really* didn't see the cyclist, there is something wrong with his visual system. I suspect this was intentional. Ironically, attention seems to be focused on the mirror that hit the cyclist; there is another point of view...

Not to reduce the outrage at this incompetent or malicious driving, but had the cyclist been equipped with a rear-view mirror this might never have happened. This type ("struck from behind" or "rear end") of incident/accident is very common, accounting for 40% of fatalities in the League of American Bicyclists "New Report": HERE.

I posted the following on the League's New Report page:

I notice that nowhere in these comments, or in any of the League's publications that I can recall seeing, is there any mention of the need for, or use of, rear-view mirrors for avoidance of "rear-end" accidents. There seems almost to be a stubborn refusal to consider this simple technology as a means of giving cyclists a way to protect themselves. In most, if not all, states it is illegal to operate a car or motorcycle without rear-facing mirrors. Why do more bicyclists not avail themselves of this simple and inexpensive technology?

Personally, I will not ride in traffic without a mirror... I feel naked and vulnerable without one. Of course, if the hypothesis that mirror use reduces rear-end accidents is to be verified, the data from bicycle accidents must include whether a mirror was present or not. To my best knowledge, this information is neither collected nor published.
Until more information is available, I will continue to use and strongly recommend rear-view mirror use. To do otherwise is to abdicate cyclists' responsibility for taking reasonable precautions for self-preservation.

Steve Weeks, DDS
Chicago Street-riding Commuter