Driver Attacks Cyclist in Chicago After Driving in Bike Lane

This happened on the Madison Street bike land and luckily, the incident was captured by the cyclist's Go-Pro. Looks like they have the license plate and the driver.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/03/02/bicyclist-attacked-after-cal...

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Permalink Reply by DLS on March 4, 2016 at 8:18am

We live in a city where people walk, stand, bike, and park "illegally" all the time. If we want every car ticketed for "standing" in a bike lane then we should expect it for jaywalking, rolling stop signs, etc. No one wants to live like that. The video is highly edited (other online versions available are too) and it looks like the car was parked in the bike lane with its hazards on.  When I'm driving my car down a city street I don't roll down my window and tell some guy that he's double parked in a traffic lane, I go around him when it's safe.  I don't know if he's waiting for a spot to open up or picking up his mom going to cancer treatment.  There are plenty more instances when cars dangerously cut off bicyclists than this one. If you are afraid to venture a little bit into traffic you probably should stick to bike paths only -- it appears he has plenty of time to signal and take the lane to go around this car.  With all that said, the guy in the car is nuts.  When I'm driving or when I'm biking I always think, would I do (the bird) or say this to the other person that slighted me if we were both standing in an elevator?  

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on March 4, 2016 at 11:06am

It's also prudent to remember that the US has the highest per capita gun ownership in the world, but only has a middling rank in educational attainment.  Be careful out there.

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on March 5, 2016 at 8:47am

How ridiculous. Illegal Parker's in Chicago constantly use hazards when they are waiting for someone going in for a Starbucks picking up dry-cleaning etc. What this guy did was illegal and should be ticketed. Calling him out politely is totally appropriate.

Permalink Reply by Maurice on March 4, 2016 at 8:51am

If you think that barricading the bike lane for several minutes is analogous to jaywalking for 5 seconds, then I don't know what to tell you.

I can think of many instances where I prayed that a driver would get ticketed for rolling a stop sign.  My kids cross a 4-way-stop intersection on their walk to school, and only a small % of drivers actually stop.

Permalink Reply by DLS on March 4, 2016 at 9:10am

It's completely analogous. Both are illegal (for better or worse), and both can cause the other person to slightly brake and go around someone.  The cyclist easily went around this car with no worry since he was able to look right at him and tell him he was in the bike lane.  My point is double parking is a way of life in a city.  Be there a bike lane or not.  And really, these are just some painted lines.  Riding down a residential street where you have to swerve to the middle are you going to stop and tell everyone that is double parked for whatever reason they are parked in the roadway? We all didn't just start biking in this city because of bike lanes.  Can a car pull over and hang out in a sharrow?  Maybe they don't see it.  Unless it's a physically segregated bike lane I see it as just another part of a city street where cars will be.  I'd rather have the city invest in making the pavement better (no cracks, potholes, etc.) than painting some lines on the road.

The stop sign roll was more for us bike commuters and not cars. It's easy for cars to come to a complete stop and accelerate as fast as they want.  I'm all for the Idaho stop, but I'm also not for ticketing every car standing in a bike lane.  

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 4, 2016 at 9:24am

If you think that barricading the bike lane for several minutes is analogous to jaywalking for 5 seconds, then I don't know what to tell you.


I agree. They're nowhere close to being comparable.

Permalink Reply by DLS on March 4, 2016 at 9:44am

I guess we all have different levels of risk, going around a car isn't an issue for me.  But a car in a bike lane for that one biker is only in the bike lane for less than 5 seconds to go around it.  I have a real world example, I pick up my kid from daycare two days a week so I have to drive on those days.  No painted bike lanes but there is a painted sharrow.  There is a drop off/pick up area along the curb (normal city street). I see another parent walking out with their kid and I pull over put on my turn signal and wait for that person to strap their one or two kids into car seats.  Put away all the other stuff. Get into the car, go forward, go backwards to get out of a parallel spot (e.g., I'm easily waiting 60-90 seconds) and a biker is going to come by me and tell me to get out of the bike lane? I'm just basing all of this on the above video which showed a car for no more than a few seconds with its hazards on in a bike lane.  

My main point is I think we as bikers are putting too much emphasis on bike lanes and what is in them, and we expect drivers are going to change habits that they've had for years/decades because of some faded paint on the roadways. Car in bike lane, maybe tap my brakes, look over my shoulder, pass the car, enter bike lane again and continue down the road. 

Permalink Reply by DLS on March 4, 2016 at 11:12am

Andy you are absolutely right that the cyclist is not at fault and no one would expect even with jawing at each other to get punched (though he did call the guy out later and dared him, it sounds like something that would happen at 2 am at a bar but we were all 19 once).  My comment really should have been in the other thread What's this doing in the bike lane? 2016.  But I saw this and noticed the comments about bike lanes and thought I'd bring it up.  Also, I think this is a poor example for us bicyclists to get a lot of media attention on -- this was two people exchanging words because of an infraction most drivers do on a regular basis because they live in a city -- I see dooring and right hooks as a bigger concern.  If a cyclist doesn't believe that a car in a  bike lane is that big of a deal (especially one in this situation) then this situation would have never started in the first place. The cyclist involved even is writing publicly that the reason he made the comment was the illegally parked vehicle in a bike lane.  https://www.reddit.com/user/ChicagoCyclist  

Permalink Reply by Cheryl on March 4, 2016 at 10:39am

A sharrow is different from a marked bike lane. Chicago ordinance specifically prohibits standing, parking and driving in "any on street path or lane designated by official signage or markings for the use of bicycles...."

There are some bike lanes where it can be hazardous to have to pop out in to traffic to avoid a vehicle in the bike lane, due to the volume and speed of traffic. 

I agree with you about changing habits, and it won't happen overnight but it also won't happen if there isn't education and enforcement.

And by the way - whether I'm biking or driving, if I roll a stop and get a ticket, I'll be bummed but know I deserve it. :-)

Permalink Reply by Rich S on March 4, 2016 at 9:50am

Playing devil's advocate here, I get just as annoyed when I encounter cars blocking the bike lane, especially if there is an available parking space. But you can at least see the car as you approach and make plans to go around. And you'd have to be pretty dense to drive into a stopped vehicle. Going around them isn't fun but I find that if I signal in advance most drivers are understandable about me taking the lane to get around. 

On the other hand. I've had numerous near misses with jaywalkers blindly entering bike lanes on Kinzie and now Clybourn when going between the sidewalk and parked cars. Or when traffic is backed up and they cross the street in the middle of a block. Riding down a bike lane in that situation you sometimes don't see them until they step right in front of you or you spot their head between cars and slow down to let the oblivious fool cross. And don't even get me started on the people that will make eye contact with you and then begin to cross against the red light at such a speed that you will hit them if you don't swerve even though you have the green light. I'm looking at you Illinois and State. 

So personally, in parts of the city like downtown, I've found jaywalkers to be a bigger safety hazard than cars in the bike lane. DLS's position seems too moderate for a forum such as this. 

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on March 5, 2016 at 8:50am

Illegal stopping in the bike lanes is still wrong regardless of what one feels about jaywalking.

?

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on March 4, 2016 at 5:10pm
I've said that and fortunately not met the same results but the valets in River North,Halsted really need to watch it. The Kinzie lanes are used for parking and the ones backing up telling me to get the fuck out of the way really need to know that they are responsible for any damage that might happen.

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