Jerry Hinnefeld
Henry Scott
judithrobert
Jeff Nixa
memooney
Adam Bee
bspitzer
Nate Barnett
Paul Taylor
Danny Graber
lhierony
Phil G-E
petercolan
Jim Moffitt
Judy Lee
2wheelpeddler
dickkuehl
nimbabike
Mishawaka bicyclist hit by car
Posted by Paul Taylor on July 9, 2009
A 14 year old boy was struck in the crosswalk at Niles and Lincoln Way East. From the brief article in the South Bend Tribune, it sounds like this was a classic ‘Ride Out from Sidewalk’ accident: these accidents account for 0.7% of all accidents where the cyclist is entering the roadway. Read the full story. (You’ll need to page down.)
Adam Bee said
Yes, I get the impression that the boy was riding on the sidewalk. It’s not clear whether the boy was going east or west, but I’d guess he was going east and came up on the car’s right side. The driver was probably looking back to the left, found a small gap in the traffic, and hit the gas.
I don’t know if I’d call it an “accident,” though. The rules of the road clearly state that one must check for crossing pedestrians before entering a roadway, and the driver clearly did not.
This seems like an obvious example where the police should have issued a ticket based on the obvious facts readily available at the scene. How difficult would it be to change the policy that a police must personally observe a violation in order to issue a ticket? I would guess Chris Dressel might know a lot about that kind of stuff. As it stands these collisions will almost never be ticketed, and the sloppy driving will continue with injurious consequences for all.