Tuesday, July 21, 2009
bicycles Boise Cops Ticket Two More Hurt Cyclists
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 1:05 PM
Boise Police continue to cite bikers who are injured by cars, part of a stepped up enforcement of bike laws in the wake of three cyclist deaths this summer.
This morning, two cyclists were cited after run-ins with vehicles.
According to police communications director Lynn Hightower, a pickup truck hit a 62-year-old man on a bicycle as he crossed Main Street near 27th St. just before 8 a.m. Hightower describes the incident this way: "Vehicle, a pick up truck was headed westbound on Main. Witnesses say a cyclist rode out of a parking lot and proceeded to ride across approx 3 lanes of traffic, until the pick up truck hit him."
The cyclist was cited for "failure to exercise due caution when entering a roadway," and a $46.50 fine.
Then, a half hour later at Orchard and Clark streets, police allege that a cyclist in his early 20's ran a red light at a high rate of speed and struck a Ford Mustang in the intersection. His bike was damaged beyond repair. He was cited for a red light violation, also a $46.50 fine.
Injuries to both cyclists were described as scrapes. Neither wore a helmet.
Yesterday, the Statesman had a story about another man who broke his neck after crashing with a car. In that case, according to the Statesman, the driver was cited for not paying attention.
Comments (7)
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Since cyclists don't carry insurance, who is responsible for damages to the vehicles when cyclists get cited? I know damage to a vehicle typically isn't much, scratched paint, small dents...but does the driver pay and then go after the cyclist in small claims court? Anyone know how it works?
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Oh, thank you Boise Police, for doing such a great job of enforcing the law! I feel so safe and comforted knowing that you'll ticket cyclists for their reckless riding and leave Boise drivers in peace as they neglect to use turn signals, make abrupt u-turns because they'll be damned if someone else gets that parking spot first, and run stop signs because they're too busy texting their little friends to notice or care that they're breaking the law. Gee, what a fair, just, and happy little city we live in!
Just like there are bad drivers, there are bad bicyclists. Thank you Boise Police for doing such a great job enforcing the law. Do bicyclists always use hand signals, or not use cell phones while riding, or not run stop signs/lights, etc? Now that it IS fair and just, bicyclists are getting all bent out of shape (no pun intended) because they can't blatantly ignore traffic and blame it on someone else.
I don't have a problem with the citations described. (I DO have a problem with the recently promoted idea of "and $50, because you're on a bicycle.")
And I do have a problem with citing the cyclist cited for a "DON'T WALK" violation when a car TURNING RIGHT ON RED hit her.
Numerically, there are SO many more motor vehicle violations than problems with cyclists. Don't even get me started on turn signals.
Hmmm... I was cited recently for running a red light in my car, and the fine was $75, plus points against my drivers license (which is required if I am to use my vehicle on a public road), and possible increases to my insurance (which is also required if I am using my vehicle on a public road).
Funny thing is, in a car in a single lane, I am not allowed to drive on the line, or drive side by side (maybe if I had some sponsors, wore sexy tights, shaved my legs and spit on passing motorists that pissed me off they would let me)
If you are on a public road in a bike, or a car, you need to FOLLOW THE RULES, have a license, and carry insurance
I think that sometimes Idaho drivers forget what the rules of the road are for bikers. Stop signs may be treated as yeild signs and traffic lights as stop signs. http://www.lostrivercycling.org/idcode.htm…
If you want to verify this it is the last chapter of the Idaho Driver's Manual.
BUT~ I must say that there seems to be much negativity flying and not much solution based conversation going on. I hope solution based conversations start happening so people can stop dying.
Yes, I am familiar with the differences in road laws for Cyclists vs. cars. And if you think about it, you would see that this is a big part of the problem/ Cyclists have been given the right to basically ignore the road signs, and now take it for granted that EVERY car driver knows these differences, AND sees every cyclist in every direction. The worst offenders are the groups of 'professional' riders. When in packs, I have seen, on a regular basis, these riders blow through stop signs and red lights like they have the right away, and every other vehicle should yield to them. Apparantly, it's just too much effort to stop, or even slow down when a car could be passing through. I have also seen, many times, a car, stopped at a stop sign, with it's right turn signal on, then starting to turn, while a cyclists, in the bike lane, blows the stop sign to go STRAIGHT. Fortunately, the car, in each of these instances, has caught sight, and slammed on their brakes, or just barely bumped the biker. The funny thing is, each time, the biker yells obscenities and gestures at the driver like it was the drivers fault! The sad thing that bikers don't realize is that it does not matter if they are right or wrong, when it comes to car vs. bike, BIKE ALWAYS LOOSES.
So, back to my original statement - OBEY THE RULES, and ride single file.
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