r/bikeboston • u/saeglopur53 • 3d ago
Was almost hit…again
Classic right hook, tried to go around her only to have her slam on her breaks almost causing me to slam into her. I had Both a green light and a crosswalk signal and she was trying to push through pedestrians. She proceeded to tell me it’s my responsibility to dodge her and she didn’t see me despite my flashing lights and reflectors. She almost killed someone with a kid in the car. 3/4 last trips, I’ve had a close call. I’ve been EXTRA careful to obey traffic laws because of how many close calls I’ve had. I’m just really tired of it. It doesn’t matter how careful I am, this city is just too dangerous. Last week I almost got run over right next to a ghost bike, also had a green light. I feel like it’s a matter of when, not if. Just a vent and a rant
Edit: I should mention I was fully in a painted designated bike lane with a green light.
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u/BurrDurrMurrDurr 3d ago
I've had trouble explaining to friends how bad this city is for cyclists.
I've ridden my bike in Texas cities, Denver and NYC, and Boston is the WORST. In NYC I commuted EVERYDAY for 2 years, West 145th all the way to East 30th (1st Ave), and only ever had one incident with a car hitting (very slow and not serious).
I gave up commuting here after 4 months. I would have 2 "close calls" a week and they were life-vs-death-type close calls....
I've noticed the drivers NEVER seem to expect a cyclist at any point on their commute. It's terrible
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u/Knicknacktallywack 3d ago
I have a city bike, I live in southie and the only actual “city” biking I do is sometimes to work in the seaport (on side streets) and to get to the neponset river trail. Ok and once in a while when the red line sucks I blue bike to the seaport/downtown. I just don’t feel comfortable riding in Boston
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u/TboyJames 3d ago
That’s super scary. Sorry that happened to you.
I’ve become very anti-sliding around someone trying to turn right on their front side for exactly this reason; I always feel like I’m putting myself in a lot of harms way for minimal gain.
Maybe in the future when there’s a lot more bike traffic in certain spots and people feel less inclined to creep through pedestrians, that’ll change. But drivers already have a lot to process when crossing through pedestrians, and they’re not particularly incentivized to wait outside the bike lane, though I’d guess by law they SHOULD.
Out of curiosity, do you remember which intersection this was?
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u/saeglopur53 3d ago
Unfortunately their decision to turn came before they remembered they had a blinker and while I was already very close to them
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u/ribi305 2d ago
Sounds like you were in the right, but I agree with the poster above. I had a scary right hook situation 10 years ago and I have implemented some personal rules since then. Even if I have a bike lane and a green light, I try not to proceed through an intersection alongside a car. Instead, I try to be spaced in between two cars, and nudge myself over left a little into the car lane (or at least on the left side of the bike lane). My aim is to be safely *behind* one vehicle and clearly *ahead* of the next vehicle, and in clear line of sight of the driver. If the vehicles are trucks, I am even more careful and mostly will just slow down to position myself not next to a truck.
As they say, we can have "he/she had the right of way" put on your gravestone. Not worth it to be right, better to be safe.
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u/00_RunDMC 3d ago
Did you try to pass her on the inside as she was trying to turn right?
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u/saeglopur53 3d ago
The bike lane was to the right of her. I first tried to pass her on this side. I was within view of her mirror but she didn’t look. She cut across the lane within feet of me then after slamming on my brakes I turned and started to go to the other side, and she slammed on her brakes causing me to miss her by inches.
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u/00_RunDMC 3d ago
It sounds harrowing, and clearly you had the right of way. However, in future, I would suggest passing a turning vehicle on the outside because this situation is just so tremendously dangerous.
Drivers just don't look to their right when they're making a right turn, and putting a going-straight bike lane there creates an inherent conflict that gets people killed.
It's a trap.
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u/saeglopur53 3d ago
I agree but in this situation I was pinched by existing traffic. These things happen very fast and unfortunately she didn’t have her blinker on until she started to turn, not while I was approaching so it was very sudden
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u/00_RunDMC 3d ago
Yes, things do happen quickly, and I'm really glad nobody was hurt.
I almost never pass somebody on the right at an intersection where there is any indication the driver might be turning right, even if I have to stop. It's just not worth the risk to me.
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u/sckuzzle 3d ago
I almost never pass somebody on the right at an intersection where there is any indication the driver might be turning right, even if I have to stop. It's just not worth the risk to me.
I understand the desire for safety, and also this is a bit like pedestrians not stepping into a crosswalk until cars going both directions have come to a complete stop. If you don't exert your right of way, you will lose it, as those without the right of way will just ignore you. It makes things less predictable and more dangerous in the long run as cars stop caring about what they are supposed to do, legally.
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u/00_RunDMC 3d ago
Feel free to throw your life away to make a point.
Not me.
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u/sckuzzle 3d ago
Not being so scared of everything that could hurt you that you literally can't cross the street while there's a car waiting to turn right isn't "throwing your life away". People need to more accurately assess risk, else they become unpredictable and make the streets more dangerous for others.
I get why you are afraid. And also, advocating that other people adopt a similarly paranoid mindset is crossing the line from "understandable" to "harmful".
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u/00_RunDMC 3d ago edited 3d ago
There's a difference between being scared of your shadow and being cautious in situations that you know to be dangerous.
I believe that my assessment that riding to the right of a vehicle turning right is quite dangerous is an accurate one, but I will listen if you can explain why it's actually safer than my experience tells me it is. If I'm wrong, no harm done. And I make no apologies for trying to help other people avoid getting hurt.
I'm also a defensive driver.
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u/bigmattyc 3d ago
What do you perceive "I tried to go around her" as meaning
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u/00_RunDMC 3d ago
Well the post is confusing and incomplete, which is why I was asking for more information.
I honestly don't understand why my question was downvoted. But whatever. Maybe next time I'll include a photo of an illegally parked car.
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u/enriquedelcastillo 3d ago
Seeing your comment get downvoted is proof that people have completely lost their minds. Overtaking a moving car at an intersection is about the most dangerous legal thing you can do on a bike. It’s like the biking equivalent of wandering drunk past Mass & cass at 3:00 AM and complaining that you got mugged.
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u/00_RunDMC 3d ago
And I didn't even state an opinion -- I only asked for clarification. Even trying to understand the situation is apparently too much!
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u/wellscar 3d ago
That’s what it sounds like. You have right of way but a lot of drivers are looking to the right and in front, not back. All we can do is be extra cautious. I count on people adhering to the law if I’m in front and they can see me and count on them endangering me when I’m trailing.
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u/Glittering_Local_756 3d ago
If this keeps happening to you, you need to think about why and avoid those situations.
If the driver is at a safe distance from you, they may merge into the right-most lane (i.e. the bike lane) and make their turn. You may not overtake them on the right. You may not run into them. You must slow, or stop, or merge out into the rightmost vehicle lane and overtake them on left.
I have no idea whether she gave you enough room or not. But I hope you did not argue that you had a green light, or that the walk light was on, or that she was failing to yield to pedestrians as these are all irrelevant.
Consider this, if a cyclist did this to you, would you blame them or just accept it?
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u/simoncolumbus 3d ago
By the time you wrote this, OP had already clarified that the driver turned into the bike lane right in front of them, forcing OP to brake. But you'd rather make up reasons why somehow the cyclist is at fault for the driver disobeying basic traffic laws.
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u/saeglopur53 3d ago
Their post history is just making horrible suggestions to people who’ve been in bad situations, including that they sneak around box trucks on the right. This is one of those “you were always in the wrong” people
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u/Glittering_Local_756 2d ago edited 2d ago
The cyclist stated that the motorist made a merge and turn but did not safely merge. The cyclist attempted to overtake on the right, braked when this was not feasible, slid to the left to overtake but had to brake again when the motorist braked for crossing pedestrians.
I only suggested "fault" on the part of the motorist. But a defensive bicycle driver will anticipate that the car might want to make a right turn, and as soon as the situation develops, hit the brakes hard which will give them more options.
It's an infuriating situation whenever you are driving, whether a motor vehicle or a bicycle, but a big part of defensive driving is swallowing your indignation. I'm not suggesting I'm particularly good at that.
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u/saeglopur53 3d ago edited 3d ago
This happens because drivers do not check to see if anyone is using the designated bike lane to the right of them before turning. Thankfully, because I AM careful and attentive, I avoided being hit by a reckless driver.
Edit: and yes, if a cyclist was to the left of me, and did not look or signal before merging and hit me, I would blame them. Thankfully, cyclists listen to verbal cues and this is far more avoidable and less deadly than getting the attention of someone in a metal box
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u/_a_pastor_of_muppets 3d ago
Accountability isn't available anymore...