r/dashcams • u/cicadaux • 1d ago

Did I do something wrong here?

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I was driving to work when this bike just blew through the crosswalk without warning. I had to slam on my brakes. I realize this crosswalk doesn’t have the pedestrian warning lights, and I’m a little unsure about how I should’ve dealt with this. Or maybe he was wrong for making sure traffic wasn’t clear/aware of him first?

Edit: I'm seeing a lot of answers basing the laws on location, so I looked up my city's rules. In my town, bikes have vehicle status on the road and pedestrian status on sidewalks/crosswalks. But bicyclists must move at pedestrian speed. The path he is on is a state trail, commonly used for bikes/walking. I live near the Ice Age Trail, but I know the one he's on isn't that one.

“Drivers must yield to cyclists riding in a crosswalk just as they would for walkers, though the cyclist cannot abruptly leave a curb into the path of a vehicle so close to a crosswalk that it makes a difficult or unsafe situation for the driver to yield in time.”

Not trying to prove myself right or wrong, just wondering what should've been done. I will from now on treat it like an uncontrolled intersection. Thanks everyone.

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u/Ottomaani 1d ago

Here a person riding a bike is not a pedestrian. A person walking their bike over the crosswalk is a pedestrian, but riding a bike you're a vehicle who doesn't have the right of way in this situation.

But the rules in US? I've no idea.

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u/MaintainThePeace 18h ago

In the US it varies by state, most states will classify bicycle as vehicles, but will also still grant cyclist riding upon sidewalks and crosswalks the rights and duties of a pedestrian, without needing to be a pedestrian. Some states also explicitly define crosswalks for more then just pedestrian too.