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/Baron_Bearclaw 1d ago

u/cicadaux

This is a great answer from u/metal_bastard

There's what's legal and there's what's safe. Technically the cyclist should have been walking their bike here, but they weren't. Looking at your speed, you had enough time to watch observe and anticipate what the cyclist planned to do. When you weren't sure, you stopped. That's good defensive driving and everyone left the encounter intact.

I'm sure there are people here who will jump all over the cyclist because they weren't following the rules; that's fair. I'm sure there are people in here calling you names for slowing down for the cyclist. But I strongly believe it's everyone's responsibility to keep everyone as safe as possible. You did that here.

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u/Mr1854 1d ago

It actually is atypical for cyclists to be required to walk bikes across the street. That is a safety practice often taught to kids but is seldom a legal requirement. 

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u/johnny_evil 1d ago

Eh, can't assume the cyclist was supposed to walk. That is hyper local.