My brother lives in Michigan and he doesn’t dare ride on the road; he reckons the chances of being taken out by a texting SUV driver are very high indeed. In Michigan state it’s not illegal to text while driving.

I’ve heard quite a few people in the USA try and argue that cyclists should not be on the roads at all. Including my EX girlfriend…

But as anyone who’s tried to do outdoor pursuits there knows, you are only allowed recreational activities in designated areas* and as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the majority.

* except snowmobiling – in Wisconsin there is an extensive network of snowmobile trails all over the place, private land the lot. As soon as the snow melts though you are out of luck again. Bizarre if you ask me.

As an aside, I’ve never understood the “you don’t pay taxes” argument.

Widespread “road tax” misconceptions aside, how many cyclists also have cars? They’re not mutually exclusive.

My brother lives in Michigan and he doesn’t dare ride on the road; he reckons the chances of being taken out by a texting SUV driver are very high indeed. In Michigan state it’s not illegal to text while driving.

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Yes it is.

Of course not to excuse the driving but if the cyclist had been using a mirror he would have seen the car coming and could have swerved right, hopped the kerb and avoided being hit.

I use a mirror on road and I’ve had to ride off the road to avoid being hit by a high speed vehicle. Only once in some 40-50’00 miles of cycling but I’ve also seen quite a few dangerously close overtakes coming and been able to move a couple of feet closer to the kerb to regain a comfortable passing distance.

f course not to excuse the driving but if the cyclist had been using a mirror he would have seen the car coming and could have swerved right, hopped the kerb and avoided being hit.

seriously???

This thread gets more bizarre by the minute!

Mirrors? to be honest I’d rather not know I’m about to be taken out

This thread gets more bizarre by the minute!

+1! With friends like these…

don simon – Member
Why do you see this as scaremongering?

Cycling is a relatively safe activity, some people who see videos like these may have their view swayed.

I’m not sure I see much point in these “isn’t this outrageous” threads TBH beyond curiousity – the only positive out of this one is “take a video” – no way could those riders have avoided the crash. I bet the driver spaced out for whatever reason rather than intentionally rammed them.

Or it could be related to being an advertisement for using video cameras and shifting the power, after all the driver was traced, arrested and is awaiting court.
Perhaps we should ask the OP what his view is, eh?

I was thinking about this thread while riding in this morning. It struck me as utterly incomprehensible how, on a cycling website, there can be so many (even 1 is too many) suggestions that it was somehow the cyclists fault or even that they could have avoided it (with a f**in MIRROR). Even coffeeking’s yeah, but they ran a stop sign, is baffling.
The only conclusion I could draw is that, like my first post, they were “joking” or being ironic in some way. Surely?

I presumed coffeeking was joking, and the others were trollign or idiots.

TBF tho I don’t see why a cyclist should always be presumed “in the right”, even on a bike forum.

Even if they’ve been ploughed into from behind??!

Even if they’ve been ploughed into from behind??!

Oooh errr missus! 😯
It’s a family forum, don’t you know?

You are supposed to STOP at red lights even if you are turning right. It’s an implicit stop sign, not a give-way.

The two junctions in the video actually have explicit STOP signs, so yeah fair enough they should have completely stopped, had a look, then carried on. But they didn’t exactly blast through them.

if the cyclist had been using a mirror he would have seen the car coming and could have swerved right, hopped the kerb and avoided being hit.

😯 From the looks of the video they’d have had maybe one second to react, if they happened to be looking in the mirror at the right time, and hopping up the kerb would have put them straight into a tree or metal sign.

TBF tho I don’t see why a cyclist should always be presumed “in the right”, even on a bike forum.

True, but likewise I don’t see how any of their actions could be interpreted as “wrong”.