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to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.DC Bus vs. Bicyclist Confrontation: You Make the Call
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 3:02 pm - by Matt Campbell. Filed under: Transportation.
A bicyclist in Washington D.C. claims that a bus driver nearly ran him over, verbally assaulted him, and the police refused to write up the incident. The blog Greater Greater Washington published this bus vs. bike showdown that raises issues very relevant for us in Philadelphia. After reading this, I have a few questions I want to throw out to bicyclists, drivers, and bus operators. The following is an excerpt of bicyclist in Washington D.C.
Due to snow and ice on the roadway I was riding along the line dividing the bike lane and the right most travel lane at approximately 20-25mph. The operator passed me in the right hand travel lane at a high rate of speed (the speed limit is 25mph through here if I’m not mistaken) within less than 3 feet. I know this because it was close enough to touch. Scared, frustrated and angry I spit at the driver’s rear view mirror when passing him at his next stop near the intersection with S street. He was also had not fully pulled into the stop and was blocking the bike lane and a portion of the right travel lane.
Once I stopped at the light at R street at the edge of the back of the crosswalk and on top of the stop bar, the operator pulled past his stop within inches of me stopped on my bike. Had I not noticed him out of my periphery and ducked, the mirror of his bus would have struck me in the back of the head. The operator then proceed to grab at me (he had pulled up close enough to reach me) while screaming at me through his window. He refused to tell me his name, and I had to briefly block the path of the bus to get the bus number in order to record it.
I know my actions may have escalated the situation, and I should not do this out of my own safety. However this does not negate the fact that the operator failed to pass me within a safe legal distance, and then attempt to use his bus as a weapon to strike me with.
So, here’s what I want to know.
1) Cyclists, out there, I want to how you have been coping with iced over bike lanes and narrower streets due to the ice that is currently glazing our streets.
2) If you were the bus driver in this story, would you have give the bicyclist more space? And car drivers, how has your commute been on the city’s frozen avenues?
3) Was the bicyclist justified in spitting on the bus’s rear view mirror?
4) Do you think the incident qualifies as attempted assault? (something the cyclist in believes if you read the full blog account)
Related link:
PA Law on a driver’s responsibilities for sharing the road with bicyclist
John Allen article on how Bus and Bikes can co-exist.
March 4th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Alan,
Talk about timely post. I’ve been dealing with this for the last two days on my rides along Passyunk Avenue to 7th Street and up to our office. Dickinson still has a firm, black, bumpy sheet of ice with two thin strips of exposed asphalt where car wheels have worn down the ice. Passyunk is loaded with ice on either side that has narrowed the street down to barely one car width. My usual tactic of riding (dangerously) close to the parked cars on either side of the street so as to let cars pass me is out of the question… well, unless I put some metal spikes on my tires and figure out a way to ride along a near vertical hump of ice.
My choice has been to put myself square in one of those strips of asphalt and ride as fast as I can to limit the amount of slow down that I cause. Inevitably, however, I’m faced with the prospect of riding over the icy rumble strip and I can never figure out whether I should grip the handle bars really tight or try to loosen up and relax and let the wheels go where they will. One thing is for sure, there’s no chance for horizontal movement or leaning into even a slight lane change while the bike is on the ice.
So far, I have no bad encounters with cars to report. I think everyone - bikes, cars and buses - have been taking it pretty slow on these roads. Hopefully we’ll get a nice warm rain that can take out the ice. Until then, I just make sure that my helmet is on nice and tight and my insurance policy is up to date.
Can’t give up the bike though. The walk is just a little too long and I prefer not to spend on transit right now.
March 4th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
@Dan P. Since riding one’s bike on ice covered roads increases the chances of an early retirement, Why not accept the benefits of public transportation on these snow days. I still feel you are riding more on ideals than wheels in your crusade to ensure bicyclists are treated with the same respect as motorcycle.
March 6th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Typical arrogant bicyclists with no common sense who think that traffic laws don’t apply to them.
In inclement weather, you don’t ride a bike. You walk or use public transportation.
May 18th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
If you are willing to buy a car, you would have to receive the loans. Moreover, my brother all the time utilizes a term loan, which is really reliable.