Cyclist hit, Driver got home without realizing bike was under car.

[tuxbailey]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/21/AR2010092105239.html?hpid=moreheadlines

[OtayBW]

WHAAAAAT????

What a moron driver. Thought she hit 'a deer or something' and apparently that it was OK to just keep on moving.

[tuxbailey]

WHAAAAAT????

What a moron driver. Thought she hit 'a deer or something' and apparently that it was OK to just keep on moving.

Agree. Can you imagine the amount of rattling with a bike under your car?!

[drewski]

***? Are our laws messed up or what? The driver will probably not
even receive a citation.


Maybe she was not drinking or anything but the whole story just not add up.
I personally am very leery of riding that early in the morning. Needless to say most of the people who drive at that hour are not 100% with it.
Drivers wonder why we take up a lane when we are out on the roads.
This is why.


Ride safely, stay visible. My heart goes out to Ms. Pettigrew and her
family, friends, and co-workers. What a shame. She sounded like a great
potential leader.

Andrew

[lhuerta]

This turns my stomach. The article did not mention anything about texting while driving...I hope they comb through cell phone records and determine whether the driver was texting at the time. How else can we explain this level of distraction (and stupidity).
LH

[Birddog]

Needless to say most of the people who drive at that hour are not 100% with it.
I think that is a blanket generalization that doesn't fit. I ride at that hour three times a week and for the most part I see the same drivers every day. I split the ride between an urban and rural environment. The key is to be well lighted. 5 AM is after most of the drunks and derelicts are home and is when the early to work crowd and some graveyard workers are on the road. It also seems to me that people on the roads at this hour are not in as big a hurry as the afternoon crowd. There is far less traffic and therefore far fewer possibilities for frustration. I'm certainly not excusing the perp in this though.
Birddog

[Volant]

This turns my stomach. The article did not mention anything about texting while driving...I hope they comb through cell phone records and determine whether the driver was texting at the time. How else can we explain this level of distraction (and stupidity).
LH

My thinking is similar. How do you NOT hear a bicycle scraping the pavement under your vehicle?!
My prayers go out to the victim and her family.

[hokoman]

maybe the stereo was playing really loud - sometimes i get into my car and think "holy sh*t, i had that on loud" just a thought, but that's not the point of the story. how do you hit something (someone in this case), and not stop to check out the damage?

[hokoman]

just realized the same story was posted under "hit deer and run"...

[sc53]

This happened in my neck of the woods. When riding out in so. MD the last couple of weekends, I saw lots of campaign signs for Ms. Pettigrew. This is so sad. Someone that distracted while driving should suffer serious consequences, but I don't believe that current laws allow for that unless there's DUI involved.

[MattTuck]

I won't act as judge or jury, but I'll say this.

Each time we go out on the road, we should take every precaution to be safe. If that means lights (both front and rear) and highly reflective clothing, as well as trying to ride on roads that provide the safest route... then so be it.

My dad said a truism, "the only person looking out for you is YOU." We put an enormous amount of trust and confidence in drivers coming up behind us... more than some of them deserve.

Yes, I'd like stricter laws, more respect from drivers, etc... but until that happens, do what you can to be safe.

[drewski]

Sometowns are just not safe for cycling. For example Jacksonville Florida
is supposed to have the highest incidence of bicycle accidents in the entire USA. If you ride there on Sunday at 5:00 am I think you are pushing your luck. I commute 8 -10 x's a week and I am routinely cut off by drivers even though I have lights and a glow vest. I have been riding for 20 years 10 years in New York City and I (knock on wood) and have never had a run in with a car.

Here in Charlotte the bars close at 2:00 am. If you have had 1 for
the road you are playing russian roulette by hoping the drivers will see you.


I think that is a blanket generalization that doesn't fit. I ride at that hour three times a week and for the most part I see the same drivers every day. I split the ride between an urban and rural environment. The key is to be well lighted. 5 AM is after most of the drunks and derelicts are home and is when the early to work crowd and some graveyard workers are on the road. It also seems to me that people on the roads at this hour are not in as big a hurry as the afternoon crowd. There is far less traffic and therefore far fewer possibilities for frustration. I'm certainly not excusing the perp in this though.
Birddog

What kills me is that in order to avoid a hit and run all you have to say
is that I though the cyclist was a deer? Or in New York I guess you
would say I thought the cylist was what a rat?

Andrew

[Bob Loblaw]

The brutal reality of cycling is that any time a car passes me, a coffee spill, a text message, a yawn or a sneezing fit could mean I never see my kids again. You can't outlaw stupidity or bad luck.

My heart goes out to the victim and her family, and to the poor stupid driver. Nobody wins here.

BL

[rugbysecondrow]

The brutal reality of cycling is that any time a car passes me, a coffee spill, a text message, a yawn or a sneezing fit could mean I never see my kids again. You can't outlaw stupidity or bad luck.

My heart goes out to the victim and her family, and to the poor stupid driver. Nobody wins here.

BL


Agreed. Not every incident has an overt act like texting or talking on the phone. In all honestly, most of us are one mistake away from being in the same shoes as this cyclist OR the driver since all it takes is a nano second to get destracted and lose focus and most of us make DOZENS of these little mistakes everyday while driving (if you are a driver). Most people think they are a good driver and most also think they pay way more attention than they actually do. This is not to excuse the person from what happened, but it is to accept that things do happen and do we want to be a society that throws the book at people for this and how heavy should the book be? We always think about if it was us or our kids on the bike, but if you, your wife or your daughter was the one who made a mistake in the car, should you get the book thrown at you? How long should your daughter spend in prison if she hit a cyclist or how long should you be in prison separated from your daughter and family? What about your elderly mother, how long a sentence is proper for her? These are hard questions to answer

Note, I am not talking about driving home with the person under the car or pretending it was a deer.

[jeo99]

A simular situation like the above took place on TOSRV a few years ago. I had ridden on the same shoulder about 20 minutes previous to the accident. The road is a four-lane divided highway with an eight foot shoulder. It has a rumble strip separating the shoulder from the outside lane. The victim was an experienced cyclist and just as I, rode on the shoulder. However, there are some issues around where the victim was riding. The driver said she thought she hit a road sign. This would support the victim on the shoulder. However the OSHP believe he was in the right hand lane. It had been raining quite hard after the accident and evidence was undetermined. Regardless, the victim had the right away. Just as above the driver left the scene and was charged but also slapped on the hand.

http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/pages/full_story?article-Bender%20Sentenced%20To%2060%20Days%20For%20TOSRV% 20Death%20=&page_label=home&id=2655421-Bender+Sentenced+To+60+Days+For+TOSRV+Death&widget=push&instance=secondary_news_left_column&open=&

:no: