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Are you going to look up from the ground all bloodied and broken and say,"But I had the right of way!"?
That's exactly the point to all of this. Sure, you might've had the right of way and doing everything by the book, but metal against flesh.... guess who wins everytime. ??
gg.... I'm not against what you're saying, but around here most of the people, kids and adults alike..... cause the majority of problems. I would estimate 90% of all bike riders are clueless when it comes to safety and how to drive defensively. No one has the right of anything. If you believe the rule book on that one, you better think again or get a bigger helmet.
Many years ago, my uncle was driving with my aunt, my cousin and my brother in a car in Florida. A dog darted out from between two parked cars. My uncle could've avoided hitting the dog by going into the oncoming lane, but there were cars coming at him. He decided to still avoid the dog, and slammed into a telephone pole and I believe a wall. Everyone in the car was hurt and banged up pretty bad. My brother had the least problems. My uncle had two broken legs, multiple other injuries and my aunt had some broken bones and lacerations. The dog was spared. I do believe my uncle would've done the same thing for a cyclist, but to think anyone has all the rights and doesn't have to heed the laws is preposterous. I’m not saying Col was doing anything wrong… not at all, but defensive driving for a bicycle is tough when you’re outweighed by about two tons.
It's like any other situation in life.... you have to be aware of your surroundings and both parties failed here. Luckily for Col, he came out good and lucky for the lady she didn't have a heart attack from it.
I know plenty of people that should be re-evaluated for driving licenses and many other areas of life. There’s a plethora of people doing things they shouldn’t be doing…. Heck, just look at all the sign people that shouldn’t even be in this business. We’re always talking about raising the standards so people don’t get hurt by clumsy or half-witted sign shops… what’s the difference ??
People get hurt all the time and it’s usually by the shops that have no clue or don’t know the safety precautions they should in order to operate. Can we open that can of worms ?? I think it fits completely in with this story.
