Caught on Video

[setha]

I thought this was going to be a right hook, but it turned out to be "I'm stopping my car in the bike lane to let out my passenger, and I forgot that I just passed you." Here's some stills from the video:





Here's a link to the video, and the description from youtube:

The driver of Oregon plate 937 FAM, a Jeep SUV, decides to stop in the bike lane to drop off his passenger. 12/21/2011, about 2:35PM, near the corner of Scholls Ferry Road and Hall Blvd., Beaverton, Oregon, USA. I had a few words with the driver: "No signal. No nothing. Just pull over. Go ahead. You own the road. You act like it anyway, 937 FAM."

Yes, those of you who have seen my comments I have made on other people's youtube helmet cam videos, in comments on bikeportland.org, etc., will note that I violated one of my recommendations in this video: try not to engage the driver.

But this was particularly egregious.

In and of itself, stopping in the bike lane to drop off a passenger is a legal maneuver in Oregon. However, in this case he failed to signal that he was moving to the right, and he cut me off. And where he stopped blocked the driveway to the right. That driveway led to a perfectly useful parking lot that he could have turned in to, which is what I thought he was going to do. Had he completed that turn, it might have resulted in only a near right hook. Which would have been hazardous, but not nearly as much as what he did do. But, instead, he chose to block the bike lane. Which he knew was a bike lane because he passed me travelling in that bike lane. And he probably passed and definitely must have seen the other bicyclist travelling in that bike lane.

And yes, I should not have engaged him because there may have been other traffic coming up behind. I did do a head check to make sure that there was no additional traffic coming from behind. You can see the helmet cam swing around as I did that, at around 0:40 into the clip.

I also learned 2 new (well, new to me) internet acronyms today, one of which I am attaching as a tag: SMIDSY and SMIDGAF. SMIDSY, according to wiktionary, is "Sorry mate, I did not see you." SMIDGAF according to google and other youtube videos is "Sorry mate, I do not give a ____". As I understand it, a merely stupid driver does a SMIDSY. A purposefully reckless driver does a SMIDGAF. Yes, I know that wiktionary says that SMIDSY is a UK and Australian usage. And I guess SMIDGAF is UK and Australian, too. But why should the UK and Australia have a monpoloy on such useful terms?

As egregious as this was, I'm still tagging this SMIDSY rather than a SMIDGAF.

By the way, at 0:19, I did say to the pedestrian walking on the bike lane, "on your left".

[Simple Nature]

I agree with not engaging the driver... in this case he deserved an extensive key-ing along all 4 major panels of the car. Maybe a boot to the door for good measure.

I have been getting more sensitive to cars and trucks being parked in marked bike lanes. There is no excuse for law enforcement to ignore siting this violation. They are stopped and all an officer has to do is pull up behind them and site the vehicle whether the driver is present or not.

[q`Tzal]

Originally Posted by setha

I thought this was going to be a right hook, but it turned out to be "I'm stopping my car in the bike lane to let out my passenger, and I forgot that I just passed you."

I saw this in those educational State Farm Auto Insurance advertisements.
This is a "swoop and squat".
Had it been wet or icy there could have easily been a crash.
Had there been large vehicle behind him there would have been a crash

I'm willing to bet that Mr. OR Plate 937 FAM would have pulled off in a big hurry had he caused you to crash in to the back of his vehicle.

[wsbob]

That general area of Scholls Ferry Rd and Hall Blvd is one of my favorite places not to ride.

Man that's something how people sometimes race their nice cars just ahead of a bike zipping along in the bike lane and pull in front of them. That kind of action could force the person on the bike to abruptly divert around the driver's side of the car, not allowing them sufficient time and distance to avoid sideswiping the side of the car with a pedal.

Old school quill pedals could have some of the regrettable effects the special wheel hub treatment James Bond's Aston Martin had on cars.

[Simple Nature]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-fWN0FmcIU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzE-IMaegzQ

Merry Christmas!

[setha]

From the description of the video on youtube:

A clip from my bicycle helmet cam (Contour HD). I stopped for the school bus on the far side of the road. But 4 motorists did not, in violation of ORS 811.155. See stills from this video at http://www.flickr.com/photos/4962263...57629153012731

Do I hear calls from public officials, such as Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, or Beaverton Traffic Commissioner Reynolds, to halt funding for motor vehicles until all motor vehicle operators obey traffic laws? No.

Instead, I heard or read of both those public officials complain about scofflaw bicyclists running stop signs. Fritz and Reynolds argued that there should be no more spending for bicycle specific infrastructure, until the "bicycle community" (whatever that is) gets all bicyclists to obey all traffic laws.

If motorists are allowed to do this, then why can't bicyclists have an Idaho-style stop-sign-as-yield law in Oregon?

This was on SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway at 56th, about 8:20AM, 1/31/2012, Portland, Oregon, USA.

Here's some stills from the video:

[wsbob]

re; Seth's #66 comment : If the school bus was equipped with video recording cameras, maybe it could get license plate numbers and lead to citations being issued.

From pg 90 of the '10-'11 Oregon Driver's Manual:

"...The school bus stop law applies on any roadway with two or more lanes of traffic. There is one exception to the law. If you are on a divided highway with two roads separated by an unpaved median strip or barrier, you must stop only if you are on the same side of the road as the bus.

A painted median strip or a center lane used only for left turns does not create two separate roads. Where this situation exists, all lanes of traffic must stop. School bus drivers may report vehicles that improperly pass school buses. The report may be forwarded to the local law enforcement agency or investigation.

All school buses and some school activity vehicles must stop at railroad crossings. The driver must open the bus door and be sure the tracks are clear before proceeding. ..."

The road depicted in Seth's video does not meet the exception specified in the Oregon Driver's Manual, so the driver's videoed are breaking the law. I question whether they're breaking the law either from deliberate disregard of the law, from lax knowledge of the law or plain ignorance.

I'd take exception to the assumption that the drivers failing to stop for the school bus were allowed to do so, unless there was a police officer present that saw the violation and declined to take action.

[setha]

From the description of the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrsvU-Jt3Tk

SW 5th near the intersection with SW Maple, Beaverton, Oregon, USA, about 3:55PM, 11/23/2012. A clip from my helmet camera (Contour HD.) It was raining that today so the picture is a little fuzzy.

Whoever was driving this Beaverton Police Department car gave me more than adequate room when they passed me. However, at about 12 seconds into this video, you can see that the driver did cut the corner and roll over where the bike lane is supposed to be. Sadly, it's a little hard to determine where the bike lane is at that point since, like this driver, so many other drivers have cut that same corner that the lane marking is worn away. I don't think that "everyone else did it, so it must be OK," is a good enough excuse. I think that the Beaverton Police should try to set a better example.

Here are some stills from the video:

[Simple Nature]

Another clear case of "distracted LEO" from all the gadgets in their car. I see it all too often. Then again, that particular bike lane stripe really is suffering from "poor placement" syndrome... as it is well worn from many drivers doing the very same thing.

You might bring it to the antention of the Beaverton Police Department as well as the Public Works Department. Someday, someone is going to get hurt on this segment.

[setha]

I sent the following email to realy@beavertonoregon.gov, who is listed at http://beavertonoregon.gov/index.aspx?nid=171 as Mayor Drake's Chief Administrative Officer. I attached the still pictures you see above to the email.

Two requests:

1. Please repaint the bike lane markings on SW 5th at Maple,
eastbound, where they have been worn off by motorists cutting
the corner. See the first attached photo.

2. Please ask the Beaverton Police Department to set a good
example when they drive around town and not drive over the
bike lane markings, as you see in the second and third
attached photos. (All these photos are stills from helmet
cam video. You can see the full video is at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrsvU-Jt3Tk )

Thanks,

--Seth