{"id":258035729,"date":"2013-03-06T12:35:29","date_gmt":"2013-03-06T12:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=258035729"},"modified":"2013-03-06T12:35:29","modified_gmt":"2013-03-06T12:35:29","slug":"what-to-do-if-youre-forced-to-evade-a-careless-or-aggressive-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=258035729","title":{"rendered":"What to do if you\u2019re forced to evade a careless or aggressive driver"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Bob Mionske, Bicycle Law<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tA reader recently asked an interesting question. If a car causes a cyclist to crash<\/a>, but doesn\u2019t actually collide with the rider, is the driver still at fault?<\/p>\n

\tIn a recent incident, a husband-and-wife tandem team ran into an abutment after a driver violated their right-of-way. Police officers told them, incorrectly, that it was \u201cnot legally an accident because there was no collision between bike and car<\/a>.\u201d The officers refused to take contact information from a witness even though the driver admitted fault at the scene. They also informed the couple that it was their responsibility to control the bike. In another incident, a driver failed to yield before \u00admaking a right turn and nearly struck a\u00ad cyclist. The rider crashed, and wonders if his insurance company will pay.<\/p>\n

\tAlthough neither vehicle touched the cyclists, the drivers operated in a way that caused a crash. In fact, the only \u00adreason there was no contact was because the \u00adcyclists took evasive \u00adaction. Here\u2019s how to avoid this kind of situation, and how to handle it if you do hit the pavement.<\/p>\n

\tRide Defensively<\/strong>
\n\tBe extra vigilant near intersections and driveways, where drivers are more likely to violate your right-of-way.<\/p>\n

\tPlay Detective<\/strong>
\n\tWhile you may be able to file a successful\u00ad claim after a no-contact crash, you will find it harder if you don\u2019t have evidence of the driver\u2019s negligence. Witnesses can provide valuable proof, so make every effort to get contact information from any bystanders who saw what happened.<\/p>\n

\tRecord Your Ride<\/strong>
\n\tYou may have seen the YouTube clip of the Colorado driver who harassed two cyclists<\/a> by following them and honking. He was eventually ticketed, thanks in part to that video.<\/p>\n

\tResearch and assistance by Rick Bernardi, J.D.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.bicyclelaw.com\/road-rights\/a.cfm\/road-rights-the-no-contact-crash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Bob Mionske, Bicycle Law A reader recently asked an interesting question. If a car causes a cyclist to crash, but doesn\u2019t actually collide with the rider, is the driver still at fault? In a recent incident, a husband-and-wife tandem team ran into an abutment after a driver violated their right-of-way. Police officers told them, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “What to do if you\u2019re forced to evade a careless or aggressive driver”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258035729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biking-elsewhere"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258035729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=258035729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258035729\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=258035729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=258035729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=258035729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}