BIKE: hit and run

[Patrick Goetz]

Michael Bluejay wrote:
> I'm surprised no one has commented on how the police were sympathetic to 
> the cyclist's rights and told the motorist that in no uncertain terms.  
> Are we taking that for granted?  Because that's not how it used to be, 
> not by a long shot.

Meanwhile, bike hit and run is still a problem.  In the last 2 weeks, 
bicyclists I know were involved in 2 unrelated hit and run instances. 
In one case, a grad student in my department, Eric (in a group of 4 
cyclists, all with rear reflectors and at least 2 with flashing rear 
lights!) was rear-ended on Red River by a monster truck in a collision 
which sent him literally flying into the roadside grass, and a couple of 
days ago one of my tenants, Finn, was flattened by a vehicle making a 
right turn on red at the same time that she was crossing the street in 
front of the vehicle.  In the latter case, the motorist yelled at Finn 
for being on the street before driving away (using the perfectly logical 
argument that the right to make a right turn on red takes precedence 
over anyone trying to cross the street).  In the former case, the truck 
driver sped away before they could even properly register the color of 
the vehicle, let alone the license plate # (the first concern of the 
cyclists not hit was making sure that Eric was OK).  In both cases no 
one was seriously injured, but in Eric's case, Eric could have been 
killed, as far as trucker boy knew.

Given the large numbers of commuter cyclists in this town (ahem) the 
fact that I personally know 2 involved in hit and run accidents in just 
a 2 week period makes me wonder just how often this is happening in the 
Austin area.