Oregon Cycling Magazine

by Mark Lansing

Rising at light speed into bicyclist lexicon, the “right hook” has become well known for all the wrong reasons. Two well publicized accidents in Portland this October took two lives. Both resulted when motor vehicles made right turns in front of bikers riding in the same direction, hence the term, right hook.

Jeff Mapes of the Oregonian wrote a sadly prophetic piece a couple days before the second fatality, which began by describing a driver in Amsterdam craning his neck in search of bicycles before making a right turn —a level of motorist sophistication not always seen in the United States.

This level was also completely absent in the death two days later: a truck driver had just overtaken the cyclist on Interstate avenue, did or didn’t look back (didn’t much matter since the driver must have known the bike was over there somewhere), and simply rolled into his right hook/turn without waiting/thinking. Conceding that the bicycle had the legal right of way, a police spokesman was quoted as saying, “You can be right, and you can be dead right”—suggesting that the cyclist was at fault for not riding more defensively.

As of press time, no citation had been issued.

Without knowing more details of the specific collisions, but having extensive experience in the right-hooked world of American motoring, the YHIHF staff offers these observations:

On a road with a bike lane (like Interstate avenue) there is no question that a bicyclist in it has the legal right of way over a motorist turning across it.

On a road without a bike lane, it is still illegal for motorists to make unsignaled or unsafe right turns. A bicyclist continuing straight still has the right of way.

Drivers often underestimate the speed of cyclists approaching from behind and overestimate the speed with which they can make their turn and get out of the way.
Many motorists do not give a flying spoke nipple whether they “get out of the way” or not because (consciously or unconsciously) they know a bicycle cannot hurt them inside a car, and law enforcement often (usually?) does not enforce turning and right of way laws as they apply to bicycles.

Blinkers are important in these situations. In ones with insufficient space for a car to make an unannounced right turn, but when the driver’s signal is activated well in advance, the cyclist can usually drift to the left behind the vehicle and then safely around it, before cutting back to the right side of the road. Safety tip: If a motorist in front of you is signaling a right turn, signal your own move to the left and avoid crossing the vehicle’s path.

Reports say the truck driver on Interstate had signaled his right turn, but YHIHF questions whether that happened far enough in advance for the cyclist to save himself. Reports describe that rider as an experienced and expert handler, and it is difficult to believe that he would have gone flying beneath the truck if another option had been available at the point it became clear he might need an escape route.

This police officer who referred to the cyclist as “dead right” needs sensitivity training. He also seems to be saying that this biker should have known that the trucker might fail to yield the right of way and make an unsafe turn; therefore the biker was responsible. Here in Southern Oregon we are very familiar with that sad line of thinking, which goes something like this: “Driving infractions will be overlooked when car and bike collide, as long as the driver can offer some explanation for his or her behavior that does not include drug or alcohol impairment.”

An old cycling safety adage advises: “Pretend the drivers can’t see you.” But when drivers don’t, these words of wisdom do not become a motorized operator’s valid excuse. Oregon motorists should start holding themselves to an Amsterdam standard. No one is perfect, but some drivers aren’t even trying.

YHIHF staffers may be emailed at lansingatlaw@rvi.net

Possibly Related

• May 2008: Blow bells and a Bend din
• August 2008: Three tips and a trap
• April 2007: Accident insurance for bicyclists
• May 2008: Education is the first step
• September 2008: Stop or yield