Monday, September 17, 2012

Typical Monday Morning or Serious Distracted Driving!?

So on the limited portion of my ride that is on busier streets I don't normally have any problems with drivers.  This morning was different....this lady just kept tailgating me and I'd finally had enough.  So I slammed on the breaks and swerved into the left lane.  As she tried to pass me I slammed into the side of her car and drove her off the road into the ditch!


Ok, so none of the above happened....and I had the usual uneventful ride in to work.  Until got to the driveway for work, which is where this was.

 Apparently, It was a lady and a small kid and I'm guessing some seriously distracted driving!  This means she not only drove into the bike lane and didn't correct, but continued over the grass (and didn't correct), and then into the ditch.  Some really distracted driving probably caused by attending to the spoiled youth of today.

Any which way you look at this it's one of my biggest concerns while riding.  It only takes a second of answering the phone, attending to junior, or hunting for a song on the ipod and you're driving in the bike lane.  The speed differential on this section of Mill is about 30 mph (50 mph for cars and 20 mph average for bikes) and the resulting trauma for the cyclist is definitely in the "you're dead or really seriously injured" category!

Here's the view from my window, just for fun:



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