Berkeley bicyclist captures hit & run on video

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2012/04/27/berkeley-bicyclist-hit-run-video/?tsp=1

A Berkeley cyclist taped an apparent hit and run crash that spilled him across the asphalt in Berkeley. (Fast forward to 2:38 to see the crash.)

Cyclist “Bruno” uploaded the video on Thursday of him and a buddy climbing Tunnel Road when a black sedan drifts right and clips the two cyclists.

Both fall to the ground and get up without serious injury.The car appears to flee the scene.

The cyclist said police were able to identify the license plate of the car and have already made contact with the driver.

“The police have located the car and the owner,” he wrote. “Now I’m waiting for the return of the police on the case.”

[hedgehog]

1. That's pretty nasty - it looks like the car swerved over

to knock down the bikes.

I do have to ask though - did I see the riders peddle through two stop signs and ignore a right turn only lane?

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. CA cyclists blow through stop signs. would a driver intentionally risk damage to their car?

[Arkansas Granny]

3. Although the driver of the car was clearly at fault for running into these guys, I also

had to wonder about them blowing through the stop signs.

[bhikkhu]

43. Looking at the video, they were riding pretty responsibly and defensively

...which is generally the case for cyclists who ride a lot. The ones who don't ride responsibly and defensively tend to have very short careers.

A cyclist can at cruising speed can stop on a dime and turn on a dime, but is least maneuverable and most vulnerable when at a stop and when starting from a stop. As a cyclist I could make drivers wait all the time (at crosswalks, stop signs, etc), or I could get out of the way and out of danger immediately. Stopping often involves trusting cross-traffic to behave predictably, which is a bad choice. Going through is safest if the timing takes me out of any potential traffic situation, and requires no reaction or notice from any drivers.

As a daily rider, I almost always chose to get out of the way, and I won't ride in front of a car that could, if the driver behaved unpredictably, run me over. So stop signs are a bit of ballet - I stop if its safer to stop (and as a rule I am always ready to stop), but I go right through if that is safer.

Lights are a different story - I always obey stop lights the same as cars, as do most of the guys I know who ride as well.

In any case, I could still get killed or crippled by a hit from behind. Complete stops would actually make that more likely.

[Arkansas Granny]

44. As someone who has ridden a bicycle in traffic situations on a regular basis, I always stopped

at stop signs. Yes, it is inconvenient to lose your momentum with each stop, but traffic law states that bicycles shall obey the same law as a motorized vehicle when riding on public roads. You either obey the law or you are breaking the law. It's just as simple as that, IMO.

[bhikkhu]

45. Perhaps where you rode the drivers also stopped at stop signs

In my neighborhood, as a rule its the "california stop", which is about what I do on a bike.

If you are most vulnerable when stopped, and if you're the only one who actually stops, and if drivers tend to not see bikes anyway, then good sense would put safety first and the letter of the law second. 40 years of riding here, 200k + miles, and zero car-related accidents - which to me is just that simple.

[Codeine]

6. Bike people think they're special.

They're to be afforded all the rights of traffic while incurring none of the responsibilities and following none of the rules. Heaven forbid they should be required to regain their lost momentum after a stop.

[frylock]

8. and it justs eats you up insise that they do that..

though it has no effect on your life whatsoever.

[MinneapolisMatt]

10. They're still breaking the law.

n/t

[noamnety]

18. Pot smokers also break the law.

But that technicality doesn't mitigate attempted murder of someone for smoking it.

[frylock]

38. driving 66mph on the freeway is also against the law..

but you never see people here complaining about that, do you.

[Codeine]

11. Very few of life's small irritations really have any effect on us,

but they still irritate.

[CreekDog]

20. they shouldn't irritate you --those people are on bikes not slowing you down

if they were in cars, they'd be lined up and in your way getting onto Highway 24 or 13.

besides, Tunnel Road is a long ride uphill. hard on a bike to stop and get moving again.

when i'm a pedestrian, i don't stop at stop signs. do you?

[AtheistCrusader]

28. Pedestrians aren't required to stop at stop signs.

Bicycles are required to obey traffic laws when riding in the street. The first stop sign they ran, they took a car's right of way and went for it. Could have been a horrible accident right there if the motorist had hit the gas expecting them to stop for right of way right then and there. Fortunately that didn't happen.

I see it happen a lot in front of my workplace. A car can be halfway through the intersection, and a bike will just make a free right at high speed through a stop sign, causing motorists to stomp on the brake mid-intersection, or swerve.

It's not good practice.

It had nothing to do with these two bicyclists getting run over though. At least, not this time. The stop signs are there for a reason. If you're going to be in the road, better to obey them.

(unless, potentially, this vehicle was cut off by these two cyclists at a four way stop and they did not yield right of way, and this car hunted them down for vengeance. No evidence that happened, but always a possibility)

[CreekDog]

33. Pedestrians aren't required to stop when walking in the road?

Tunnel Road doesn't have sidewalks, pedestrians would be in the road.

[AtheistCrusader]

35. Depends on state law.

In Washington, no, unless their entry would force a vehicle to stop in an unsafe manner, or be unable to stop. (assuming we are talking about a place where a pedestrian has a right to be like a crosswalk, or easment/walkway that is in the road)

I imagine the law is the same or similar in California, but I do not know for certain.

[CreekDog]

36. there is no crosswalk on most of this road and there is no pedestrian lane --but they are allowed

so let's try this again.

[AtheistCrusader]

41. I see many intersections.

In my state, any intersection is automatically a crosswalk, regardless of whether it is marked or not.

This kind of sucks, since I am not deeply familiar with California law, I could be operating on entirely false assumption.

[Warren Stupidity]

12. they asked for it

yes where have I heard that argument before?

[fascisthunter]

16. Heaven forbid you have to share the road with a biker

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[Codeine]

17. So long as they follow the same traffic rules which I am forced to follow

then it's all good.

[Dont call me Shirley]

24. Cyclists don't kill with their 7-20 lb vehicles, CARS DO!

[bluesbassman]

50. As a matter of fact a cyclist can kill.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco police are preparing to make an arrest in the death of a man hit by a bicyclist last month at the corner of Market and Castro. Police say Chris Bucchere was going too fast on his bike when he hit and killed a 71-year-old man who was lawfully in the crosswalk. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=8635496

I rarely ride myself on city streets, but I have been riding motorcycles since 1975, and I share some of the same concerns that my peddling friends have about sharing the road with cars and trucks. None of us do ourselves any favors however when we flout traffic laws or conditions. Splitting lanes when traffic is flowing on a motorcycle is a good example, just as riding three or four abreast and putting yourself out into the vehicle lane is for bicycles. It really just boils down to common sense IMO.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

31. No one is forced to follow traffic laws

Cyclist or driver, you take your chances.

[MagickMuffin]

25. Quite a broad brush you're using

I stop at Stop signs while riding my bicycle. Of course I'm not into riding fast, I'm riding for grocery shopping, and shear FUN!

Oh, but I do "think" I'm special

[tinrobot]

27. In an accident, they're certainly the special ones.

When a bike tangles with a car, the cyclists get all the special attention from the paramedics. The driver of the car usually just gets to watch the carnage, uninjured. That is, if the driver bothers to stop.

Cyclists take full responsibility for their decisions on the road, often with bodily injury as the punishment for a wrong decision.

[AtheistCrusader]

29. When a bicyclist enters an intersection out of turn, or without right of way, someone else can get

hurt. A vehicle may panic swerve into another vehicle or a pedestrian, attempting to avoid the bike, for instance. Obviously a rare scenario, but the more stop signs bike riders run, the more likely something bad will happen at some point.

I stop. It's work. It sucks coming to a stop on your bike. But safety first. It is the price of access to the public roads.

[movonne]

32. So because some bike people don't do

what is right... but that is no difference than car drivers...if caught by the police doing the wrong things they should be subject to getting tickets .. just like automobile drivers...it seems to me that you are hostel to bikers..

[Lizzie Poppet]

34. Avid cyclist here.

Very avid, in fact (former Cat 1 racer...), and fwiw, while I do admit to fairly frequent scofflaw behavior, I make it a hard and fast rule that I only do so when it in no way infringes on others. So I'll blow off a stop sign...when there's no one around who's right-of-way I'm interfering with. Otherwise, I obey the law. I'm not all that much of an aberration here in Portland, where there are a LOT of bike commuters, most of which are about as law-abiding as the average car driver. That is, not angels, but usually pretty good.

[frylock]

40. ^this^

i rarely even ride my squish bikes on the pavement, but when i do, i ride pretty much as you have described.

[gratuitous]

9. As to the stop signs and the right turn lane

The first stop sign appears at the very beginning of the tape, and the intersecting streets appear totally clear of traffic on a clear, sunny day. No harm, no foul in my book. If you sat at a four-way stop intersection under similar circumstances, I'd bet not one car in ten would come to a full and complete stop.

At the second stop sign, the cyclists roll through and make their right turn with traffic present, no question. I might not come to a complete stop there, either, but I would definitely slow down appreciably and make sure that I at the very least made eye contact with any motorist coming from my left. From the video, it's difficult to see if the cyclists did or did not make eye contact with the car coming from the left. A venial sin, worth five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys and an Act of Contrition.

The right turn only lane cuts across the bike lane, so for the cyclists to "ignore" it only means that they weren't turning right there, but proceeding through. I don't know about California law, but in Oregon, bicycles are allowed to proceed through an intersection from a right turn only lane, because bicycles are required to travel as far right as practicable on public roadways. No harm, no foul for that.

Overall, I give the riders and the drivers (with the one obvious exception) a B+ for sharing a roadway that has a very uneven accommodation for cyclists. The cyclists would have gotten to an A if they had slowed more appreciably at the second stop sign.

[hedgehog]

13. The right turn only lane is confusing - I mentioned that

more to get some clarification than anything else. I think that if the cyclists deserve a couple demerits for blowing through the stop sign, the driver should be expelled for intentional harm!

[AtheistCrusader]

30. The first four way stop is NOT clear. Silver car, on the left.

However, the driver may have waved them through, the video does not show.

[gratuitous]

37. I went back and looked a couple of times

The video is not in the best position, but the silver car to the left does not initially appear to be at the intersection when the cyclists arrive. According to the rules of the road that I'm familiar with, the vehicle to the right is accorded the right of way when there's a simultaneous arrival at the stop sign. The cyclists either arrived at the intersection first, or were to the right of the silver car. I'd say the cyclists had the right of way.

[AtheistCrusader]

39. He's there, but

he's slightly in motion past the limit line. Couple possibilities, he may have pulled out expecting to go, but then slowed for the bikes. OR, he could be in the process of rolling through the stop sign in an unlawful manner him (or her) self.

I wish the video was more clear, or the poster could have just edited out that first ten seconds and saved us the question entirely.

[Poll_Blind]

4. That REALLY looks like the driver intentionally swerved into them.

Not enough to run them over, but clearly enough to knock them off their bikes. I am very interested to hear what the police have to say about this and where this goes from here.

I assume they were in a bike lane. It looks like they were. And a generous bike lane at that.

PB

[RebelOne]

23. It sure as hell looks like it was intentional. n/t

[Saving Hawaii]

46. A generous bike lane?

It's not even a bike lane. It's the parking strip on the side of the road. There was no bike lane there.

[gratuitous]

5. Damn

That motorist is very lucky not to be looking at a charge of vehicular homicide, as either cyclist could have easily been killed. The motorist rolled well across the white stripe to take out the two cyclists who were maintaining their line of travel outside the lane of motor traffic. I'm hopeful for a judge to throw the book at that maniac.

[AsahinaKimi]

7. That was really scary!

[mulsh]

14. I"ve always tried to avoid riding anywhere on Tunnel Road. It's the feeder to highways 24 & 13.

It's always busy. The bikers appear to have done an exemplary job of staying to the right in the bike lane. As for blowing through that stop sign. Tunnel Road and oncoming traffic is visible for about a long city block from the intersection with The Uplands ( the street they were riding up). I agree that bikers should obey stop signs but they weren't exactly putting anyone at risk back there. I hope they track that drive down and charge him.

It doesn't look like the bikers were seriously injured. I hope they figure out the many other routes up into the hills and avoid Tunnel Road in the future. I suggest they try Claremont Ave. sometime, it's long & steep in places but goes right up to Grizzly Peak & Fish Ranch Road with out so much traffic.

-edited to correct the name of the side road-

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. the driver has been located by the police

[BoWanZi]

19. I hope the driver gets charged big time for that stunt. And I hope the driver's insurance pays big

Those look like some decent bikes. I am very curious to hear the outcome of this story.

[Prism]

21. I'm a Berkeley cyclist.

Drivers are seriously scary here. Going downhill on Solano is like running a freaking gauntlet. If I'm not almost killed twice, it's not really a commute. Today a truck tried to flatten me for no particular reason.

And yes, I obey all traffic laws.

[Saving Hawaii]

47. Scariest place I've ever ridden was in a Seattle suburb.

Visiting my parents sometime after I got into cycling. I tried to figure out a good route off the hill they lived on. There wasn't any. The most direct route was insanely steep and had very heavy traffic. Not a good option by any stretch of the imagination. There was a decent route up/down the hill but it took me about 5 miles out of my way. And another suicidal one that was super-steep and a never-ending twist of blind corners that would take me about 5 miles out of my way.

The last route I tried though seemed like the best until I reached the moment of truth. I was coming down a 2-lane road at about 35-40mph (so what if I was speeding a little bit, I don't know how accurate my computer is). Very light traffic, it seemed perfect. Then I went under a freeway overpass and all of the sudden I'm now on a 6-lane road. Heavy traffic coming out of a tunnel on my left, most of it trying to merge right for the next intersection. Heavy traffic coming off a freeway offramp on my right, much of it trying to get in a left-turn lane. And I was right in the middle of it all. Survived that but never trying it again.

I eventually realized that the only way to ride my bike off the hill was to just put it in my car, drive to the bottom and then pull it out. That worked okay.

[Prism]

48. LOL, I hear you

The wonderful thing about Solano in Berkeley is that the curbside parking are actually parking spots placed perpendicular to the road. So people reverse out right into the street. Not only can you not see any cars or people reversing out if there's a large vehicle blocking the line of sight, but people will just bop on out into the road without bothering to glance (if they can even seen oncoming traffic at all). Some nights are like a particularly terrifying level of Excite Bike. There you are, sailing along downhill, and suddenly a 4,000 lbs obstacle lurches out to block the road in front of you.

I swear, one of these days, there's going to be a car in the oncoming lane I'm constantly swerving into to avoid getting flattened. I don't know what I'll do then. Probably scream.

[Noodleboy13]

22. Yup, that was intentional.

Shit like that really freaks me out. I've been in a hit and run accident, and have a wee piece of titanium holding my face together to show for it. I'd be dead were it not for my helmet. These guys seemed to fairly good riders, and they were sticking to the curb as much as possible, etc.
Now yes, they did blow a stop sign. Pretty much all cyclists will do a slow and go if there is no traffic at a stop sign. Stop lights are different matter; you stop for those.
Cyclists aren't blowing stop signs to be scoff laws, they are doing it to conserve momentum, or to get the hell out of the way of traffic. We don't like cars. Cars can kill us if the driver isn't paying attention. If we don't pay attention, we can be killed. Trust me, seasoned cyclists are VERY aware of their surroundings.

peace,
Nodleboy

[AtheistCrusader]

42. How do you know it is intentional?

Could just be a complete dipshit, since we don't see how he or she approached. May have been driving in the shoulder for some period of time, texting or sleepy, or could be drunk.

Lots of possibilities. It does have the appearance of an intentional hit, but I see no confirmation.

[They_Live]

26. I was hit by a car once

when riding my bike. It was the driver's fault, and I caved in the entire top of his car with my body. Any driver that has never been hit and is whining about bike riders has no idea what it is like out there. Even worse now with cell phones, etc.

[Son of Gob]

49. They arrested the driver

Police arrested an Oakland man Friday in connection with a hit-and-run crash in Berkeley in which a bicyclist’s mounted camera filmed the car that knocked him to the asphalt.

Michael Patrick Medaglia, 42, who is on probation for possession of a switchblade, allegedly ran down two bicyclists Wednesday on Tunnel Road. One of the cyclists, “Bruno,” filmed the crash and uploaded a video showing a black sedan drifting into the bike lane, clipping the cyclists and driving off.

Medaglia, the registered owner of the car filmed by the bike cam, called Oakland police after the crash to report that his car had been stolen, investigators said. Oakland police found it Friday morning, and after examining the car, Berkeley officers tracked down Medaglia at his residence at the Jack London Inn on Embarcadero West, said Berkeley police Capt. Andrew Greenwood. They arrested him without incident, police said.

Medaglia was booked on suspicion of felony hit and run, possession of heroin, being a felon in possession of ammunition and a probation violation. The probation stems from an August 2010 case in which Medaglia was found to possess a switchblade, Greenwood said.

http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2012/04/27/berkeley-bicyclist-hit-run-video/?tsp=1