Wanted: your close calls

I've got one that happened this spring, on that one weird night where it haled. I was biking down E Burnside, right by the Jupiter Hotel at about 9:30 pm in the rain and hale. I had lights, and a cop turning right onto Burnside waited until I passed before making a right turn onto the road. Several blocks later, at the intersection of Grand, the same cop car sped up and cut me off so closely I had to slam on my brakes in the slippery stuff so he could careen onto Grand. He most definitely saw me, it was definitely intentional, and apparently malicious. (Like I wasn't already uncomfortable and in danger biking through that weather.) If it hadn't been completely miserable out, I absolutely would have turned after him to get his patrol car number and reported his ass to the Bureau in whatever hope there is in the agency doing anything about one of its officers completely unprovoked and unnecessarily threatening the life of a random citizen, even if she wasn't a racial minority or even dressed like a political activist.

More recently, I was turning left off MLK onto that street just south of Hawthorne, and was in the far left lane to do so when some jock in a giant truck began incessantly honking his horn at me and riding dangerously close behind me, jerking forward threateningly. He harassed and physically threatened me all the way through the intersection, no doubt goaded on by the fact that I was swearing and flipping him off. Wheee!

Also I almost got doored downtown on Park and Alder, by some fat asshole in an SUV who saw me just in time to avoid causing the loss of all my teeth. After this graceful consideration he sputtered that I, as a "fucking bicyclist" should be riding on the sidewalk, because "it's the law." I was in a hurry, so I didn't ride my fucking bike through his fucking windshield.

I bike to school up Broadway, so close calls are a way of life.
There's always somebody so anxious to turn or get a parking space that he or she can't fit checking a mirror into their busy schedule.
My first near-miss was last summer when I had just started commuting by bike. I was turning left (south) on SE 7th Ave from Ash St. As I got into the bike lane on 7th, the east-facing driver entered the intersection, nearly hitting my right side. I was so scared I couldn't even yell, something I've now mastered.
One particularly heinous offense on Broadway sticks in my mind. As my boyfriend and I rode to PSU, an SUV pulled quickly out of the parking spot and into the bike lane where I was. I swerved to miss her - this was in stopped traffic - and got back in the bike lane ahead of her. Realizing she couldn't pull into a car lane because of backed-up traffic, she stopped. My boyfriend knocked on her mirror and said "bike lane." A few blocks later, a passenger of another SUV yelled from the left lane, "good thing that wasn't MY car you touched! I woulda kicked your fuckin' ASS!"
My adrenaline was still high from nearly becoming one with the RAV4, and I yelled, "She was in a bike lane!" He yelled back "So what?" Further exchange was cut off when they sped off.
On the Fourth of July, I was nearly hit on a dead-end street in my neighborhood. The driver was wildly drunk. He motioned me to go and then started to drive too. I stopped quickly, falling. Then he got out see if I was alright, and struck up a conversation. I wanted to lecture him for driving drunk, but I think the effect was lost on him.
Every time I have a run-in with a car, which happens multiple times a week, my main reaction is to think of how easily I could be irrepairably damaged, and how easy it is to avoid close calls altogether. I'm 22 years old. I don't deserve to be injured because drivers don't pay attention.

I have two recent incidents that did not result in accidents, just jangled nerves. Both were on SE Clinton, a bike route with very little traffic.

1 - I was traveling east on Clinton approaching one of the small traffic circle islands in the neighborhood of SE 30th. I could hear a car quickly approaching from the rear. The car came alongside me perhaps 25 feet before I came to the island. It did not want to slow for the island and began to move right to push me to serve. I did not budge from my path and the car had to stomp on its brakes to avoid collision with the island.

2 - Again on SE Clinton I was going east approaching the stop sign at 50th. A small pickup came from behind me, on my left. I looked at him, he was talking on a phone. As I was at the stop sign first and slightly ahead of the pickup, I began my crossing of 50th. The pickup started rapidly about the same time. He was on my left, but turned right in front of me as I was crossing the street. He clearly knew I was there and decided to cut me off anyway. I had to swerve to avoid hitting the moving pickup broadside.

Both of these incididents reflect common problems on SE Clinton. This street is clearly marked as a bike route in several places and also has numerous speed slowing devices. It should be a safe route, but has many of the hazards of biking on much busier streets like Division.

Jonathan, thank you for doing this. Could we map this somehow?

Last March, on my 1st day riding in Portland (I had just moved from Seattle where I biked to school daily), I was doored. I had just been at Wild Oats and was traveling north on 28th. A lady in an SUV opened her door right in front of me. Even though I was riding a fair distance from the parked cars, the SUV's door was extra wide (that 3.5 ft - 4 ft distance most safety manuals and bike lanes recommend is way too short..). I swerved but my handle bars hit and I went flying into the road, landing on my head. Luckily I was wearing a helmet and mostly had superficial injuries, though I spent a few hours in the emergency room and was shook up for a few days. I was lucky to have a driver who felt bad about the incidence and put her phone number in my backpack before the ambulance came. But no one asked her too - I was suprised the bystanders or ambulance didnt make sure she gave me her information (I was pretty out of it right after the collision).

Two weeks ago I was riding down NE Broadway near 28th in the bike lane. A lady turned right in front of me to parallel park. I had to brake hard and still hit her, but at low enough speed that I wasn't hurt when I fell over. She, however, didn't notice, and simply continued to park and leisurely get out of her car. I had to yell at her for her to even realize I was there, and still she did not acknowledge that anything really happened. She simply stared at me and said "I apologize" sarcastically only after some bystanders confirmed that she had indeed turned in front of me.

All in all, I think most bike lanes are traps, disasters waiting to happen, and try to avoid them. I try to ride in the lane on most streets even though that often means getting honked at by an angry driver that speeds by. At least in the lane they are guarenteed to see me and will only hit me on purpose (which of course is possible but not as likely as being hit by accident/negligence).

1. N. Minnesota Ave and Alberta.
2. Every morning and evening I see cars coming off the freeway or
going on the freeway that barely look for others before yielding
(there is a stop sign). Cyclists in at intersection are so often
ignored because they aren't getting on or off the freeway.
2. Traveling East on Alberta. Stop at sign. Car to the left, traveling
in the same direction, doesn't use blinker and tries to turn right
onto I-5.
3. I am from N. Portland, Overlook neighborhood. 2 blocks north of
this intersection.

1. N. Albina and Alberta.
2. I was turning left (west) from Albina to Alberta. Left hand out in
the signaling way, waiting for the light to turn green. A car pulled
up to my right and told me to get on the sidewalk. I told him that's
illegal and how bikers get hit. Ignoring the rest of his yells I
turned left when the traffic was clear, as did he, turning the same
direction on my right side onto Alberta. He nearly ran into me,
knowing full well I was there. I yelled and he stopped abruptly in the
middle of the road. Again, I swirved to not hit his car. He got out
and I was scared for my life that I was going to get beat for making a
legal left hand turn.
3. Overlook Neighborhood.

1. NE MLK and Columbia Blvd.
2. Traveling north on MLK, in bike lane. Pick up truck, traveling in
the same direction in car lane. The truck turns right (east) on
Columbia Blvd. (without using a blinker) while I am crossing the
intersection, turning into me, knocking me off my bike and across the
intersection.
3. Overlook Neighborhood.

All of these have happened during daylight hours.

Heading up (North) on MLK last week at about 6PM, as I was riding to the right in the right lane many cars were passing in the same lane very closely to me--too close. As I approached an intersection, the space available on the right side became extremely narrow just as a very large trailer truck was passing me in my lane leaving me no option but to stop suddenly and hope that the rear wheels of the truck didn't wipe me out. The driver obviously had absolutely NO intent to share the road with me. Then, as I continued to head further North, I decided to ride out further in the lane such that cars (and trucks) would be forced to go into the left lane to pass me. Shortly after this, a woman in a black four door japanese-made sedan passed me while honking repeatedly I guess to let me know she didn't think I should have a right to be on the road. By the way, her car had a british flag bumper sticker, so if you see her, be sure to give her my regards. Thanks.

the Right Hook

about 2 weeks ago I was ambling (about 10 mph) along the bike lane on SW Broadway, when, as i approached the intersection with Taylor St. a car pulled just past me --- not far enough for me to see the right rear taillight --- and proceeded to make a right turn into the space i was about to occupy. Since i was moving quite slowly, and had a funny feeling about
it a few seconds in advance, it was really pretty easy for me to stop, but i was really upset by the fact that this guy seemed oblivious to my presence (how could he have not seen me as he passed?). I screamed "WAKE UP!", & he slowed after having turned the corner and yelled back "You Wake Up!" Well,
in fact i was awake, which is why i didn't T-bone myself into the side of his car, but he was gone & having a discussion of who was or wasn't awake would likely not have worked at that point.

Drivers often pass me & then make a quick right turn in front of me, but it's always been an irritating & rude thing (can't you just wait 5 seconds for me to clear the intersection so you can turn..?), & never felt
especially dangerous. This was just a case of out-and-out obliviousness, & i'm still puzzled as to what the guy might have been thinking...

Around the third week of September, I was riding in Hillsboro (on 229th by Intel) and was turning left to go into the parking lot. This guy in a blue Subaru WRX (with custom wheels and one of those mufflers that sounds like a chainsaw) passes me... As we are turning left. If I had been any closer to him, I would've been on the ground, a bleeding mess.

I yelled at him to obey traffic laws (however, I was quite vulgar in doing so)... Probably didn't do any good... He probably assumed there are not such things.

* se 70th and division
* minding my own business, riding as far to the right as i could without crashing into parked cars. rush-hour morning traffic is speeding past me, a car leans on its horn, startling me into almost crashing, and nearly side-swipes me as it speeds by.
*i'm from the hawthorne/mt. tabor area.

The traffic control islands (circles) in Ladd and along SE Clinton.

I've had numerous close calls in these areas. I don't have any exact dates but here are some examples of the most memorable instances. Traveling south along the north section of Ladd, I had a huge pickup race past me around the circle nearly running me into the curb. He had is hand out the window with that all too familiar salute. At the time, I was traveling just above 20 mph too (the speed limit is 25). Needless to say, I caught up to him at the center of Ladd when he reached the stop sign. I then (not one of my best moves) returned his salute. As we continued through the center of Ladd, he turned on the diagonal just before 16th - also cutting me off again. So, I 'saluted' again and then continued on my way, turning on 16th. I then hear his brakes screach and I look back to see him backing back into the circle and coming after me with the wheels 'a squeelin'. I stop on the side of the road - not wanting to be chased and ran down. He squeals to a stop inches from me and jumps out of his truck screaming that he could have and should have just ran me over. I try to explain that I have the right of way in a situation like this only to have him get directly in my face and threaten my life. I then decided it was time to take off. This dude scared the crap out of me - and I ride all the time (I have no car).

I also have had a few instances of almost having head on collisions with cars that have turned left in intersections with these circles without going around the circle. The best part about this is that with the plants growing in these circles, you can't even see that the car is coming. I have to mention this has happened even more often from me with other cyclists though.

I also had an instance along the south section of Ladd where a driver floored it and swerved around the wrong side of the circle to pass me. Again, I was traveling somewhere between 20 and 25 mph. He had to have sped up to at least 40 to pass me as quickly as he had. Of course, I also caught up with him at the light on Division. I pulled up next to him and asked what the h*ll he was doing to which he repeated over and over "I gave you enough room". This was his chant even to my comment that it was a residential area with many children living in it as well as a school only blocks away. I guess that didn't matter.

I now make sure I am directly in the center of the lane when approaching these areas.

Oh, I just thought of a kind of humorous incident too which happened earlier this summer at the intersection where 12th, Burnside and Sandy all come together. I was traveling south on 12th and stopped at the light in the left lane (so that I could make the turn onto 11th after the light). A big 70's boat of a car rolled up behind me - I glanced back as he pulled up since he sounded kind of close. The guy looked a little 'out of it', but I didn't really think about it. I turned back around to watch the light and after a few seconds, I feel a bump from behind. I turn back around to see the guy seem to startle himself awake as he rolls into my back tire. No damage or anything - it was really just a tap, but still!

Thanks so much for setting this up! I've been thinking there should be a way for cyclists to communicate to each other about bad areas and also bad drivers. Maybe even a posting of license plates and car descriptions of the some of the most dangerous drivers. I know I've had run ins with a few that really feel justified in running a cyclist down for being on the road.

As a cyclist who for two years had commuted into downtown Portland from the Hawthorne district, I have had more close calls with other cyclists than with cars. I have had close calls with cars, nonetheless. The close calls I have had with cyclists have mostly been because the other cyclists were riding on the wrong side of the road or they were blowing intersections; not stopping for red lights or stop signs or not yielding right of way to the vehicle that was at an unmarked intersection first. It seems to me that, while a great deal of Portland cyclists are into obeying the law and practicing safety, too many cyclists are determined that doing so isn't cool, just as it isn't cool to wear a helmet.

I have had too many run ins with tri-met drivers. I am a responsible bike rider. I am aware that buses can not always see me as well and i never cut them off when they are trying to pull out. Just last week, as i was riding up lincoln, I was almost run off the rode by a tri-met driver. I was riding up lincoln and about to go by a median in the rode, there was a bus turning (2 streets behind me) onto lincoln from 52nd. As i approached the median the bus sped up and tried to drive around it at the same time.I as almost knocked off of my bike and had to put my foot up on the curb. I had a similar experience downtown on market street (?) A bus came up from behind me and tried to go through a very tight space (a median) at the same time as me. Then a few blocks later he pulled into my lane. It seemed like he did it on purpose. I don't know if anyone else has problems with tri met drivers, but they are a source fear for me. I do see many bicyclists cutting off buses and riding carelessly, so i do understand bus drivers' anger with bikers. I think we all need to be more careful. It angers me when bus drivers are so careless...all it takes is once.

I do not ride through this intersection but there is a problem with East Broadway and N Williams. If you head east on Broadway and want to go straight past the N. Williams intersection you head straight past one lane on your left that can turn right to go on N williams and onto
I-5. I saw someone the other day almost get hit here b/c someone wasnt paying attention when they were turning right onto N Williams. There are marked bike lanes but they go straight through this hazard. Bad engineering for bikes.
I had a close encounter with a guy in a pickup over by the Darigold plant near OMSI- he drove up on me and was about a foot off my back tire for about 30 seconds- not fun, didnt get his plate (unfortunately)

That's a fair point Mike - there is a problem with shitty cyclists not obeying the laws and putting themselves, and others, in danger. That problem is exaserbated because its these dolts - who ride on the wrong side of the road, run lights, don't signal, etc - that people remember more than the hords of respectful and law abiding bikers that are more abundant in our good city.

But I think the idea of "policing our own" misses the point. What a majority of the people here have been mentioning is that while bikers have to (and should) be in the street and are legally regarded as a vehicle by the state, often they aren't given the respect on the road needed to lessen the chance for a collision; likewise, when an accident does occur, the normal venues for grievance and restitution for motorists are closed to cyclists. As the WW and the O pointed out recently, bikers who are hit (and live) and who can show the accident was no fault of their own have little legal recourse, with the police able to do little to help. What we're trying to say (and I think you understand this) is that there are legitimate problems with how certain roads and drivers accomodate us - some do so very well, others not at all - and that, for all of our safety, it needs to be addressed - not just by bikers, but by the community as well.

Ideas like "policing our own" also perpetuate the double-standard that bikers need to take the first step to solving this problem, instead of it being a joint biker/driver/walker endeavor to keep everyone safe. Drivers certainly don't feel obliged to police other drivers - that's kind of why we have police. All we bikers can do is the same thing drivers do - yell at the idoits we see on the road that give us all a bad name, encourage others to behave better, and report the gross offenders.

But lastly, I just want to say that while Stumptown does have its share of biker/car problems, we all are definitely in a better place than in many other communities across the nation. As a native Texan I recently tried to ride a bike near my father's home outside Dallas - where highways take the place of roads, and bike lanes are virtually non-existant. Talk about a place where drivers have no respect for bikers, and Lance Armstrong (a Texan as well) just won the Tour de France. I'm just glad that here in Portland, we're trying to better an already good environment for biking, rather than having to fight for our rights while having no protection or respect on the road.

This morning at 4.15 am on the way to People's food co-op.After turning from N.Mississippi on to N.Interstate,I had just crossed the light where the road splits,the right side goes up onto the Broadway bridge, and the left (straight) carry's on along Interstate to the convention center.I was on the bike lane which goes up the middle of this split,I started hearing a truck coming up behind me,the front truck part came alongside and past,then when I was about in the middle of the trailer,all of a sudden he indicated to go right and started heaing over towards me.I immiately swerved off to the right with only inches to spare from going under the rear wheels.Anyone riding along that part of North Interstate becareful of the trucks coming out of the Albina yards, there is a corner at Interstate and Albina that the bad drivers cut,with the rear axle cutting into the bike lane.Someone is going to get killed their.
Yes I have had lot's of close calls, but even though it's probably not a good idea,i get my own back when they are out of their WMD and walking on the esplanade.I want to get a nice loud boat airhorn....

I biked to school almost every morning on a very old and horrible bike. This bike could not keep up with traffic, so I would either be in the bike lane or the farthest right. When going to school near 6th and 405 I have to go on 6th in order to get into downtown, or else I would have to go on the highway which I can't. So when I am on 6th I go to the farthest right and am always honked at by a incredibly loud airhorn from the bus. On the beginning of 6th there is a place where two roads meet, right before a stop light. When turning to the very right a bus nearly hit me because of the speed I was going. Now, I have no other choice but to take the sidewalk to prevent from me being injured.

In many parts of downtown, the street train tracks are always in the way. There is no bike lane so bikers have to go on the street train tracks. My and many other bikers tires get caught in the tracks and we fall over. Other cars have nearly ran me over while I was down on the ground.

When I have to bike home late at night because the busses are shut down. I have to take an extra long way home because of the amount of drunk drivers in downtown. I see them zooming by as they yell thing at me, so I try to take the sidewalks. There, I am hassled and in one case have been mugged and my now new bike almost stolen when I was on it.

Biking in Portland is not a safe place and I can see why many bikers are switching to cars.

Yesterday, I was late for an appointment (bad traffic, the irony!!!!) and there was this biker going probably 7 or 8 miles per hour in a 25mph zone. She was towards the right of the lane and had just entered a stretch where there was about 150 feet of wide shoulder to the right of the traffic lane. I couldn't cross the center line because of traffic, and she seemed to be considerately easing into that space so I speed up--but then she weaved back towards the traffic lane! I probably came within two feet of hitting her. Sorry! I believe the incident was on 15th and Lovejoy (under the highway). Yes, I think she was riding foolishly, but I should have been a bit more patient. Thus the apology. Sorry!

I now have two scary memories of deliberate, threatening aggression aimed at me from a guy in a motor vehicle (and in both cases there was a passenger who was also a male).

Wed. evening, Aug. 10, 2005, I was preparing to cross N. Interstate Ave. at N. Overlook Blvd. (by Kaiser), heading east. The intersection was empty except for one car waiting to go north. I was on a BikeE and when the light turned green, I started up. I had thoughtlessly taken a drink of water and as I was putting my bottle back, my foot slipped off the pedal, so I got a slow start. My husband on his BikeE was 3/4 of the way across when I was only approaching the median. The E-W light is very short -- too short in my opinion unless you stop and push the "walk" button -- and sure enough, it turned yellow on me when I was in the middle of the street.

I looked straight at the one driver in the intersection and waved at him as in "thank you for letting me finish this crossing" and continued hustling my butt across. The fact that my husband had already crossed was a factor in my not deciding to stop on the median. We are both borderline senior citizens; my grey hair around my helmet and my husband's grey beard are both quite visible. For whatever reason, drivers usually insist on indulging us by waiting until we both complete a crossing, although of course we don't expect them to and normally both cross before a light turns.

But this guy was different. Not showing any sign of objection, resistance or irritation, he held on until I was exactly in front of his car, when, no doubt, his light turned green. Instantly he floored his accelerator and vroomed north, tires squealing. He turned his wheel about 30 degrees to the left so as not to actually hit me. His car jumped as he accelerated. As I briefly glanced at him and his also-male passenger, I knew I was not going to be struck, but his violent eruption of power was meant to scare the shit out of me. I'm glad that at least he was a good enough driver that his steering correction was effective.

When I began bike-commuting in 1998, a guy in a giant pickup with a young boy in the passenger seat purposely veered over to the very edge of my bike lane on the Willamette Blvd. bluff. I don't know if he actually wanted me to lose control and fly off into the abyss, but that certainly could have happened.

I have had the usual experiences of drivers putting me in danger because they did not see me when they should have, but the two incidents above are reminders that bike-haters do exist in our bike-friendly town; people-haters, actually.

Felony hit-and-run:

I was waiting to cross the street at 52nd and Foster on the south side of Foster. The walk light turned to "walk" and just as I stepped off the curb, a bicyclist zoomed by me going at least 20-30 mph and hit my arm. I yelled for her to stop but she didn't. My arm was cut very deeply and bleeding. I went to a nearby restaurant and they gave me a towel to stop the bleeding. I took the bus to the emergency room and I got 8 stitches. The bill for the emergency room was $130.

There needs to be some restraint on this sort of arrogant behavior by cyclists. I have had this happen to me many many times. They seem to have some kind of sport about how close they can come to threaten a pedestrian. This was just the one time there was a felony hit-and-run involved.

I was riding last night, 8/12/05, on SE 34th (I think) a couple blocks behind the Zupan's on Belmont. I had lights and reflectors all over the bike and was riding to the right through the neighborhood. A young woman on a cell phone blew through a stop sign on my left and turned in front of me. I started screaming at her and yelled as she came to the light on Belmont, "you'd better run that one as well because I'm gonna be kicking your bumper!" And she did.
I commute by car to out near Hillsboro and I'm of the opinion that drivers have a gigantic disconnect between what they do and what happens-a nation in denial, everything's somebody else's fault. And I'm a firm believer in getting some revenge if possible so when I see someone driving dangerously in a company vehicle I turn their asses in with glee. Also people driving like they're drunk. Some people just don't learn through rational discussion.

About 18 months ago I was driving at 30 mph or less northbound in the right lane on SE 12th Ave between Hawthorne and Belmont when I passed a cyclist on my right. I was fully aware of him and consciously and deliberately gave him such wide berth that I entered slightly into the left lane of traffic. We both had to stop for a red light at 12th & Belmont, where he dismounted his bike and approached the passenger side of my car carrying his bike lock. Foolishly, I thought he was taking a moment to thank me for being such a thoughtful motorist, so you can imagine my surprise when he began to completely destroy the windshield of my car with his lock. Then he tried to open the car door, I'm guessing so as to give me a similar treatment. Luckily, for me the door was locked.

Since bicycles are not required to be registered or display identifying tags or plates, I could only give the cops a general physical description of him and his bike, so of course he has never had to take responsibility for this criminal assault.

If bicyclists want to claim equal right to the use of public roadways, they should be required to register their bikes just like every other vehicle on the street so that when something like this happens, the victim has some recourse.

where to begin? First off, after 3 years of peddling up SW Broadway with right turns cutting me off, almost being rear-ended, having car doors and delivery people flying out at me, pedestrians jaywalking in front of me, etc. I wisened up to an alternative route. But one of my nearest misses comes from an intentional person on Mississippi after Fremont on the way down the big hill. Some jerk decided it would be funny, as I was halfway down the hill and going rather fast, to drive in front of me and slam on his brakes. I almost flew off my bike trying to avoid him and thank goodness there were no other cars around to hit me. I was too shook up to get a license plate number but got a good curse at him in. Other bad places in town include any place the cars need to cross my lane (aka. the bike lane)- NE broadway before I-5, getting on/off the Hawthorne bridge going East, Getting on/off the Broadway bridge- just to name a few. And my final gripe- car drivers and passangers who get a kick out of throwing things at bikers or think it is funny to startle them by yelling at them. I have had both happen on several occassions. For the love of... people, I am just trying to commute, have fun, and be healthy! Whew!! Thanks for listening and doing this piece!

About two months ago my son-in-law and I were riding our bikes at Sauvie Island and a local resident drove up to us from behind, came long side us, and started yelling at us to get out "fat asses" off the road. He continued to verbally harangue us for about 2 minutes or so and then drove off with a squeal of tires, spinning rocks out at us from under the tires.

My son-in-law, in his infinite wisdom, decided that was proper cause to flip the driver off and did so. The driver slammed on his brakes and put his car in reverse at a high rate of speed and came right back toward us. I veered off to the left side of the road to avoid him and he came back until he was along side my son-in-law, who continued riding his bicycle forward. The driver then put his car in forward, pulled slightly forward of my son-in-law and then quickly turn to the right and ran him off the road. My son-in-law was able to avoid him by riding into the ditch and the driver did the same thing again. He did this for a total of 4 times and on the fourth attempt my son-in-law went down on his bike in the gravel along side the road.

The driver jumped out of his vehicle and attempted a physical confrontation with my son-in-law who got back on his bicycle and attempted to avoid the driver who was physically blocking his escape path. When it appeared that continued physical conflict was inevitable, I physically intervened by putting my bicycle and myself between the driver and my son-in-law. The driver asked me if I "want some of this too" and I said "sure, I don't have anything better to do" at which point the situation broke down into some weird legal debate between him and my son-in-law about rules of the road.

After 4 or 5 minutes of this guy yelling, spittle flying, he got back into his car and drove off in another spray of rocks.

We did get his license number and I called the Portland Police when I got back, but I was told that Sauvie Island is out of their jurisdiction. When I asked whose jurisdiction it was, the officer told me he didn't know but that it might be Multnomah County. I was surprised by the lack of interest by our local constabulary and chose not to pursue it further.

Severt

I had my closest call this morning, heading south on SE Sandy & Oak (soon after the Sandy/12th/Burnside fiasco intersection). I was in the bike lane on Sandy (it's fast, downhill) and a giant truck turned right onto Oak and cut me off. I had to swerve all the way around the front of the vehicle and it was just luck that we didn't collide. It would have been bad.

There was no malice in this incident although I've encountered plenty of jerks in my time. The truck just didn't see me.

I live in NE Portland.

Broadway, Broadway, Broadway. It's been said many times already here, but from Stark to Taylor, I, daily, get cut off by cars turning right with no blinkers and people stopping in the bike lane to pick up passengers.

If police wanted to write some "dangerous non-use of turn signal" tickets, they could just camp out on Washington Morrison and Taylor and have a field day.

Thanks for comiling this. I hope it can lead to some improvements.

June 23rd, 2005, 9 AM--Foot of the Broadway Bridge, west side. The green bike lane arrow had just turned for me, I began to cross Lovejoy when a driver headed in the same direction as me down Broadway changed her mind and turned (against a red arrow) onto Lovejoy instead--I tried to turn with her but there wasn't enough room and I crashed into her car just behind the bumper. My collarbone was broken and bike totalled. If I hadn't been such a wreck I would've done a better job thanking all the other cyclists and drivers who stopped to make sure I was okay, the remains of my bike were collected, and the driver gave up her insurance information.

Besides that, I have close calls almost every morning in front of the Fresh Pot in North Portland on my way to work with car doors thrown open wildly and without warning; "I haven't had my coffee yet" is not an adequate excuse. Actually now that I think of it I'm probably going to stop riding down Mississippi altogether.

I was riding south on NE 15th just past Fremont, and a bus drove by me so close that my bike handle hit the mirror of a parked car...I couldn't stop or get out of the way because I was blocked in, and if I had fallen I would have easily slipped under a fat tire.

Everywhere-cars taking right turns cut me off in the bike lane, as if it was a turning lane created just for their use...luckily I have good brakes, but one of these days, I'm just not going to have enough room.

I skidded out because of gravel on the road taking a left turn off NE 15th two blocks south of Prescott. I have a street bike with skinny tires since I commute many, many miles a day, and the gravel on the road is like trying to bike through quicksand or on marbles.

The worst experience I had was biking to work from school in SW, on 4th. I was on the left of the road, obeying all traffic laws...saw this green minivan almost hit some older women, and then when I passed the van and came to a stop at the red light, the guy tried to throw his coffee on me, then threatened my life. For what? I have no idea.

I live in North Portland.

This happened yesterday afternoon (Monday 8/23) around 4pm. I was riding in the bike lane down NE 47th about a block north of Glisan when I got hardcore doored. The driver of the of SUV opened his door just as I was passing - I didn't even have a chance to swerve or hit the brakes, I was already alongside him when he opened the door. I was sent flying forward into the street and would like to thank the woman behind me in the pickup truck for 1) being alert enough to stop before running me over and 2)for giving me and my bent bike a ride home -(just a few blocks, near Burnside and 60th).
I was badly bruised and badly shaken - I also had a growing bump on the head for which I went to emergency room. Once there, the doctor told me that it probably wasn't a concussion and since I wasn't seriously injured, I had no reason to be upset about it. (I responded by getting more upset.) I was also told that I needed the driver's car insurance to avoid being billed the full cost. Yesterday, he felt terrible and "assumed full responsibility." When I called him this morning, he suddenly felt that it was my fault "for riding into a parked car."

NE 29th & Alberta

A soccer mom made a left turn into me. T-boned me on my way to work. I was coming from NE 33rd... by New Seasons Market.

She was quite apologetic and concerned at the time... crying, blah blah blah... I didn't feel any pain at the time, really, because I was in shock... However, about two hours later... the started up, and hasn't stopped since... This happened in Late May.

We exchanged numbers, and she acted like she was going to be more than helpful. WRONG. I call and her badass, ignorant husband answers.. and is nothing short of rude to me.

So, I contact her insurance, the guy comes to my house, lies to my face, tells me... "Oh, yeah... you're not hurt... I can tell by the way you're sitting" Blah... I tell him to go ahead and leave.

Then I call a lawyer.

Always get a lawyer, screw trying to be a nice guy!

SE 39th and Hawthorne

I was in the left turn lane on Hawthorne at 39th, facing west and waiting to turn south. When the turn arrow finally turned green I checked to confirm that the cross traffic was stopping and proceeded into my turn. As I was about to cross the south-of-Hawthorne crosswalk a bike came zipping out past the waiting pedestrians westbound into that crosswalk. I slammed on my brakes and barely missed running into the idiot. He had no bike helmet or lights, of course, despite the fact that it was late evening and after dark. I double checked the crosswalk light. Solid red "Don't Walk". But I guess he wasn't walking - he was riding like a suicidal idiot.

JESSICA, I ride through the place you describe in your last paragraph all the time. It is where the bike lane to the far right suddenly ends (just south of the Fremont/Vancouver intersection) and relocates to the middle of the street BETWEEN 2 car lanes. The car lane to the left heads south only, and the right car lane acts as a turning lane for motorists wishing to go to either the Fremont Bridge or Legacy Emannuel Hospital. That intersection is SO dangerous! It would be helpful if there were a sign overhead (next to the light) that warned motorists of a bicycle lane merge. I have had too many close calls there to count...

I have also seen many accidents occur on N. Alberta. This is a very busy biking route with no bike lanes, on-street parking, and heavy traffic. Not only have I seen cyclists hit, nearly hit, and harassed, I have seen many drivers who have just parked on-street open their car doors suddenly and HIT cyclists with the door head-on. Just two weeks ago I saw such an incident on a busy "Last Thursday" afternoon. I hope that the city recognizes the safety needs of cyclists in this rapidly growing neighborhood. I'd also like to note that alternate routes along the streets parallel north and south of Alberta are nearly impossible. Many of these streets dead end and then start up again a block later, or have "Roadway not improved" signs indicating rock and gravel passages with huge pothole puddles and mud! YIKES.

So apparently that was all the time I had to rant and tell my story.

PART II

On Thursday morning August 25th, near the intersection of Broadway and Stark in downtown, I had a collision with a car door that was suddenly opened in front of me. I was travelling in the bike lane when the door opened and caught my handle bars, it stopped me abruptly. I was lucky, all I ended up with was a bruised right hand and a very bruised chest where I hit the corner of the door. My bike also survived the incident, only a few adjustments to the handle bars and rim were needed. The above letter mentioned my close calls, this little bit describes a closer call.

I often have to cross the intersection of N Broadway and Larrabee from the south and have found the light to be much too short to make it across in time. The green light does seem to last longer if there is also a car crossing the street with me, but if I'm on my own, the green light lasts a matter of seconds. Numerous times, aggressive drivers coming from the east side of the intersection have buzzed my back tire as I cross.

I have to echo the other comments about the east side of the Broadway Bridge. My commute route includes a right turn from Flint onto N. Broadway, then continuing across the Broadway Bridge. Getting across that lane of traffic from the right-side bike lane to the bridge-bound bike lane on the left side of the Interstate right turn lane is scary. This morning I checked for space several times and then signaled that I was taking the lane as I approached a yellow light at N. Larrabee x N. Broadway. The driver behind me changed lanes to the left quickly and then sat at the red light in the lane to my left and complained that bicyclists shouldn't be on the road. There is not enough protection for bicyclists in that whole bridge interchange; drivers are going fast, trying to beat lights, change lanes, etc. Not much fun to drive that area in a car either.

I've also had the frustration with trying to use the light at N. Larrabee to cross N. Broadway on my way home. It's too short for bikes/pedestrians to cross safely and at times it allows traffic to proceed on Broadway for 10 minutes before it finally allows traffic to cross Broadway (very quickly).

This morning at 6 am I was biking west on SW Oak at SW Park, lit up like a Christmas tree with lights, when a huge black SUV blew through a construction site, then through the stop sign at Oak crossing my immediate path at speed. The SUV turned right on Ankeny. I guessed correctly the driver would then head south on Broadway. I turned back and intercepted him there. I yelled at him that he ran the stop sign and almost hit me. He rolled down the window and said, "I did not see it. I was on the phone."

I may have woken half the Benson up with my verbal response.

I live on NE 7th near Prescott, and on July 19 around 10 am, I was riding south on NE 7th with my burley in tow. In the burley were my 2 children, ages 3 1/2 and 1 1/2. On this side of the street, there is no street parking, and the lane is narrow enough for a car, but not for a car to pass a bike with a burley safely without going out of the lane. As I was travelling, I heard a car approaching me from behind, not slowing down, almost as if it were speeding up. I looked in my handlebar mirror, and could see a white car approaching me very quickly. Ahead, there was oncoming traffic, which would make it impossible for this car to pass me safely. I hugged the curb as closely as I could and tried to keep my handlebars steady, so as to not swerve in the least, as this car blasted past me within an inch of my handlebars. I yelled "Jesus Christ, Man!" as this was happening, and the person driving flipped me off. In another block, I caught up to the person, as they were sitting at the red light at NE 7th and Fremont. I sized up who it was, and saw that a woman was driving the car, license plate ZXZ 433, and confronted her. I said, "You almost hit us. I have two small children in this trailer." She just kept saying,"Get off the fucking road." I said, "I have a right to be on the road." She still kept repeating,"Get off the fucking road." And then said,"Go the the fucking park." I said,"Where do you think I'm going?" Then the light turned green and she sped off. I was left shaking and crying, as I felt that we were almost hit. My children would have been very badly injured, if not killed had she rear ended us at the speed she was travelling. I called the police, who told me that technically, she did nothing illegal, and that they could do nothing about it. Only if she had hit us, or swerved at us, causing us to run up onto the curb, could they have taken a report, is what they told me. They also told me,'Not that I am advocating anything, but when we get a report from a motorist, that a cyclist has damaged their car, we call that street justice.' They basically told me, 'believe in karma, that she'll get what's coming to her,' and they left.

I live on this street, and have a right to ride my bike, with my children, on it. I ride with them in tow, at least 2 or 3 times a week. Until this incident, I always got the sense that most motorists were more cautious when they saw the burley attached to my bike, but this lady was out of control, and very mean-spirited. I've certainly met my share of assholes yelling 'get off the road,' more so when I'm riding without my children, but never felt that someone was behaving aggressively toward me with their vehicle, like this.

Colin, I'm thrilled to hear that you got a good response. Theoretically, it serves PDOT to listen to its "eyes on the street" (tires on the street?) instead of trying to monitor everything with city staff. I've had nothing but exceptional response from the sweeping hotline as well (503-823-1700, actually the 24-hour maintenance dispatch line).

Yes, that is the right number. You can get the same response by calling 503-823-CYCL, but all they do from that number is call the dispatch line at 503-823-1700. So, if you're only trying to remember one number to tell people, 823-CYCL is a perfectly good one, but I figure you might as well call the people who send the sweeper trucks out directly.

Occasionally they will need to send you to someone else if the facility is run by another agency (e.g. most of the bridges are owned and/or operated by the County or ODOT), but for most purposes this is the right number for Portland sweeping requests. And as I mentioned, I've always found them to be very responsive.

Don't forget that you can call the maintenance line for non-glass sweeping too, such as for the coming plague of leaves that will be rotting in the streets soon enough. I especially encourage people on Terwilliger to use it, since I know leaves are such a problem up there.

Tuesday Sept 6th around 4pm. Going up SW 6th toward Terwilliger. After crossing I405 there is a sharp turn to the right. There is a bike lane. On tuesday a car over took me on the corner and forced me to the curb, I slammed on the brakes and was able to stay up right. I yelled loudly and saw the driver look in the mirror.

I caught up the the car at the light to turn left onto Terwilliger. When I informed him he almost hit me he said, "oh I did?" Then he said he was sorry and told me to be careful.

Thursday Sept 8th around 5pm. Heading downhill on SW Taylors Ferry Rd after the corner of Twilliger headed west. There is no bike lane. While going 25 mph a car tried to over take me. They did a terrible job of going through the corner, could not over take me which left us both going through the corner together. They swerved toward me....I slowed down to let them through. 3rd close call this week. When I first saw this web site I thought things like this didn't happen that often. Pretty dangerous week!

Ore. Bicyclist Charged With Manslaughter

http://tinyurl.com/brv3u

It was going to happen sometime, remember when that guy tagged the little boy at the rose garden and just rode off? what ever happened to him?

I was riding east on NE Irving, between 12th and 13th at about 3:45 in the afternoon on September 8. I was in the bike lane. There was a motorist stopping in the east-bound auto lane, waiting to turn left into a parking lot. A small white sport-car style vehicle was impatient behind the stopped car and swerved, very quickly, to the right, into the bike lane where I was. I screamed and the car missed me by about six inches, then the driver flipped me off and sped away.

Two witnesses stopped and asked if I was ok. Thanks guys.

about 30 minutes ago. i was in the lane on NE 42nd Ave. riding south between Thompson and Tillamook. i heard a car speeding behind me, and saw on-coming traffic in the northbound lane. in spite of me being visibly in the road, the car decided to pass...nearly hitting both me and the on-coming traffic. if i hadn't moved slightly as the car passed i would've been hit. the car must've passed me at around 40mph in a 25 mph zone, and all of this within less than one block of the stop sign at 42nd & Tillamook. i caught the person at the stop sign and when i confronted him, telling the man he almost hit me, he asked me if i "had a problem" with him...while unbuckling his seat belt. i told him i had a problem with him almost hitting cyclists, and rode away.

SW Broadway + Morrison = terrible intersection. If being hit by a car is a close call, then my experience there last summer suits this blog.

D

Making the ride home from PSU, just before the right turn onto Barbur, at the corner of the Dunaway track (YMCA). I was riding in the middle of the right lane (no bike lane on this section.) A lady in the lane next to me and moved over into my lane as she turned the corner with me. A quick grab of the brakes (thank god the section was dry and my tires are sticky) kept me from being sideswiped. I caught back up as she made the right turn onto Barbur. A polite knock on her window and her shocked look let me know that I hadn't existed until now.

I ride this section 2-3 times a day, and people constantly drift through this corner into my lane. The safest way I found to ride is hard and fast, keeping my bike and body in front of the cars and easier to see. But this time I was going slow (still beat up from interbike and sketchy with all the wet stuff falling from the sky.)

Heading south on NE 231st in Orenco around 6:30 PM, I was nearly hit by an SUV. The driver was going to turn left out of NE Campus Way from the west side of 231st, and came up to the stop sign there but didn't stop. This was as I signaled for a left turn and moved to the middle of the lane. She pulled out without stoping and started her turn (coming towards me). "What the F$#!" is all I could think to yell as I slammed on my brakes (which I've determined need to be upgraded). At that point, right in the middle of her collision course towards me, she saw me and slamed on her brakes as well. I swear tomorrow I'm going in to get new brakes 'cuz our two vehicles ended up stopping much too close for comfort. I looked down to make sure my Planet Bike BRT-3 was on and blinking (it was, and was bright), and then in disbelief shook my head at her in disgust and made my left hand turn. When I looked back her SUV was just sitting there in the middle of the road... perhaps she was shocked to have seen (and nearly hit!) a cyclist in the bike-desert known as Hillsboro.

I consider myself a very safe cyclist; I signal for turns, ride with lights, and try to ride defensively. Tonight was one of the first nights I've been out wearing a dark shirt, but it was not completely dark out at the time and I'm sure that any decent driver would have seen me, especially those who bother to stop at the stop signs! I'm sure there are bikers in Hillsboro who don't ride as safely as I do, but I hope for their sakes that they watch out for crazy drivers like this!

143rd Ave & Burton Rd

A few weeks back I was coasting down 143rd, crossing Oak Hills/Burton Rd. 143rd lacks a bike lane. Furthermore, this intersection is controlled by a flashing yellow for traffic on 143rd and flashing red for Oak Hills/Burton Rd. A pickup truck with a trailer containing lawn mowers and other landscaping and yard maintenance equipment pulled out from Burton, turning south on 143rd as I was traveling through the intersection. I was squeezed when the truck sped up, trapping me between it and the curb (and that gap was narrowing).

I live in Bethany and there are few, if any, bike lanes north of Cornell Rd & 143rd or Bethany Blvd.

near the end of summer 05 - two bikes traveling down taylor [toward downtown] in SE crossing 23rd. A monday night, car with oregon plates [a uur?] - car nearly hits us both - likely speeding and running a stop.

this is all the info from my shakey hand in the faded back of my slingshot organizer.

guess i should respond to this..

NW Everett where it meets I-405 is bad for me, i'm often cut off by motorists merging from Everett onto 405. Once i wound up on the hood of some kid's pickup truck! He felt pretty bad for not noticing me.

Broadway where it meets I-5 is difficult too, i'm usually cut off there a few times a week.

I got the 'Trimet squeeze' on Alberta/26th a few months ago..

Thanks for the great work, Jonathan!

Tuesday, January 31st on my way home (raining hard and after dark). I had a blinky front light and reflectorized yellow jacket. At the intersection of SE 48th and Woodstock, I was southbound on SE 48th. After I arrived at the intersection, a northbound car arrived across the street and eventually turned on his left turn signal. When there was a gap in the Woodstock traffic, I did my usual brief pause before starting up across the street. I made it part way across the intersection before the driver started up. I screamed in terror, he kept coming, eventually hitting my rear wheel and taking the bike out from under me. Thankfully, he pulled over. The Woodstock traffic wasn't so kind -- I got back up and stood in the center turn lane and the traffic did not stop to allow me to cross the street. Brutes. The driver said he never saw me. I'm guessing that he had only really checked for cars: after asking if I was okay ("No -- you just hit me!!!") he said in a very patronizing tone of voice, "What were you doing trying to cross the street when you could see there was a car turning left?" The poor boy just didn't have a very strong grasp of vehice laws. I hope he'll start seeing bicycles -- he doesn't live far from me.

If I am riding through intersections, I go when it is safe - that is when there is no opposing motorized vehicle traffic - not when the light says "go". I'll look both ways and if it's safe, I'll go. A bicycle is not a "vehicle" no matter what the fuzz or Lars Larson says. If you wait until traffic piles up, someone will run you down as they speed around the corner. You have to watch out for yourself because the auto drivers don't give a rip about the laws, and give even less of a rip about bicycles. As I'll soon demonstrate.

I've been run down almost daily by the anti-bicycle blather of Lars Larson on his radio show on 750 AM. He incites people to dislike bicyclists and is a threat to bicyclists. He claims to drive a big gas hog pickup. Can you imagine someone in a 6000 pound tank whining about a 200 pound human powered vehicle? What a man.

Since the Republicans took over congress and passed the higher speed limit laws, the public, especially automobile drivers, no longer respect the laws. They now drive as if they're Indy 500 drivers. By repealing those laws, the message to all drivers is that laws are just crap passed by liberals, so you don't need to obey that crap - drive any way you like. And with the Republican failure to fund police there is no enforcement of any kind on the highways today.

Thanks Republicans.

I was hit by a car a few years ago. I was going west on West Union. Waaaay out almost to North Plains. Going that direction, as you approach Jackson School Road you pass a house on the right. That house obstructs the view of any traffic approaching West Union from the north. Some people understand that, and some don't. This is the story of them that don't.

Note: at this location, traffic on Jackson School Road has stop signs. There are no signs on West Union. I had the right of way.

As I crossed the intersection with Jackson School Road I looked to the right. What I saw when I looked to the right was the stuff of nightmares. A small car was going to run the stop sign at a high rate of speed! They saw me enter the intersection, and they hit the brakes and the car was ALL OVER the road as they tried to stop it. A woman in the car was screaming and I heard it. I was ALL OVER the brakes on my Mongoose Mountain Bike. The car contacted my front tire, just barely, knocked me over, and went through the intersection at about 30 mph. They got it stopped on the other side and came back to where I was laying in the road. I got up and moved out of the road to keep from getting run over. I had some scrapes and bruises and an out-of-alignment steering, but I was able to ride home.

Moral to the story: Idiots are everywhere. There are even idiots on the radio inciting hatred for cyclists. And idiots in Congress inciting hatred for the laws of the land. Welcome to hell.

I read in the March 3, 2006 Oregonian on page C5 that a 48 year old man on a bicycle had a close call with a Tri Met bus near SW Main and SW Third downtown. The biker went up and banged on the bus window to get the bus drivers attention. The window broke. The biker was charged with criminal mischief. There we have it: a bus driver nearly runs you over, you strike back and you go to jail. This is how bikers are treated in this "bike friendly" town.

In the March 2, 2006 Oregonian on page B2 I read that a 27 year old man was attacked by a group of 30 to 40 teenagers aged 13-16, while riding his bike on North Garfield Avenue in NE Portland. He tried to ride past them but they knocked him down while laughing and yelling "We need some bikes." He grabbed his bike and they punched and kicked him. His wife was riding nearby and yelled at them and one of the teens waved what appeared to be a gun at her.
The couple called 911. The article said there have been at least two similar incidents: one to a male jogger and one to a guy who just got off a bus.

A word of advice: Arm yourselves. I'd avoid taking on a gang at all costs since you would not fare well aginst 30 or 40 a$$holes even if mere teenagers. As the article pointed out some are as large as adults. Also, they could be carrying firearms. Don't want to become a statistic.

Like I say, avoid conflict if at all possible, but if it occurs it is best to be armed. I'd recommend at least carrying a small can of pepper spray. The BIG canisters of bear spray sold at REI would slow down most attackers long enough to get away by bike if you could ride or allow you to run if you are in condition to do so. Be careful and guard the stuff so it doesn't accidently go off inside your pack or inside a building. It is unpleasant stuff. Also, don't leave it in the sun or in a hot car or on a radiator where it will get hot and explode, releasing the nasty stuff. Check the laws on carrying it. Our idiot society will put you in jail for carrying a weapon to defend yourself - in fact, they'll let out a robber or rapist so you can have a jail cell. That's where we are today. In hell.

Seriously, I'm going to always have at least a small can of mace. The bear spray would be better if you have the room for it. Needs to be accessible quickly. You could buy the nylon holster for it at REI and strap that to your bike. Or make one yourself. Just put it in your pack or coat pocket when you get to your destination.

As I wrote in my earlier "close call" out at Jackson School road, you have to take care of yourself. The police do not prevent crime - they show up to take pictures of crime scene, take eyewitness accounts, and then they go eat doughnuts. They cannot help you if you are attacked. They are too far away.

Similarly, in traffic, I do not obey the laws. But if you feel safer obeying the law, then do it. I ride to keep alive. I run stop signs, I pass on the right, I do ANYTHING when it is SAFE to do it - not when a light or a sign or a law made for cars says to do it. It is your life, you do whatever works best for you. The cops and Lars "Bike-Hater" Larson can kiss my big white hairy butt if they don't like it.

Be careful out there in biker hell. We've got Lars "Bike-Hater" Larson filling the AM radio airwaves with hate for bicyclists almost daily, right here in "bike friendly" Portland, Oregon - I mean Hell.

Excerpt from the Saturday, March 11, 2006 Oregonian newspaper, page E7:

A man, age 81, of Vancouver died Tuesday in a Vancouver hospital of chest injuries received four weeks earlier in a bicycle-car collision, according to the medical examiner. He was not wearing a helmet. The driver of the car, age 29 was cited for suspended license and no insurance.

A friend and I were biking on Friday night (St. Patricks Day) on 72nd and Flavel. We approached the intersection and signaled our turn as a car approached from the opposite direction. the driver failed to signal until the last moment after coming to about a complete stop. He then signaled, I gave him the go ahead to take the turn in front of us and he promptly turned into the parking lot of the market on the corner. In the process of turning into the market he miscalculated his turn and ran into the curb. Since he was driving a smaller sports style car there was a loud noise and me and my friend started laughing, cause, well, it was funny. It seemed he turned into the parking lot more out of a panic or something then anything else (he had no intention of shopping there).

He then chased us down a couple of blocks and sped past us and then swerved into us forcing us to stop. He asked "what are you laughing at?" which we responded we were laughing at him driving over the curb, because it was funny. luckily both my friend and I had pepper spray and he was aware we had something but didn't know what so he backed down. He was driving with his kid and both stepped out of the car and aggressively came towards us. Basically it came down to us telling him that we gave him the right of way and we didn't do anything wrong. He was pissed and didn't know to do so he got back in his car, turned around and on his way out he said "you aren't nothing but a nigger" and spit at us, setting a good example for his son.

5:30 p.m. April 4th on East Burnside between 102nd and 82nd, heading west:

Well, apparently, the warmer weather has not only brought motorists windows down it has also brought out some of the worst I've seen in in attitudes.

Beware of this one: a white-haired female driver, 60-something, driving a white Chevy (from Tonkin) license plate: YDR-154. I didn't get the exact model of the car.

I was riding in the bike lane going west on East Burnside coming home from work. She had pulled out of her driveway into the bike lane and was sitting there. I signaled to take the lane to go around her and as she saw me passing she started backing out into me, although I waved my arm trying to get her attention. I was sure she saw me in my bright fuscia-sleeved jersey. She then drove up beside me, keeping to my speed, and proceeded to cut me off while I was in the bike lane with only a few inches to spare to move into position in front of me for a right turn, apparently trying to push me off to the side of the road. There was still a bike lane at this point before it disappeared about 50 yards later at the corner of 82nd Avenue. As we were stopped at the light there, I voiced my opinion of what she had just done, and reminded her that there was a bike lane there since she could have easily hit me. Her response was: "You guys are a real problem." She then proceeded to take up as much space as she could in the middle of the lane as she made her turn, trying to block my way. I signalled again and went around her. So what happened to "share the road??"

I consider this harassement and maybe something else as well (reckless endangerment?) and will report her. So if anyone else uses that stretch of road, beware of this wierdo.

Li

So, there are plenty of posts about the danger of this celebrated bike lane on Broadway downtown. The fact of the matter is that the SW portion of this lane is unnecessary. The law allows a cyclist to occupy a lane, so why endanger us with a death trap of a bike lane on a street where drivers are either lost or too busy driving erratically in search of parking. They make a sudden turn right accross the lane and parked cars open doors into guess where? That's right our "safe" bike lane. Riding in traffic, which is controlled in such a way as to limit speed to a manageable degree, is by far safer. Having a bike lane also confuses drivers into road raging. They tend to believe that is where we ought to be. It (bike lane) sends mixed messages to cyclists and drivers alike. It is a bad idea and should be taken care of.

One yesterday, 4-12-06, coming home from work on Broadway. I was on the sidewalk after I crossed Broadway to go down Flint. There was this lady in, yes, a SUV and she looked like she was in a hurry. She was stopped at the stop sign on Flint and Broadway and there was another car stopped at the Vancouver? stop sign, or some street east of flint. Anyway, that white sedan saw me, and I looked at the lady in the glorified suv and thought she saw me. I was going the speed of a pedestrian and making sure that I could get across to turn on Flint. Right when I proceeded, thinking everyone was watching for sidewalk traffic, the SUV jolted out right when I am at the driver left front tire and the shite car jolted out at the same time. ALL of them in a hurry to get to the stop light on Broadway. The suv stopped only a couple of inches from me and the white car about a foot and a half. Thank God I was on my bike, and not walking, cuz it gave me more heighth and the driver DEFINITELY would not have been looking for a pedestrian. Who knows...one of many close calls...
Cheers!

In response to Chakra Lu's incident - This location on Broadway can be VERY dangerous! I notice a lot of folks riding up the north sidewalk along Broadway heading East to make this connection to Flint. In this location Broadway is one way heading West so drivers pulling out from Benton, Wheeler, Flint, Vancouver and from the freeway exit are looking East and are not generally looking West for pedestrians or bikers (even though they should be). I work in this location and have seen MANY close calls. In addition, some pretty large City maintenance trucks live in this area and tractor trailers make these turns frequently so please be very careful! Consider staying in the Eastbound bike lane, taking the right hand curb cut before crossing I-5, and jump into the bike lane heading North on Williams.
Sometimes it is better just to avoid scary locations such as the eastbound sidewalk on lower Broadway.

What types of laws do you see being broken by cyclists that are causing you "major concern" when you are on the road? (My major concern is usually to keep from being squashed flat by a car, bus, SUV, monster truck, etc.)

For example, if a cyclist comes to an intersection with a light, and there is no opposing traffic does it cause you "major concern" if the cyclist runs the light? I view that as a smart cyclist going when it is safest to do so: when there isn't someone to run him over. Or would you prefer for the cyclist to stop at the light to wait for the green while a lot of cars pile up at the light right next to him so that when the light turns green he then has to mix it up with a bunch of cars, trucks, buses, SUV's, and monster trucks?

You can chose the latter if you wish. I'll go when it is safest. Typically a cyclist who runs a stop sign will be traveling no faster than a car that does a "rolling stop" and the bike can stop in a small fraction of the distance it would take the car. There is no danger to anyone if a cyclist goes when it is safe instead of waiting for a light or sign.

There are lots of things cops should be doing: giving bicyclists tickets for riding safely (even if breaking the law) is not one of those things.

They should however be giving tickets for: cyclists who "intentionally" block traffic (a group riding too slow in the center of a lane for example), or cyclists who zip through an intersection and hit a pedestrian. They should also be giving tickets to the people driving cars with the intentionally loud illegal exhaust systems (disturbing the peace), to drivers who have jacked up vehicles that makes them unsafe in a collision with normal vehicles, to any vehicle with lights higher than a standard passenger car because they shine in the drivers eyes of a normal car, to drivers of vehicles using "driving lights" at night since it is the law that in any situation requiring you to dim your lights you can only have on your two headlights, not four.

Right now Portland is looking for a new Police Chief. I suggest the cyclists contact the mayor to ensure that the next chief will stop the harassment of cyclists. We do not need bully gestapo cops picking on bicyclists.

There is a female bus driver (#32 I believe) who must need glasses. Twice now, after work, around 5pm, as I ride east in the bike lane on SW Madison, just blocks from the Hawthorne bridge, she drives on the white line of the bike lane. I have actually banged on the side of the bus windows for her to move over as I'm pinned between her bus and the curb. Once I yelled at her, "are you blind?" This is 2-3 blocks before the last bus stop at the end of Madison, right before the bridge.
The bike lanes there are an improvement from none at all, but it'd be nice if the buses would stay out of them.

"Gentleman" in SUV, turing right into residential neighborhood to avoid trafic on SW Murray, just north of Allen. Traffic was backed up (PGE working at TV Highway), no turn signal, just gas and attempt to go. Unfortunately I was in his rear quarter panel with he hit the gas. Fortunatley I was able to avoid being hit, but got a nice adrenaline rush to finish my morning commute. When the drive saw that I didn't go down, he just drove off

-just last saturday on se 15th and approaching broadway,with cars backed up (giving her space to turn)some lady turns left onto the street 1 blk n of broadway right at me while i walked my bike..I yelled at her and i could tell she felt pretty stupid.
-about 3 yrs ago i got hit by a jaguar by reed college..luckily it just screwed my bike up,but the guy took off while i was in shock..hes lucky because i would have f-in killed him..
just a few days ago i was riding a side street by 7th and knott and some idiot turned right in front of me,no signal and driving as if it was a track..hes lucky i was in a good mood but i did yell at him..
Cyclists need to stand up for themselves and dont be afraid to do what you got to do..if i need to kick someones ass to get my point across-so be it

I think it's a mistake to run red lights, even if you personally feel it is safer. First, I am not convinced it is, not in the long run. But that one is your choice. The main reason why not to run red lights is that it feeds the road rage that in turn threatens us all. I hear about you (or someone like you) from drivers as they try and justify the boneheaded things they've done. Why give them the opportunity?

I try to minimize close encounters by avoiding cars whenever possible. Sandy would be my best shot in to downtown, but it is too much of a people mover. If you can avoid the cross traffic, Ankeny is a much better bet.

Besides eating it once or twice on the dreaded NE Broadway, the scariest time was a bus coming off the W end of the Hawthorne Bridge. He just kept coming over into the bike lane, I pounded and passengers yelled and he still ended up at the light 3/4 in my lane. I know they suffer their share of indignities, but there is something venal about some Tri-met drivers....

June 28th, about 3:30 pm, Alberta and Williams. A car swerved into the marked bike lane and I just barely got out of the way. The passenger in the car stuck her head out the window and yelled, "Stay the F*** out of the way, F****** hipster!", also earlier in the day on a side street near killingsworth and garfeild, a sears delivery van had a huge box in the middle of the street. I rode around it and it toppled over onto me and I fell into the parking strip. The sears employee was very considerate, though and I was fine. I think it was a mattress or something.

last 2 years, many close calls on morning commute downtown from NE Glisan area, using marked bike routes.

my peak danger is crossing NE 39th Ave between Glisan and Burnside during "rush hours". I always dismount from my bike on approaching the marked crosswalk, and stop before departing the curb (I comply with all traffic directives). a medium-height/weight male, I generally wear hi-vis clothing, and have brightly-colored bike frame and bright yellow fenders. NONE of that matters.

car drivers do NOT like to yield to crosswalk users, even when vehicles in the adjacent lane (i.e. travelling in same direction, on their side of the street) have already stopped. I have seen dozens of drivers fail to yield the pedestrian right-of-way on 39th; twice I've pulled my bike sharply back to narrowly avoid a collision as a car drove through without slowing whatsoever.

I highly recommend an air horn.

CityBikes coop [citybikes.org] sells a great bike airhorn (probably availble at other stores too). it's ~$35 IIRC, made from lightweight plastic, the air reservoir fits inside a bottle cage, and when fully charged -- I check before each ride that it's at 100psi -- it's VERY LOUD.

when some a$$hole approaches a crosswalk without showing clear signs of braking, a looo-oong airhorn blast gets 'em to instantly drop anchors (nearly) every time.

the horn is similarly effective as a preventive measure in many other situations where imminent conflict is probable.

I rode motorcycles as my sole transport for almost 20 years. it taught me to assume that all drivers of 4-wheel vehicles are homicidally inclined towards cyclists. They are inhibited from greater success in fulfilling this goal only by:

-- their deep incompetence
and
-- their sluggish reaction times
-- their ponderously-handling vehicles

it is worth remembering that people who purchase gas-guzzling double-track vehicles which isolate them from their environment with thousands of pounds of steel cage invariably have done so out of fear, and a sense of personal inadequacy. they recognize they are not fit enough, fast enough, or fearless enough to ride a single-track vehicle.

they also resent that their lifestyle choices are oppressing them -- they do not believe they have the freedom to "take the kind of time" they imagine that commuting by bike must require.

they are therefore understandably aggrieved at the mere sight of those of us who are stronger, fitter, faster, braver than they are; and moreover, as commie cyclists, we have made different lifestyle choices that do not leave us trapped in steel cages (with or without cupholders) for an hour every day.

but they are handicapped by their perceptual prisons - vision blinkered by roof pillars, bodywork and mirrors; hearing occluded by radios and soundproofing and engine noise; kinesthetic senses dampened by bloated suspensions, power-brakes, cruise control and seat cushions.

consequently, they are set up to be reactive.

I believe cyclists should always take the initiative, and proactively seize command of any potentially ambiguous road situation. the key is to operate with a faster OODA cycle.

your body language, your facial expression, and your road positioning are all enormously important. making eye contact is critical - it doesn't guarantee anything, of course, but without it you're hosed for sure.

act first; act boldly and decisively; and act in a way that confidently and preemptively asserts your rights as a road-user. and WATCH THE BASTARDS.

(poor things, they're only dimly functional even on their best days.)

this is not a close call nor did it happen in portland but I feel I have to tell because there is no outlet for me here in this horrible city of las vegas. I get threatened every day as most roads here are very busy and there are no side roads to remedy the situation and only bike lanes on some of the streets in the outskirts. anyway, my friend and I decided to go camping at the nearby wilderness area red rock which is about 25 miles away.We left at night because the heat is unbearable to ride in during the day but made sure we had plenty of lighting including two large lights on our seatposts and one on my bag including our headlights. the whole ride is uneventful, surprisingly until we get to the edge of town about 5 miles from being away from civilization when out of nowhere a rush of cars come and before we had time to react one of them hit us going about 50 (although he made a very feeble and short attempt at braking). my friend was drafting me so he sat close off my back wheel as we were going about 20. the car hit him and he flew into me as the car made impact with both of us and quickly drove off. luckily my friend shielded me from most of the force but he did break his thumb and got gnar road rash. I miraculously came out unscathed and the car got away. some guy stopped for us and said he almost got hit by the same car, which was a cadillac sts, but he did not manage to get plates. we feel extremely vulnerable now and
are now out 700 dollars in bike gear. I count down the days I move back to portland so I can ride my bike in a lot more bike aware conditions. be thankful for what you have in portland because I am jealous.

07-11-2006 Milwaukie, not Portland. Turned left from SE Oak onto SE Washington. While riding SE on SE Washington and preparing to turn right onto SE 34th, I was cut off by a car. This was at about 9:30pm. I was wearing dark clothing but I was also wearing an orange reflective vest and had all lights and blinkers turned on.

Oh - that last one happened about 7:30am on 7-18-2006

Friday, July 21st, 2006, 7:40am

westbound on SE Linn St. in Sellwood. I was approaching the intersection with SE 16th St. when a tan pickup truck passed me on my left side, then proceeded to "squeeze" me at the intersection when he stopped for the stop sign there. He then continued into the construction site on SE Linn between SE 11th and SE 13th. I'm pretty sure it wasn't deliberate - it was an easy sqeeze, not a sudden one, and he was on the phone (earpiece hands-free).

I was crossing Mill Plain BLVD today just west of the 205 interchange. Two young kids in a purple Mini van started yelling about PK and the Playhouse and were trying to turn right and cut me off. I had the right of way, green light crossing the BLVD. I had stoped for the red light and had one car pass me as I crossed.

If people think that this thing with PK and the playhouse is just going to go away, their wrong.

I was riding up Alberta between 11th and 12th,1:30pm today, when a 12 or 14 year old kid came out into the street and grabbed me. I saw him coming and was lucky to have taken my hand off the handle bar before, otherwise I would have crashed. I have lived in Portland for 11 years and this is the first time anything like this has ever happen to me.
I know car are a threat but never thought a person would grab me going 15mph in the middle of the day. I did get away but was stuned but the whole thing.

using the crosswalk at the NW corner of 39th and Hawthorne (Fred Meyer), while walking south bound was nearly hit by a gold minivan turning westbound on to Hawthorne. im from the clinton street neighborhood.

Because Division is getting more congested! In evening rush hour, the 39th signal backs-up eastbound traffic nearly to the 34th signal, so people bypass the queue and go over to Clinton. Same thing down by 26th where the lane is closed. With the City's plans to do more "calming" on Division and Powell, I suspect we are going to see more car traffic on Clinton. Ditto Lincoln with the upcoming Hawthorne "improvements," and on 42nd (Powell to Woodstock) if they take a lane off 39th.

Regardless of what the traffic engineers models say about volume and available capacity, if a driver percieves a route is faster/less congested, he will take it. ("If I'm still moving, I'm not wasting time in a queue...")

I've lived and ridden Clinton for about 10 years, and have seen the volume of traffic, particularly west of 39th increase. Also, the aggressiveness of drivers there has increased in the past couple of years. The humps and circles aren't calming devices, they are "challenges."

Andrew's #3 is a near-daily occurrence, according to my friends and neighbors. Add to that having your back tire clipped by someone trying to make a right turn on the red (against the law per "no right on red" signs) or being honked at incessantly because you are using the bike-priority space and some idiot can't pull all the way to the crosswalk.

If the Portland Police want an easy revenue source, they should set up at 39th/Clinton!

leaving the bike mural celebration and headed toward the kick ass bike film festival, my mind was somewhere other than where it should have been. instead of dealing with hawthorne, I headed to the warm safety of lincoln. As I took a fast, no stopping right from SE 43rd onto SE Lincoln. I did not see the Honda Civic heading west on Lincoln. Thankfully, the driver was paying attention and was able to swerve and slow enough to avoid taking me out. she stopped, I stopped and apologized and thanked her for paying attention and sparing my life. PAY ATTENTION!

oops - here's the post

***Vulgar language warning***

Reply to: pers-186911559@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-07-27, 9:27AM PDT

Too fucking funny!! You bike riding fucks think you're above the law...running red lights, pedaling your ignorant ass down the center lane of 4th @ a scorching 11 mph while backing up morning rush hour traffic for blocks, making your own "bike lanes" when it's conveninent for you, riding on the sidewalk, etc, etc, etc...

You all think your a bunch of badasses and talk a LOT of shit from behind a keyboard. I had some punkass "toughguy" grab my window. He found out immediately that his vision of his invincibility was flawed when I hammered my brakes and swerved into the parked cars along the left side of the road, wiping his stupid ass out in front of the 24hour fitness on 4th. I jumped out of my car and kicked him in the head and BEGGED him to call the police. He tried to run to no avail.

I'd like to buy a drink for the guy who punched that stupid fuck on a bike. HE WAS BREAKING THE FUCKING LAW AND ENDANGERING ALL WHO WERE LAWFULLY USING THE SIDEWALK. Of course, the bicyclist didn't see it this way and figured "hey, everyone's doing it, why not me?". Well, hear THIS you fucktard: YOU ENDANGER MY LIFE AND YOU'LL DO WELL TO ESCAPE WITH A PUNCH ON THE ARM. If it were ME you endangered I'd beat you mercilessly with the brass knuckles I have in my pocket and throw you into traffic where you belong.

Stupid fucks. Yet another reason bicyclists will NEVER be accepted as legitimate "traffic". Law after law after law are passed and the self-important bicyclist will ignore them all to catch a whiff of their own farts.

I was riding with my boyfriend along NE 15th near broadway when a mid size SUV squeezed me into parked cars. The woman on the passenger side yelled out the window "Get off the road. There"s no fucking bike lane." I pedaled hard to catch them at the light. I tapped the side of the car with my foot cause I sure as hell was not going to take my hands off the handlebars after they tried to run me off the road and yelled "Bikers get a lane if there is no bike lane" THe male passenger threw his soda on me and the female passenger got out of the car screaming that I had damaged her vehicle and what was I going to do about that. She then smacked me across the face leaving a bruise around my eye. My boyfriend got between us. The two men got out of the car and started coming towards me at which point I crossed the street. We called the police. When I called in they said that it had already been reported and that someone was on their way. I gave the police the licence plate number and descriptions as did my boyfriend and another unrelated witness. The officer promised to call me back that evening. He never did. I have called a few times about it but the station is never able to connect me to the officer. I get so mad when I hear about stings organized to catch bikers rolling through stop signs or fixies ticketed for not having breaks. I gave them all the infomation they need to prosecute someone who was actively going after bikers and nothing was done.

Maybe we should all watch this:

http://www.archive.org/details/i_like_bikes

Remember, GM likes bikes, too!

-bunny

Oh yeah, to answer the third question, Jonathan, I'm from the Mt. Tabor neighborhood.

Many many in the past few years. Most scary was on SE Harrison and 20th in October of 2004 in that weird intersection where only bikes can go East or West and cars have to turn onto SE 20th. This woman obviously didn't see me at the 4 way stop (which I was there WAY ahead of her). her jeep hit my front tire - thank God she was going slowly - I walked away with bruises and a bent up bike. She felt bad and paid for the repairs herself.

Also, NE Broadway and the I-5 turn-off A LOT; SW Broadway with all the hotels (cabs, cars, buses double parked in the bike lane, open doors, etc.); NW Everett and the I-405 turn-off (16th?) when the cars turn right sometimes WITHOUT signals (I've had this happen way too many times -I usually yield to the right turners, but I can't if I don't know they're turning!).

All along NE Skidmore as some intersections do not have stop signs for either direction (which I have always found weird), so cars just assume they have the right away. I always go alow, but sometimes they come speeding around a corner and I'm still in the intersection. Turning right onto 33rd from Skidmore and then left back onto Skidmore. Sometimes I get stuck in the middle lane trying to turn left for AGES before a car lets me through and I've had cars speed past me on the right and one hit my handle bars once without even realizing it.

I am a by-the-book cylcist. I don't run red lights or stop sign, I signal, wear a helmet and my lights, follow every rule there is, yet I STILL get honked at, yelled at, cut off and ignored. It's really starting to piss me off.

SE Division just west of 42nd
8.12.06 around 5:15pm

i was riding westbound and signalled to make a left hand turn. there was no oncoming traffic and the car behind me was at least 15-20 feet away from me. i turned safely, and then as i was heading down the sidestreet the man from the car behind me on division threw a golfball sized rock and hit me in the head. it hurt. i was wearing my helmet, if i hadn't been i would have surely wrecked my bike.

i always try to be safe on the road. i drive a car and ride a bike. i understand the frustrations on both sides, but i feel like i made a legal and rational turn! i wouldn't throw a rock at anybody in traffic for any reason!

this man looked 20 something and had brown hair and sunglasses. he was driving a smallish white car.

please let me know if you witnessed this. i'd like to report this to the police.

ride safe.
xo

Oh, the usual:
8/14/06 at about 7:30 AM.
I just turned right off of N. Flint onto N. Broadway, headed toward the Broadway Bridge. One truck had just crossed Broadway at the intersection with N. Wheeler, with a second truck waiting behind. I waited to turn until the first truck had gone (simple courtesy, you know?). Then the second truck decided that he could make it, despite the fact that I was already into the intersection with Wheeler. Usual crappy motorist behavior, but then it's a crappy series of intersections.

Last Friday I was leaving River City Bikes, having schedule a pro fit for my brand new racing bike. I was heading south on Water Street heading towards the Hawthorne Bridge, riding in the bike lane, and a huge Ford f350 decided to turn right, cutting me off without looking. I was right beside him on the road, and pribably doing about 15, when he turned right into me. I saw maybe a second to react, screaming, and trying to swerve right, but too late... I bounced off the truck door, wacking my head on the mirror and window, and somehow ricocheting to land on my left side in front of his right wheel. Fortunately he stopped!

I lost consciousness briefly, and when I came to the medics were already there, and about half a dozen witnesses, and I have no serious injuries... A couple days off from work, and no racing this week for me, and I'll be a little gimpy from the impact to my hip. My new bike is in the shop which pisses me off to NO END, getting a crash/insurance eval. I expect to be fully conpensated through the driver's insurance for property damage as well as injury and loss of income.

I was very lucky. I know that. there is nothing like getting hit by a truck to make one appreciate one's mortality. However, in all honesty, i will say I intend to avoid bike lanes like the plague. I prefer to take my chances out in "traffic" where other drivers MIGHT actually see me, risking that they may be ANNOYED by me presence. I figure it's less likely someone will mow you down out of malice because they have a bike vendetta, than you'll get plowed over by sheer ignorance and stupidity. What good are bike lanes IF THE CAR DRIVERS DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THEM???

Sorry to yell. Guess I'm still a little beligerent from the concussion :-)

NE 12th St. and NE Irving St.

The 12th St. bridge over I-84 is integral to hundreds of daily bike commuters, yet there are no bike lanes and the intersection of NE 12th St. and NE Irving St. is particularly crazy.. Most cars going south on the bridge intend to make a left hand turn onto Irving in order to escape into their den of the bliss - the I-84 parking lot. along this bridge especially, cars seem to be hellbent on getting to the I-84 onramp as fast as possible. Most bikers similarly intend to make a left onto Irving.

As I was riding south on NE 12th St. towards Irving, I stayed in the right lane to let cars continue speeding toward the intersection (there was a green arrow for left turns). I had to block the right lane because it is too narrow for a car and bike can't be side by side in it. Apparently, I was going 100 mph too slow for a middle-aged woman driving her sedan. She attempted to go around me by driving onto the left-only lane just as I'm throwing my left turn signal to enter the intersection.. She had to abandon her unsafe pass, but only after hitting her brakes and nearly colliding with me. She swerved to the right of me and proceeded to honk and flip me off as she sped south on 12th st. toward something very important I suppose. The L.A. driver in me instantly reacted with a flip of my own middle finger.

So here we are. She's angry at me for moving to slow and I'm angry at her for her impatience.. What do others do when following this route (east on Lloyd, right on 12th and immediate left onto Irving. I'm not sure if I should immediately go into the left turn lane and block all those cars from left turns til I go, or stay in the right lane and block less cars from speeding forward. If I stay in the right lane to let the left lane continue moving fast, I need to eventually make a left turn and inevitably, someone will be upset with me either way..

Any advice??

As I was riding south on NE 7th ave this morning a large Nissan Altima blew by me about a foot away. I then passed this same car a few blocks down the street at a light and continued to ride. Then, right as I was going around one of those small traffic circles, the same car blew by me again, even closer.

Now I've got this rule that some of you may dissagree with, but if a car is audacious enough to pass me within arms reach and at speed, I feel obligated to slap that car's rear window as a reminder that, "Hey, you're close enough to be hit, then you're close enough to kill me!" I end up having to do this at least once a week! (most commonly on 11th at belmont)

So anyway, the lady slammed on her brakes and stopped in the road, so I rode around her. Then she peeled out, at which point I began to fear for my life even more, and as she came up behind me, I darted on to the sidewalk. But this wasn't good enough for her either, she screeched into the next driveway and hopped out of her car yelling. Freaked out about her window, told me I should be on the road, etc.

I explained my "within arms reach logic" and "bikes are legal on all roads" to her.

I don't think we came to an understanding, as she was still foaming at the mouth as I rode away. Bummer.

The intersection of NW 16th/Everette is a death trap for cyclists. Ive witnessed drivers cut off cyclists to get the 405 on ramp, Ive seen cyclists cut off as drivers turn into the parking lot of the allergy clinic there on the corner. Drivers dont watch, dont wait, and apparently dont care. I was driving down Everette in my car (normally I commute to work by bike) and I needed to turn left there at 16th to get to Burnside. I slow way down and am nearly stopped because I saw a cyclist about a block back and knew he'd be gaining on this corner. I wait for him to pass so I can make the turn, and lo....the motorist behind me rear ends me!!! I stare at her in my rear view mirror, the cyclist stops because he saw it all, the lady is clearly embarrassed as she JUST notices the cyclists and probably surmises what I was doing.....no damage, but mostly no injuries to a cyclist.

After a year and a half of dealing with too many cars on NE Knott St that aren't willing to share the road, I decided this spring to start using the NE Weidler bike lane on my homeward bound commute. It generally seems the rush hour drivers on this stretch are aware of their surroundings. I was approaching NE 9 going about 25 mph when an Altima decided to make a right turn on NE 9 without signalling or shoulder checking. I let out a loud whoa which caused him to stop, but luckily in this instance speed saved my behind.

I was biking to work yesterday morning (8/22/06) on SW 2nd, in the left lane, about to turn onto Ash, when a driver in an SUV (license number WVD-817) came up fast from behind, swerved around me, honked, and gave me the finger as he drove off. I followed, caught up to him at the next corner, and knocked on his partly open window to ask what he was so angry about. Before I could say anything, he screamed, "You're not a motor vehicle--get out of the fucking road!". He took off; I turned back and went to work.

I called the police today to ask if there was any way to contact the driver with information about the relevant laws; I was told that they can't do anything, and that next time I should call the police immediately, but that they still can't do anything unless a police officer witnesses the person driving recklessly.

The DMV doesn't give out personal information, so there's no way I can contact the driver.

I was heading east on SE Taylor at 5:00pm. There is a crossing light at 39th. As I came up to the crossing, the traffic on 39th stopped, and the riders ahead of me were given the walk sign by the traffic signal. Meanwhile, a white mid 80s blazer was attempting to turn left from the oncoming lane onto 39th. The riders ahead of me made it through the intersection fine, but the blazer didn't want to wait for anymore cyclists, so it made its left hand turn right infront of me. I had to grip my brakes really hard and swerve to avoid the vehicle. It was a narrow miss, and I replayed the scene several times in my mind wondering what I would do if we would have collided. My anger about the situation even drove me to issue a friendly hand gesture to the driver. I never resort to hand gestures, so that tells you how upsetting this incident was. My suggestion for improvement would be to add more frequent police patrols in the SE area around rush hour times. I see a lot of close calls along Taylor and Salmon, mostly due to drivers who don't obey stop signs or traffic signals. I think a few extra tickets might slow people down a bit.

P.S. I'm from the sunnyside neighborhood.

Something like this cut-off-by-right-turning-driver thing happens almost every day ... I ride north on NW 14th coming home on my evening commute. Yesterday as I was approaching Flanders a car quickly cut across a full car lane, then cut me off in the bike line so she could make her unplanned right hand turn. At least her window was open so she could hear my loud "HEY!". I wonder how many riders out there use air horns for these magic moments. The Pearl District and NW 14th is truly the most dangerous part of the Beaverton to Hollywood district commute.

ps. sorry it wasn't short, and i live in the clinton district.

Steph, I'm no lawyer, but I would say that is no close call; that's hit and run!

I was driving up the 68th Avenue exit ramp from I-84 to Halsey when a bike disregarded the stop sign and rode right in front of me. If I didn’t have anti-lock brakes there would have been a silver bike at that intersection. Many times I have almost hit bicyclists running stop signs, or blowing lights. I think for every whining biker there could be 50 motorists with even better stories. I am getting sick of the bicyclists. It is amazing that probably 5 to 6% of the citizens of Portland actually commute and frequently use their bikes on roads, however they get an overwhelming majority of representation in law and politics. Someday people are going to get real tired of it, and figure it out.

Post 188 above: Did the police pursue prosecution of the car driver?

If you have a description of the driver, witnesses, and the car license number there is no reason that they shouldn't.

If they don't go after the car driver I'd take them to court. Let us know what they do about it.

If they can ticket cyclists for fixies, running stop lights, and other frivilous infractions they can sure as hell go after people throwing things at cyclists and trying to run them over.

GK -
No. ORS 811.415 specifically states bicyclists may pass on the right when safe to do so. This does not require the cyclist to yield to turning vehicles, nor to vehicles that may turn.

Note that this does not require that a bicycle lane be present. Bicycles may pass vehicles on the right even in a one-lane situation.

Further, ORS 814.050 spells out right of way in bicycle lanes - Vehicles *must* yield to bicycles in the bike lane.

Yes, I expect motorists to yield to me in the bike lane whether they pass me, or I pass them. This is why drivers are supposed to check behind them before turning.

Post # 105 above mentioned Lars "Bike-Hater" Larson spewing hate speech about cyclists on his 750 AM radio program.

Thursday evening, right before the Labor Day weekend I heard another hate speech artist at work: Victoria "Bike-Hater" Taft on 860 AM. She was all in an uproar because cyclists might be able to ride bikes on the shoulder of freeway. Called cyclists anarchists and other insults. She demonstrated a vast ignorance of cyclist issues (as she does on many issues).

Be careful out there. There are many followers of these hate-speech morons who hate cyclists. I heard some of them call in to her program.

Here's the verdict, in advance, of the idiot that hits me on my bike: "guilty of intentionally running over a cyclist." I have two red flashing lights and also a flashing white one facing the rear and a flashing white one in the front. And I wear yellow or orange. If I get run over, especially on a straight stretch of highway, they did it on purpose. Murder. Period.

It seems more and more I am being cut off by unaware, oblivious and careless motorists who do not look for cyclists when turning right. Maybe I am in their blind spot, but half the time they don’t even signal. I am going to start carrying a bag of paint balls and rocks! really.

It happens all the time on SW Main St. coming off the Hawthorne Bridge to 4th, and on SW Madison between 4th and 2nd.

From these postings it seems like an epidemic. What can be done about this? I think at least some signs need to be installed showing a picture of the conflict, to make motorists aware, because half the time they don't even know they cut the cyclist off.

I'm on the westside. Just rode Logie on the 10th. Is her house on the grade? I can start doing hill repeats in front of her driveway. :)

Lots of hate toward cyclists displayed on this website. Pretty spooky. Pretty sick.

On Victoria "Bike-Hater" Tafts radio program Thursday evening (860 AM) before the Labor Day weekend she had her listeners in an uproar because ODOT apparently decided to let bikes ride on the shoulder of the freeway -which for the most part they have ALWAYS been able to do.

Several of her listeners called in talking about running over cyclists and she got a big kick out it. She'd say "That's funny." Maybe the scumbag at 14251 Logie Trail in the Gold Silverado with plate # 382BCL has been listening to Victoria and Lars?

From the posts on this website it appears they have lots of followers. What a shame. Why, Dear God, did you put so many scumbags (who don't deserve the air that goes up their noses) on this planet?

Well, here's something that happened to my friend John and myself last night as we were riding eastbound along Fremont street at about 10:30 pm. We were around SE 8th or 9th, when we saw three guys walking into the street. We figured they didn't see us, so I hollered "Pardon us" at them, and the next thing you know, they were pulling us off our bikes and shouting "You got money? You got money bitch?", that sort of thing. One of them managed to get me on the ground, and had something to my head. John swears it was a knife, but it felt more like house keys. John managed to get his bike between himself and his...assailant I guess is the word, and started shouting "Call the police" at anyone who would listen, first at a car that drove by and then at a couple coming the other way on their bikes. They stopped, and the three guys, realizing they'd begun to attract attention, took off without having stolen anything from us, and more importantly of course, without having done either of us any physical harm. I'm originally from Detroit, so I know violent crime, and my feeling is that these were kids pretending to be badasses, but you never know. Moral of the story: If you see people slowly moving into the street in the near distance in a dodgy neighborhood (or a good neighborhood for that matter) and you have the presence of mind to do so, as long as it's safe, steer wide or pull a U-turn. Be careful out there folks!

By the way, not to be a shameless self promoter or anything, but I sent a letter to the "I, anonymous" column at the PDX Mercury about this, and I'd love to see it printed. If anyone reads this in the next few days, call or e-mail them and request that they publish it. The more publicity we get for bike issues, the better!

I've been relatively lucky with close-calls. the one incident that sticks out in my mind though was a few years ago driving east on broadway coming up to MLK. the bike lane ends (or ended then) temporarily, so i merge left into the next lane because after MLK it turns into 2 lanes. Some no-necked 'i enjoy golf and think negros are rather lazy' type guy in a BMW, with (i'm not kidding) a rugby shirt wrapped around his neck, in the most vicious voice you'd ever hear, screams out an open window at me 'YOU HAD A FUCKING BIKE LANE!!!!' I look over, and his face is just absolutely blood red with rage. And he's slowed down severely just to yell it at me through his open window. I drove by him again, waiting at the stoplight, and could hear him spitting expletives at me again. At which point any type of rationality was pointless, so i just tried to ignore and hope he didn't try anything.

It actually shook me up more than i'd typically expect. Just the amount of rage that people have bottled up, where they're going around in the world subconsciously BEGGING for something or someone to throw all that rage at. It goes SO FAR past bikes vs. cars. It's about the way humans relate to each other, or don't. And the way some people are able to continue to mature after they're 12 years old, and others aren't (you know who you are).

Also, let me just re-iterate that we need to report EVERYTHING to the police. Even people who are on their cellphones and brush you or people who just shout threats out their windows. Everybody. If these people have these things on their record and they end up doing worse (which they probably will eventually), the judge and judicial system will have more leeway to convict them and hand down a harsher sentence if it's proven they've acted in similar ways in the past and aren't showing they're capable of improving their horrid driving skills, and that there is also a live human being able to attest to past stuff in open court.

OK, to answer my own question...I just did a quick search through the comments and at least 4 other people in the past year have had close calls at the NW Everett 405 ramp. How do we do something about this??? I just want to ride to work without getting hit!

I witnessed a close call at the corner of SE Woodstock and SE 39th. The bicyclist passed traffic on the right (in the bike lane) and was almost struck by a car (plate#551-87X) who turned right without signaling. Unfortunetely it was a fairly non-descript grey sedan, so it was hard to catch the fool.

...in addition, I had a headlight on.

Valet drivers and double-parked hotel guests on SW Broadway.

Nuff sed.

I was driving down NE 28th today and as I was passing Fred Meyers, noticed someone laying in the gutter on the corner. I stopped to help. What I understand, was that a cyclist headed north on 28th had been clipped at relatively low speed by a driver turning left into Fred Meyers. Unfortunately, his hat didn't protect him very well, and he appeared to have sustained a severe head injury (read: not really breathing when I arrived). Another bystander and myself got his airway open, and he was still alive when the ambulance drove off.

The reason that I'm posting this is not necessarily that this is a super-dangerous intersection, but more as a plea for people to wear their helmets. Although I love being useful, and plying my trade (RN), I really do not like people getting injured, permanently or otherwise. I ride by so many people without helmets every day. Even if you are careful, even if you are an awesome rider - you can easily sustain a head injury when you wreck without a helmet. Come on Portland cyclists - it isn't hard to wear a helmet, and it could save you a lot of suffering.

Can I do a vicarious near miss? I have had near misses at the same intersection (SE 42nd and SE Powell Blvd) but this one seems particularly heinous and more relevant as it involves tiny, helpless, passive bikers. This morning I saw a law- abiding biker mom with an infant in a Burley and a toddler in a back rack seat. A driver sped around her AFTER SHE WAS IN THE INTERSECTION and made a right turn in front of her. It was literally INCHES from an accident. I can only hope that the driver was confused by the intersection (which is VERY CONFUSING) and thinking the biker was turning right as well. Otherwise, she was putting the lives of the mom and two small children in mortal peril to get where she was going faster. Exactly two minutes later, when my light changed a non-law-abiding biker started crossing when his light was still red, which he quite possibly does not know means my light is green. None-the-less, I slowed as to not run into him, but had I been one of THE MANY people who tries to rush and get the green for that long light, there is no way I would have seen him.

I have two children and when I only am transporting one, I sometimes ride with the Burley through the intersection. I have learned that I must go through as a pedestrian. I can deal with that, but even as a pedestrian I cannot safely go through with two children because we can’t all get onto the sidewalk without hanging out onto Powell as we navigate onto the sidewalk. I would bike ride to school with them very often if this weren’t the case.

As I am not a traffic engineer, I do not know the exact solution but I know there must be one. I think better lights there and signage would be a big plus. Also, There are two driveways, one from the Catholic Church School and one from Arby’s. These people have no way of knowing what is happening with the lights in the intersection and often pull out- with a Roast Beef in one hand and a large drink in the other. From the other side are a disproportionate number huge SUV’s with A LOT of people on cell phones. They can not pull out and fit into there own lane if there is a car there at the red light, but if they wait, they will miss the light. That driveway should not be allowed to be used for exiting!

I have called about this intersection numerous times and am sure they are starting to say, “Oh it’s her again” but I will continue my barrage of irritating calls if that’s what it takes. I am also considering setting up there with a movie camera and taping the number of near misses… I hope they continue to be near misses instead of dead on.

on sw montgomery some old fart in a maroon buick tried passing me on the insdide of a a left hand turn and came about a half a foot away from hitting me. so i swereved out of the way then let him pass then chased him donw politly asking what was that about.

i was riding my bike with a somewhat large group of people ( i'd say 7 or 8) about 3 weeks ago down mlk toward dekum, and this truck with three guys pulled up and started tormenting us. words were exchanged, and the truck sped away, but before doing so, one of the men in the car threw a tennis ball out the window. it bounced and hit me square in the arm right above my elbow. i swerved and was able to regain my balance, but i was left with a huge bruise and shaken nerves. i wasn't the one yelling back, i was just riding along with my friends. and this asshole decides he'll teach me a lesson for thinking its ok to ride my bike on the road with his big truck. it's people like that who make me afraid to ride my bike around portland.

10/27/06: Three near misses within a ten-minute span tonight, TWO of them from the same driver. First, at approximately 6:30 PM, going east on Multnomah by the Lloyd center(heading by the movie theater parking lot), this dude is making a left turn and comes within mere inches of bowling me over. Harshly, I warned him to pay attention, to which he simply replied "f*** you!" (They hate it when I'm right.) Minutes later, going north on NE 15th, someome in a VW Jetta buzzes by me somewhere near Tillamook, again coming within inches of a collision. Rattled, I pick up the pace and catch up to them at Knott where they are sitting at the red light so I can memorize their license plate number. Light greens up and I'm back on my way, and what does this troglodyte a**hat do? Yup. The EXACT SAME THING, at about Stanton or Siskiyou this time and again I catch up with them at the Fremont's red light. Right around now, I am wishing for this individual to be impaled upon the member of a particularly large stallion. My lights and reflective gear were in full effect; these abortions to society had NO excuses.

*Raises hand* Who needs a drink?

Two today, in the space of about 40 seconds. I was headed east on Harrison between Broadway and 6th when a pedestrian darted out into the street in front of me (mid-block, not a cross walk). Then, literally seconds later, a car headed west turned left directly in front of me to enter a parking lot. Perhaps they were blinded by my bright yellow reflective rain jacket, blinking helmet lamp, high-power handlebar mounted lamp, reflective tires and flashing light leg band. :-)

November 6th, about 5:20pm.
I was East bound on SE Harrison and stopped at the intersection with SE 20th. I saw a truck North bound. It just barely stopped at the stop sign, like it had just noticed it. I waited for a few moments and the truck didn't move, so I assumed the driver saw me. I couldn't see into the cab of the truck. I started through the intersection. Just as I reached the truck the driver started. I swerved left and screamed like crazy. The front bumper was let than an inch from my right knee. The driver motioned at me like she hadn't seen me, but she did manage to see the runner dressed all in black that crossed just before me. Figure that.
BTW, that intersection is pitch black on a rainy evening. There are some big beautiful trees that cover SE Harrison on the West side of the intersection, blocking out all light. And, there's no street light.

A short time later, at the intersection of Stephens and SE 27th, a South bound car failed to stop at the sign and nearly plowed into me as I was going East on Stephens. Again, another very dark intersection, and really poor pavement which forced me to ride in the middle of the street.

Just a quick ammendment to my Nov. 6 experiences:
There IS a streetlight at 20th and SE Harrison. Either it wasn't working or it just doesn't put out enough light to help during crummy weather.

dangerous cycling is, inherently, a self policing problem.

if we can educate each other about routes, lights, safey, etc - it is easier...

you're the one assuming things, adrian, not me. there's a difference between not operating from fear and putting your life at risk needlessly, which is what most people you or i see driving on extremely busy streets in portland are doing, when safe streets with a lot less chance of having a careless driver hit you are a block or less away.

yeah, some don't know the bike routes, some are new to town, some are trying to prove a point, but most just aren't concerned with anything other than getting to where they're going.

oh, may i add driving on extremely busy streets with absolutely no bike lane whatsoever. in case you're assuming again that i, as an obviously extreme bicyclist hater, think even if you're in a bike lane, you still have no right to be near cars. and if, to address another point you're were trying to make, he was near his house and that's why he was on 39th, at night, in really bad visibility and braking conditions (raining heavily), don't you think it would be prudent to be on the sidewalk WALKING your bike for the short distance to your house or destination?

This fine evening my roommate and I were riding west on Wygant. Some of you know this street: lots of uncontrolled intersections, potholes, but a much more chill ride than Alberta. We were riding side by side, probably doing a nice comfortable 15 mph, which is just about right for any vehicle on a sidestreet like that. A car came up behind us at 18th or so and, finding that they couldn't go as fast as they could on Alberta or Prescott, laid on the horn. Laid on the horn all the way to 15th, where we stop to wait for traffic to pass. Continues to lay on the horn to 14th Place, even as they round the corner. Did we flick 'em off? No. Did we say anything? No. We were just there, exercising our rights to use the public right-of-way. Reason enough for a motorist to try to intimidate off the road.

And, having read a couple of the latest posts, I'd like to make a note to Lyle: this was on a nice, quiet side street. Guess we can't win for trying, eh?

For once, this close call did not involve me on my bike being almost hit by a car. Rather, it involved me being almost hit by a bike. I was walking, crossing Salmon at Broadway with the light. A Transerv bike messenger who was unwilling to wait for pedestrians to clear the crosswalk before turning left onto Salmon from Broadway strafed me. I am sure he assumed that being almost struck by a bike in the crosswalk would not be nearly as disconcerting to a ped as being almost struck by a car. I am sure he also assumed that as a skinny guy on a small, swift bike he did not have to obey the law about waiting for peds to clear the lane before turning the way a car would have to wait. Wrong on both counts, buddy. I have nothing against messengers. I do have something against being placed in fear of being struck, whether by a bike or a car, and that kind of move only feeds the ire against messengers in this town.

So, lately I have been extremely, shall we say, dismayed at the level of inattention and poor judgement displayed by some of the more impatient people on the road. Now I take full credit for being an asshole in my line of work, but I try to be as safe and courteous as I can while doing it. This might sound like an oxymoron, but I realize that not everyone knows I am fully aware of them while splitting lanes or riding on the sidewalk, which contingency occasionally impels me to do. So even though I might look reckless and retarded and about to run into someone, I have already observed their current and future position and have plotted a vector to avoid them, and other obstacles, at all costs.

I have had 3 "incidents" thus far, none involving any utilizers of our streets save myself, (I use "Our" purposefully) and damaging none but myself and or my trusty steed. As I write this I knock discreetly on my wooden desk. My safety record is in large part due to my own fear of injury and/or embarassment, but as well it stems from my basic desire to live in a well-functioning and well-mannered city.

This commitment to civility is a thing that I find seemly in those I admire and so strive to emulate. A civilized society is not worth 2 bits if it citizens cannot treat each other decently during peacetime (wartime is quite a different story...but that's for another day). As such, I warn and make audible apology to those who I slip thru in crosswalks, and wave to drivers that let me pass. These things are an unspoken part of the duty I feel to represent bicyclists in general and messengers in particular, in order to give others the impression that we are aware and in control and thus not an object of fear and uncertainty. Just let us ride and there won't be any problems, is the message that good riders impart along with our packages, a sort of laissez-faire credo of efficiency embodied in a flash of steel and a smile.

And so it becomes clear that there are those whose level of respect for others on the road is quite sadly low. For example, crossing the Hawthorne Bridge yesterday on my way to class, I passed the usual cluster of commuters strung out along the concrete approach from Grand Avenue, and then as I swooped down onto the actual bridge, I had the irritation of observing someone up ahead carving a path thru the other cyclists and joggers (brave souls, those), in a manner startlingly reminiscent of those who you might see cutting back and forth on the freeway at speeds 4 or 5 times as fast. His main goal seemed not to get across the bridge, but to show others he could go faster and more nimbly than them. I myself will pass someone if there is sufficient room to not give them a scare, but I saw this person pass another commuter on the extreme left of the raised walkway, whose own wheels were perhaps 2 feet from the edge, brushing his arm in the process and almost causing the slower one to fall. Which, at that speed, could have done serious damage. If it had been I, I would have been quite tempted to veer to the left and cause the inconsiderate jerkface to ride off onto the grate in front of the #14, but it was not I, and so I followed him, noticing the shaken look on the commuter's face.

Upon reaching the other side, I took advantage of a break in the line of cars to shoot ahead and so passed Jerkface. I admit that I do play this game of "I'm faster so haha", but usually only with other young males on uphills (who seem to get a huge boost to self esteem if they beat or match a courier...good for them) , or other messengers in friendly competition, or in the sanctioned form of mayhem known as alleycats. But there is little merit in scaring the shit out of people going to work, and even less if you are as old as this guy was. I mean, you should be done with those kid games by 30, right? This guy was at least that old. The best and most badass messengers I know are scrupulously observant of being safe in traffic, and I never see them have a near miss. The fact that I barely ever manage to catch a glimpse of them while they are working is, I feel, testament to their ability.
In any case, I hope that the objective of this particularly obnoxious example of how to set a bad example was on his way to win a huge amount of money that he would donate to charity, or to deliver a baby, or something of merit. But most likely he was just following the statistics that would have endowed him in a rather unfavourable way...In any case, if he truly wished to be quick, he would have learned to split traffic and ride between lanes. I admit to sometime being what a friend's roommate dubs "Outtamyway Guy", but I strive not to be a total idiot about it.

As I continued on my way, I pondered the outcome of this incident. To witness an innocent bystander forced into an accident is the last thing I want, but other than that my greatest fear is that dipshits like that unavoidably give a bad image to cyclists everywhere, and messengers especially, for whom he was likely mistaken by the commuters and drivers. He was most definitely not any messenger I know, and if I see him again I shall get rid of my xtra Kryptonite by locking his bike up and leaving a copy of this diatribe affixed to his seat.

I had a close call with a SE precinct police car this morning. I was riding West on Ankeny on the stretch between 28th and 20th. A police car, numbered SE 0300...041, failed to stop at a stop sign while travelling South on 24th (approximately). Due to wet, slushy roads, I was unable to stop myself and yelled instead. The police car skidded to a stop less than 6 feet from my bicycle.

Shortly after, the same car passed me on Ankeny, proceeded to turn right on 20th, crossed a double yellow line into the mini-mart parking lot at 20th and Burnside, and must have crossed another set of double yellow lines to travel West on Burnside, because he re-appeared on Ankeney around 18th.

I caught up with him as we waited for traffic to clear at the awkward intersection at Sandy. When a gap appeared, he gunned his engine and actually spun wheels, leaving a mark on the pavement.

During none of this were his "emergency lights" on.

Such aggressive behavior was certainly frightening for me. Out of curiosity, how would I "gently suggest" to this officer's superiors that he be asked to "calm down a bit" without fear of reprisal?

December 9th, 2006 SE Glisan & 82nd, approx 6:45pm. No rain, very dark out
I was traveling East on Glisan, and had stopped for the light at 82nd. There is no designated bike lane there, so I was in the lane. Just as I started into the intersection with the light, a car that had been behind me came within inches of hitting me as the driver attempted to make a right hand turn through the intersection (and ME). Interestingly enough, just earlier today I added extra red Planet Bike lights, oriented sidways, to the back of my Xtracycle, in addition to my regular rear-facing light and reflectors, in order to be more visable from the side. I think they may well have saved my life tonight.

December 13, SE Taylor & 39th, about 1:30Pm

There is a crossing light at this intersection. Both south-bound lanes on 39th had come to a complete stop at the red light. One north-bound lane had also stopped. The cross walk light lit up, and I proceeded to cross 39th. Luckily, I decided to check the north-bound lanes as I started into the road. Despite the glaring red light and all of the stopped traffic, a lady in a red SUV in one of the north-bound lanes conveniently ignored the stoplight and sped right through, missing my front tire by less than a foot. I would estimate that she was traveling at 30-35 miles per hour, and never even slowed down for the stoplight. I tried to catch her attention with a yell, but I don't think she even noticed. I wished so badly that a police officer had been at the stop light at that moment. That would have been a glorious ticket for the flagrant disregard for the traffic signal and endangering cyclists and pedestrians.

riding a fixed gear, it's sometimes crazy riding in downtown. but i have to say that SW broadway and alder, you never know whats going to happen. you have cars then you have have those huge buses that don't really care about anyone, they jus wanna get where they're going.
leaving a coffee shop heading down alder not really going that fast. in the far left lane i saw this "ok" size green car. wasn't thinking too much about it, then right after the light on broadway the car jus slowed down and changed lanes right in front of me. so close to jus taking me right out. now i know he saw me. it was like 7pm so it was kinda dark. but i have a bright ass headlight.

i dunno. i jus think ppl should be a lil more carefull

For once, buzzing another rider may have done some good.
Where else? NE Broadway and Grand. 12/15 8ish dark.
I was riding down broadway in the bike lane at a decent clip. there was a red light at grand. Another biker was stopped at teh light. I could see grand's light turning red, so I just kept going as I was in a hurry and had enough room to safely pass the rider. As I passed him and was about to cross grand, the truck in the lane next to the bike lane started turning right onto grand, into both myself and the other rider... I was going fast enough that I cleared the truck but was able to easily slap his headlight w/ my hand as he was turning. I hope this stopped the driver and the other rider was safe to go through as he had the right of way. I don't believe the driver even had a turn signal on.
I believe had I not just rode through this driver would have turned right into the other biker(who was wearing a bright yellow jacket and had lights, btw).

ah, NE Broadway, how I love thee and my daily close calls.

Watch cars that turn right onto Interstate Avenue from the Ramp that comes down / goes up to Broadway, right after the Colisium, and right before one goes under the Broadway bridge while heading north.

There was a gap in car traffic (but in this gap was me) and a guy gunned it to get his car in this gap, right in front of me. My body just reacted by locking the brakes, and when my brain caught up both tires were sliding and almost slid under the pickup. I must have missed him by mere inches. Luckily he was accelerating. He must not have seen me ? even though I have two bright headlights.

Note my attention had been diverted for a couple seconds, otherwise I would never have let myself get into this situation. Please watch those right turning vehicles and be prepared to swerve or stop...

The intersection/4-way stop on 25th & SE Clinton St is always bad. All the cars are rushing to stop then run through the light. So waiting your turn does no good, you just wait and wait until the car behind you honks. Lady in a gold Toyota looking SUV almost hit me yesterday, drove up to the stop sign and just pulled right on out.

This is more than a close call, and a unique situation overall, but I need some advice if anyone has any.

I was in a bike-bike collision. The other rider didn't see me, and didn't stop at his stop sign riding west bound. It was dark and I had front and rear lights, he did not. I had the right away riding south bound with no stop sign at the intersection (I saw him, but figured he would at least slow down). To avoid collision I braked quickly just before colliding and flipped over my handle bars... and the other biker fell into me.

I have all his contact info - name, address, phone, DL#, and health insurance. Him and I wrote out on paper what happened and he admitted to this being his fault.

I have made a claim with my auto insurance company, but waiting to hear back from the adjuster on Monday. Renters Ins. covers any property damaged.

I didn't file a police report because police told me not to since it's not fatal or trauma.

I am going to have a crap load of medical bills (torn AC joint) , wage lose, etc. Is this guy liable by any Oregon law or will I have to take it to civil court?

Any advice is very much appreciated!

I would like to report a reckless driver who I encountered while traveling westbound on SE Glenwood Street. At approx. 7:45am this morning a ‘souped up’ red pickup with the license plate #170-CRX entered the roadway and made a left turn at approx 25mph. I avoided being struck by braking fast, but watched him turn into the parking lane before then returning to the travel lane and taking off at twice my speed. Such behavior is seriously disturbing given that it does not reflect unusual behavior in SE Portland for commuters going (I assume) to the industrial district along SE 21st Ave at the train tracks.

I sent this to: policeIandR@portlandpolice.org
which may or may not be successful.

Last night, Jan 10, a little past 5pm at SE 21st & Powell. I was driving north on 21st, waiting to turn left onto Powell a couple of cars back from the light. I see the car in front start to turn left just as a bike enters the intersection crossing Powell. The cyclist was quite adroit and veered well to his right to avoid being hit, but I was amazed at the lack of reaction from the car. I can understand not seeing the cyclist at first, but when he was right in front of the car, it didn't seem to slow down at all. I saw no brake lights. A lesser cyclist might not have avoided it. I bike through that intersection whenever I bike to work, and I think it's one of the most dangerous between there and St. Johns.

Riding along north on N. Williams on January 8th, I came to an intersection a few blocks south of Fremont (it might have been Monroe, maybe Fargo). We were both wearing highly reflective jackets and both had headlights - mine the blinking white kind, my friend the really super-bright headlights with the external battery pack.

I am always a bit leary of cross streets which have a car sitting on the west side of the street at a stop sign waiting for a gap in the traffic to either turn left onto Williams or cross over.

Well, on this day, the gap in traffic coincided with my friend and I entering the intersection. Just as we enter the intersection, a stoned (I'm assuming...) driver of a white cargo van guns it and heads straight for us. I slam on the brakes and my friend collides into me from behind and we both go down on the wet pavement.

The driver, thankfully, slams on his brakes and doesn't hit us. Then, to my EXTREME aggrevation, he inches by us and leans out the window to say, "I wasn't gonna hit you, maaannn."

I believe I hyper-extended my elbow on landing, as it still hurts, but other than that and some ripped cycling gear, there were luckily no injuries.

I would like to propose that, if the three-strikes you're out law is legal in California, there ought to be a three-strikes and you're out law for driving. One runned stop sign, one instance of speeding, one caused "accident" and you get a steep fine ($1000+). Second runned stop sign, or second other infraction, incurs a $2500 fine and a 6-month suspension of driving privileges. Third, and final infraction, causes the driver's license to be revoked permanently (in all states). I'm sick of being hit by, and pushed around by, these cars.

I learned a new RULE this morning. Apparently when it's dark out pickup trucks don't have to stop at stop signs.

These happened South Waterfront area. I live and was headed to Sellwood.

SW Boundary, eastbound, stop sign before train tracks. I had stopped and was making a left turn onto the bike trail next to the Trolly stop when a yellow & white pickup truck blew through the stop sign and nearly nailed me. He slid to a stop inches from me, opened his window, yelled obscenities, and gave me the finger.

Shortly after, corner of SW Boundary & SW Landing Square Dr. the same thing happened. I had stopped at the stop sign and a red pickup truck blew the stop sign eastbound on Boundary and almost nailed me. He also rolled down his window, yelled obscenities and gave me the finger.

It's a new world with lots of less knowledgable people around. Lessons learned. Becareful out there..

My close call came tonight, and involved a group of about 12-16 cyclists from the Critical Mass ride. One of them rode at my car, into my lane, on purpose (after giving me a sly grin) and then one of them positioned himself and his bike in front of me (in traffic) so I could not move. All of them where screaming that I had tried to kill this guy who had come out of his lane at my vehicle, which was in a completely different lane.

I cycle for fun. My partner cycles for transportation. I've even got bumper stickers educating other drivers about a cyclist's right to the full lane.

I'm tired of the kamikazi cyclists. The ones out at night with no light or almost dead lights, the ones without helmets. The ones crossing the intersection on a red light because there aren't any cars coming the other way. IF YOU WANT THE RESPECT OF DRIVERS AND YOU WANT TO BE SAFE, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE RULES.

If you, a cyclist, see another cyclist disrespecting the laws meant to protect them or doing something that promotes driver's disrespect toward cyclists, tell them about it.

Here's to my partner staying safe. Here's to you staying safe.

I'd hardly call a vehicle which gears out at 27mph 'kamikaze'.

"If you, a cyclist, see another cyclist disrespecting the laws meant to protect them or doing something that promotes driver’s disrespect toward cyclists, tell them about it."

I would love to see car drivers attempting to police other motorists they feel have broken the law.

I've had the same basic incident occur twice. Traveling north from the Springwater Corridor. Once on 46th (big hill) and once on 52nd. Cars don't seem to understand that there is a legitimate reason for bikes to be on the road and I've been honked at or had cars come very close while ascending this hill. On 46th, there has been a deep trench which prevents the use of the bike lane, so riding in the road is necessary to get around it. I don't know how long that will continue to be there.

So this does not qualify as a close call as in someone ELSE almost killing you. But I thought some of you might find some entertainment in it.

Preface this to say that the 3-speed hub on my sweet old Schwinn cruiser has been a bit on the hair-trigger side lately; a bit too close to the next gear. I've been meaning to fix it.

So I'm riding my sweet Schwinn 3-speed cruiser at my neighborhood park like I do every morning with my dog and this morning he was feeling especially speedy. So we started racing, and I started hauling. I'm leaning forward really far and at the worst possible point in the downward stroke of my right leg, the hub just lets go. Nothing. It's like the chain breaks. WHAM!

At the moment I made contact with the ground, I'm thinking, "Oh for SURE I just broke my collar bone." And then I'm on the ground making that animal sound you make when you get the wind knocked out of you, and this woman runs up to me and asks if I need her to get help. I continue to make animal groaning sounds but somehow get the idea across that I just need a minute so I can learn to breathe again.

A few minutes later I'm able to get up. The woman offers to help me walk home, But I think I can make it on my own. Despite being in the most pain I think I've felt in, oh I don't know, 10 years, I get on my bike. Hey, it's easier than walking. My house is downhill from the park.

At this point I swear I've broken my scapula, or whatever the hell that thing is. Holy cr*p, it hurts.

But I make it home, call my friend who's in the medical field and she hears me barely able to speak between gasps of air and says, "Get to the hospital."

So her husband, my best friend, drives me to Emmanuel, the staff of which absolutely rocked I might say. Hardly any wait at all and everyone was super nice.

So then there's morphine, going into shock, more morphine, X-Rays and a Cat Scan, and more morphine, and I learn I have four broken ribs. Time to go home.

Woo hoo! So here I am at home, nursing wonderful pain meds and pausing every 10 minutes to breathe into some ping-pong ball-in-a-tube, breathing aparatus. It's supposed to keep me from getting pneumonia. And did I mention the pain meds?

Hoo boy, let me say that four broken ribs was really freakin painful and I LOVE pharmaceuticals. Oh, and I did NOT break my collar bone.

So watch out for those maladjusted 3-speed Sturmey-Archers.

Ride on!

hey tonyt in post 279, you should be careful!

I had two close calls on my commute home yesterday.

The first was at the junction of SE 169th and SE 29th in Vancouver. This is one of those wide streets - very tractish. SE 169th has a stop sign. I was riding west down SE 29th. This woman in a minivan stopped, then crossed 169th, cutting me off. She was talking on her cell phone, and wasn't paying attention. About 50% of my close calls are at this particular junction.

For the second close call, I decided to try a route from East Vancouver to Portland mentioned in the forumes. This involved crossing the 205 bridge, then turning west onto Alderwood Dr. Some idiot in a pickup was crossing Alderwood, stopped at his stop sign, then proceeded to cut me off. This was much closer then the Vancouver incident above. He slams on his brakes (I'm already braking as hard as I could), yells something, then roars behind me.

Note, I didn't like the Alderwood option - it's back to Prescott for me.

Hillsboro just east of 185th on Evergreen

Ridding into work this morning I was cut off by a white delivery truck making a right turn in front of me. The truck was driven by a 20 something white male with two white male passengers. Now this kind of thing happens almost every ride, but as I locked it up and skidded to avoid hitting the truck I could see the passengers grinning at me, like this was some kind of game which is what pissed me off and made me follow the truck. When they stopped at the Shell station I approached the driver and said “what the F#$k do you think you where doing? His response “gets the hell off the road” at which point I went into the gas station and called 911. I figure the 911 operator would hang up on me, but instead stayed on the phone taking information for about 15 mins. As I was on the phone one of the passengers approached and asked “if we could deal with this without the cops” that the driver “was a bad driver”, ya, no kidding and not really way to pursued me from getting the cops involved. I figure the truck would leave, but they stayed around until their boss told them to leave. Believe it or not they actually gave me their phone number, their bosses phone number and the name of the company they work for (they make marble products and have a flower in their name). The police showed up about 45 minutes after this all happened. The officer was very polite and seemed concerned. He took my statement and said he would make contact the occupants of the truck as well as their boss, but nothing he could do unless he witnessed the incident. Oh well hopefully having the cops call the driver and their boss will be enough to make these guys think twice before they do this again.

Just found this site and I have one unusual close call of my own. This was about 5 a.m. in the morning as I was headed to work on N. Vancouver past Legacy. As I approached N. Russell, I timed it so that I would hit the green light and as I got to the middle of the intersection, a car was bearing down on me going about 50 mph (it seemed!) with no intention of stopping. I skidded to a hault on my side and ended up in the middle of the intersection. The driver had seen me in time to stop about 5 feet before he plowed me over and at that point I realized it was a police car! He was going to fly through that intersection with no intention of stopping and with no flashing lights or sirens. I felt like giving him the bird but held my finger. Just collected what was left of my dignity and rode on.

Typical lawless motorist behavior. I was crossing MLK at Skidmore - on a green light - and was nearly hit when a car (beige sedan, Oregon URH 432) made a turn at nearly full speed from MLK onto Skidmore, against the red light, barely missing me in the process. It might have been even closer if I hadn't decided to play it safe. I confronted the driver about it, all she had to say was "uh?" She just couldn't be bothered.

riding on hawthorne bridge, crazy guy threatened to force me into traffic.

riding north on sandy/7th between hawthorne and belmont. light truck pulls out in front of me at 10 am proceeding north one block around the post office and then turns right while i have overtaken him (due to slowly moving traffic) i was forced to dive right with him, and i gently tapped his truck 4 times to let him know i was there and to check his blindspot when turning. he did not have his signal on. its a good thing i ride a track bike because the only way i made that turn was because i skidded it, and who says i need brakes?

Several months ago I was on my way through the intersection of 12th, Burnside, and sandy. I was on 12th, headed north. 12th has three lanes at the point where I was, two that go straight across and a right turn only lane, from which bikes and busses can also go straight through; it becomes a bike lane after the intersection.

I was in the turn/bike lane with a car to my left, in one of the lanes that went straight across. When the light turned green the car turned right, cutting me off. It was a good thing I hadn't been timing it so that I could start as the light turned green, as I usually do, or he would have hit me. (He was quite oblivious to my presence)

In another incident I was riding in the bake lane on NE 12th in front of the high school. One of the parents decided that, as all the parking spaces in front of the school were already occupied, she would just pull into the bike lane (directly in front of me) and let her kid out there. I narrowly avoided slamming into the back of her car, as I was blocked from swerving on one side bye parked cars and on the other by cars waiting for the light to turn green.

My close call happened the other night in Gresham after I got out of school (MHCC). I was winding up the left sidewalk of 257th toward division from the school and in the intersection about halfway up, some dude was stopped with his blinker on until I started through the green light on the cross walk. He was so impatient that he started to pull forward before I even got across even the front of his car. He side-swiped me and took off at high speed. : 2000-something Subaru :

Around 9:30AM this morning, northbound Barbur at Hamilton. (I think) green 2 or 4 door sedan right hooks me. Not badly enough that I went down or contacted the car, but badly enough that I jammed on the brakes. Oregon plate 613 CTR. I turned right and followed her down the hill on Hamilton. I caught her at the stop sign at Corbett. I asked her to pay attention next time, please, and that she had turned right in front of me.

I was traveling south at about 7:45 pm on southwest Broadway in the bike lane approaching the intersection of SW Columbia and SW Broadway when a black Porche Boxter #GPC ESQ came from the far left lane to within three or four feet of hitting me so it could reach a parking spot. I then road to the corner, parked my bike, and walked back to write down the vehicle description and number.

This afternoon while heading west on ne broadway a cyclist ahead of me in the bike lane was nearly hit by a truck making a right onto the freeway at Williams. When the cyclist yelled at the driver to watch out, the driver responded angrily and the two exchanged words ending with the classic middle finger.

At this point the light was green, but as the cyclist continued on his way the driver of the truck pursued him and intentionally struck him with his truck, hitting him with the front right fender of the truck and throwing him over the sidewalk and onto the ground.
As a witness, I immediately stopped and called the police. The motorist jumped out of his car and while it initally looked as if he was going to further assult the cyclist, he restrained himself and stayed on the scene as he saw me on the phone with the police and another witness writing down his license plate.

Luckily the cyclist had only minor injuries and damage, but he was understandably in shock.

When the police arrived they began talking with the driver and the cyclist, and after taking my information asked me to leave.

If anyone knows anything about this accident or can do any follow up, I'd be very curious to know how the Portland police deal with a motorist who was extremely dangerous, aggressive and completely unjustified in the assult of a cyclist riding within his rights...

TJ,

It was Hillsboro PD, and they honestly had more important calls at the time. I'm glad that cops can't just write tickets based on our acusations, that is one slippery slope. I've been passed by this same truck now several times on my way to work and they given me room, so someone did something.

On another note I did get hit last Thursday on my way home at Glenco and Camp Ireland. I was going along at about 25 when a woman in an SUV made a right turned in front of me. I was able to hit the brakes and scrub some speed before impacting the side of her car. I was able to make the turn leaned agaist the car and banging on the side to get her to stop (yes 20 years of crit and cross ridding paid off). I had an off duity reserve officer behind me and a Washington Co. Sheriff going the other way when it happened. The woman said she did not see me, then said I was going slow (guess I'd better do some more speed work)Glenco is 45 in this area, should be 35 in my opionion as there are a couple of schools and houses in the area. The Sheriff was in the process of transporting a "passanger" but stopped and called Hillsboro PD. Hillsboro PD was tied up again and after waiting 20 mins or so the Sheriff asked what I wanted to do. I had already read the woman the riot act and the Sheriff gave her a good talking to as well,she was scared Sh*tless by this point(just for context, she was Asian and I think somewaht new to the country). I didn't see what pressing charges would accomplish. I had a couple little scraps on my elbow and a sore hand from pounding on the car my bike was fine. I told the Sheriff to call off Hillsboro and we where done.

Maybe I should have had her cited? I don't know. I think she learned her lesson on this one. In todays socity I'm not sure how much of impact tickets are. There are 1000 of people driving around without insurance or drivers Licenses every day. Until we have tougher trafic laws, better skill testing of new drivers and start taking peoples cars away instead of having them pay fines we'll have to deal with these idiots on the road with us.

man people are so crazy, a few weeks ago, i was going down 26th right off of Powell in front of Cleveland High and this dick totally swerved in front of me, in his huge white truck, to drop his kid off and started backing up. i tried to skid to get out of his way and i couldn't stop fast enough. he basically pinned me between his back wheel, my bike, and the curb. i couldn't believe that he didn't see me, but i hit his giant truck with my U-Lock, to let him know i was there, and h ehad his window down, and yelled "Fucking damn fixies, get some fucking brakes, god dammit!!!"drove off. i was so upset and confused, i didn't get a plate number. and i have a broken wrist. and a dented left rim. i couldn't believe it. i don't have insurance, and my medical bill was way to much for me to afford. just ridiculous.

Interesting weekend…

Aggression
04.21.07
Parking lot of Walmart (don't ask why we decided to cut through their lot) on SE 82nd. While on the throughway - a newer silver nissan with two passengers pulled out very fast in front of us. Around 3:00 - 5:00 pm Likely noticing us - however, going faster to outrun us or avoid hitting us rather than giving us right of way (as we assumed we had). We both stopped as it/they pulled out. Caught up at stop sign, looked in window with a WTF looking face - they didn't look at us. We rode on.

Minor Hit
04.22.07
Side walk of Foster in the 54th - 56th area. Asian Market driveway S. side of Foster - teenage woman pulls out fast and stops fast – i.e. stopping as she notices me in front of her car. Bumper hits front fork - no immediately visible damage, bend to fork etc... My excited front braking lifted the rear wheel off the ground. No face plant though - stayed on. Young woman apologized profusely.

This morning I was riding my daily commute from North Portland, Arbor Lodge neighborhood, heading south on Denver. One block south of Killingsworth, I signaled to make a left off of Denver onto Willamette. I saw a car, heading west on Willamette and assuming the driver was aware of the stop sign I continued to signal and make my left turn. The car in fact ran the stop sign and managed to come to a halt only a mere few inches from my front tire. I glared at the driver and upon seeing her young child in the front seat, drop jawed, backed my bike up and rode on my way. A woman with her two children was walking nearby and had seen the close call, she asked if I was okay and remarked about the obvious oversight to stop made by the driver of the car. Thankfully indeed I'm unscathed.

Coming home from work at about 3:20 in the afternoon on tuesday the 17th of this month. Crossing the south crosswalk at the southbound offramp for Sunnyside road on I-205. It was raining/hailing, I checked over my shoulder for cars coming in that particular lane, nothing. A green volvo in the next lane crossed the solid line and changed into the lane with my crosswalk (just after I checked). Just as I entered the crosswalk he blasted by, I hit my brakes, they were wet and didn't do much of anything, and luckily he made it past before we collided.

Last Friday morning, I was coming down SW Jefferson Westbound on the way to the Goose Hollow Max stop. It's a rather steep (and bumpy) hill from 14th to 16th, and Jefferson has the right of way at 16th. Oh, and it's raining. So, a Black Taurus comes out of 16th crossing from left to right without even stopping, and I went into full lockup for about 20 yards, passing within three feet of the car (he skidded to a stop just in time). I turned around and pursued the car on 16th, and caught up just as he was parking on the side of the street. I said "did you know you nearly killed me?" and he apologised right away, saying it was entirely his fault. I thanked him for admitting it, shook his hand, and told him to please stop at stop signs and watch for bikes in the future.

I don't want to make enemies - I just want to stay alive.

This is more of an accident than a close call, but it didn't seem like it would hurt to post it.
Thursday May 3rd, 9:00pm.
Bike: riding north on ne 9th
Car: driving west on Broadway
As I was crossing Broadway with my lights on with the green light, thankfully wearing my helmet, a suvish vehicle ran the red and ruined the bike and banged up my knees pretty well. From that point on everything went great. The driver stopped, the police issued a citation, there was a witness, the ambulance,fire, and police were there right away to whisk me away to Legacy Emanuel, there was a first responder trained type person there five seconds after I hit the pavement. A week later and I'm hobbling around, still can't work my landscaping job 'cause I can't bend my knees very far. But its okay because it could have been so much worse.

While heading north on SE 7th (a few blocks soutn of SE Ankeny) a man in a large truck opened his driver's door into the bike lane one moment after I passed him. To his credit he apologized.

About 30 seconds before that an old ford pickup truck made an unannounced right hand turn into the car repair place at SE Morrison and 7th. I was able to stop in time.

My close calls tend to happen in two's. Knock on wood!

This morning, N Vancouver just south of Hancock. Some yahoo in a big SUV decided he wanted a prime parking spot and abruptly swerved across the bike lane without checking if the lane was clear. I had to brake hard to avoid his bumper. Goddamn lawless motorists.

Sunday, May 13,on Pacific Avenue in Forest Grove. A wrong-way cyclist in the bike path forced me out into traffic. Fortunately, the drivers around and behind me were more courteous than he was.

westbound turning left on N IDA off Lombard,in the turn lane with the setting sun in my eyes. When the left turn light went green for me, i took off and nearly collided with an eastbound car who jumped the light. She probably saw the car in the thru lane next tome take off and thought she could.Then she flipped me off. How dare i get in her way?>

I guess I'm on a roll, so to speak.
Riding in NoPo about 6:30pm on the 24th. Westbound on Skidmore. Crossing 23rd a friend and I had a close call with a car southbound on 23rd. Thing is, it was a completely uncontrolled intersection. No stop signs for anyone. I know it's been said that people pay more attention at uncontrolled intersections, but, really, when it's not the 'norm and only residents in the immediate area know about it, shouldn't at least one direction have a stop sign?

I was on mile 89 of a century ride when i stopped on 120 and Division when all of a sudden something flew by my head, some kind of fluid splashing on my head and a large can of RockStar smashed onto the concrete ahead of me, as I looked to see where it came from, a pickup with 4 late-teen boys were laughing and cheering to my shocked face. Seeing that it was a full can, I could have been hurt had I been moving at the time.

5 minutes later, I was trying to cross a highway entrance by looking to my left to see if there was any merging traffic and if it was clear to cross when someone jumped a lane and slammed on their brakes and nearly hitting me but they still honked their horn like it was my fault.

Talk about a stressful end to 100 miles.

Just this morning, May 30, 2007, a black Mitsubishi Eclipse with license plate "Blazer Fn" rolled through the stop sign at NE 29th and Couch, almost hitting me. I was westbound on Couch, she was turning west from northbound 29th. I had no stop sign but slowed because I saw her. She slowed slightly and turned into my path oblivious. Fortunately, I steered to the edge of the lane, near parked cars, and avoided an impact. The whole time her eyes did not even wander over to my lane.

I live in the center neighborhood.

RMW-501,

The thing sticking out of the steering column of your blue Ford Ranger is used to signal turns. The answer to your question about what right I have to go straight in the bike line through a green light lies in the Oregon Drivers Manual. And chasing me down and threatening to "beat me" because you "hate bicyclists because they're always in the way" probably could have a charge or two made up around it. Fortunately a cell phone and witnesses who saw your behavior and followed us were convincing enough to get you to go home and calm down.

I remember leaving Millikan Way onto Murray last night and seeing the full moon rising and thinking "something lunatic could happen; be extra cautious." Yet there it was, only a few blocks up on Allen... I can't believe I managed to unclip balancing on the front tire while your swerving truck reflected back my 50 watts of headlights.

I grew up in a scrappy city, lift weights and kickbox, and ride a bike uphill both ways to work so I wouldn't ordinarily mind you getting out of the truck, but I'm guessing it wasn't to accept my apology for pissing you off so much by saying I wouldn't have been inside your illegal turn if you'd have used a blinker.

Oops, that was \"a cyclist going north on 39th\".

Heading down (West) on SE Hawthorne this morning around 9:15 am. A minivan turned left in front of me, with plenty of room taking into consideration my speed ... the SUV behind this minivan however followed suit without stopping to check for oncoming traffic (i.e. ME!) I came so close to slamming into the rear passenger side of her silver SUV that my hands and feet did not stop shaking until I made it to PSU. I screamed at the woman out of sheer shock and fear - she only turned to look at me through her window AFTER completing her turn, but never came back to check on me, or apologize, or show any kind of concern. There was another cyclist behind me about half a block or so that did stop with me, told me he saw the whole thing, wanted to make sure I was OK ... I was very grateful someone was there just so I could calm down before completing my commute.

Are we really all in such a hurry that we can\'t stop to look before making left turns across traffic ?!? Scared the sh*t out of me!

Had a very unpleasant road-rage encounter yesterday (6/16/2007):

While riding on SW Hewett, west bound towards SW Patton, we heard a car behind us. We made sure we were riding single file towards the shoulder to give the car an opportunity to pass, but Hewett is curvy and double yellow. The person decided not to try and come around and we just continued to ride single file at about 18mph until we got to Patton. We stopped for on-coming traffic, then turned left on Patton heading up the hill. At that point, this same vehicle goes into a hard acceleration, lays on the horn and gave me the closest buzzing I have ever had from a car... just a few inches. Scared the crap out of me, and I had nowhere to go as I was pinned up against the curb. Fortunately, I kept it upright and had the presence of mind to get the license tag, a reasonable description of the car and a sketchy description of the driver.

I\'m checking with a lawyer friend to determine if I have any reasonable recourse. I just want this person to get the message that this behavior is really dangerous, totally illegal and discourage it from happening again.

In the interim, if you see a cream colored, late model VW bug with OR license XXK-961, be careful. The female driver is unstable and dangerous.

traveling east bound off hawthorne bridge. i was in left lane to turn left onto 7th st. car pulled out after hesitating because he saw me in the left lane. i was traveling 25 to 30 mph. i had to lock up the back wheel and skid to the middle lane to avoid rear-ending him.
after both of us having a blunt verbal exhange, as we were both turning onto 7th, he pulled over and got out of his car. i then called 911, as did he. he continued to gesture wildly with arms waving, in a confrontative manner.
untill two cars arrived, (5 minutes later). he was forced to sit on the curb while they questioned both of us separately.
moral of the story, \"you can be right and dead\" (officer Sorenson).
as if you dont know already. watch out while coming off the bridge.

On Tuesday, February 13, my bicycle was run over by a pickup truck. I managed to get out of the way, in the manner of a bullfighter ... \"Here, you charge this, I\'ll step aside.\" Lucky me. When the driver stopped in response to the crunching sound, the bike was under the truck\'s engine. This might have been a fatality, except that I had been closely watching the truck from an habitual defensive-driving orientation.

As I\'d done hundreds of times, I was riding to work at the still-dark hour of 6:15 a.m., with 3 white lights facing forward and lots of reflectors including a 100% reflective jacket. As I proceeded west on N.E. Davis, I noticed that the large white pickup truck had stopped for the stop sign at N.E. 6th. Since Davis is a \'through street,\' I had the right of way, and continued. As I approached the intersection, the truck started forward; I slowed down; the truck stopped again, so I continued at a slower speed. Next thing I knew, the truck was accelerating toward me: its nose was advancing toward my nose.

The driver said he did not know what happened; he appeared genuinely surprised to see the light on my helmet shining into his eyes as I greeted him through the left door window, and surprised at my explanation of the crunching sound. He was cooperative; I was told that his employer sent him to an immediate drug test; and they eventually reimbursed me for my loss.

Origin of my trip was Ladd\'s Addition; destination was N.E. 7th & Oregon.

On Tuesday, February 13, my bicycle was run over by a pickup truck. I managed to get out of the way, in the manner of a bullfighter ... \"Here, you charge this, I\'ll step aside.\" Lucky me. When the driver stopped in response to the crunching sound, the bike was under the truck\'s engine. This might have been a fatality, except that I had been closely watching the truck from an habitual defensive-driving orientation.

As I\'d done hundreds of times, I was riding to work at the still-dark hour of 6:15 a.m., with 3 white lights facing forward and lots of reflectors including a 100% reflective jacket. As I proceeded west on N.E. Davis, I noticed that the large white pickup truck had stopped for the stop sign at N.E. 6th. Since Davis is a \'through street,\' I had the right of way, and continued. As I approached the intersection, the truck started forward; I slowed down; the truck stopped again, so I continued at a slower speed. Next thing I knew, the truck was accelerating toward me: its nose was advancing toward my nose.

The driver said he did not know what happened; he appeared genuinely surprised to see the light on my helmet shining into his eyes as I greeted him through the left door window, and surprised at my explanation of the crunching sound. He was cooperative; I was told that his employer sent him to an immediate drug test; and they eventually reimbursed me for my loss.

Origin of my trip was Ladd\'s Addition; destination was N.E. 7th & Oregon.

Unclear whether this got sent the first time; apologies if this is arriving for 2nd time. I\'d sent a follow-up note mentioning that the police declined to take ANY sort of report after the fact. With hindsight, apparently I should have insisted on leaving the bike under the truck, getting a uniformed officer to the scene, and allowing the procedure for noting what happened to proceed at its own pace before clearing the intersection.

Hmmmmmm......

After reading the majority of these posts a couple of things became evident. Bicyclists in Portland think that they dein be looked out for and bowed down to when a driver doesn\'t SEE THEM.

Read each of the \"incidents\" and ask yourself one very simple question \"Would this same even had happened had this been a car?\" I am referring to the near misses and run stop lights and stop signs. The answer is YES. There are poor car drivers AND poor cyclists in Portland. As a driver, I ALWAYS anticipate when crossing an interesection that someone may not be stopping from the oncoming direction - it is called \"Darwinism\" at it\'s finest.

My favorite cycling route is going South on Sylvan hill at 5pm. This road isn\'t even wide enough for two oncoming cars, let alone a cyclist that is wobbling their way around bits of gravel on the 6\" shoulder.....in this scenario - WHO is in danger? Certainly not a driver - but the cyclist that impedes traffic and runs the risk of getting hit by cars coming around blind curves. Common sense would dictate that the cyclist a) choose a different route or b) not travel this route at 5pm during rush hour.

The minority does not dictate to the majority. Recognize this. Instead of griping about drivers - lobby, organize and spend tax dollars to get established bike routs throughout your city with wide, safe shoulders on which you can travel.

This morning you were riding your bike on Burnside at around 7:40 through Laurelhurst. This letter is to you, and to other’s who share your preference to riding in the same areas.

Let me start off by saying that I think bicycling is great. It is a wonderful thing that a human can turn leg power into relatively fast forward motion. The balancing of a two wheeled machine zooming down the road is awesome. The physics involved are classic Newtonian physics, leverage, friction, inclined planes, and centripetal force, etc.

Physics aside, bicycling is also wonderful because it promotes good health, and also reduces the consumption of fossil fuels and can also lead to a reduction in greenhouse gases! This is awesome! Yes, I ride a bike as well.

I also think it is wonderful that our city has the foresight and though to make the area very accessible to bicycles. We should be proud that there are so many places to ride a bicycle in this city.

E Burnside has a bicycle path the entire length east of NE 71st Ave. West of NE 71st Ave, Burnside becomes a windy, hilly and thin road which is not really safe for bicyclists. It is not conducive to bicycle and automobile traffic. It is dangerous, it causes delays and flares tempers. This is why there is a designated bicycle route a block or two north of Burnside.

You were riding along Burnside at a pretty good pace. I must admit, I was impressed and slightly jealous of your physical strength and stamina. Even though you were riding at a pretty nice clip, you were still riding about 15 to 20 MPH slower than the normal flow of traffic. This means that, affectively, you are closing the right hand lane. It did actually make a difference on my commute time. Even though many people took the day off today being that it is July 5th, and traffic was less congested, I was still 5 minutes later to work than usual. 5 minutes may not sound like a lot, but I’ll explain later why it is.

Now, I didn’t yell at you, or cut you off or ride close. I don’t like to initiate confrontation. Confrontation serves no purpose in this world. You obviously thrive off it though. I could tell you loved flipping off motorists, and having them honk and yell at you. Did you notice that about one in every 5 cars were yelling at you? Did it make you feel good to split the lanes, and zoom up to a car at a red light to continue yelling at him? I can tell you love it.

Is it really worth your life? You must get an adrenalin kick that you just enjoy, because otherwise no rational human being would put his life on the line in a dangerous situation like that just to make a point.

Being that our city has so many options, I find it absolutely idiotic that you ride on that section of Burnside. Not only are you angering many motorists, you are really risking your own skin. When I commute or ride for pleasure, I find there to be more than adequate options in this bike friendly city. Not only are these options much safer, they don’t piss people off, and they are much more enjoyable rides. I love riding on residential streets. I can zoom along, not worry about too much traffic, I hear only the noise of my chain running though the gears and I get to look at pretty scenery. Being that the entire east side is a grid, you can get by on virtually any street, except when you need to cross a freeway or river.

So, like I said earlier, making me late for work for 5 minutes is pretty significant. You see, you didn’t only make me late 5 minutes; you probably delayed 250 or so cars for 5 minutes. That is 1250 minutes.

If a car were driving at 60 Miles Per Hour for 1250 minutes, and it averaged 25 miles per gallon (about the American average) it will have traveled 1250 miles (about the distance from here to San Diego) and will have consumed 50 gallons of fuel.

Being that the average city driving fuel consumption in the area is probably less than 20 MPG, and say that on average traffic was moving at 30 miles per hour during the entire commute, at 5 minutes per car that would be 625 miles, or about the distance from here to San Francisco. A car consuming gasoline at a rate of 20 miles per gallon (which is the most efficient an American truck or SUV will get at highway speeds, so this is still very optimistic), the fuel consumption would be around 31.25 gallons.

So basically, by delaying everyone for 5 minutes, you’ve caused there to be an additional 31.25 to 50 gallons of fuel consumed. This means you could have driven to San Francisco, at least, and consumed as many resources and put as much carbon dioxide in the air as you have caused by riding your bike along Burnside. That’s not really green at all. You would have done better by driving a hummer to work.

Wow, RW. Sorry for your inconvience, though it was not me who inconvenienced you. Sounds like the rider was a tad aggressive (perhaps unlawfully so) and some of the motorists were, too.

You seem to forget a couple of very important things:

1) The rider has the right to the lane, no matter where he/she is or how much you or anyone else is inconvenienced. The rider must pull out if there if there is a safe pull out to allow traffic to pass. We cyclists do forget that sometimes.

2) Drivers are not allowed to harass, intimidate, honk, yell, follow too closely, etc. in an attempt to get said rider to move, just as drivers are not allowed to do the same to riders of motorscooters, motorcycles, or other drivers.

While I\'m sure we are all grateful for your appropriate response to the rider on the road, I would hope you would spread the word: Bike belong.

Here\'s to a better ride tomorrow... on your bicycle. :-)

Dear#347,
Sorry to hear that bicycling is OK only when it doesn\'t inconvenience motorists. I think you\'re right. It\'s those darn commie, pinko, left leaning, and possibly sexually adventurous cyclists that are to blame for all societal ills, including you being 5 minutes late for work! Perhaps the end of days is near. Let\'s face it, if it weren\'t for fine upstanding and patriotic oil burners like yourself we would have never gotten the chance to go over to Iraq and teach those godless mongrels about democracy at the point of a gun.
You da MAN!

Hey # 347:

Your math is 100% wrong. 250 cars had to drive an extra 5 minutes, but they ALL WENT THE SAME DISTANCE as they would had the bicyclist not been there. Which means that they just travelled slower, which, in most cases, means they used LESS fuel, all other things being equal. So, the E Burnside cyclist, in addition to not using fossil fuels him/herself this morning, prevented you and 249 other motorists from burning as much fossil fuels as you otherwise might have! Good for him/her!!!

BTW: How far do you drive to work every morning? If you\'re such a fan of cycling, why don\'t you ride to work? Just asking.