(Photo © J. Maus)
The notorious intersection of NE Couch and Grand has claimed another victim.
26-year old Laura Stanger was riding to work at 7:45 am Wednesday morning. She had a green light and was headed across Grand in the green-colored bike lane when a car directly adjacent to her suddenly — and without using a turn signal (according to Stanger) — turned right onto Grand.
The person driving the car slowed down, but then sped away. “This person obviously knew they hit me and left the scene,” says Stanger.
“It was a sudden right-hand turn directly in front of me, leaving me no time to react or brake,” recalls Stanger. “I struck the passenger-side of the vehicle and slid down the side of the car to the ground, breaking my elbow in the process.”
(Photo courtesy Laura Stanger)
Stanger, nor the several local business owners who saw the crash, were able to remember the make and model of the vehicle or the license plate number. She has been in touch with the police but says, “they have told me it’s basically a dead-end so I am taking matters into my own hands and turning to our community.”
Stanger hopes someone reading BikePortland saw the crash and can share information about the vehicle.
The only thing that is known about the vehicle is that it’s a black, newer mid-size SUV or minivan. Stanger is “fairly certain” that the impact of her body left a dent in the rear passenger side panel. The car headed north on Grand. Stanger shared the photos below of what the vehicle looked like…
“I have hospital bills to pay,” wrote Stanger via email, “and a sense of justice that must be sated.”
If you have an information about this collision, please get in touch.
UPDATE, 8/8: I heard back from the Police Bureau about this incident. Sgt. Todd Davis, who handles all the hit-and-run cases at the PPB, says this case will be very tough to solve because there are conflicting reports as to the make/model of the vehicle and no one was able to get a license plate or description of the driver. Sgt. Davis said they have begun an investigation and will try to locate video from a nearby business. “Absent that,” wrote Sgt. Davis via email, “it’s going to take someone coming forward with information or locating a witness that hasn’t yet been interviewed.”
Thanks for reading.
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I have never understood why hit-n-run is not treated as a serious offence by the authorities.
Greg,
It is taken seriously… But w/o any evidence or information to go on, how can the PPB proceed? They have a lot of cases to work on and they need to prioritize. I have dealt w/ them on many hit-run cases and have found that they do indeed take them seriously… But given the lack of serious injury and lack of evidence in this case, they have to weigh it with a lot of other priorities in their case load. I’m not saying they couldn’t/shouldn’t do more, I’m just trying to give some context to the whole, “The cops don’t care” mantra.
I certainly understand that PPB would “take seriously” trying to apprehend the “perp” and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law but maybe Greg means why doesn’t our government (and society for that matter) see “hit and run” as something really awful (dastardly?) and demand more severe punishment for leaving the scene?
Yes, I understand that they would need to be caught and that evidence and information is needed for that but I wonder just how severe the penalties are for hit and run. I mean if you flee, you should automatically be found guilty (assuming of course that you are ever found).
careful Taylor is another right-hook zone these days also..
Where on Taylor… thanks.
Even with the green lanes I still try to put myself either behind or in front of a passing car at intersections. I prefer being a bit behind so if they do swerve I have room and time to react. Such is not the case everytime but it is always on my mind.
I hope your recovery goes well and you find the driver.
that’s pretty much all you can do to avoid such a situation. Never trust a car not to cut you off.
This is why, whenever I am waiting for the green light to go forward through an intersection, I always try and make eye contact with the driver in the right turning lane before I proceed.
Do not trust the bike lane. Do not trust bike lanes or bike boxes with green paint. Do not trust drivers. Ever. Bike lanes would be great if they were treated as actual traffic lanes. There’s a great public education campaign–put this on the side of tri-met buses: Bike lanes are traffic lanes–look and yield before you turn!
Same thing almost happened to me (in a different location) the other day. Thankfully, the driver was far enough ahead and the driver behind her was far enough back that I could dart around to the left. Drivers just don’t acknowledge the bike lane as a lane; they treat it like what it looks like: the gutter.
Very well said! I cannot count the number of times I would have been taken out, just this summer, if I proceeded through all intersections assuming people in cars saw me (or cared that I was there). It’s sad, but if you wanna avoid getting hit, you have to assume that everybody lurching towards a turn in front of you will go… and proceed accordingly.
Hit and Run IS a felony in Oregon. ORS.811.705
https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/811.705 the law itself
https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/161.015 the definition of “serious injury”
I would say a broken elbow fits that definition.
This is the one place and time I would be happy to say a bike lane should be removed. the bike lane suddenly appears next to drivers here and they are NOT expecting bikers to suddenly pass (lawfully) on their right. More so because Couch is so narrow that any bicyclist on it fore the previous 9 blockshas been taking the lane by definition. When there is no bike lane, drivers are not as vigilant about checking their right hand blind spot and using their blinker. And about half the cars in the right lane are turning into Grand here.
I almost get right hooked here every week and the only reason I DON’T is because I’m an extremely defensive, “strong and fearless” experienced rider coming off Sandy and assuming every car will turn right. But bike lanes aren’t there for riders like me, theyre there for people who need pragmatic, legal, safe separation from vehicle traffic. And this bike
lane doesn’t do that!
Ok, I’m being hyperbolic. Dont remove the biker lane-do something besides the bike box to make it better. The bike box doesn’t work when the light is green. Earlier this wek I yelled when a guy almost right joked me as I prepared to pass him (legally). He shouted out his window, “Didnt you see my blinker?” No actually, not in the bright morning sun, and I HAD THE RIGHT OF WAY.
It is for this reason I TAKE THE LANE on Couch until such time that I reach the s-curve.
when this treatment first went in (to much fanfare from BTA, unfortunately), someone stenciled the slogan “right hook lane” on the pavement. last time i went through you could still sort of see it, but maybe it needs to be freshened up. this bike lane has always been a mistake, and the green box only exacerbates the problem. the correct approach here is to assert the right travel lane all the way to the bridge.
Most vehicle operators are not aware that the bicycles in the side path (ie, a lane of vehicular travel) have the right of way and must yield to it. I have explained this over and over to people at work who act very incredulous about it all.
John and Esther —
You can stop by the DMV and pick up a stack of Oregon Drivers Manuals. Highlight the right turn instructions on pages 38 – 39, and pass them out to motorists who try to right hook you.
http://www.odot.state.or.us/forms/dmv/37.pdf
Ted Buehler
i think your account indicates we need -more- bike lane here, not less. 🙂
Yep, the bike lane should be extended all the way back up Couch. But from everything I’ve heard, there is no way that is going to happen.
This is what we need to do. Yes, it takes some money, but it will save many lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlApbxLz6pA&feature=player_embedded
Bike boxes only work at the start of a signal, not during the middle of the green phase. Be careful out there folks
Asking as a Portland newb, what should someone do in the event of a crash in Oregon or Washington?
In no-fault states, treatment for motor vehicle accidents is billed directly to the auto insurance, and you’re never on the hook. Here, it seems that the expenses—and collecting on them—are your problem. Just what you want to do when you’re injured, am I right?
You call the cops and wait, otherwise its hit-and-run, which is a felony. Insurance companies won’t ascertain guilt unless its been reported to the police.
OK, from experience in a no-fault state:
1) Get hit by a car while riding a bike
2) Take an ambulance (if necessary)
3) Get treatment at the emergency room as a motor vehicle accident
4) Heal
The hospital and any followup care is billed to auto insurance. Being a non-driver, in this case it was my wife’s auto insurance that was billed directly, then I assume her insurance worked with the driver’s insurance to divide the expenses. In any case, it’s their job to figure out the money, and your job to get better.
If this happens to someone in Portland, my concern is that you’re apparently liable for the expenses until there’s someone to collect from, and legal BS to pour some salt over those wounds.
Holy shinola, this is the first I’ve heard Oregon is no longer a no-fault state! My last crash was before the rules changed. Nice job, legislators! Maybe repeal the bottle bill or the Oregon Beach Bill next?
I am sorry. I saw the scene minutes after it happened as I biked by. Bike boxes, green marking, taking the lane, all of these do not prevent drivers from hitting bicyclists.
I would suggest that one option for the police is to stop all vehicles that look like the one pictured, arrest the driver, and trash the vehicle on the assumption that they are guilty by association by driving such a thing. 😉
I’m giving you an up vote for the first paragraph AND the obvious hilarious sarcasm… hehe… sorry peeps…
I know huh. 19 dislikes at the time of this reading. It has a smiley winky thing for cryinoutloud.
Sarcasm dont translate.
Thank you, it was made as a sarcastic remark. Bicyclists are blamed when a few break the law, why can’t we apply the same rules to drivers? But really, we are all responsible for behaving properly. When one driver gets away with something like this it reflects badly on all drivers, just as one bicyclist breaking the law reflects badly on all bicyclists.
It surprises me that at an intersection that is crammed with people at that time of day had no one who got the license or followed the car to get the license. We all have a responsibility as the police cannot be everywhere. Another driver should have taken off to get their plate number. Without a community response to something like this the bad drivers will continue to do bad things.
And my suggestion is not a new one. The roman legions had a policy that if there was a screw up they would line the troops up and go down the line and kill every 10th soldier, something called decimation. Not that I want to do that but we need to all recognize that it is not just one bad driver here, but a society that is at fault for failure to hold its members accountable. Maybe I didn’t say it in a way for people to understand, but I thought it made sense at the time. Such is life and apparently emoticons are not useful! Have a good day!
I take this intersection at least 3x a week and every time a car turns right in front of me. I think here you have to assume cars won’t see you, which completely defeats the bike box and worse gives people a false sense of security. Another problem is cars here often don’t signal or turn onto Grand in a lane other than the first one, creating a lot of uncertainty. Finally, every time I’m almost right-hooked here the car is so busy speeding away on Grand they usually have no idea they almost ran someone over.
I’d like to see more direct activism from the bike riding community to bring people’s attention to these things. Just having a group of people standing at the intersection in the morning/evening rush hours with signs letting cars waiting at the light know to look for cyclists would do a lot to help educate people.
A bit of after-the-fact advice, but forget the bike lane, take the lane and pass right-turning cars on the LEFT for your own safety.
For sure. Being a member of the right hook club, I can attest that bike lanes in situations like this give a false sense of security.
Also, I would recommend filing a police report even if they decline to followup, so the crash data is in the City’s database.
Man, that sucks! I’m certainly glad to hear she is OK. This hasn’t been a good week for cyclists so far.
Couch is a street where I *always* take the lane across Grand because I worry about such a thing happening.
At a particular bad spot on my commute I was thinking of making a sign that said “Caution: cars will not stop at X walk.” There has got to be a better way for veteran cyclists to pass on our tribal knowledge of bad Portland spots.
I really liked the Google map that people were using to mark bad spots, but it seemed that sort of fizzled out.
You mean this?
http://bikeportland.org/closecall/view_reports.php?
Yup, thats sweet.
You might be thinking of my Hot Spots map — which has kind of fizzled out due to lack of time on my part and realizing Jonathan has a similar thing — but it still exists and I can add people who are interested in maintaining it. Let me know if you are.
I ride down there on my way back from work. I’ll have to keep this in mind!
The high incidence intersections could be fitted with surveilence cameras. Of course it is indisputably Big Brother territory, but there should not be an assumed right to privacy while driving or riding. And the impartial electronic witness would be recording bicycle scofflaws as well as motorists.
I am for it.
there are already plenty of surveillance cameras on pedestrians in downtown, and motorists are much more deserving of the scrutiny.
I can suggest several intersections where I see bikes run the stop sign far more frequently than cars. Shaver and Miss, to start.
thanks for your highly relevant comment
And how many motorists have had their vehicles totaled and their elbows broken by this highly dangerous scofflaw cyclist behavior?
Or better yet, helmet cams. They are cheap, small, easy to mount. You can even mount them on your bike for the anti-helmet crowd, but they aren’t as effective.
any advice for helmet cams? is there a certain video quality that should be a minimum? how effective are they?
I’m thinking the same thing, and I’ll probably invest in a good one. It could pay for itself many, many times over in a case like this. The problem is, in a right hook situation, are you going to be able to get the license plate in the frame?
And I hope that Laura heals quickly!
I got one off Amazon called veho muvi. I can’t say its super high quality, but its easy to use, easy to charge and DL movies, and gets the job done. Its definitely good enough to get license plates. Charge lasts about 2 hours. I know there are way better ones out there, but this one was 50 bucks. Since I am enjoying playing around with it so much I might invest in a better one.
Yeah. Wish it got used more–the link is still over on the right–and maybe marked fatality locations. I mentioned that to the developer last year but nothing came of it. I added this one (Couch & Grand) as a Problem location, just now.
I’m with Esther, Take the lane, Or find another route.
Just because there’s a white line on the side of the road doesn’t make it safe, or even well thought out.
I call it “pro-active” riding . Assume every driver out there isn’t paying attention.
It would be cool if there was a prox strip that ran across the bike lane, so as a cyclist approaced the intersection lights would flash on the ground on either side of the bike lane. Similar to the lights on crosswalks, it might be a reminder to drivers to check their mirrors and signal.
Not in our current economic situation that I think this will ever happen, just thinking out of the box here.
I really hope the perp is found. I got right-hooked in the Hawthorne and 11th bike box during a green light but luckily the lady stopped and cooperated. She was more freaked out than I was. No broken bones but I now have a shallow dent in my outer thigh for the rest of my life. Not cool considering the compensation that I got. Anyway, I have to echo the above sentiments that bike lanes and bike boxes don’t necessarily mean that you’re safe. The new Burnside/Couch layout is madness.
Isn’t this a situation where a setup like what is at Madison and Grand might help? On Madison there is a crossover mixing zone where bikes get to the left of a right turn only lane. This would eat up some curbside parking on Couch and require a redo of the bulged sidewalk/curb but would probably make things safer no? If there is a that much right turning traffic headed north on Grand a dedicated turn lane may be in order. All straight traffic would be left of the bike and right turners would be on the right.
exactly!
moving the bike lane to the left of a right turn only lane is a much better solution than a bike lane to the right of right turning traffic, even with the bike box, which doesn’t do anything for you if you are approaching the intersection on the green signal phase.
If the lane is not right-turn-only, this solution doesn’t apply…is there a right-turn lane there?
I don’t think so, but they could certainly make it one, plenty of motorists take a right there.
I’m not a fan of crossovers. It increases the distance that you have to watch for someone passing through your path of travel, and people tend to be moving faster as they cross over the bike lane than they are when they turn at intersections.
True, but the problem with right hooks is that most of the time, the car is stopped relative to the cyclist’s direction of travel. If someone is going to cut to the right in front of you, would you rather have them continue to pull ahead, increasing the distance between you, or slow down, decreasing the distance?
To me, a “merge zone” is far preferable to a bike lane that stays glued to the right curb and forces all “crossovers” to take place at the last second.
Can’t we just get photo ticket machines on all of these dangerous intersections? They can snap photos of cars + plates throughout the day.
Laura. And Laura’s friends. One urgent task is to walk in the direction of the fleeing vehicle. Look for any camera system on a business or lot. It’s very possible a camera got a rough shot of the vehicle. The video has a time stamp on it. That’s a big start. Do it now as most security systems wipe old video after about 5-10 days.
A SF art thief did not get caught by the video of the gallery, he got nailed by the video of a bar down the street.
Good advice, although shouldn’t the green paint heighten the drivers’ awareness of bicycles in the road?
My last comment was in response to Allan’s of 11:10 AM. My first attempt at submission failed due to a database connection error. Apparently, if you try to resubmit your comment after that error without reclicking the proper Reply button, this system forgets whom you were trying to reply to.
Maybe it should have something like w-bound hawthorne does at grand. A right hand turn lane right of the bike traffic lane. And a “dashed” section in the bike traffic lane where the two cross over. That way the folks turning right are to the right of the people going straight. Also maybe think of N-bound 12th at Burnside/Sandy. Of course that one sort of appears out of nowhere… but then, so does the one on Couch. The green box will never solve this problem. I hope for Laura’s sake someone comes clean about this. Also, I wish her quick healing.
What is it with these new one way couplets that are extremely dangerous for bikes and prioritize motorist convenience and speed? Everywhere but Portland they are going back to two-way streets to calm traffic while supposedly progressive Portland forges ahead the other direction. East Burnside/Couch and NW Lovejoy/Northrup are spectacular failures of street design.
This progressive traffic engineer spoke recently at Metro and was very critical of this East Burnside/Couch couplet. Its a great watch:
Transportation and successful places
http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=37723
See ‘Chapter 3’ for E. Burnside/Couch but all 4 parts are worth watching.
this leg of the couplet actually does not prioritize speed. the lights are timed to something less than 18mph. all the more reason they should not have striped a bike lane in the last few blocks before the bridge ramp. the mistake was obvious from the start, but instead of erasing the line and putting down sharrows, they put in the green box, which just makes the problem worse, by enticing people like ms. stanger into a trap. take the lane.
Here’s a link I’d like to share with Laura…
http://www.doj.state.or.us/victims/compensation.shtml
Compensation for Victims of Crime.
When I was assaulted and left by some motorists (Oct 10, 1990), I was able to get help w/my medical bills through this.
Hopefully Laura heals fast and completely (and the driver is caught and gets what’s coming to them).
That sucks. Always assume the car is going to turn right, folks, and be ready and well-positioned.
That intersection looks like an excellent candidate for a treatment such as the one at NE Broadway & N Williams, or the West end of the Broadway Bridge.
Or just make that a right-turn-only lane and move the bike lane to the left of it.
* Start the signage at 6th or even 7th (“NB Grand/99E right lane only”).
* Remove the bike lane from 6th to mid-block (i.e. continue the “no bike lane”/”take the lane” condition for another half-block).
* Start both the bike lane (between the two car lanes) and the right-turn lane (on the right) at mid-block.
Advantages:
+ Right-turners have their own lane.
+ Those going straight, both auto and bike, don’t have to slow down to wait for right-turners.
+ No right hooks!
+ Since bikes are already in the lane, we avoid the typical problem of the swapped-lane arrangement: the danger zone where bikes & cars have to merge and swap places left-right. Instead everybody simply sorts themselves into “car going straight,” “bike going straight,” or “turning right.”
PROBLEM SOLVED. 3-4 signs and some paint.
I just realized that the bike box is directly responsible for creating right-hooks here.
There should be a rule: no bike boxes where a one-way street meets a one-way street that enables right turns.
I bike this every single morning on my commute to work. As a result, I know the timing of the traffic lights on & around NE Couch like the back of my hand.
If a car driver right hooks you as the light is turning green at this intersection, **they won’t get very far**. As the idiot in the car speeds away heading north on Grand, they will immediately hit a red light at Davis. Absolutely. Without fail.
If you are able, just bike after them for that one puny block, and blatently take a photo of their license plate with your cell phone while they are stopped. Let them see that they are doing it. You will be AMAZED at how quickly an apology is issued when you point your cell phone at a vehicle. It’s like magic.
So you think someone that just took someone else out and, for all they know, is driving away from somone they just killed, is going to stop at a red light immediately afterwards? That’s a little optimistic, don’t you think?
Yeah, the last time I was hit I managed to stay upright and give chase. Once they realized I was chasing them (and catching up!), they proceeded to break the speed limit by probably 20 MPH and made several very sharp, high speed turns through the neighborhood I was in (Irvington, I was hit at the intersection of 21st and Knott) in order to lose me.
It was very frustrating to realize they knew what they had done (accident was their fault), and were continuing to drive like maniacs to get away. Hopefully karma has caught up to them by now.
Bike boxes aren’t enough, Portland, get with the program and design safe intersections like they do in the Netherlands!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlApbxLz6pA
Is that really a good place to put a bike box? Is there a better way to work this corner?
I’ve actually started diverting onto Ankeny and then taking the cross walks over Grand and MLK. It’s a big diversion but that stretch of blocks between Grand and MLK off Couch are nasty. You have to worry about people turning right onto Grand and then off MLK to get to the bridge. Then the really tight right turn onto the bridge. Ankeny is a big diversion but there’s no traffic and no buses to worry about.
Tiffany said. . .
“I’ve actually started diverting onto Ankeny and then taking the cross walks over Grand and MLK.”
–I come down NE Sandy towards town once or twice a month. My choice is to take a right on Davis (by Voldemort Donuts), cross 12th with the usual care, and then run down to 6th. L on 6th, and when you get the green on 6th you can set up in the box at Ankeny and Grand. Sometimes there is a bus there, oh well. At least you can scope out the drivers. If you can’t make eye contact, be-F-ware. This avoids the running-of-the-bulls down Couch, and the 1.5 extra stop lights when traffic doesn’t clear. The pavement on Davis is nothing special, but it’s a little easier to pick your line on it.
I agree with whoever said that stub of a bike lane should go away. It adds nothing to the situation.
Robert
Same thing happened to me at Powell and SE 12th a year ago. Police came, we had a partial license, but nothing ever came of it. I was told if I wanted to pursue needed to file to get a copy of the police report. No physical injury, but needed new front rim.
I would seek revenge! Also, I swear I’ve had multiple altercations with the SAME VEHICLE on the SAME STRETCH of road! It’s def totes the phantom black suv peeps, we gots to gang together and watch out! All for one and one for all!!!!! Keep your spirits up Laura, you’re part of a good thing 🙂
oh, and claim the lane.
There’s a group of citizens almost certain to see this vehicle soon: body shops.
Perhaps we could deploy a system to alert body shops of suspicious vehicles/damage related to ongoing hit and run investigations and encourage/require reporting of client vehicles that match the alerts. I believe such systems are in place for pawn shops for stolen property.
Every traffic light, I take the lane, period.
Rol said:
“That intersection looks like an excellent candidate for a treatment such as the one at NE Broadway & N Williams. . .”
I have very bad feelings about that particular setup. I have seen traffic signals and other fixed objects taken out by the rear wheels of semi trailers. It only takes one mistake to put a waiting cyclist in a horrible spot. I tested the “bike light” here the other day by waiting until all the lights were red and rolling onto the detector with my large steel frame cargo bike. I did not get the light. I would cross the Fremont Bridge on the shoulder ten times before I would sit at that light. It gives me the crawlies.
Thank you, but no thank you.
Robert