Video: Police car strikes bicyclist on Richmond Highway
April 24, 2019
Police and Fire
Covering The Corridor
Your independent source for news around the Richmond Highway corridor
The biker was headed north in the southbound lanes? So the officer was looking to the left for traffic and the biker was on the cop’s right side?
Who cares? The cop was clearly in a hurry and didn’t want to wait for his light to turn green.
When making a right turn on red you should look both ways, because while motor vehicles only come from the left a pedestrian or cyclist could enter the crosswalk from the right. That is why some jurisdictions are adding no right on red at more intersections – because drivers often fail to look right.
Exactly. I have actually been sitting at a light going the same direction as the car coming into an intersection and was almost hit because the driver was already looking left, never bothered to see me sitting there in the bike lane, which she then started to use as a turn lane. Luckily for me, I was paying attention and managed to move over far enough not to be hit, as I banged on the side of her car which was inches from me. This startled her and she sat there as the light turned green and I rode straight ahead while she sat there with a dumbfounded look on her face.
No – The cyclist was on a bidirectional multiuse path designed for both bikes and pedestrians and was crossing an intersection of that path on a green light. The cyclist was NOT using the main lanes of U.S. 1 to travel north.
Perfect answer.
“The cyclist was riding northbound *on the sidewalk*” and entered the crosswalk at the same time numerous vehicles can be seen passing on the roadway.
Also, either several drivers including a REX bus operator ran a red light directly in front of the police officer, or the officer made a right turn on red without looking. (Hint: Look at the officer’s traffic signal in the background at 0:08. It ain’t green.)
Looks like the biker was on the sidewalk, had the no walk sign on (see green arrow in first video allowing cars to turn right into the shopping center), but crossed at the crosswalk anyways. So yes, officer was looking left to see when he could turn and bike got in his (legal) path.
I agree. A cyclist must follow the vehicle rules of the road when riding in traffic. I am a cyclist I get upset when cars don’t understand that I am a vehicle just like them and have all those rights.
The cyclist was clearly in the wrong. This article is terribly bias and confusing to new cyclists.
One can look both ways. Bikes move faster than pedestrians. Bikes going the wrong direction in the wrong lane can be easily overlooked.
Not a great event, true, but let’s not totally jump on the cop …. yet. Let the facts be developed.
Right on red is legal at that intersection. Was the cop in a hurry to get to a call? Maybe, maybe not. Was the cop glancing at the computer screen after checking for oncoming traffic? Maybe, maybe not. If the cop looked right, saw no pedestrians, looked left to clear for traffic then pulled out … in the interim, the biker entered the intersection?
While we are here: vehicles require licensed drivers; bikes don’t. Vehicles require insurance, bikes don’t. Vehicles must comply with traffic laws; bikes rarely do so (stop signs, going against traffic, etc and so forth). Even the most alert driver can miss seeing a biker in the wrong lane or running a stop sign or whatever. Traffic (vehicle or bike) is expected to be in normal places and to be playing by the rules of the road.
No intent to start a flame war – merely to focus on facts. Your question ‘who cares’ indicates the facts are of no import. Not a flame, merely reading exactly what was written.
Excellent answer.
That’s actually a ridiculous answer. “Vehicles [drivers] must comply with traffic laws; bikes [riders] rarely do so” is nonsense. Stand at any busy urban intersection and count the violations (rolling through stop signs and ‘yellow-ish’ lights; failures to stop behind the crosswalk; exceeding the posted speed limit) conducted by drivers of motor vehicles. Most people are just blind to them because they’re such an accepted part of driving.
I don’t know this area at all. I understand the rider was on a multi-use path and had a green traffic signal in his direction? Some of his choices may have contributed but it was ridiculous to charge him and a significant piece of the blame falls on inadequate infrastructure
Bicyclists are required to follow the same laws as licensed drivers in Virginia.
Both the cop and the cyclist had red lights in this case – the cop had the traffic signal and the cyclist had the don’t walk signal. The ability to take a right on red does not give the cop the right of way. The red light means they “shall yield the right of way”and they may make a right turn on red when it is safe to do so. The cop didn’t look to ensure it was safe to make the right turn and the cyclist didn’t wait, so both should have been cited.
Alternatively, we could stop allowing right on red because almost no one looks to see if a pedestrian is in the crosswalk when trying to do this.
“…bikes rarely do so (stop signs, going against traffic, etc and so forth).”
Not a fact, unless you have the statistics to substantiate your claims…and by throwing that statement out there you are indeed fanning the flames.
When is it ~ever right~ for a bike to cross on a don’t walk?
Right on red is dangerous. This intersection is pedestrian hell. The main roadway is completely unfriendly to bicycles. Unless you are a pro rider (me) and legally carrying a 45 on your hip to show you mean business, you are not going to ride on the roadway.
So bicyclists–normal people–choose to ride on the pathway. Where else are they going to go?
I will remind you of two things.
1. Automotive drivers are issued a driving PRIVILEGE.
2. Pedestrians and cyclists have a RIGHT to use the road–with no licensed privilege system.
When the design of both the roadways and the rules of intersections favour the driver, what do you get? Pedestrian and cyclist death and injury of course.
This is MORE than strange.
The cyclist (regardless if he was going North or South) was advancing on the GREEN LIGHT.
The cops were on the RED LIGHT.
And they should have looked LEFT and RIGHT BEFORE entering the crossing.
BTW, this absolutely stupid rule that cyclist should follow the flow when there is no bicycle lane is a recipe for disaster. What is wrong for a cyclist TO SEE the traffic and not be oblivious to it when it comes FROM BEHIND?
The cop was clearly in the wrong!!!
You forgot to say not, he wasn’t in the wrong the cyclist was. He blew through the do not walk thing at the intersection.
Recipe for disaster indeed. As a bicyclist I never pull out in front of a car poised to turn right-on-red, unless I make eye contact and they know I’m there. That particular intersection is crowded with signs and landscaping that would also contribute to limited awareness by drivers of the bike’s approach. Situational awareness is getting rarer by the day.
What was the pedestrian signal?
Really outrageous. The officer isnt watching where he’s going. They charged the defenseless cyclist to cover up the officer’s mistake.
In a just world, there would be some repercussions for this. Police aren’t above the law, and they ought to be held accountable like anyone else when they break the law, and especially when they hurt people. 🙁
This is a clear case of an accident that was preventable by both parties.
From the civilian’s dashcam, it was hard to make out the pedestrian crossing signal but he had a protected right green arrow, which implies the crossing signal was for pedestrians to not cross. Yes, the biker blew that “light”.
But OTOH the officer (like everyone) shouldn’t pull into an intersection without checking both ways. You never know when you’ll get surprised by what you didn’t expect.
Yes, the biker is legally in the wrong here but the officer could have paid better attention. Frankly, we all can.
It is interesting by the Title: Police car strikes cyclist, not cyclist strikes police car
Based upon the law the police officer is guilty of failing to pay full time and attention, which is part of Fairfax’s renewed efforts to reduce pedestrian fatalities not the cyclist. The video clearly shows immediately after the truck went through the intersection the Police car lunged forward. The Officer has the duty “at all times” to look both ways before turning right. THAT IS THE EXACT LAW, look both ways and make sure its clear.
It is obvious the police were staring to the left and waiting for the truck to move past and immediately lunged ahead FAILING to look the other way to see if clear.
This is absolutely disgraceful that they charged him and not the officer.
We don’t know that the officer did not look right before looking left. He could have seen the cyclist and mistakenly assumed that the cyclist was stopping, while the cyclist mistakenly assumed that the driver knew he was not going to stop.
When you run a red light or stop sign on a bike, you reasonably assume that drivers will yield—just as a driver who merges into traffic assumed that the through traffic will yield rather than rear-end them. But sometimes they don’t.
Why would I ever assume a cyclist wouldn’t follow the law? The merging traffic example is bad because that is the law. In Virginia bikes are subject to the same rules as other vehicles, some exceptions, but traffic signals and signs are not any of the exceptions.
I recommend that you publish my e-mail address. I have previously taught defensive driving, which was not practiced by the police officer who accelerated – very quickly – without sufficiently observing his surroundings. Like MOST accidents, tickets of negligence should be given to BOTH parties, not just one. In this case, as both are at fault, I would give 60% fault to the police-officer, who essentially accelerated into the path (of a cyclist who could scarcely avoid the impact) from a stopped position – as well as other “presently” undisclosed reasons! If proper observations had been made by the police-officer, and a responsible driver decision followed suit, the accident would not have occurred. I also recommend that the police supervisor who charged solely the cyclist be interviewed by internal-affairs or an independent police-watchdog type of organization. If the cyclist and the police-officer were both 6 years of age, which parents do you believe would most likely insist that their child provide and apology as well?!?
Signed, Martin Pariseau, The Captain of Accountability
(The Accountability Task-Force: A Philanthropic Pursuit)
Right on red is legal. Entering the crosswalk with a Don’t Walk is not. Yet “60% fault to the police-officer.” Where do you come up with that clap-trap?
As a driver, I remember getting my driver’s license. During the computer exam and the driver portion of the exam, I was required to look right, left, and then right again before advancing. I have followed this practice my entire history of driving, and has prevented many surprise accidents. It is apparent that the police officer failed to look right the second time, and failed to yield to a pedestrian/biker, which I think the law says you are always required to do so. I don’t know the rules for biking very well, but I’m sure they cold be improved to help bikers be more safe, having the right of way with parallel traffic seems to make sense. Another thing to note, when I was in elementary school 20+ years ago, I remember learning the laws/recommendation at the time to ride your bike against traffic so you can see the cars coming towards you. So unless that has changed, he was riding on the correct side of the road. I also remember learning that you are required to stop and walk your bike when crossing the road. Probably both broke the law, but the police officer in my opinion is at fault. And for crying out loud, giving a ticket was completely unnecessary, that’s like beating a child because he accidently hurt himself doing something wrong. Its nowonder police officers these days aren’t looked upto anymore, they’re bad parents!
The mainstream media is reporting this like it was the cops fault. The bicyclist was going north on the southbound sidewalk, ignored a “Don’t Walk” signal, and obviously didn’t feel the rules of the road applied to him. My experience is bicyclists feel they are above the law. I’ve hit one and he was cited for reckless driving and was lucky he wasn’t killed. Unfortunately, in an attempt to keep from killing him I went head-on into a tree. My rules of the road are if you’re going to ride a 30 lbs. bike and ignore the rules of the road I will park my 3000 lbs. vehicle on your chest before I go into another tree.
The bicyclist clearly had the walk signal and the officer clearly had a red light.
If he was on the sidewalk, he needs to follow the same rules as a pedestrian. If he had the “Do not walk” signal than he should have stopped. Sorry that he got hurt but it’s about time that the bikers get called out for not following the rules of law.
I’m a bike rider and cop critic. Riders like this idiot give cycling a bad name.
So I just drove through there going the same direction as the police officer. I just can’t imagine proceeding with a right on red in that intersection without first looking both ways — right, then left, then right again. Interestingly, the driver in front of me didn’t even attempt a right on red, but waited patiently for a green light. My conclusion is that, if this had not been a police officer, the driver would have been cited. If it had been a teenage driver, their license would probably be suspended.
It could be that the bicyclist was also at fault. Maybe he even told the police that he wasn’t paying attention. But what he’s being accused of is false. In particular, this nonsense about him going to wrong way on the highway. He wasn’t in the highway; he was on the only path available to him at that intersection (a very poorly designed one). These police officers are familiar with Rt 1. They know people are getting killed here, the last one while trying to cross Rt. 1 while in a crosswalk. Of course people walk and bike the “wrong way” on the paths rather than attempting to cross 6 lanes. People are getting killed on Richmond Highway and I find the FCPD’s attitude about this incident and its flawed “blame the pedestrian” safety campaign to be offensive.
Every person riding a bicycle on a highway shall be subject to the provisions of the Code of Virginia section on motor vehicles and shall have the rights and duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle unless a provision clearly indicates otherwise.
Bicyclists and other users on sidewalks, shared use paths, and crosswalks have all the rights and duties of a pedestrian under the same circumstance.
Bicyclists and other users of shared use paths crossing highways at clearly marked crosswalks must come to a complete stop at stop signs prior to entering such crosswalk.
http://www.virginiadot.org/programs/bikeped/laws_and_safety_tips.asp
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In this instance, the cyclist was controlled by the pedestrian light. That light was a “Don’t Walk”.
In Virginia, it is illegal to enter the crosswalk on a “Don’t Walk.”
The cyclist did not have the right of way. Therefore, the cyclist is at fault. It’s clear cut, thanks to the dashcam video above.
Cop obviously failed to “cautiously enter the intersection and make a right turn” as required by § 46.2-835.
Will he be charged also?