[SDCBC] ignoring a detour & bike lane closed signs

[John Eldon]

When the City of San Diego narrowed Torrey PInes Rd. for bridge
reconstruction, they posted signs to the effect that motorists were expected
to slow down and to share the remaining road with bicyclists. I rode through
the construction zone several times and felt reasonably safe doing so.

We clearly have every legal right to continue to use a road when the bike
lane is closed or otherwise obstructed, but clueless motorists obviously
need some reminding. Legally, we do not need to replace all "bike lane
closed" signs with "bike lane closed -- watch for bicyclists taking right
lane," but in a strictly pragmatic sense, it might be helpful.

As for the motorist's culpability, would the following scenario provide any
legal guidance? For several months during construction there was no shoulder
on southbound I-5 immediately past the I-805 split. The long sweeping right
turn and the K-rail created a blind spot, and as luck would have it, I once
saw a compact car stalled in the right lane in the middle of the curve. Two
of the car's occupants had climbed up onto the K-rail and were furiously
gesturing to approaching motorists. If someone had struck the disabled
vehicle, who would have been declared to be at fault? I think it's a
no-brainer under California's "basic speed law," but how many motorists
would think it proper to slow to 35 or 40mph on a freeway in clear weather,
and how many motorist/jurists would have decided "unavoidable accident"?
Some serious driver education is probably needed. This one hit me close to
home, not only because I drove past the stalled car, but also because I had
experienced my one-and-only automotive breakdown there once 20 years
earlier.*

John E.

___
* I am a fanatic about maintenance of all of my vehicles and do not consider
the breakdown my fault. One does not expect a 1973 Chevrolet pushrod V-8
engine to strip its cam gear with only 62,600 miles on the odometer. (The
mechanic who performed the engine surgery informed me that GM used plastic
cam gears in 1973 and 1974, and I was a victim of this short-lived
experiment in cost-cutting.) Fortunately, without engine power and therefore
without power assist for the steering and brakes, I was able to land the car
on a short stretch of shoulder between two shoulderless bridges, above what
is now the Sorrento Valley Coaster Station. Had the construction K-rail been
in place at that time, I would have been stuck in the right lane, with my
low-slung Chevelle coupe obstructed from view.


 -----Original Message-----
From: sdcbc-bounces at bikesandiego.org
[mailto:sdcbc-bounces at bikesandiego.org]On Behalf Of Serge Issakov
Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2007 11:43 AM
To: Richard Duquette
Cc: sdcbc at bikesandiego.org; Dan Gutierrez
Subject: Re: [SDCBC] ignoring a detour & bike lane closed signs



  Richard, if only the jury could be comprised of some members from this
list!

  I think the cyclist is totally without fault and I don't see how anyone
could see it any differently.  She was not doing anything legally wrong, by
any stretch, and the motorist was clearly in violation of 21750:

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