# A truck just ran over me and my bike **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 1, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927 "2012-07-01T18:35:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/121 "2012-07-02T20:32:16Z")
You were not a pedestrian. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/122 "2012-07-02T20:33:17Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I don’t care if I was on my bike or walking or riding a damn horse, I am a pedestrian. Legally that is exactly the same as saying “I don’t care if I was in my car or not, I was a pedestrian.” Ummm no you wern’t. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/123 "2012-07-02T20:47:14Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Regardless of who has the legal right of way, our esteemed OP forgot an equally important rule. It’s called the right of weight. I’m not so sure… the OP was at the Pink Pony eating potato skins. Not enough evidence to make a judgment on the right of weight in this case just yet… The way I see it, the OP was clearly in the wrong for riding a bike down a sidewalk in what seems to be “the wrong direction.” The guy in the truck is clearly wrong for pulling out when I think reasonable care would indicate that someone should have seen the illegal traffic on the sidewalk. IMHO, I’d put the blame 60% on the bicyclist and 40% on the truck driver guy. I’d say everyone should apologize, thank the stars nobody was hurt, and not owe anyone anything. ETA: But I see the truck guy bought the OP a new bike, and I think that’s pretty nice of him to do. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/124 "2012-07-02T20:59:04Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > It’s vandalism when you jump on someone’s hood. Or break off their antenna and scratch the shit of out their paint after they hit you while you are on your bike stopped at a red light. Or drag the remains of your bike back and forth against the side of their car after they door you. (Yes, I over-reacted.) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/125 "2012-07-02T21:04:31Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I get that it seems by the letter of the law I was technically in the wrong, and that’s great if you’re Judge Dredd, but the overarching principle of the matter is a truck hit a pedestrian. I don’t care if I was on my bike or walking or riding a damn horse, I am a pedestrian. No, you were not a pedestrian. You were cycling, therefore you were operating a vehicle. Had you been riding a horse, you would have operating a vehicle. The truck did not hit a pedestrian. It hit a vehicle – a bicycle – being operated by you. By all means say that you don’t like the law, or that you will not obey the law, but stop making up things that simply are not true. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/126 "2012-07-02T21:12:48Z")
I’m glad that things worked out your way, I really am. But I hope that you research the rules of bike riding, so that you don’t continue to have painful incidents. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/127 "2012-07-02T21:29:35Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Like I told the guy who was making the illegal turn into me (on whose hood I jumped as there was really no option given his acceleration): Go tell the police, see if they agree with you. Oh, so it’s not a hypothetical, it’s something you actually did. If you actually damaged his vehicle, he certainly should have told the police. Maybe he was driving carelessly. That does not excuse your act of retributive vandalism. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/128 "2012-07-02T21:46:35Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > …the overarching principle of the matter is a truck hit a pedestrian. I don’t care if I was on my bike or walking or riding a damn horse, I am a pedestrian. I don’t think pedestrian means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/129 "2012-07-02T21:54:58Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > I don’t think pedestrian means what you think it means. I do know what it means, as much as it will shock most of you I’m not an idiot. I’m using the term the same way you would say “I don’t care if it has chicken bouillon in it it’s still vegetarian!” or something like that ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/130 "2012-07-02T22:01:59Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I do know what it means, as much as it will shock most of you I’m not an idiot. > > I’m using the term the same way you would say “I don’t care if it has chicken bouillon in it it’s still vegetarian!” > > or something like that So, “completely wrong” is the phrase you are looking for to describe such statements? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/131 "2012-07-02T22:02:13Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I’m using the term the same way you would say “I don’t care if it has chicken bouillon in it it’s still vegetarian!” Is there some joke here that i’m not getting? If it has chicken bouillon in it, it is most definitely NOT vegetarian. If someone insisted that it were, i would insist that they were an idiot. Not only that, but i don’t know a single person, vegetarian or otherwise, who would make such a claim. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/132 "2012-07-02T22:17:33Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I do know what it means, as much as it will shock most of you I’m not an idiot. > > I’m using the term the same way you would say “I don’t care if it has chicken bouillon in it it’s still vegetarian!” > > or something like that I’m beginning to think he hit his head when he went down. IOW the child ain’t quite right. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/133 "2012-07-02T22:29:08Z")
Holy shit people it’s not that hard Yes the statement is inherently false. I know that I was technically (God I’m starting to hate that word) a motorist because I was on my bike. But I was on a sidewalk where pedestrians are supposed to be and without the safety of a giant metal frame around me like a car has. In my eyes if you’re not in a car you are a pedestrian and have the right of way. Hate me all you want because I have the gall to think of people as people and not walking definitions of law and that the guy who hit me (NOT the other way around) should have done the correct thing from the beginning and just spent the 150 bucks to get me a new bike and called it a day ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/134 "2012-07-02T22:49:48Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Holy shit people it’s not that hard > > Yes the statement is inherently false. I know that I was technically (God I’m starting to hate that word) a motorist because I was on my bike. But I was on a sidewalk where pedestrians are supposed to be and without the safety of a giant metal frame around me like a car has. In my eyes if you’re not in a car you are a pedestrian and have the right of way. I’d also like to declare that driving in a red car makes you a pedestrian, and therefore I have the right of way wherever I go. Oh yeah, and watch out on the sidewalks. > [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Hate me all you want because I have the gall to think of people as people and not walking definitions of law and that the guy who hit me (NOT the other way around) should have done the correct thing from the beginning and just spent the 150 bucks to get me a new bike and called it a day The correct thing is not to pay for someone else’s mistake. You screw up, you pay. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/135 "2012-07-02T22:51:46Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > But I was on a sidewalk where pedestrians are supposed to be Exactly. And you were on the sidewalk, where pedestrians are supposed to be, while riding a VEHICLE that is, by law, prohibited from the sidewalk. If i drive my car on the sidewalk, does that make me a pedestrian? What about a motorcycle? How about a tractor? Or an elephant? Or a helicopter? > [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > In my eyes if you’re not in a car you are a pedestrian and have the right of way. So, you believe that you should be able to walk on the road, in the middle of the lane, and retain the right of way? Do you think you should be able to step out into the flow of traffic and cause all cars to come to a screeching halt? > [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Hate me all you want because I have the gall to think of people as people and not walking definitions of law and that the guy who hit me (NOT the other way around) should have done the correct thing from the beginning and just spent the 150 bucks to get me a new bike and called it a day But, in hitting you (in the head, if your arguments in this thread are any indication), the truck driver’s responsibility is mitigated because you were violating the traffic law. If he had killed you, it would have been a tragedy (well, in a general sense anyway; your whining in this thread suggests it might have been a merciful act), but you would have been largely to blame for breaking the law. I say all this as someone who makes a habit of jogging around my neighborhood, who cycles on the roads periodically, and who hates drivers that don’t share the road. I’m also willing to accept, simply because i’ve seen it happen before, that the driver in your story failed to look properly before exiting the property. But the fact is that those of us who use the roads as pedestrians and as cyclists (and no matter how much you bitch and moan, the two things are not the same) also have some responsibility to exercise caution and/or obey the law when we’re doing so. If you’re not obeying the law when you ride your bike, why should the guy in the car be held to a higher standard than you? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/136 "2012-07-02T22:57:23Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I know that I was technically (God I’m starting to hate that word) a motorist because I was on my bike. cyclist. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/137 "2012-07-02T23:10:03Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > technically (God I’m starting to hate that word) Good. Stop using it. You can’t use the word to magically permit yourself to do things that are prohibited. (Compare “You’re not supposed to murder people” with “Technically, you’re not supposed to murder people”) > [@](#): > > But I was on a sidewalk where pedestrians are supposed to be And if you were on a runway where airplanes are supposed to be, would that make you a pilot? > [@](#): > > In my eyes if you’re not in a car you are a pedestrian and have the right of way. “In my eyes” is your problem. You don’t get to make up your own rules, and then get upset when other people don’t follow them. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/138 "2012-07-02T23:13:46Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Exactly. > > And you were on the sidewalk, where pedestrians are supposed to be, while riding a VEHICLE that is, by law, prohibited from the sidewalk. > > If i drive my car on the sidewalk, does that make me a pedestrian? What about a motorcycle? How about a tractor? Or an elephant? Or a helicopter?So, you believe that you should be able to walk on the road, in the middle of the lane, and retain the right of way? Do you think you should be able to step out into the flow of traffic and cause all cars to come to a screeching halt?But, in hitting you (in the head, if your arguments in this thread are any indication), the truck driver’s responsibility is mitigated because you were violating the traffic law. If he had killed you, it would have been a tragedy (well, in a general sense anyway; your whining in this thread suggests it might have been a merciful act), but you would have been largely to blame for breaking the law. > > I say all this as someone who makes a habit of jogging around my neighborhood, who cycles on the roads periodically, and who hates drivers that don’t share the road. I’m also willing to accept, simply because i’ve seen it happen before, that the driver in your story failed to look properly before exiting the property. But the fact is that those of us who use the roads as pedestrians and as cyclists (and no matter how much you bitch and moan, the two things are not the same) also have some responsibility to exercise caution and/or obey the law when we’re doing so. If you’re not obeying the law when you ride your bike, why should the guy in the car be held to a higher standard than you? This entire statement is why this whole situation has just destroyed my faith in humanity. Congratulations for being right. Congratulations for wishing I was dead. You’re clearly not going to stop unless I admit how lucky I am that the nice gentleman who hit me with his truck didn’t insist I call the cops so he can rub it in my face that he not only destroyed my bike but that he gets to see me spend money to buy a new one. All the while knowing just how right he was. Feel free to ride your high horse into the sunset (but not on the sidewalk). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/139 "2012-07-02T23:15:52Z")
_I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride it where I like_ ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927/140 "2012-07-02T23:20:50Z")
You didn’t have a helmet on, did you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-truck-just-ran-over-me-and-my-bike/626927.md?page=8)