09-02-2018, 09:56 AM
Car drivers are not used to watching for a vehicle on their right when turning right. It's just not a situation they are used to. This driver was still in the wrong, but I understand why they made the mistake.
98.9% of the time, a car is turning right from the right-most lane, and the only thing to look for is pedestrians, who are relatively slow, so there's a small area to look to see them.
1% of the time, there's a bike lane, and cars will usually either encroach, blocking through bike traffic, or will ignore the bikes entirely and bully through, because cyclists know that they lose that fight.
Now, we have a brand new situation where LRVs can come through at speed, on the right, and have the power to win the collision. Inattentive drivers could get away with some bad habits before. Now they do so at their own risk.
98.9% of the time, a car is turning right from the right-most lane, and the only thing to look for is pedestrians, who are relatively slow, so there's a small area to look to see them.
1% of the time, there's a bike lane, and cars will usually either encroach, blocking through bike traffic, or will ignore the bikes entirely and bully through, because cyclists know that they lose that fight.
Now, we have a brand new situation where LRVs can come through at speed, on the right, and have the power to win the collision. Inattentive drivers could get away with some bad habits before. Now they do so at their own risk.