Stichill
Road warrior
Thread starter
Had probably my closest call ever on a bike today and it was my fault.
They always say you're likeliest to have an accident close to home or work in a location you're very familiar with. A neighborhood lady I'd grown up with was killed by a train at a grade crossing she'd driven over thousands of times before.
Well, for me it was a busy intersection where I turn left every morning heading in to work and most of the time coming back to the office from lunch. I've probably turned left there at least 8,625 times in the last 23 years.
About 10 years ago in Kentucky, the state highway department started installing so-called "flashing yellow" left turn signals. I think in general they're a good idea and I think in general they shorten delays, save fuel, and are potentially safer.
But today I almost turned left into the path of an oncoming car, while the light was signaling a flashing yellow left turn arrow.
Initially I thought my brain mistook the flashing yellow arrow for a solid green arrow (which may also be part of the causality). But now I think it was because at that intersection, when the yellow left arrow starts flashing, two things occur almost 100% of the time:
[li]When the light turns from red to flashing yellow, the oncoming traffic that was stopped starts moving. It doesn't take long for all of it to clear the intersection, potentially opening the path for a left turn.[/li] [li]But, the road I am turning left onto is a busy road. At least half of the oncoming traffic will turn right onto that road, rather than proceed straight through the intersection. Since they have a green, they have right-of-way to turn right and I have to wait for them to all make the turn. Since there's only a single turn lane, it always takes longer for the right-turning traffic to clear than it takes for the straight-through traffic to clear. Once the last right-turner makes their turn, I'm free to make my left.
[/li]
But today...there was one very late, lone oncoming car in their left lane, closest to me as I was beginning to make my left...and I didn't see it until the last two seconds. They saw me at the same time I saw them. They braked and I swerved right and stopped. I never did actually violate their right-of-way, but I came close. They ended up slowing to where they almost stopped, but I was well out of the way and stopped by then. The young woman driving understandably threw up her hands at me, then gave a honk. I made a mea culpa gesture and sheepishly completed the turn after she proceeded on through. And after I assured myself the way was clear.
Moral of the story is: be wary of habits! They can be very deadly when the situation changes unexpectedly.
More info...this is what actually happens during the red cycle at this particular light (my annotations in red):
Here's a diagram of the intersection with my best attempt at reconstructing the events. The numbers correspond to vehicle positions at progressive increments of time.
Ride safe everyone. Stay alert and keep your guard up.
They always say you're likeliest to have an accident close to home or work in a location you're very familiar with. A neighborhood lady I'd grown up with was killed by a train at a grade crossing she'd driven over thousands of times before.
Well, for me it was a busy intersection where I turn left every morning heading in to work and most of the time coming back to the office from lunch. I've probably turned left there at least 8,625 times in the last 23 years.
About 10 years ago in Kentucky, the state highway department started installing so-called "flashing yellow" left turn signals. I think in general they're a good idea and I think in general they shorten delays, save fuel, and are potentially safer.
But today I almost turned left into the path of an oncoming car, while the light was signaling a flashing yellow left turn arrow.
Initially I thought my brain mistook the flashing yellow arrow for a solid green arrow (which may also be part of the causality). But now I think it was because at that intersection, when the yellow left arrow starts flashing, two things occur almost 100% of the time:
[li]When the light turns from red to flashing yellow, the oncoming traffic that was stopped starts moving. It doesn't take long for all of it to clear the intersection, potentially opening the path for a left turn.[/li] [li]But, the road I am turning left onto is a busy road. At least half of the oncoming traffic will turn right onto that road, rather than proceed straight through the intersection. Since they have a green, they have right-of-way to turn right and I have to wait for them to all make the turn. Since there's only a single turn lane, it always takes longer for the right-turning traffic to clear than it takes for the straight-through traffic to clear. Once the last right-turner makes their turn, I'm free to make my left.
[/li]
But today...there was one very late, lone oncoming car in their left lane, closest to me as I was beginning to make my left...and I didn't see it until the last two seconds. They saw me at the same time I saw them. They braked and I swerved right and stopped. I never did actually violate their right-of-way, but I came close. They ended up slowing to where they almost stopped, but I was well out of the way and stopped by then. The young woman driving understandably threw up her hands at me, then gave a honk. I made a mea culpa gesture and sheepishly completed the turn after she proceeded on through. And after I assured myself the way was clear.
Moral of the story is: be wary of habits! They can be very deadly when the situation changes unexpectedly.
More info...this is what actually happens during the red cycle at this particular light (my annotations in red):
Here's a diagram of the intersection with my best attempt at reconstructing the events. The numbers correspond to vehicle positions at progressive increments of time.
Ride safe everyone. Stay alert and keep your guard up.
