Protection of vulnerable road users from motorised traffic (both perceived and actual)

[Tom1234]

@KiwiSteve

Use of the bike lane or path is compulsory in Switzerland:

Reference in German:
Verkehrssituationen

Yes, we know that.

If you read my post again you’ll see that I’m writing about bike paths/routes which may be nowhere near a road (which may or may not have a bike lane) but are going in the same general direction.

If you have also read some of the other posts, you’d realise that most bike lanes (in Switzerland) disappear at the points where they are needed most and where most accidents occur - namely at junctions.
At these points the cyclist no longer has the right of way - like they do in the bike lane.

If a car is parked in the bike lane, must the cyclist cycle over the top of the car or can they go out of the bike lane and around the car?

[ShirleyNot]

@Tom1234

If a car is parked in the bike lane, must the cyclist cycle over the top of the car or can they go out of the bike lane and around the car?

You are allowed out into the road but you must pass as close to the parked car as possible so as not to inconvenience the rest of the traffic. A rule of thumb is if your brake grip maintains a constant, even and level scratch down the side of the parked car, you have done it absolutely correctly.

[KiwiSteve]

@Tom1234

ths/routes which may be nowhere near a road (which may or may not have a bike lane) but are going in the same general direction.

If you have also read some of the other posts, you’d realise that most bike lanes (in Switzerland) disappear at the points where they are needed most and where most accidents occur - namely at junctions.
At these points the cyclist no longer has the right of way - like they do in the bike lane.

If a car is parked in the bike lane, must the cyclist cycle over the top of the car or can they go out of the bike lane and around the car?

Hey, we are on the same side here I agree totally with the problem of incomplete and cazy bike lanes. We have one near here that takes one from the road to the pavement and then uses pedestrian crossings to navigate a roundabout - an arrangement that is solely in the interest of motorists - it is not clear if one has to dismount or whether this is now a shared pedestrian/cycling path.

[Tom1234]

@ShirleyNot

You are allowed out into the road but you must pass as close to the parked car as possible so as not to inconvenience the rest of the traffic. A

Being serious for a second, the Dutch Grip is mentioned in @KiwiSteve 's link (where you use the right hand to open the car door thus forcing you to look over your shoulder and hopefully avoid car-dooring cyclists).

All well and good but which (not so) bright spark at the Government transport office thought to put this bit in the cyclists’ section and not the motor drivers’ section of the rules?

[curley]

@KiwiSteve

incomplete and cazy bike lanes

We have a wonderful bike lane, separated from the road by grass full of flowers and regular trees that nicely throw their shadow on the path, in wonderful, free surrounding of fields.
It stops right at the entry of the hamlet. It’s on the left side so a) you must cross the street to get to the right side of the road, the rather narrow road, then pedal through the hamlet trying to stay alive until the other end of the hamlet, where we have a wonderful bike lane, separated from the road by grass full of flowers and regular trees … see above.

I will never understand the thought behind this.

[Roxi]

@Ace

It’s worth noting that this applies to cycle lanes on roads, and is not mandating that if a separate cycle path exists you’re not allowed to use the road.

Actually the round signpost with a white bicycle on blue ground indicates mandatory use of bicycle path. It’s presence bans bicycles from the road.

Only the hiking paths signposted in burgundy aren’t mandatory. These might be what Tom1234 has trouble finding again.

[Tom1234]

Another bike hit by a car. Those painted lines did not protect the cyclist nor prevent the car driving into the cycle lane.

During the night of Wednesday (September 11, 2024), a serious traffic accident occurred in Safnern between a cyclist and a car. The Bern cantonal police are looking for witnesses.

On the night of Wednesday, September 11, 2024, shortly before 11:50 p.m., the Bern Cantonal Police were informed that a serious traffic accident had occurred on the main road in Safnern.

According to initial findings, a cyclist was riding in the bike lane coming from Safnern towards Meinisberg. For reasons that have yet to be clarified, she collided with a car travelling in the same direction.

As a result, the woman on her bike fell to the ground and was seriously injured. She was treated by an ambulance team that was dispatched immediately and taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Here (in German/French)

[gaburko]

@Tom1234

On the night of Wednesday, September 11, 2024, shortly before 11:50 p.m., the Bern Cantonal Police were informed that a serious traffic accident had occurred on the main road in Safnern.

And this is posted at 16:52, almost 7 hours before the accident occurred?

[curley]

@gaburko

And this is posted at 16:52, almost 7 hours before the accident occurred?

eeehhhm, no.
“In der Nacht auf” means the night before/leading to.
So it happened at 23.50h on Tuesday.

[Tom1234]

@curley

eeehhhm, no.
“In der Nacht auf” means the night before/leading to.
So it happened at 23.50h on Tuesday.

Thanks for that. It looks like Google Translate does not understand that rule.

[Ace]

The French and Italian versions are similarly wrong, so I guess we have to assume that they’re auto-translated as well.

[Tom1234]

@Tom1234

Sentences for car drivers are usually quite lenient if they get one at all.

The woman in London who drove her Landrover across a pavement and into a school killing two eight-year old girls was not convicted.

She said she had an epileptic fit and lost control. She had never had one before and hasn’t had one since.
When people do have a fit or seizure (especially the first time) they have absolutely no idea what happened and definitely would not think it was any sort of fit.

The Met Police have re-opened this case after the driver was let off with no charge.

It would seem that a lot of money and influence can buy your freedom from prosecution which may have happened in this case.
Additionally, just after the crash, all her social media posts and photos disappeared from the internet.

They may have told a different story to the one in the story published about her ‘struggle with epilepsy’ since childhood (despite never having had a seizure), and which appears early in any search was written for a “news” website where anyone can write a story and in this case, no references are given. Here

Police are looking to speak to witnesses of the crash. It would appear that the driver may not have acted in the manner of a person who had just had an epileptic fit.

Homicide Investigators are now looking at the case.

[Axa]

A trial in Basel today about a real hazard: truck drives failing to see cyclist or pedestrian in front of them.

They are seating very high above street level, and there’s a blind spot just in front of them. I’ve seen some trucks have a mirror for the first few meters in front of them, but not all of them.

Anyway, lesson learned for me: do not wait at a traffic light in just another blind spot for a truck driver.

«Die Velofahrerin ist wie ein Gespenst aufgetaucht»

[Phil_MCR]

Even if they could see you, it is no guarantee that the driver will pay attention. The driver in the story doesn’t even to bother to wear a seatbelt for his own safety, yet he claims to take full care in looking at mirrors etc. for others around him.

[Tom1234]

An SUV driver in France has been charged with murder after deliberately driving over a cyclist.

The SUV had been trying to take a shortcut in heavy traffic by driving in the cycle lane and ended up driving over a cyclists foot.

After a heated argument, the cyclist and the driver parted ways and then the driver decided to use his SUV as a weapon and drove over the cyclist.

Vigils were held over France.

The murder charge is seen as a significant change in attitude as normally, it’s seen by many that “the cyclists deserve it, or it was their fault”.

Here

[Axa]

That is a very special case. Best thing can happen to the driver is some years in jail, otherwise risk of lynching.

That’s what happens to gamblers. You may win once or twice but chances are against the gambler. Eventually, awful things happen:

This Tuesday afternoon, the man who was supposed to drive his 17-year-old daughter to the ophthalmologist was late. Faced with very heavy traffic, he decided to break several rules of the highway code with his SUV: he allegedly ran several red lights, took bus lanes and cycle paths. In total, about ten infractions until the last one which consisted of going up the cycle path on Boulevard Malesherbes where he still found himself stuck. This is where the altercation with the young cyclist took place.

Then, if someone drives a car over my foot, I’d also tap like a madman. Pain does not exactly invokes rationality.

According to the driver, Paul Varry was in front of him on the track and he asked him “kindly” to move over to let him pass. The tone quickly escalated after the cyclist refused, who then tapped on the bonnet of the car to tell the driver that he had run over his foot, according to the prosecution. According to the driver’s account, the cyclist “tapped like a madman”.

And this is one of the most pusillanimous attempts at defense. Brave enough to drive over red lights, but scared of someone in pain telling to move the car.

He goes on to say that he was afraid for his daughter and himself when faced with the cyclist’s “crazy” behavior. He then decided to “flee,” “terrified,”

This is a part I do not understand. When I drive I’m in a temperature controlled environment, protected from rain and wind, even with a heated seat and the music of my choice. It’s safe and comfortable. There is no way a driver can be threatened by a cyclist.

Hope the French justice system does the right thing, otherwise people will take justice on their own hands.

Full story in French « Je ne suis pas un meurtrier » : l’automobiliste qui a tué un jeune cycliste à Paris affirme que ce dernier l’a « terrorisé » - La Voix du Nord

[Ace]

Yes, in no situation ever does a car driver run away scared from an angry cyclist, and driving towards him, indeed into and over him, is completely the opposite of running away.

I’m not normally one to pre-judge in matters like this, but as we already have the driver’s own version I’m going to stick my neck out and say yes, this was a deliberate assault with his car as a weapon, this was murder, he should serve a long time for this.

[Tom1234]

Another pedestrian mown down on a zebra crossing yesterday in the middle of the day.

At around 12:45 p.m., a collision occurred between a car and a pedestrian on Schaffhauserstrasse in Kloten, near the Stadthauspassage. The 56-year-old woman was seriously injured. After initial medical treatment, a rescue team transported the woman to hospital. The 27-year-old driver of the car was uninjured.

Exactly how this happened is unclear to the Police at the moment but pedestrians shouldn’t think that these crossings give them any protection, or priority over motor traffic.

Like Kindergarten children are taught, I never stop until the traffic has stopped - you’ve no idea whether the drivers are on their phones, drunk, or 30 seconds late for an apero.

Here

[komsomolez]

Wipe the foam off your mouth. While this is tragic, Swiss laws for zebra crossings laws are the most pedestrian-friendly I know of.

Initially this was a somewhat sensible discussion of traffic regulations. Now it seems a place for you to post accident news with the perpetual and utterly boring “mowing down” rhetorics.

[greenmount]

@komsomolez

While this is tragic, Swiss laws for zebra crossings laws are the most pedestrian-friendly I know of.

It was a black BMW. (I think that was the idea)
It boils down to - if you’re looking for proofs that people do bad shit, you’re going to find them.