Always check for red light runners.

[semyhr]

Thought I would share the happenings of what seemed like the last riding day of this season.

Me and a friend of mine both went to work on bikes because temperature was up in 50ies which was like record for this time of the year since 1986. So we are almost home we stand at  a red light and start taking off at the green check on the left for late runners, but there is a lot of traffic in first lane waiting for right turn so we take off, remain a little behind and then I see this car flying from the left side that was hidden behind all of the cars in first lane. I didnt really take off fast but I see my friend crashing into the back part of the car and flying over it. Somehow I felt that I have to look at the car. So I look at my friend who rolled, look at the car again, then I see that he is OK and stands up and then I see that the car takes off. So I got on to chase the car, caught her after a while stopped and there sits a young chick with her mother next to her and a small dog in the mother's lap. I'm like wtf??? She says that she didnt notice anything at all. Then one more dude in car caught up and blocked her way as well. Anyways police arrives and she keeps on saying that she didn't notice a bike crashing into her car and that she drove green light. It's good that we had the witness saying that we took off on  green but what's best is that my friend is OK, a couple scratches but otherwise OK, he was wearing jacket, back protector, gloves, knee guards, boots and of course helmet. Bike is pretty messed up with fork not really straight anymore and damage almost on all the plastics on the bike - kawasaki z750.

Anyways, always check for red light runners!

[T. Rush]

Glad your friend is ok. sorry about the bike. Intersections are beasts!

[Slide Panda]

Man, good to hear your friends only a tiny bit hurt.  Guess it's good he hit the car as opposed to getting T-boned  - it could have been a lot worse

One of the local mechanics was t-boned a year or two ago by a red light runner (in a stolen SUV) and almost didn't make it.  Also caused quite a fuss due to the way the media handled it - lots  of implications that the rider was at fault in some way.

But yeah - if I'm 1st at a light I give a good scan left and right looking for moving cars

[semyhr]

Man, good to hear your friends only a tiny bit hurt.  Guess it's good he hit the car as opposed to getting T-boned  - it could have been a lot worse

One of the local mechanics was t-boned a year or two ago by a red light runner (in a stolen SUV) and almost didn't make it.  Also caused quite a fuss due to the way the media handled it - lots  of implications that the rider was at fault in some way.

But yeah - if I'm 1st at a light I give a good scan left and right looking for moving cars

yeah that's true about t-boning, split second and it could have been a lot worse. but I don't understand how the driver of the car just simply makes the run away from the crash. not stopping calling for help or something people usually do. And like 5 minutes after the crash on the opposite side a girl trying to cross the road to make it to the bus while cars still had the yellow before the red light was hit by a car. we were like wtf and ran over there to the other side, called emergency etc. She will be OK, but she got it pretty bad too. What a messed up day..

[sfarchie]

Glad to hear your friend didn't sustain worse injuries. Her story won't hold water in court. Hit and run will jack up her insurance rate and then there's the legal ramifications.

Red light runners are almost the norm in San Francisco. I have to keep reminding myself to anticipate that it will happen, rather than it won't.

Ride safe

[TiNi]

i'm happy your story had a decent ending, and that you and your friend are basically ok 

[Jarvicious]

I have to keep reminding myself to anticipate that it will happen, rather than it won't.

Ride safe

It's sad when it comes to that, but I'm in the same boat.  These posts always remind me to ride like everyone's trying to kill me.  That thought alone has kept my ass off the pavement numerous times, and I've only had the bike since April.  Glad your bud is ok. 

[Desmostro]

+1 on this topic. Glad you missed that and your friend is ok.

A red light runner ran into the back of a stopped biker on a yamaha and then almost hit me as I was crossing the intersection -  she hit a car instead after the Yamaha. Then she tried to leave as well.
The biker is ok now, but was hurt pretty badly.

LOOK BEHIND YOU when you're stopped.

[superjohn]

Red light runners and left turn into your right of way gimps are the worst.

Glad your friend is ok. Always ride like you're invisible.

[swampduc]

Glad your friend is ok. That could have been sooo much worse.

[He Man]

Stay safe man, and i hope your buddy heals quickly.

People dont get into their cars with the mindset that they can get hurt. Bikers do. The end result is, drivers never think about hitting a bike just that if they got hit by a car, their cage will protect them.

[Statler]

early nineties...I was in left lane in front at a light...four lane road, two each direction, plus two-lane turn lanes...so four each direction total.

Just by luck I didn't take off like normally as I caught someone coming from left when our light turned green.   Car next to me goes.   Cars behind me honk at me angrily for not moving.

Car next to me gets into intersection and gets hammered by cross street redlight runner.   like totalled hammered.

I was the ONLY vehicle to stop, call for help, and wait.   Car full of teens who ran the light told cop they had green.    (not even close yellow possible, as our direction turn lanes had arrows before we got our stright green).

Getting ot the front of the line isn't allways the safest thing.   Sometimes I like to have "blockers" through nasty intersections and then clear off.


ride safe folks.

[Jarvicious]

early nineties.....I was 10.

Sorry, I had to get that one in there 

[Howie]

Good to hear your buddy is pretty much OK.  I can't beieve a bike can hit a car and both the driver and passenger wouldn't know.  I'm sure between witnesses and the dent in the car she won't get away with this.

[hyphen]

this is something that i'm always afraid of.  i'm usually first at a light and there are a lot of douche nozzles around my neighborhood in their fancy benzes that tend to run red lights at 50+.  i make it a point to be in neutral and shift into first when it turns green rather than keeping the clutch in while in first gear.  that assures that i'll be at the light for at least a second and reminds me to look both ways.