BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

See also http://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/crap-another-one-truck-hits-bicyclist-in-swissvale

Sorry, just saw the other thread (and I looked for it, too).

Go here: http://www.bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/crap-another-one-truck-hits-bicyclist-in-swissvale

Rumor is tractor trailer, driver came back, no serious injures. Blame????? Who is to blame? We may never know.

I have a call into Swissvale police to find out more info about this. Hopefully they call me back.

I reached out to the "Share the Road East" group to see if anyone knows anything or is able to find out. We have a member who is on Swissvale city council.

Not that's it's an excuse, but having spoken to a career truck driver, it's rather easy to hit something in a tractor trailer and not notice (or have someone hit you), especially if it's out of your sight lines. He's even mentioned a car that merged onto a freeway that he didn't see (and the car driver didn't see him), which promptly shredded all sheetmetal on the left side of the car with exposed lug nuts (Ben Hur style). He had no idea someone hit him until he looked in the mirror and saw a cloud of dust from the driver pulling off into the grass in total panic.

This video demonstrates this very well. Just don't pass a tractor trailer if you can help it.

^Damn, that is one scarry video!!!

I urge everyone to watch this! it only shows what a truck driver sees in his/her mirrors - no gore etc.

last week I was run off the road by a truck. I think he thought he passed me, but instead I got to choose between driving off the shoulder and having his trailor shear off the top of my car. Oh, yeah, this was while I was driving the turnpike at 65 mph (I was in the slow lane).

Last month, same thing happened but with a long-distance bus instead of a semi.

It's not just cyclists. Those vehicles were not designed to see the road around them. Those drivers have horrible jobs. You couldn't pay me enough to propel 35 tonnes blindly down the street at any speed.

Wtae is going to have a story on shortly about a cyclist hit ?on penn? And who survived.

FYI, got a call back from Swissvale chief of police. He said that KDKA got the story totally wrong. It was not a hit-and-run. The bicyclist was intoxicated, ran a red light and rode into the back of a truck. The bicyclist was taken to the hospital and was later released. The truck driver wasn't immediately aware that it had occurred, but a motorist told him and he pulled over in Edgewood Town Center and then returned to the scene to talk to police.

thank goodness he was riding a bicycle, then. sort of. not sure what to think about that one.

That's a glass half full way of looking at it.

It would have been even better if he'd left the glass that way in the first place, or even completely full.

Thanks Scott.

Yes, thanks Scott! Both for the follow-up and the real story.

Thanks Scott - good to hear the guy is OK even if his behavior doesn't exactly help our cause...

it might not be so bad for our cause: a drunk rider hits someone and the 'victim' didnt even know, but i challenge you to find a case where a drunk driver hits someone without injury or property damage