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Uploaded: Thursday, February 5, 2009, 6:38 PM
Updated: Friday, February 6, 2009, 4:19 PM

Bicylist hit by car in downtown Palo Alto
Minor injuries in Feb. 5 collision

Posted by Donald, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2009 at 7:16 pm

Pedestrians need to learn that Palo Alto drivers do not always stop at red lights. Always make eye contact with the driver, even when you a green walk signal. You never know if the driver is paying attention.

Be especially careful of cars coming up from behind you and turning right, since you can't easily see the cars behind you and they may think they have the right of way.

If the car gets too close to you, try slamming your hand on their windshield. That usually gets some attention.

Posted by Ned, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2009 at 7:44 pm

It could have been the pedestrians fault. we don't know the details yet. Pedestrians are ALWAYS crossing against the red and jaywalking downtown.

Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2009 at 8:16 pm

Drivers need to learn that Palo alto pedestrians do not always stop at red lights. Always expect pedestrians to walk out into the street when they reach the curb, even if they have a red light.

Be especially careful of pedestrians wearing Ipod headphones or coming out of the Apple store since they may not be paying attention.

If the pedestrian gets too close to you, slam on your brakes. If you do hit them, you will get their attention and everyone will blame you.

Posted by Donald, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2009 at 8:41 pm

When I am walking around town, I stop at red lights 100% of the time.

Car drivers turning right come to a complete stop at red lights less than half the time, even when there are pedestrians on the sidewalk nearby. Same is true for cars at stop signs, whether the car is turning or going straight.

If the Palo Alto police department needs some money, they should stand around downtown near the red lights and just write tickets all day long. A red light violation should be an open-and-shut case.

Posted by Alan, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2009 at 8:53 pm

The drivers that don't stop at red lights and the pedestrians that cross the street in front of traffic are usually the same people.

Posted by qq, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2009 at 10:46 pm

It was a woman, on a bike, not wearing a helmet.

Shoulder injury, taken to Stanford.

Now the bike accident around an hour later with the gal that had the front wheel jump the lawyer lips was a real ouchy. Faceplant...

qq

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 9:15 am

Don't be slamming your hands on peoples cars. Too much potential for violence out there. Lawsuits too. A couple of years ago someone did that and the frightened female motorist gunned the accelerator and finished the guy off.

Use your words. Yell them if necessary, but use 'em.

Posted by Rich, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 9:58 am

Pedestrians on University seem to look only at their light and step right out into the street as soon as the signal turns, without even bothering to check for cars.

If a driver is going through the intersection when the light turns, it's not courteous or reasonable for you (the pedestrian) to force them to slam on the brakes, probably cause a traffic jam, and maybe even get broadsided just because you now have a "walk" signal.

I absolutely agree, though, that striking a driver's windshield or other part of their car is a VERY BAD idea. Not only could you incite a road rage incident, but you could end up injuring yourself, and if you DID happen to break their windshield, you would be liable for damages.

Posted by a Palo Alto parent, a resident of the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:15 am

The law is you have to walk your bike through an intersection. I've had people riding bikes shoot out from the street or even sidewalk in front of me, mostly adults, not kids. Fortunately for them, I drive slowly and have good reflexes.

Posted by T, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:27 am

who are you people that comment on these stories?

I swear, the people who comment on these stories read so much more into every story. You all (most) determine who is at fault without a stitch of evidence...just based on your personal experiences. Yes, I am generalizing.

Seriously: who ARE you people? I mean, a couple names I can usually recognize from your eleventy-billion letters to the editor in the local papers, but the rest of you are a mystery!

Posted by T, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:30 am

Palo Alto parent said, "The law is you have to walk your bike through an intersection."

Seriously? what law is this? please provide more information, 'cause this sounds...*far fetched*, at best

Posted by DaveV, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:42 am

Last year I was almost mowed down by a driver on University Avenue when crossing on a green light. I saw the guy speeding up to make it through a yellow light, but he was too late. It was red when he gunned it. If I had not taken an extra second before crossing on the green, I would have been a BMW hood ornament. The lesson: be extra careful as a pedestrian and don't jump the green light yourself.

Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:46 am

I don't know about a law, but I do know that school crossing guards can stop traffic for pedestrians, but not bikes. If you want to cross an intersection when a crossing guard has a stop sign up, you must either get off your bike and walk it, becoming a pedestrian, or wait until the stop sign is down, like a vehicle. The crossing guards are making people get off their bikes, but people don't like it. You are either a vehicle or a pedestrian, but you are not both at the same time.

Posted by bicycle law, a resident of the Ventura neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:48 am

Hey T... the laws regarding bicycle riding on the streets are as follows:

If you are riding the bicycle you are subject to the same exact laws as the motorists... which means you don't *ride* your bike in the crosswalk. It means if you want to make a turn you use the turn lanes, along with the cars and follow the same rules.

If you want to use the crosswalk you must get off of your bike and walk with it, then you would be considered a pedestrian.

Walking = pedestrian laws

Riding = laws of the road

kind of scary that people aren't really aware of this. Btw, this also means that when cars see bicycles riding on the road they are also required to give them the same courtesy as they would another vehicle. Although, what drivers consider 'courtesy' on the road these days is subject to interpretation.

Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:50 am

There used to be a phrase in England on public service announcements telling drivers to "don't be an amber gambler", meaning don't cross an intersection on an amber (yellow) light. The sequence of lights is different there as there is a combined red/amber state before the lights turn green. But it is important to remember that a yellow light means stop unless unsafe to do so, not speed up to get through before the red light.

Don't be an amber gambler as either a driver or a pedestrian.

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 11:04 am

Hey T! What do you care who anyone is? If you don't care for the commentary, read the paper. The commentary on these boards is a way for people to share, opine, conjecture, commiserate, suggest, question, theorize, scoff, and in other words:communicate.

Yanno, the way YOU just became one of 'US' people with your two comments above.

Posted by T, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 11:22 am

Thank you for the responses about the law for bikes...IIRC-bikes are, as you stated, subject to the same laws as a car. I did not realize the poster was talking about crossing the intersection in a crosswalk...so the idea of bikes being subject to WALK their bike across every intersection sounded goofy. (and this: "Although, what drivers consider 'courtesy' on the road these days is subject to interpretation. made me laugh...thank you)

YouShouldKnow: I don't really care who anyone is, but you must admit there is a lot of snark in some of these posts (not just/necessarily this article) it makes me wonder if a lot of you have some "history" with each other. Too, I admitted I was generalizing! (and will further admit my post may have been snarky itself!)

(and FTR, these were not my first comments on Palo Alto online stories, so I became one of "you all" long ago)

Posted by How do people learn bike safety?, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Feb 6, 2009 at 11:51 am

I have noticed, in the past 15 years, so many cyclists who seems to either not know the laws, or ignore them, pertaining to their responsibilities as a cyclist. Many of them ride as if they have the same rights as pedestrians, which they don't. I'm not defending bad drivers, I'm just focusing on what I've really noticed.

I road my bike for many years and learned the laws at school, from my parents and I I recall lots of bike law/safety pamphlets around.

Us drivers also need to remember that driving is a privilege, not a right.

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 11:57 am

:) glad to know you. Yeah, I probably should have added 'snark' to the list.

Of course if we get too snarky the overachieving no friends to sit with at lunch so I became a hall monitor when I was a child and now as an adult no one to 'do lunch' with comment content determination deletion specialist works overtime to keep we the people from shocking the tender sensibilities of ... themself?

Posted by Rich, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 12:01 pm

Actually, in California, yellow does NOT mean "stop unless unsafe to do so". It is merely a warning that the light is about to turn red. [Section 21452(a) of the Vehicle Code.]

I'm pretty sure that yellow USED to mean "stop unless unsafe to do so" here, but apparently the law changed some time ago; I'm not sure when or why.

In any case, a bit of "defensive walking" is probably in order: look out for cars, assume the driver does NOT see you, and no matter what the lights say, assume the driver WILL drive right into you UNLESS it's clear to you that they really are going to give you the right of way.

It scares me how many pedestrians just step out into the street when the light turns, without even glancing to either side to see if there are any cars (or if the drivers are really going to stop).

Posted by Davis, a resident of the Green Acres neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 12:15 pm

Eleventy-Billion is not a number...5 is a number, 217 is a number, 1 jillion is a number, sometimes...

Posted by paly parent, a resident of the Embarcadero Oaks/Leland neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 12:19 pm

What ever the laws of the road are - the laws of physics are more basic. In a car vs pedestrian, car vs. bike collision, the car is going to win. Walk and bike defensively...

Posted by bicycle law, a resident of the Ventura neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 12:34 pm

regarding being a safe pedestrian... I walk quite a bit because I enjoy it. I NEVER cross in front of a car without making sure I'm acknowledged by the driver. I don't care if I have a walk signal or the right-of-way, I will stand in the road waiting for a driver to see me before walking in front of his/her car. Especially when drivers are waiting to turn right, often they won't look to the right before they start to move.

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 12:38 pm

I simply ask that when the light changes that you pause, stop yapping to the person next to you or on your cell phone, stop daydreaming, stop feeling entitled, take that second to confirm the cars in BOTH directions have stopped, check for vehicles turning then hustle your butt across the street (handicapped are exempt from the latter). I swear half the people crossing the streets downtown move like sensory deprived land turtles!

And if you are on a bicycle wear a helmet and make sure you are constantly vigilant, you may have your rights but reality is 3000lbs trumps a bike every time! And PLEASE you speed racers out there, stop darting out of nowhere in front of moving cars! I have seen a lot of that lately.

Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 12:41 pm

One other point to consider, drivers are licensed and have to pass a written and practical behind the wheel test before they are allowed out on their own. They should know the law and what is expected of them even if they are not practicing it.

Pedestrians and cyclists on the other hand do not have to pass tests, read the leaflets or even get a license before entering out into the streets. They at least have an excuse for being ignorant of the laws.

Posted by Donald, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 12:49 pm

Pedestrians definitely have to walk defensively. Cars are constantly running stop signs and red lights. Your right of way isn't going to protect you if a car runs a red light. Check all directions before entering a crosswalk on a green light. Be especially careful of cars coming from behind you and turning right in front of you. Cars turning right are the hardest for a pedestrian to see, and also the most likely to run a red light.

Posted by Pat, a member of the Gunn High School community, on Feb 6, 2009 at 12:50 pm

Palo Alto is a very nice place to live, however it's probably the worst when in comes to traffic, I've seen all kinds of crazy people, driving fast on residential areas, bikers not following the rules and pedestrians walking in the middle of the street at night wearing dark clothes...isn't palo alto a very smart city?

Posted by TwoSides, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 1:37 pm

It's called: ENTITLEMENT.

Being educated doesn't necessarily mean you have commons sense.

Posted by true stories, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 1:48 pm

Last summer I was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk on a green light, no cars around, yes, talking on the cell phone but paying attention, when suddenly a bicyclist zipped down the street, blew right through the red light, and almost hit me. He was gone in a moment, but not before cursing at me for using a cell phone while walking.

Common sport of student bicyclists on the Stanford campus: they love to come up behind pedestrians and see how closely they can pedal by them without hitting them. Apparently they enjoy leaving surprised shrieks in their wake.

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 2:33 pm

Yeah, some cyclists aren't often very considerate either. That kind tend to be VERY self righteous.

Posted by Diana, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 4:28 pm

I am also surprised at the number of people, men and women, who will cross a street without even glancing to the left or to the right to see if anyone is coming. They must have a private arrangement with the Almighty that is not generally inclusive and certainly not to be counted on by the rest of us. I would say to them: "Don't push your luck!!"

Posted by Anonymous, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 5:01 pm

Okay...did any of you actually read the article? The cyclist was passing a parking car.... most cars would have had to wait for the car to park or go into the on coming traffic lane to pass. It seems like the cyclist in this case was the impatient one.

Posted by Donald, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 6:10 pm

The article originally said the victim was a pedestrian, not a bicyclist.

Still, passing a car that is parking is completely legal if there is enough room in the lane to pass without crossing the center line. A car driver will try to pass 100% of the time if there is enough room in the lane. The second car should not have pulled out so quickly if they could not see what traffic was in the lane.

Posted by Anonymous, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:16 pm

That's right, it is always the car's fault! The bike should not have passed the car which was parking. There are very few streets in PA where there is room for a car to go around a parking car. Again...who was in a hurry here.

Posted by RS, a resident of the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:34 pm

I've gone around parking cars on University in a car legally. It really depends on information not provided to determine fault.

Posted by Floyd, a resident of the Green Acres neighborhood, on Feb 7, 2009 at 10:39 am

As a retired bicyclist (riding 40 years in/around Palo Alto)my advice is to obey the law and stay clear of cars if possible. Irritating a motorist, runner or pedestrian can have consequences. If you consider the incident serious enough, report it to the police.

Posted by Carla, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Feb 8, 2009 at 7:45 pm

There is so much jaywalking on University Ave. It is really unsafe for everyone, and the police needs to start ticketing.

Similarly, bicycles are at real risk on this road. It is not designed for bikers, and the City of Palo Alto needs to do something about this. As much as I would love to ride my bike everywhere (and I did) because the distance between work and home is so short; I cannot do so because I feel so vulnerable agains the traffic. I don't want to die yet.