City ordinance blames bicyclist for collision

if she took the extra 10 seconds it takes to get off the bike and walk it across the crosswalk like you are supposed to, she would have not been in her situation

As an MSU student I was aware of the East Lansing ordinance that says bikers must only bike in a crosswalk at a “Walking speed”. But who is going to decide what a walking speed is? What about runners that use the crosswalk? Many times a runner could be moving faster than a leisurely biker. Aside from that…how can MSU have an ordinance that makes it illegal for bikers to use sidewalks when they do not provide bike paths/lanes on all roads around campus?

As a driver who has almost hit several bikers, I agree that bikers really need to slow down when crossing the street. Drivers look for pedestrians approaching an intersection before proceeding through. This includes surveying the 5-10 feet of sidewalk leading up to the intersection. If there’s no pedestrians there, then it should be safe to drive through the intersection. A biker could be 20-30 feet away from the intersection, traveling at a high speed, and not be seen when the driver looks for pedestrians.

Cars should not be able to turn right on red. That way bikers/pedestrians would have a clear path without having to worry about cars turning when the biker/pedestrian has the right of way.

Turning right on red is a law leftover from the 1970s – it needs to be taken off the books for the safety of people who are not driving!

“Holton said…the crosswalk is considered an extension to the sidewalk”

When will MSU stop letting cars drive through crosswalks, then? We don’t allow vehicles to drive on sidewalks, so if the crosswalk is a sidewalk, stop vehicles from driving through them. It’s time for a vehicle free campus already.

Bikes belong in the road even if there isn’t a bike lane and cars need to respect their right to be in the road.

I believe the rules on campus are that vehicles need to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalks. I don’t think most people know or observe this rule. As a driver, I usually have to get to the crosswalk and wave the pedestrians through. As a pedestrian I have to be prepared to run if the car isn’t going to yield to me.

There should be some enforcement and education regarding this.

I quit driving on campus because I was terrified of hitting a biker not following the road rules. I’m all for biking to work/school, but bikers ride on sidewalks and crosswalks add 2 extra lanes of traffic for drivers to navigate. If you do choose to bike on the sidewalk, at least ride with the traffic instead of opposed to it.

What the article did not say is that the car that hit my daughter was stopped at the intersection. When the light changed she went ahead and hit her. If she would have been walking her bike it would have still happened. The driver was obviously not paying attention, and hit the gas as as soon as the light changed to green. If this is an ordinance why are there no signs posted. NO ONE WALKS their bike on campus.

If the car was stopped at the light as the mom of this student says, then the driver was at fault. Put yourself in the situation…whether walking, riding or even driving a car, if there is something in front of you, you don’t hit it!

Some bikers around here are ridiculous. To be honest, I am not surprised more are hit in a single day. I have had some close calls with almost hitting some with my car. I know it might suck to get a jaywalking ticket or be the blame of an accident, but more often than none, these bicyclists are riding with no caution. I can’t believe I just said that I sound like a freakin parent. Anyway, yeah that sucks for that chick. She should just accept her mistake and be lucky shes not dead. Cars always win vs. bikers by the way people. Just clarifying that..

I agree with mom on this one.

I’ll bet the driver of the car is politically connected or is a member of the police department. Notice that the name and age of the driver was not mentioned. Hmmmm

As a friend of the bicycler and her family, this article did a very poor job of explaining the accident. I would also like to know which ordinances the City of East Lansing and MSU have regulating bicycles on campus. I see the specific ordinance number wasn’t given. I

I’m also concerned by some of the responses I read above. I myself have almost hit bikers and walkers on campus (because many do not pay attention while crossing the road) and would expect to receive a ticket if I hit someone because I was not in control of my vehicle. It still amazes me that there were no consequences for this woman. If Liz had been paralyzed or killed, would this woman still have gotten off scott free???

Bigger does not always mean better. People in cars always think they can do what they want. In this case in involved driving over a freshman. I don’t recall the part of my driving test that states it’s “legal” to hit a biker in the crosswalk. I do however remember reading that’s pedestrians have the right of way. PAY ATTENTION PEOPLE.

It’s too bad the article wasn’t better written so we could understand what happened. It does seem to be established that the light had turned green for the driver. It seems most likely that the bicyclist was careless and rode into the crosswalk just as the light was changing, even though the Don’t Walk light must have been lit for some time already, and she was moving fast enough that the driver who was starting up didn’t have time to react.

Also, the information in the article about East Lansing ordinances is incorrect. In particular:

“A city ordinance prohibits bicyclists from biking faster than walking speed, East Lansing police Capt. Tom Johnstone said. Although enforcement of the ordinance is laxed(sic)— officers typically don’t hand out tickets to people who bike across crosswalks at above walking speeds — it is intended to keep pedestrians safe, he said.”

The officer (or the writer) is mixing up two parts of the East Lansing ordinance, which actually say the following (in section 44-431):

(2) A person riding a bicycle across a roadway upon a crosswalk shall not exceed a walking or pedestrian speed.

(3) A person operating a bicycle upon a sidewalk, pedestrian mall, or across a roadway upon a crosswalk, shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian and shall give an audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrians.

Notice that the requirement in paragraph (2) for a “pedestrian speed” is not a general requirement for all situations, as implied by the quote, but instead applies only within crosswalks.

The key thing that many people don’t understand about Michigan law regarding crosswalks is the following from the Michigan Vehicle Code section 257.612:

(a) If the signal exhibits a green indication, vehicular traffic facing the signal may proceed straight through or turn right or left unless a sign at that place prohibits either turn. Vehicular traffic, including vehicles turning right or left, shall yield the right-of-way to other vehicles and to pedestrians and bicyclists lawfully within the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk at the time the signal is exhibited.

Notice in particular the use of the word “lawfully” in the second sentence.

@ Ben
Changing right turn on red laws would accomplish little, since cars still have to contend with pedestrians and bikers crossing from the parallel sidewalk.

I think it’s fair to say bikers and drivers are at fault an equal amount of the time. It seems like Liz is getting some unfair blame in this instance.

I was very nearly hit by a woman talking on her cell phone at a 4-way stop intersection earlier this week.

I 1000% agree w/ you Bicyclist, I have to drive my car to work b/c i live to far from campus to ride my Bicycle, but EVERYDAY i see a stoopid Bicyclist most likely a student risking their lives for NOT knowing the rules and/or not following those, I am also surprised this does not happens more often and like someone else posted If you do choose to bike on the sidewalk, at least ride with the traffic instead of opposed to it.

btw…it is Bicyclist NOT Bikers.

It seems as though a lot of details are missing from yet another story. Nothing reports how Liz actually approached and used the crosswalk. A lot of comments seem to assume that she was just riding along and choose to blow across the road without regard of the signal at the time.

Comments from her mother seem to indicate that she may have been waiting for the light to change along with the stopped car (of course that is an assumtion as well).

What drivers on campus need to realize is that it is a college campus. They need to be more aware of what is happening outside of their vehicles.

The cross walk shows six whole seconds of Walk, followed by 17 seconds of flashing red. When the pedestrian light goes solid red do-not-walk, north-south vehicle traffic gets an immediate green light. Anyone in the cross walk becomes an immediate target for an inattentive driver. Try it yourself and see how far across Harrison Road you get in six seconds.

The City of East Lansing indicates the timing is within their standards, but it will change this sequencing so that both pedestrians and vehicles will see red all directions for a few seconds. Hopefully, this will prevent what happened to Liz happening to anyone else, on bike or on foot.

What the article did not mention is that State Law requires vehicles to “ALWAYS YIELD” to pedestrians and bicycles. The driver of the car should have received a ticket; for some unknown reason she did not. I feel I must agree with the person who commented that the driver must be someone well known in the community or a friend of the officer. Also, all of the other articles I have read have listed the name and age of the driver. Why was this information left out of this article?

To Ancient Alum—
You’re wrong about the state law—there’s an exception to the “yield” requirement. Please see my earlier message, about the fifth above yours, where I quote the actual Michigan Vehicle Code that shows why the driver did not violate a law.

Bicyclist,
If you are referring to this statement, “Notice in particular the use of the word “lawfully” in the second sentence. If a pedestrian or bicyclist enters a crosswalk after the Don’t Walk light has started, or in violation of another law, such as East Lansing’s requirement that a bicyclist travel at pedestrian speed, that person is no longer protected by the right-of-way laws, because that person is not “lawfully” within the crosswalk.

That is why the driver was not at fault in this case.

You need to go back and read the article and the comments again.

First of all, I was telling you in the last message that your statement about state law requiring a motorist to “ALWAYS YIELD” is incorrect. There is in fact an exception to the law, which you apparently did not know about. Your statement was incorrect.

Second, the original article explains the law that the bicyclist violated.

The negative publicity against us cyclists these days is getting out of hand. As the account of the cyclist, which they failed to include in the article, if she had been walking the driver would have probably hit her anyways.
The cyclist started going when she had the right of way, while the driver gunned it to turn, and ordinances or not, the driver was at fault.

Furthermore, I agree in that there need to be more bicycle lanes, if not an increased awareness of sharing of the road. It boggles my mind that such a big college town with a huge cyclist population has such a negative view on us.