http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2012/04/lanta_bus_driver_bethelehem_te.html

That REALLLLLLY doesn't look safe though. Why don't they just start asking bicyclists to ride on top of the bridge suspension ropes? The bicycle laws have bicyclists exposed in constant danger on the road. Science damn it.

You know it's one thing to ding someones car and take off. I don't condone that but I try to say to myself "that person doesn't have a lot of money so they left". Here in NJ everyone has insurance so I call my car insurance company (if the damage is that bad) and they pay for it. Sucks but its a fact of life.


But to actually hit a person like this, who is simply obeying the law then try to run is horrible. Even if the bicyclist WASN'T supposed to use the whole lane there is an entire other lane for you to pass the guy!

I'm glad people finally stopped to help. I hate those videos where everyone just walks by like "Huh I wonder why that guys bleeding on the sidewalk there? That's strange." and then keep walking.

Bus driver was pretty on the spot with that. Most seem pretty laser focused on going forward, wouldn't expect him to see that happen and react that quickly.

>> ^Porksandwich:
Bus driver was pretty on the spot with that. Most seem pretty laser focused on going forward, wouldn't expect him to see that happen and react that quickly.


The bus driver was probably watching because he knew that bicycle was riding in a bad spot and was gonna get hit. If I saw that guy riding there, I would think " look at that idiot!! hes gonna get hit!". ...and then watch my rearview untill I was proven right.

It's too bad that there isn't a separate lane for cyclist...

...and that some drivers are irresponsible assholes.

Just to clear things up : the hit'n runner was the teen, the bicyclist was 50, which actually explains everything :-P (from news article)

"Bethlehem Police Commissioner Jason Schiffer and Mayor John Callahan honored Richard Gubish Jr., 43, of Northampton, and Jud Smull, 17, of Bethlehem during a news conference this afternoon to commend their quick thinking.
“I’m just glad I got there quick,” said Gubish before the event, his hands stuffed in his LANTA jacket.
Frank Pavlick, 50, of Bethlehem, was hit Monday afternoon by a 17-year-old driver in the northbound lanes of the Fahy Bridge."

bad stuff but seriously....the bike guy was all over that lane...hug the edge of the lane dont la di daaddle in it.

>> ^toferyu:

Just to clear things up : the hit'n runner was the teen, the bicyclist was 50, which actually explains everything :-P (from news article)
"Bethlehem Police Commissioner Jason Schiffer and Mayor John Callahan honored Richard Gubish Jr., 43, of Northampton, and Jud Smull, 17, of Bethlehem during a news conference this afternoon to commend their quick thinking.
“I’m just glad I got there quick,” said Gubish before the event, his hands stuffed in his LANTA jacket.
Frank Pavlick, 50, of Bethlehem, was hit Monday afternoon by a 17-year-old driver in the northbound lanes of the Fahy Bridge."


Ohh good catch.

Nice! Lots of witnesses on the bus I bet!

All those cars in the beginning overpassed the biker.

One second the bus is in the right lane, the next its on the left. How quickly did that bus change lanes?

I would imagine the kid tried to pass the bus as he passed the car but didn't see the biker compared to the much larger profile (and shadow) of the bus.

I don't think he should have ran, but at the same time I don't think he even saw him.

>> ^Confucius:

bad stuff but seriously....the bike guy was all over that lane...hug the edge of the lane dont la di daaddle in it.


The problem is if you hug the edge of the lane people will try to pass you and some people are not good judges of how big their car is. You're much safer taking up up the whole lane and force the lane change then to have some soccer mom on her 6th mocha frappe rushing to get to little jimmy's soccer practice smacking you into a concrete divider.

Yeah, the driver was a jerk and deserves whatever he gets - but this biker... For gosh sakes don't weave all over the road like a drunken monkey. Pick a line and stay on it so the drivers can predict what you're doing. Bikers that drift all over the road are scary.

How did I know the first comment would be blaming the cyclist? Sick. He was following the law, and was in the middle of the lane the whole time.

From my experience as a bike messenger and commuter, I think holding the lane is a poor idea unless the conditions are too narrow for safe passing, like in construction zones. Generally, riding about 1 m from the edge is best because it gives you room to go around debris, avoid sewer grates, and miss opening car doors at speed, even while being passed.

I'm gonna guess the passengers saw it all and told the bus driver, who blocked the escape.

Well - the "law" says the cyclist can take the whole lane. But COMMON SENSE says that the cyclist should behave as if he's a spun-glass ornament sharing the same space as an avalanche of steel girders. As a regular cyclist myself, I get over to the right about 3 feet from the curb and I STAY there no matter what the laws say I can do. When you're the equivalent of an eggshell on a bowling alley, you don't go plunking yourself right in front of the pins.

>> ^Confucius:

bad stuff but seriously....the bike guy was all over that lane...hug the edge of the lane dont la di daaddle in it.


Presenting yourself as the sole occupier of a lane is the best way to not get hit. If you hug the edge, it can make drivers think that they can stay entirely in the lane without hitting you, and then... whack.

Bicycles have as much of a right to the lane as a car, in most places.

How can we argue about who's at fault when they edited out everything that led up to the crash? The moment it switches to the camera angle where you can see anything the accident has already happened.

If the bus were going at full speed without tapping his breaks and changed lanes just in time to not hit the bike, that would pretty well screw the car behind who would only have a split second to slam on his breaks. I suspect that could be what happened because the bus is in the far lane at 3:06:27, then is in the inner lane 5 seconds later when it jumps to the other camera.

Still, the kid in the car is unquestionably a douchebag for attempting a hit and run, but the bus driver may share much of the fault.

Um, never mind my original question.

Looking at the condition of the bike afterward, I'm a bit surprised the rider got up so quickly. The 17 year old driver appears to be in the running for Ultimate AssHat ... wouldn't be shocked at all to learn that he was interacting with a mobile device or doing something else distracting.

People who say to hug the side clearly have never actually done this. For one he is on a bridge with no pull off's, so if he gets sandwitched he is a gonner. And other drivers are not much better...drivers. Taking up a whole lane and forcing drivers to pass normaly is more ideal then trying to make a 3 lane highway out of 2.

That said, a smart biker would have just used the foot path and done a combo of walk/ride, stopping to pass people, for the length of the bridge.

There should be separate bike lanes sidewalks should be wide enough for bikes to share with pedestrians everywhere. Riding a bike in traffic sucks for everyone involved -- the bicyclist, the motorists. I am afraid to ride my bike on the street. It's stupid to allow bikes in places where most bicyclists can't even get close to the speed limit i.e. wherever the speed limit is above 25.