[Jeff Higgins]

One very, very lucky man...

I was riding one of my favorite local rural roads on the Super Sport this morning, known as the West Snoqualmie Valley Road. I was approaching the only stoplight on that road, one that controls a "tee" intersection with a road that crosses the valley over to the East Snoqualmie Valley Road. The cross valley connecting road was approaching on my right, and the light was red, so the line of about six or eight cars that was in front of me was slowing down. We were on a slight downhill.

A cyclist that we had all passed some distance back from the intersection used this opportunity to pass the entire line of cars by riding down the fog line. At the front of the line was a full sized dump truck (no trailer) who, when the light turned green was still rolling a bit, and proceeded to make a right hand turn onto the connecter road. His turn signal had been on the entire time we were slowing and approaching the intersection. And yes, you guessed it - they collided. The cyclist plowed into the dump truck's fuel tank as it was turning.

The cyclist, luckily, avoided this fate, but his bike went right under the dualies and was completely destroyed. He escaped with a good deal of road rash and some bumps and bruises. And it was soon to become abundantly clear that his lungs still worked...

He launched into an unholy tirade against the dump truck driver over how he "was supposed to yield to cyclists". To make matters worse, some ill-informed "Karen" who was in the line of cars chimed in with him. The other half dozen of us just waited for the Sheriff.

Ultimately, the Sheriff cited the cyclist. I hung out with the dump truck driver until he was allowed to leave (he was pretty young, absolutely terrified, and almost inconsolable), and the Sheriff told him that he would not be cited, that he had the legal right of way. I left the kid (and yes, he was a "kid") driving the dump truck my contact information, since I don't think this is over. I see a lawsuit from the cyclist in his future...

This cyclist was obviously a very lucky man. Lucky that his ignorance of basic traffic law did not cost him his life. He appeared close to my age, and very fit, so it's a fair guess that he's been riding for awhile. He honestly thought that he had the right of way to pass traffic on the fog line and to then blow straight through an intersection where the lead vehicle had been signaling for, and was then making, a right hand turn. I'm just glad I didn't have to watch him die...