No passing. What does that mean? In Ohio we have double yellow lines – these generally forbid passing but… in 2006 we were able to get an amendment to the law that allows motorists to across a double yellow if conditions are ripe. That change was meant to help motorists, and benefit cyclists, particularly on windy country roads with miles of double yellow. The 2006 changes codified what smart motorists did – they waited, made sure passing was safe and then passed quickly, without exceeding the speed limit.
While this change is not widely known, there’s another section of the Ohio Revised Code that is almost invisible – we have two cases pending now and, Monday night, another rider was hit…and killed… the same way… by a motorist choosing to pass a cyclist, illegally, within 100 feet of an intersection.
Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.30:
It’s the third rule that catches drivers – No vehicle may be driven “…upon the left side of the roadway… when approaching within one hundred feet of or traversing any intersection…”
In our two pending cases the insurance company for the motorist has chosen to fight – and ignore the law that bans their driver from passing within the intersection. Both cases are in litigation. One has motions being argued Thursday, the other was filed late last week along with a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent the insurer from “fixing” the car until we can download the “black box” data which may provide evidence of speed, braking and the like.
In Monday’s crash a 70 yr old man was apparently operating an “electric bicycle” [according to one media report] southbound on Franklin-Madison Road and while he was making a left turn into his own driveway a motorist tried to pass him and slammed into him, killing him.
We don’t know details. We don’t precisely which driveway he was turning into or how far he was from the something unique intersections. As you proceed south on Franklin-Madison you encounter traffic entering from your left at Chamberlin and then some feet farther up there is traffic entering from your right at Keister
As with every fatal bike crash in Ohio we are going to be investigating this case thoroughly – obtaining all possible public records and putting our own review of what happened and why out there.
For now our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the still unnamed 70 yr old cyclist.
© 2024.
